KAI Seki Mago Roku

i sharpened up 3 of these for a friend yesterday... they were not very good blades.  Weird blade profile... very flimsy... and sub-par steel.  Forschner would be a better low-end buy IMHO.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnR 

Anyone know anything about these knives?

 

http://www.chefsresource.com/kai-4000st-chefs-knife-9.html

 

Specifically fit/finish, blade quality, etc.

 

At this price for a 240m knife, it's hard not to look into it.

it was the 4000... they are using less expensive steel in those and their heat treatment is more geared towards soft and tough than anything else... however, they went a bit too far IMO.

Kai is the parent company of shun, but they make a lot of things... some better and some worse.  You see Kai stuff everywhere in Japan, but mostly low end stuff, like what you might get buying a knife at a grocery store.  Thats kind of where these fit in.

I have a KAI AB5225 4000ST Gyuto sitting in front of me.

I measured the following:

Spine thickness at the heel 2.31mm; 1" from the tip 1.65mm

Length on edge 240mm

Overall length 370mm

Weight 226g

Blade width at bolster 48.4mm

By comparison, the measurements (posted elsewhere on the web) for a Fujiwara FKS, a respected entry level 240mm Gyuto, are

Spine Thickness at heel 2.2mm

Length on edge 240mm

Overall Length 370mm

Weight 210g

and the Kanetsune Minamoto-Kanemasa 240mm Gyuto,

Spine Thickness at heel 2mm

Length on edge 240mm

Overall Length 370mm

Weight 210g

Out of the box the KAI's fit, finish and are good. It's edge is ok, a purist will want to improved it. I will round the back of the heel where my index finger hits it . It doesn't seem to be problematically flimsy to me. Chefsresource.com says the steel is AUS8; I could not find any confirmation of that, so who knows. Haven't sharpened it yet, but I expect that it's not particularly hard and be easily managed. I bought it to see how I would like a 240mm knife and to practice sharpening. At $52 delivered, it is a good entry level item and a lot for the money for a home knife. If I was going to use it at length every day, I'd probably want more.