# Raquin nakiri passaround (US only)



## ian

Hi all,

@bryan03 has very generously made a nakiri just for us undeserving KKFers to use in a passaround! The point here is to get some more first hand reviews of Bryan's knives out there, not that he doesn't have a billion fans already.



Specs

185mm heel to tip, 55mm tall at the heel
145sc core steel, xc10 cladding
Weight = 179g

Rules

There will be 10 participants, US only. To indicate your interest, please reply to this thread, but _participation is limited to extremely well known KKF members. _For instance, if you've been on the site less than 2 years, or have < 500 posts, or don't think of yourself as a very proficient sharpener, it's probably not worth it to ask to participate. Since there are only 10 spots, it's unlikely that everyone interested and qualified will be able to participate anyway. _Edit: maybe this comes off a bit high and mighty. Apologies. I’d love it if everyone could have a shot at it, but to complete the PA in a reasonable amount of time, and without destroying the knife, it makes the most sense to structure it as above._

If you're chosen, you can use the knife for a week, and you should post a thorough review of the knife to this thread. The knife should be shipped fully insured for $500, say. If you break the knife, you buy it, and if the knife gets lost in transit and you didn't insure it, you buy it. You can sharpen the knife upon arrival, but _please sharpen as minimally as possible_, and don't sharpen before sending it out. The main reason we are limiting the PA to only extremely well known members is so that it doesn't lose 1.5mm in height after 6 people, like in the Magnacut PA. If you're picked, remember that we're trusting you not to destroy the knife. Sidewalks are for walking on, not for sharpening Bryan's knives. 

At the end of the PA, I'll pick a participant at random, and that participant has the option to receive the knife, as long as they then make a contribution to the Red Cross.


----------



## Troopah_Knives

Wow, that is an epic pass around!


----------



## kpham12

Interested please! Been wanting to try a Raquin!


----------



## pgugger

I’m interested, if you decide to include the merely “well-known”.


----------



## ethompson

I’d definitely be interested as a nakiri lover! I bet his geometry sings with this profile.


----------



## blokey

Whoa, definitely interested, I want to try his work for a long time now.

Edit: Woops just saw the requirement, very reasonable give the high value of the knife, good luck to those who able to participate.


----------



## HumbleHomeCook

Not putting myself in the mix but wanted to say that this is very cool and @ethompson should definitely be highly considered for inclusion.


----------



## timebard

Not sure if my reputation is up to snuff but I'd love to give this rectangle a spin.


----------



## ch_br

.


----------



## AT5760

I’d be interested


----------



## Chang

Interesteddddd, don't get enough play with nakiris


----------



## sansho

definitely interested


----------



## pleue

In if available


----------



## Carl Kotte

Just here to say ’wow!’, ’godspeed!’… and to assert my status as an extremely well known KKF member (outside the US)!


----------



## JayS20

@Carl Kotte You should orgenize a PA for us European plebs


----------



## SolidSnake03

I’m in!

If you’ll accept me that is


----------



## DavidScubadiver

I don’t qualify but would like to say that I would never sharpen another man’s tool.


----------



## Carl Kotte

JayS20 said:


> @Carl Kotte You should orgenize a PA for us European plebs


I’m not sure I’m that well known.


----------



## JayS20

Carl Kotte said:


> I’m not sure I’m that well known


I Believe in you

But ain't that easy. I did a PA on the German knife forum with Radiona Breg when he was pretty unknown. Also one with Lundbergs.
Spare still owes me one and Gravier. Milan and I wanted to do one for over a year now, also European KKFers included. Always got postponed, he's quite busy.


----------



## NotAddictedYet

Brb need to make 300 more posts... /s

Looking forward to the reviews


----------



## Dan-

NotAddictedYet said:


> Brb need to make 300 more posts... /s
> 
> Looking forward to the reviews


Seriously. Can I request video of someone tap chopping as quickly as possible 1/16” slices through half an onion, some kind of stiction (ginger?), and a wedge test with bonus cracking sound? Pretty please?


----------



## ian

Ok, everyone. Here's a list.

@ethompson (TX)
@timebard (UT)
@AT5760 (NE)
@Chang (PA)
@sansho (IL)
@pleue (OR)
@SolidSnake03 (NE)
@pgugger (NY)
@kpham12 (MD)
@captaincaed (PNW)

If you're listed, and your location isn't, please reply to the thread indicating the state you're located in, or message me if you prefer. I'll update the order of the list once I figure out where people are.


----------



## SolidSnake03

ian said:


> Ok, everyone. Here's a list.
> 
> @ethompson (TX)
> @timebard (UT)
> @AT5760
> @Chang (PA)
> @sansho
> @pleue
> @SolidSnake03 (Nevada, right?)
> @pgugger (NY)
> @kpham12
> @captaincaed (PNW)
> 
> If you're listed, and your location isn't, please reply to the thread indicating the state you're located in, or message me if you prefer. I'll update the order of the list once I figure out where people are.


I’m in Nebraska 

But I did live in Nevada in the past


----------



## kpham12

ian said:


> Ok, everyone. Here's a list.
> 
> @ethompson (TX)
> @timebard (UT)
> @AT5760
> @Chang (PA)
> @sansho
> @pleue
> @SolidSnake03 (Nevada, right?)
> @pgugger (NY)
> @kpham12
> @captaincaed (PNW)
> 
> If you're listed, and your location isn't, please reply to the thread indicating the state you're located in, or message me if you prefer. I'll update the order of the list once I figure out where people are.


Thanks for the inclusion! Based in Maryland.


----------



## sansho

radical

i'm in IL


----------



## pleue

I’m in Portand so happy to be batched wherever, I’m in no rush


----------



## ian

pleue said:


> Portand



I will assume you mean OR!


----------



## pleue

Hahah yes portland OR


----------



## bryan03

sounds good 
let me know if you have questions.


----------



## Chang

Siiiiick


----------



## ian

Will post an ordered list tomorrow… it’s been a rough work week. Will send the knife out this weekend.


----------



## ian

Ok, here's the list. @pgugger, message me your address and I'll mail it out in the next few days.

In general, when you get the knife, use it for a week, write a review, and contact the next person to ask for their address. As a reminder, shipping should be insured for $500 unless you want to shoulder the risk yourself. 

@pgugger (NY)
@Chang (PA)
@kpham12 (MD)
@sansho (IL)
@ethompson (TX)
@SolidSnake03 (NE)
@AT5760 (NE)
@timebard (UT)
@pleue (OR)
@captaincaed (PNW)


----------



## ethompson

Can’t wait, thanks for organizing!


----------



## captaincaed

Awesome thank you Ian!
 for sharpening?

I want to throw down a challenge. Let’s all pick one type of produce (onion, carrot, tater, whatever). Everyone cuts it in their own style on video. That way we can see changes over time. I’m curious to see how much sharpening really has an impact, and when. I often wonder if it’s a gradual change or sudden, and it’s an uncommon opportunity to see it happen in a relatively short span of time.

I vote onion, horizontal and vertical cuts. 

Anyone? Bueller?


----------



## pleue

Sure sounds fun


----------



## Chang

captaincaed said:


> Awesome thank you Ian!
> for sharpening?
> 
> I want to throw down a challenge. Let’s all pick one type of produce (onion, carrot, tater, whatever). Everyone cuts it in their own style on video. That way we can see changes over time. I’m curious to see how much sharpening really has an impact, and when. I often wonder if it’s a gradual change or sudden, and it’s an uncommon opportunity to see it happen in a relatively short span of time.
> 
> I vote onion, horizontal and vertical cuts.
> 
> Anyone? Bueller?



I’m gonna fruit ninja everything in my house. Hope @kpham12 likes bent edges!


----------



## kpham12

Chang said:


> I’m gonna fruit ninja everything in my house. Hope @kpham12 likes bent edges!


How did you know? I actually refuse to use a knife unless the edge is severely bent.


----------



## ethompson

Can’t wait to test out my new belt grinder


----------



## ian

All your jokes are very funny, respected passaround participants.


----------



## captaincaed

Jokes?


----------



## SolidSnake03

I could use some iron to unclog my Shapton 120, this knife should work


----------



## M1k3

kpham12 said:


> How did you know? I actually refuse to use a knife unless the edge is severely bent.


Have you heard of TF knives? They're right up your alley.


----------



## ian

I just sent off the knife to @pgugger. It's been a rough week, so I'll leave the video-making to the rest of y'all, but here are my thoughts on the knife.

Bottom line: it cuts super well. It has a near perfect food release / separation balance, imo. The KT's that I tried previously were a bit wedgier than I like, although some people swear by them. This one was just delicious. It's not a laser, so you can expect a little bit of cracking on really hard produce, but I much prefer the way it cuts to the lasers I've had.

The handle is comfy, but there's no surprise there, since I've always loved Bryan's handles. The burnt oak is nice and grippy, and I like the size of the handle and the balance of the knife. The profile is great. It took me a couple times to get used to the slight angle of the edge to the handle (if you hold the handle horizontal, the edge at the heel points up a bit), and I generally prefer knives with less of an angle like that, since then my elbow can stay lower, but I got used to it in a day or so and didn't notice it after that.

It's a really attractive knife. There are a few stray grind marks near the shinogi and at the heel, which I feel compelled to mention because many KKFers seem to be all about the fit and finish, but imo they don't detract at all from the beauty of the knife.

I didn't touch the knife to stone or strop, since it came with a nice edge from Byan. Edge retention seems pretty good. While I wouldn't expect the edge to degrade much with a week and a bit of home use, it kept the initial freshly sharpened bite for a decently long time. Tomato skins definitely resist it more now than a week ago, but that's the only difference I feel. 

In sum, I'm just pissed off right now that I don't get to keep the thing. I sold all my other fancy knives a while back, and it was so good to use something made by a master, rather than the imperfectly ground home creations or cheapo knives I mostly use nowadays.


----------



## pgugger

I just shipped to @Chang this morning. Here is my review:

*F&F*
The knife has a great rustic look that Raquin knives are known for. The burnt oak handle is a nice confluence of aesthetics and function, as it is easy to grip. Balances nicely in hand, though I don't recall the exact balance point, and has a confident feel.

*Grind and Profile*
Grind is sort of a low wide-bevel, I guess you could say. There are subtle shoulders that impact cutting (more on that below). Profile is not quite the typical rectangle - the edge rises a bit (blade height diminishes) as you progress towards the distal end. This aspect didn't bother me at all, but it's a bit different from my other nakiris.

*Sharpening*
When I received the knife, I felt it needed some sharpening. I started by trying to see if I could refresh it on an aizu, but the steel seemed a bit resistant, or at least it abraded too slowly for my patience at the moment. So, I switched to synthetics and used Naniwa Pro 800 and 3000 - brief and light on each. Sharpened easily on these, though a bit more glassy feeling and slower to abrade than many of the Japanese Hitachi steel knives I own. Not a bad thing, just an observation.

*Performance*
I didn't use the knife nearly as much as I had hoped, but I prepped maybe half a dozen meals at home throughout the week with a variety of produce. It cuts well overall. I especially liked it on soft to medium hardness produce, including onions, which I cut in all kinds of ways from mince to slice (sorry, no video). There was definitely some wedging/resistance on hard foods, which in my experience this week included regular potatoes. Wedging wasn't a huge issue, but I have several other workhorse knives that do not wedge on potatoes, so I was a little surprised. I think it relates to the low shoulders, which I might be tempted to round off a little if I owned the knife. Unfortunately, I did not feel that food release was much improved by these shoulders, but perhaps I just did not cut enough to notice the difference. 

*Edge Retention*
I definitely did not use the knife enough to test edge retention, so the next in line should be receiving a pretty sharp knife  

*The Competition*
I have a couple other nakiris but the main one I like is my Toyama 180 mm stainless clad, which is actually quite similar in weight and dimensions to the Raquin nakiri. I also used to own the Watanabe Pro KU 180 mm, but sold it recently because Toyama nakiri > Watanabe nakiri. Comparing to Raquin, I prefer the performance on my Toyama because it does not wedge (and maybe I am a little biased as a big Toyama fan), but the Raquin wins on aesthetics and its performance is approaching what I remember about the Watanabe (which wedges a bit too, but a little higher up away from the edge). Given that the Watanabe is probably one of the most highly regarded nakiris out there, this should definitely be seen as a compliment to the Raquin nakiri.

Really happy I finally had the opportunity to try a Raquin knife. Thanks again to @ian and @bryan03!


----------



## NotAddictedYet

kpham12 said:


> How did you know? I actually refuse to use a knife unless the edge is severely bent.


It's no fun using sharp knives with those big guns of yours. You could punch a cabbage and it would just fall into perfectly even thin slices.


----------



## Chang

i'm caressing the knife as we speak. will update when she moves on, dumping me for the next guy.


----------



## kpham12

Wanted to update the thread real quick. I received the Raquin 3 days ago. Upon inspection, I saw the edge was getting a little thick and there was a small hiccup in the profile right near the heel. I messaged @ian who approved a wide bevel sharpening to fix problem and restore the knife back to OOTB geometry. 

I worked slowly and carefully, doing most of the work on a hard 800 grit stone as to not noticeably change geometry besides behind the edge and tweaking the profile slightly. Got it back to a near zero grind pretty quickly. Bevels were super easy to work on. Put a working kasumi finish on the knife using synths. Plan to actually test the knife out for a few days and ship it out to the next member in line.


----------



## Chang

Sorry guys, a bunch of different shits hit my fan and I’ve just been too damn occupied. Won’t get into it, but basically, I didn’t really get to try the knife as much as I’d wanted to.

BUT, from what I’ve tried, these are my thoughts:


As usual from Bryan, the distal taper is delicious. Thick at the pinch, thin at the tip. Fit and finish is rustic, but clean, which is the point. No glue lines, the burnt handle doesn’t bleed or feel rough, the blade is straight, the ku doesn’t feel unbearable to the touch, and there are no weird inclusions. Overall, extremely solid example of what one should expect from a western knife.
The grind is very sturdy, but just not at a level where I usually like it to be. If the knife was to be thinned a bit, possibly bringing the shinogi up a little bit, then I’m sure the knife will perform excellently. (the issue @kpham12 addressed)
Heat treat is bulletproof….I think, didn’t get enough time to truly test it, but from how the other Raquin’s felt that I’ve used/owned/sharpened, it feels similar on the stones.

I’m pretty sure I hit all the points I wanted to, but I’ll add to this post if needed. Thank you @ian and @bryan03 for this generous opportunity. Stay sexy, men of knives.

EDIT: No, I am _not_ sexist.


----------



## kpham12

Firstly, thanks so much to @bryan03 and @ian for the chance to participate in this passaround! First one I’ve been a part of since joining the forum so I’ll try to be thorough in my experience.

As stated in the previous post, upon receiving the knife, I did a wide bevel sharpening to get the knife back to OOTB thinness and then was able to test it for several days and do a decent amount of prep with it.

The Raquin has a low wide bevel grind like what I usually associate with Heiji or Tosa/Zakuri knives, but the bevels are somewhat convexed into the shinogi so the shoulders are not as hard. This allows the knife to retain a lot of the good food release elements of this kind of grind with less wedging/cracking in dense foods. Also, the cross-sectional thickness of the shinogi is not as wide as some of these other knives and it has a better taper which contributes to smoother cutting of foods taller than the bevel. This particular knife has a right hand bias as well which helps with more precise cuts as the edge is offset to the left closer to the guide hand.

A downside of this geometry is that the grind thickens up quickly from the thin edge. This is the case with pretty much all the low wide bevel knives I’ve tried or can think of, it’s just a trade-off for this kind of grind. After a few touch ups of just the edge, you will notice the edge start to get thick quicker than something with a high wide bevel or full convex grind.

On the other hand, the knife shines when you have to power through lots of prep without slowing down. Nothing sticks to it and there is absolutely no suctioning where you have to kind of pull and claw a slice of whatever you are cutting off the knife. This seems like a small thing, but in a high volume setting, it saves a lot of time overall.

With the size of the wide bevels on this Raquin, it is extremely easy to do a wide bevel sharpening and get a decent finish on the bevels, much like a Takeda. This means maintenance thinning and keeping the knife thin BTE is super easy which offsets how the geometry thickens up above the edge.

The 145sc steel compares favorably to any of the harder HTs of white 1/2 and other low alloy carbon steels I’ve tried. Super crisp edge taking. Easy to raise a burr and it breaks off cleanly. Edge retention is above average for a simple carbon steel and the peak, fresh off the stones sharpness is very aggressive and keen. Bites into the cutting board like crazy. Very slight microchipping after prolonged use which doesn’t affect overall performance and is consistent with other steels I’ve tried of a similar composition at high hardness and with a nail flexing thin edge like TF white 1. Played around with a couple stones and you can take the steel to a pretty high grit without losing all the bite in the edge.

Great fit and finish, comfortable handle and good balance makes the knife suitable for long periods of use without hand fatigue or discomfort.

Knife looks cool as hell without being flashy. I’m pretty sure the cladding has some waves or banding or something in it that a good polisher could make really pop.

All in all, Mr. Raquin obviously knows how to make an exceptional knife. I think the grind is not for everyone, but those who appreciate its strong points will really enjoy it. Personally, as someone who has worked in a kitchen doing lots of prep, I would love something longer and heavier, a 240-270 gyuto with this kind of grind and more weight behind it would absolutely blast through everything in front of it.

Testing video after several days of prep with paper towel test at the end. The knife could no longer cut clean curves in the paper towel, but was clearly still plenty sharp. Tip/front corner can do horizontal/vertical cuts on an onion well enough, but I imagine a gyuto tip would be better. Also, performance through the large apple was surprisingly smooth.


----------



## sansho

knife received. it looks great. zero booboos.

thanks to @bryan03, @ian, @kpham12, and the rest of the participants.

the edge on it is already great. all i did was give it a few strokes on 10µ diamond strop and a few on a plain strop. i don't want to waste metal. if i use it enough, maybe the next guy can find occasion to sharpen it.












schwing!

i'm going to see if i can get my hands on a takeda nas nakiri on monday. should be a fun comparison.


----------



## sansho

here's my little write up 





_("nice mazakis")_

the handle is very comfortable, rustic, and elegant. texturally pleasing. it also smells nice. i know, i'm a weirdo who smells things. not sure why, but it smells kind of sweet and oceanic like nori. the burn is deep and even with excess carbon well removed. also not slippery when wet.

the choil and spine are well rounded and polished. the choil is basically mirror polished, and it has kind of a smooth "knot" in it. not sure what's up with that, but it feels nice to run your finger over it.

the knife got a wide bevel sharpening right before i received it, so i got a feel for its reactivity. i would say it is pretty reactive. a bit more reactive than the exposed aogami on my ss-clad hitohira y tanaka x kyuzo but less reactive than my shirogami monosteel miura itadaki series y tanaka (the most reactive knife i've used). it's significantly more reactive than kamon's 1.2519, which seems basically semi-stainless to me.

this is the first full carbon knife i've had with KU finish. it's pretty charming. is that 100% how it ends up after forging, or was it painted with something to enhance the color/oxidation?

i really regret not being able to compare it to my takeda NAS nakiri, but my brother has it, and i couldn't get it back from him this week.

i'm not good at describing knife performance, but i'll take a crack at it. it's decently thin immediately behind the edge, but i felt more resistance than most of my other knives (like denka or kamon s-grind gyutos) when going through tall, dense produce like a whole potato. it has noticeable distal taper, but using the front part of the knife didn't seem to help as much as i expected. food release was pretty good. for shorter ingredients, it's on par with my kamon s-grind, but it surpasses it on taller ingredients. i think this is because the s-grind is only on the lower part of the knife, and it's a pretty darn tall blade. despite having an s-grind, the kamon food release isn't mind blowing. i guess it can't work miracles given how relatively thin the grind is, and that's the compromise. good cutter, and good food release for what it is. back to the raquin, i suspect the KU is doing good things for food release. most stuff that did stick could be gently shaken off (except e.g. paper thin slices of whole potatoes).

a sweet knife all in all.

i sincerely thank you for letting me participate. this is the first raquin knife i've seen in person, and i really appreciate the opportunity to see his work firsthand.


----------



## ethompson

Knife arrived safely in my hands this tonight! Can’t wait to give it a thorough testing


----------



## ethompson

This nakiri is an great performer. The harder you use it the more it comes alive and it really balances release and separation well. @bryan03 145sc is an all time great steel, there is absolutely nothing I'd change about it. Great retention, very easy to sharpen, flatters even an amateur. This xc10 cladding also has interest - more on that later. 

I do wish the blade was closer to 58mm tall and I wish it carried more height all the way through the "tip." This kind feels like a sawed off gyuto rather than a nakiri.... Along side that I'd like to shift the balance back a touch to keep it nimble. So either the tang needs to stay thick through the handle or it needs a heavier wood (former option is better than latter). The handle is extremely comfortable, as all of Bryan's burnt oak is.

Side benefit of this profile is that it isn't prone to warping like some Racquins are. It's NOT a fault of the maker, but a side-effect of the high performance forging. I've handled 5 of them now and this is the only one that hasn't needed straightening. 

This is the only nakiri that can rival my old-stock iron clad Takeda. Incredible knife, truly


----------



## ian

ethompson said:


> Side benefit of this profile is that it isn't prone to warping like some Racquins are. It's NOT a fault of the maker, but a side-effect of the high performance forging. I've handled 5 of them now and this is the only one that hasn't needed straightening.



Curious: what do you mean about the profile making it not prone to warping?


----------



## ethompson

ian said:


> Curious: what do you mean about the profile making it not prone to warping?


Guess just that it’s not long and relatively tall throughout that length. So profile was a poor choice of words I suppose. The other Racquins I’ve used have been 250+ gyuto and the front 1/2 has been so thin throughout that the knife would be easily bent just in hand. That also means easily straightened… but still I had to tap them all straight none the less. I see the same thing with thinner iron clad Takeda


----------



## ian

Ya, totally agree that lotsa thin clad knives do get tip bends and that this one would be less prone.


----------



## ethompson

Didn’t want to go too low in a polishing progression to preserve steel, but there is definitely some fine action in the mild steel clad. This is something I’m learning - low carbon steel clad is maybe more likely than iron to have nice banding, but requires quite a refined polish to bring it out.


----------

