# So...



## Lefty (Nov 12, 2014)

I am now the proud new owner of a 52100 gyuto by Erik Fritz JS. He's good friends with Bill Burke, often makes knives alongside him, and he uses his HT recipe for 52100...Anyways...I'll have pics and some fun thoughts tomorrow. 

Just wanted to let you all know that I'm really excited by this. That's all.


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## rdm_magic (Nov 12, 2014)

Can't wait!


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## marc4pt0 (Nov 12, 2014)

Just coming in here and dropping bombs?
Very nice!


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## Fillmoreslimm (Nov 12, 2014)

This, I'm anxious to see!


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## Chefu (Nov 12, 2014)

Pics and review  Has he made kitchen knives before?


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## stereo.pete (Nov 13, 2014)

I've seen a few of his knives now and you can really tell that Burke is a huge influence on his work. Congrats!


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## Lefty (Nov 13, 2014)

Oh, this is a cool knife....


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## pleue (Nov 13, 2014)

Was that the one on blade forums?


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## marc4pt0 (Nov 13, 2014)

Dude, you have TWO fridge units? 'Bout as baller as that knife you got there!


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## Anton (Nov 13, 2014)

very Burke-esque


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## chinacats (Nov 13, 2014)

Is that a hamon or an insanely huge bevel?

Good looking knife btw.


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## Chuckles (Nov 13, 2014)

I am going with oven for the appliance in the bottom of the pic.

Nice looking knife, what's the grind/weight like?


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## marc4pt0 (Nov 13, 2014)

When looking at it on the ol celly, the depth perception was a little off balance. It looked like one of those freezer drawers.
But what's more important is: hows that knife cut? And when can we expect some _good_ clear pics?


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## stereo.pete (Nov 13, 2014)

chinacats said:


> Is that a hamon or an insanely huge bevel?
> 
> Good looking knife btw.



That's a hamon on 52100, Eric Fritz is pretty darn talented.


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## Keith Sinclair (Nov 13, 2014)

Nice blade


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## Lefty (Nov 14, 2014)

Yup, as Pete said, it's a big beautiful hamon. I've been using this blade pretty hard for the past couple of days, and while the profile is not as flat as some of the guys might like, I am really digging it. I use the French style cutting, as I was shown many moons ago, and for me, this profile is really nice. It's a "fast cutter", with no clunking, and it creates a nice rhythm to the action. 

I'm having tons of trouble taking pics that do this one justice, but for now I'll say that this is a really, really comfy knife that feels like it's top quality. The steel feels awesome, and I've noticed zero degradation over some good (albeit home) use. I have a great feeling about this, and will update with a better review, attached to this post soon. 

So, to quickly summarize:

This knife is comfy as hell.
Cuts really well.
Looks and feels like a high-end handmade piece.
Kills it in rocking, or French style cutting.
Has what seems to be a kickass HT. We'll have to wait and see.
The only little things I've noticed so far is that the choil could be rounded more, and that the profile might not be for everyone.


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## muddywaterstones (Nov 14, 2014)

Savage looking knife. Love the deceptive simplicity and clean lines. Man, I'd thought I'd gotten over the whole knife envy thing!


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## Bill Burke (Nov 14, 2014)

Erik is a really good person and has put everything he has into learning the kitchen knife. I think he is getting there. As Eriks knives continue to improve I think he will start to develop his own style of cutlery.


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## Dave Martell (Nov 14, 2014)

Well if that's his starting off point all I can say is that he should do VERY well for himself.


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## EdipisReks (Nov 14, 2014)

Lefty said:


> Oh, this is a cool knife....



Oooh, that looks nice.


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## marc4pt0 (Dec 7, 2014)

Hey Tom, any more input on this guy? Very curious how it's been treating ya


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## Lefty (Dec 7, 2014)

Yeah, I can give a bit of an update, but I'm not ready to do a full review. 

The knife is really well made, with some minor fixes that Erik will be implementing (maybe not all of them) in his upcoming blades. He's really receptive to criticism, and seems to be almost a perfectionist, which is a good thing for us, but can drive a maker nuts.  Anywho, the knife cuts well, to very well, and is tough as nails. It's kind of right between a bruiser and a laser, in terms of how it acts in cuts. While using it, I've never felt an urge to grab for something else, because it does the job really well. 

The profile could use a bit of tweaking, with a longer and lasier belly, and a bit of a drop in the tip. With that being said, if you are used to Euro knives, this thing would be like going from run of the mill Renault to a BMW. It's a badass blade that is tons of fun to use, and the heat treat appears to be other-worldly. 

More later.


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## Benuser (Dec 7, 2014)

A profile to get in love with.


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## marc4pt0 (Dec 7, 2014)

Sounds like I should shoot this Erik guy an email. Oh, wait, adjust did that. Today in fact.
And I look fwd to hearing more, Tom!
Thanks for the quickie


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## mhpr262 (Dec 8, 2014)

Lefty said:


> I use the French style cutting, as I was shown many moons ago,



How does that work? I know the European rock-chop, where the tip always stays on the cutting board, and the push-cut, where the whole blade is lifted off the board and you do both downward and forward cutting motion, with just a tiny bit of rocking when you hit the board (at least that's how push-cut works for me). 

So what's French? Is it just the simple rock-chop by another name?


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## Benuser (Dec 8, 2014)

Rock-chopping is the German way...

http://www.cookfoodgood.com/?p=405


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## Benuser (Dec 9, 2014)

http://www.cookfoodgood.com/?p=399


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## mhpr262 (Dec 10, 2014)

Benuser said:


> Rock-chopping is the German way...
> 
> http://www.cookfoodgood.com/?p=405





> The tip starts down, but not necessarily on the board. If its not on the board, the blade comes down in a push. (With something as low as celery thats as soon as it is on the board, the cutter guillotines the knife, using the arc of the belly to make the edge traverse diagonally through the food. As the flat of the knife comes down on the board, the cutter slides the knife forward.



The description would be more useful if he had used intelligible English ... 

... the blade comes down in a push ... so does it come down vertically? Or do I slide it forward at the same time/cut diagonally (which is how I have always imgined the Japanese push cut works)?

The parenthesis has a beginning, but not an end?

I guillotine my knife? How am I supposed to cut with it when it is cut in half?

The arc of the belly? I always thought the belly IS an arc. Also, I thought French knives do not generally have what is considered a belly. In the next sentence he mentions "when the FLAT of the blade comes down ..."

So after the blade is on the board I slide it forward ... what for? If the flat of the blade touches the cutting board it should already have cut everything on its way.


This explanation sucks. If one of my ESL students had written this it would have been an "F".


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## Benuser (Dec 10, 2014)

To understand it may be helpful to know a guillotine cuts under an angle of some 45 degree. The blade lands with a nose dive. Could it be this is what our German counterparts of messerforum.net call a Zugschnitt?


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## mhpr262 (Dec 10, 2014)

The literal translation of Zugschnitt would be draw cut, and I think this is what is meant - putting the tip on the board, with the heel a good distance off the board, and drawing the blade through the produce with the tip remaining on the board.



> To understand it may be helpful to know a guillotine cuts under an angle of some 45 degree. The blade lands with a nose dive.



So initially the whole blade is off the board, with the tip pointing slightly downwards. 

Then you move it both forward and downward, as if you wanted to stick your knife into the board at a shallow angle. 

When the tip hits the board, you continue pushing forward and lowering the heel until it contacts the board too, then keep pushing the blade forward another little bit.

Is that the French technique?


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## Lefty (Dec 10, 2014)

Sorry, guys. I didn't mean to start a conversation about hanging participles, redundancy, and general sentence structure, but when there's a chance to learn and/or teach, why not take it, right? 

Here is exactly what I mean, when I write "French style cutting technique". Notice how Mr. Pepin pushes the knife forward, as it is going down into the food being cut. There is also a gentle rock incorporated into the motion, for good measure, or perhaps for ergonomics/moving with the natural flow of the body.

[video=youtube_share;1y5h1pDHhzs]http://youtu.be/1y5h1pDHhzs[/video]


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## Lizzardborn (Dec 10, 2014)

For a moment I got scared when he used his petty to remove the stem. I would have needed stitches with my clumsy hands.

But it is nice to see.


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## Zwiefel (Dec 10, 2014)

In my opinion, your comments here are unnecessarily contentious and border on the ad hominem even as they stray from the topic. Please keep a tighter rein on your tone. 



mhpr262 said:


> The description would be more useful if he had used intelligible English ...
> 
> ... the blade comes down in a push ... so does it come down vertically? Or do I slide it forward at the same time/cut diagonally (which is how I have always imgined the Japanese push cut works)?
> 
> ...


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## cheflarge (Dec 10, 2014)

WOW, did this ever end up going in a weird direction! :-( Dammit, Lefty gets all the cool stuff!  One awfully beautiful knife, Tom. Please keep us posted.


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## mhpr262 (Dec 10, 2014)

Lefty said:


> Here is exactly what I mean, when I write "French style cutting technique". Notice how Mr. Pepin pushes the knife forward, as it is going down into the food being cut. There is also a gentle rock incorporated into the motion, for good measure, or perhaps for ergonomics/moving with the natural flow of the body.




All right, I see what you mean. But what is the difference to the Japanes "push cut" then? Are there good videos that show that technique? Maybe you can pm me if that would stray to far.



> In my opinion, your comments here are unnecessarily contentious and border on the ad hominem even as they stray from the topic.



Sorry if it came across that way, it is just pretty frustrating and annoying to try and make sense out of a paragraph that explicitly seeks to teach but doesn't make an effort to view things through the reader's eyes. I doubt the author will ever see my post unless he stumbles across this forum :biggrin:


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## Zwiefel (Dec 10, 2014)

mhpr262 said:


> I doubt the author will ever see my post unless he stumbles across this forum :biggrin:



I had to go back and re-read, I thought both of the quotes were of Benuser, one one from him and one from the video. Still, not a great tone.


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## Benuser (Dec 10, 2014)

I can only dream of writing BDL's English.


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## Zwiefel (Dec 10, 2014)

Benuser said:


> I can only dream of writing BDL's English.



We all need aspirations.


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## Mangelwurzel (Dec 10, 2014)

I think mhpr's comments were directed at the blog. It's fair comment really as BDL is known as a bit of a windbag around these parts


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## Benuser (Dec 10, 2014)

You may not agree with some of BDL's assertions, do not like his style, but calling him a windbag is a bit easy and unnecessary depreciative as he doesn't take part in this discussion.


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## Mangelwurzel (Dec 10, 2014)

Windbag is a term that has been used on here before. I suppose it is easy to repeat that as I'm merely relaying that information. He does however come across as patronising and a bit of a know-it-all. It is therefore right that he be subject to a more rigorous level of criticism.


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## Benuser (Dec 10, 2014)

I feel a bit uneasy when you relay on others to justify the use of an unnecessarily depreciative term.


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## marc4pt0 (Dec 10, 2014)

Soooooo... Back to that Erik Fritz Knife anybody?


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## Lefty (Dec 10, 2014)

Oh yeah. That old thing...it still kills prep. And I haven't even stropped it....


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