Some New West knife reviews

All three of your reviews pack are very fair and well done. I get tired of hearing nothing but raves. Not EVERY fairly sharp knife is great, and it's nice to get a reaction from someone who knows enough to see the flaws and able to set them forth.

The purpose of itty bitty choppers is obscure, as is the rationale behind a thick paring knife. They must have target customers in mind -- I wonder how New West would describe them.

Generally, I'm not a big fan of New West. Nicko, Jim and some other CT people rave about them but I'm mystified as to why. The design and profile of the knives I've tried have been okay but nothing special. Ditto the (third party) construction, although F&F was very good. What you wrote in your reviews makes perfect sense, and is what I would have expected going in if they'd sent the knives to me. But since I've never actually tried the New West iterations, I'll leave it at that.

Thanks again for the excellent and informative reviews.

BDL
Edited by boar_d_laze - 9/30/11 at 11:05am

I like the colorful handles on some of their knives.  These particular three look like...

 

An inferior steel.

Bad geometry.

Bad profile.

Bad grind.

Some fit and finish issues which might be straightened out by the next run.

 

Is that about right?

 

Very thorough reviews with good pics to illustrate some of the points -- thanks for being thorough and honest!

Thanks phatch -- I'm not nearly knowledgeable enough about steels to be as snooty as I just was; and I'm sorry for the other overstatements.

 

I know they do other designs that look better.  That chopper almost looks like it would serve as mezzaluna.... maybe that's what they were going for.

New West mostly uses (or used to use) AUS8, which is a common stainless alloy, more similar to an annealed 440B than to 440C. As a generic steel, AUS8 is decent but nothing special. New West hardens to 58-59 HRC; a nice, practical level, and again decent but nothing special. AUS8 at the same hardness is frequently found in entry-level Japanese knives (like the Fujiwara FKM) which sell for less money but are made with lower F&F.

New West knives are made for them by Lamson in the USA. From a construction standpoint, a New West knife is a good but not a great value.

What New West really brings to the table is design. They are a forward looking knife company, doing well thought out, non-traditional designs. You either like them or don't. New West is part of a renaissance in commercial, American, kitchen knife design and manufacture.

I hope this background helps.

Not to make this about me, but I'm one of those who doesn't like their designs. Not even one of them. I find their "improvements" mystifying. My mystification doesn't mean I don't understand what New West is thinking in terms of a given design. Nor does it mean I don't understand the purpose of a given profile. For instance, I know what a parer does and how to use one. I also understand why New West would design a parer with a thick spine. Honest. What I don't understand is how the advantages of their design differences compensate for their inherent weaknesses (like wedging); nor what New West's design will do for someone with technique similar to mine -- you know, me. None of them work as well for me as more traditional profiles. Hence, my mystification. If that's unclear, I'm also mystified by santokus in general and most "ergonomic" handles. If you like New West knives, santokus and/or complicated handles, that's great.

Phatch's reviews rock.

BDL

So is it fair you don't understand why they don't see that the thicker spine creates more problems? (I really think they must not.. but maybe they do, and just have a different idea of how things balance).

 

Certainly they have some cool looking knives; it just seems that apart from handles, it's almost always at the expense of function.

 

On steels, in part I know of AUS8 from prior knowledge of folding knives, and how passe it is in that context (or, alternatively, how less expensive and still very functional knives are made from it).  So... un-earned snootiness there. Because it always "worked", and if it works inexpensively, that's a good thing.   

 

Still it seems the geometry of each of the three being reviewed here, at a minimum,  creates more problems than whatever they were to meant to solve.  And that's a bit mystifying.

 

I'd heard they switched or were in the process of switching to Crucible, but didn't get the CTS-BD1 thing -- which I believe is a Carpenter, not Crucible steel. FWIW, despite the big chromium presence, CTS-BD1 isn't a 440C either. Spyderco uses CTS-BD1.

I am not a pocket knife or Spyderco guy, and have no direct experience with BD1 at all. It's supposedly the Carpenter equivalent of Crucible's S30V. If so, a bit better than AUS8, but nothing special, nothing to write home about; fair value for the money; okay but not great. It seems to fit with the rest of what we know about New West knives. But speculation isn't the same as experience. One doesn't know for sure until one uses and sharpens oneself, does one?

BDL
Edited by boar_d_laze - 10/1/11 at 7:02am

Yes, good call -- what I knew of these steels came mostly from Spyderco. As a youngster I was interested in "martial bladecraft".  A long-dead interest, at this point, but I have more worser follies in m history. 

 

I have a Spyderco santoku in MBS-26, too... which is sheathed in a drawer and has been for a few years.  I'm just getting to the point that I know who might use it with appreciation, so will likely give it as a gift soon. My only attachment to it is that it's out of production and maybe some collector out there would appreciate it even more (?).  When I bought the thing, I didn't know what a santoku was, or indeed what any Japanese knife was.  Just, "Hmmn.... Spyderco makes a kitchen knife real cheap.  Can't afford the Chris Reeve kitchen knife, and I'm curious. Maybe She Who Must Be Obeyed will like it more than that Ever-Sharp monstrosity she tears everything with." She didn't.  Seems like a lifetime ago.

Edited by Wagstaff - 10/1/11 at 9:08am

Wag,

Pardon me for the personal aside. You're one hell of an interesting guy, and your knife journey is probably even more entertaining and enjoyable for us than it is for you.

How's SWMBO handling your new knives and expertise these days?

BDL

Unless things have changed since I last heard -- and it has been some years, anyway -- She is now Being Obeyed by someone who married her, alas.  From what I could tell, he's a very good cook indeed, too.  I'll stop here, because I hate having said anything nice in this context.

 

And by the way, thanks very much for the personal aside. It is most appreciated, given my unholy admixture of compulsion and insecurity surrounding logorrhea.

Edited by Wagstaff - 10/1/11 at 10:28am