Worth the price
Thought I'd have a little foray into higher end kitchen knives. This entry-level high-end knife was a plausible starting point, though £110 did seem a bit of an ask for a simple paring knife. Presentation in the box is immaculate - the blade comes protected in its own transparent sheath. The blade grind is strikingly precise and fine, with vertical micro-ribbing on the L/H side. Quite large as paring knives go - may add versatility. Overall length: 22.5 cm. Blade length: 11.8 cm. Edge length: 10.5 cm. Actual weight: 51.2 g. Curiously, out of the box it wasn't sharp at all. I could literally run my finger along the edge without getting cut. Some buyers might be bothered. I'm OK with this. I'll be maintaining the edge so it'll be as sharp as I want. Steel quality and blade geometry are what count. CTS-BD1 steel was created by Carpenter Technologies around 2010 for Sal Glesser. It was a copy of Hitachi's discontinued Gingami No.1 tool steel, as used in the blade of Spyderco's first folding knife - the Worker (1981). Around 2014, Carpenter upgraded it to CTS-BD1N, adding ~0.15% nitrogen and raising the HRC from 58-60 to 60-63. I reprofiled the edge to 30 degrees (which the factory edge was close to). This steel is surprisingly hard - actually a pleasure to sharpen and use. Holds a 30 degree edge no problem. Gets one or two shiny spots towards the tip where it mostly lands on the chopping board. The sharp corner at the heel of the blade was a liability - always catching my finger and snagging the towel - so I snipped it off with a mini bolt cutter and radiused it to ~3 mm. The tall blade (2.5 cm at the centre), thin spine (1.73 mm above the Spyder symbol, 1.49 mm at the "elbow") and just 0.28 mm behind-the-edge thickness enable this knife to glide through foods, cutting straight without pulling either way and with minimal splitting of harder items like apples and carrots. The handle is comfortable and fairly grippy. The knife balances 1.5 cm into the handle and lies flat on the counter, with the blade horizontal. The spine's flattish section beyond the elbow is good for sweeping food across the chopping board, rather than raking it across with the edge and blunting it. Seven weeks in, the true beauty of this knife emerges as its no-frills simplicity - a precision blade in a plain handle. Worth £110? Definitely - I use it all the time. The HH checkout page said next day delivery wouldn't actually be next day (due to postal strikes). The knife still arrived next day. Under-promise and over-deliver is a good ethos!
