Searching for a Niche
Pros: Sharp, pretty
Cons: Short, too much curve
The middle of the set of the New West Knifeworks sent me for review.
The Mini Chopper has a 4 inch blade of BD-1 stainless steel.
In initial inspection, this was the best of the three knives in that it wasn't gouged or mis-sanded as the other two. It did have a burr on the butt that defied all attempts at photography. I could feel it, but couldn't see it. It seemed to be a little roughness, as of plastic that wasn't fully sanded off. Probably the resin impregnating the wood. It soon was knocked off as I couldn't detect it any more after a day or two.
Good initial sharpness, it behaved the best in the paper test with minimal feathering and light edge curling.
But what is this knife for?
Dwarfed by potatoes,
or pork
I struggled to find why this knife should be in my kitchen.
At New West, they talk about it as a cheese knife. I found it a bit thick in that application and with the curved edge it didn't push cut cleanly through cheese at the end against the board. It required odd rocking motions not well suited to anything but soft cheeses where it can also be a spreader. I liked it pretty well with cutting summer sausage; it was tolerable with fruit, though again a bit thick leading to fracture in cutting apples and pears.
It's certainly well made, sharp enough and looks great on the cheese board. It's just not really at home there. It's mini, but not a chopper, nor a chef knife.
