# CJA Edged Art / Scorpion Forge 200mm 'Extra Heavy' Gyuto



## V1P

Hi everyone, I am the proud owner of this knife and cannot wait to use it when it arrives. I also want to show off my new purchase [emoji6].

The specs are :

W2 tool steel
200mm edge length
54 mm height at heel
4 mm spine at the heel
175 g weight
Handle material : stabilized spalted deep-compression koa, nickel silver and 165-year old wrought iron spacers
Handle type : multi-faceted dual taper design, for extra comfort, weight reduction and aids forward balance.

I would like to share my positive experience in building this knife together with Cris Anderson of Scorpion Forge. This felt more like a collaboration because he let me in every step of the way. Found him from social medias and liked his knife profiles.

This guy is a knife artist, he has this thing to get a feel of the blade from the hamon pattern, then to the handle materials and execution, and lastly to the leather saya. He was always thinking about making the knife better, even when everything had been decided. My knife had gone through 3 main handle material choices until we found this one, each change better than the last. Getting the new material to arrive was bad for business, which meant taking longer to send my knife out of the door and receiving payment but he exceeded all expectations.

Do not be tricked that Cris only prioritized the looks of the package, his knives are form follows function. He relentlessly tested each of his knives on produce and improve them every time.

I am no expert in different type of knife grinds and stuff but I have had quite a few knives, both off the shelf and customs. There are a few areas that I know I like but the truth is in the pudding. I will know it after the first few cuts, working as a pro chef in a commercial kitchen. My wishes to Cris were for the knife to have heft, no flex, laser tip and thin edge. I let him worked on his grinds for food separation and minimal wedging. The 2 wrought iron spacers placed close together was intentional, to balance the heft of the knife in use.

I will update when I get the knife.


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## Godslayer

Nice 54mm for a 200mm is a tall ass knife. I bet it will destroy veg but also looks pointed enough to do well with protein and protein prep. Im insainly jealous.


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## V1P

Godslayer said:


> Nice 54mm for a 200mm is a tall ass knife. I bet it will destroy veg but also looks pointed enough to do well with protein and protein prep. Im insainly jealous.



That was the whole point all along, an all-rounder knife. By the way, the 'extra heavy' in the title is comparing it to his other knives, which would be roughly 125g-130g for the same length.


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## jimbob

Thats some dramatic taper, 4mm at spine over 200 blade. Beautiful tones in the wood, just has that "i want to hold" vibe. Nice score.


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## CrisAnderson27

Mistaken post!


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## V1P

jimbob said:


> Thats some dramatic taper, 4mm at spine over 200 blade. Beautiful tones in the wood, just has that "i want to hold" vibe. Nice score.



This is how the block of wood looked like originally.


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## Cheeks1989

Wow!! Really beautiful.


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## aboynamedsuita

Looks nice, can't wait for the review.


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## marc4pt0

Perfect


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## cheflarge

Kinda jealous! :doublethumbsup: :cool2: :bliss:


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## Mucho Bocho

Chris does awesome work. Had a chance to handle one of his Gyutohiki's at the 2015 ECG and out of over a hundred knives there, I still remember the feel and cutability of that one.


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## V1P

Mucho Bocho said:


> Chris does awesome work. Had a chance to handle one of his Gyutohiki's at the 2015 ECG and out of over a hundred knives there, I still remember the feel and cutability of that one.



Thanks for the compliments, guys. I should be more jealous of you guys in USA, quite a few knut gatherings there every year. The only way I can try a knife is to buy it [emoji12]


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## XooMG

Hope the knife makes you happy. Cris wanted me to try it because he thought I'd be impressed, if that means anything.


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## MadDurrr

Holy hell, that blade is a beaut for sure.

I've appreciated the slight tapers my knives have offered compared to the old boxy westerns I own. My question is, how do you like the duel taper's feel and function in hand compared to the standard octagonal? Such a radical departure it seems... at least in my newbie eyes. Please do check back in after you've put it through the ringer. :knife:


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## V1P

Robert, I think this one would be a different beast to yours, mostly in feel and forward balance, which were important to me.

MarDurr: As for the dual taper, I believe XooMG would be able to chime in because he has the first dual taper handle from Cris Anderson.


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## V1P

Here are the photos showing the tip and choil area.


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## V1P

Here is another one, top view of the handle, to show the dual taper.


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## V1P

Here is a quick update on this knife. A quote from Cris :

"And the replacement getup for Ferry's 200mm extra heavy gyuto. I was doing some work on it prior to shipping it out, and saw a gap at the ferrule. A bit of pressure separated the joint. Soooo, I took it apart and cleaned it, then glued it up. Ground it lightly to clean up any minute misalignment, and saw another gap...so I twisted, and it separated behind the metal. Pulled it apart, cleaned it up, and reglued it. I did this four times, with three different kinds of high heat epoxy, and it failed repeatedly. All I can figure was the initial joints were compromised by the initial 3yr old glue and the high heat generated by grinding the thick wrought iron spacers to shape ...and since the handle had already been mounted and was full of beeswax, the heat from the subsequent grindings made the wax wick further into the joints like flux...at which point it acted like a release agent for the epoxy/glue. I was pretty devastated...it was my first full failure on a handle, and the block of koa was...well, lets just say 'not cheap'. But I'm grateful it happened in my hands, rather than in Ferry's all the way in Australia."

I was promised an even better replacement handle and here are the sneak peeks [emoji6].


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## EdipisReks

that is a beauty!


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## Dave Martell

Oh no he lost that koa!?! I hate to hear this and I feel his pain.


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## V1P

EdipisReks said:


> that is a beauty!



Thanks, buddy!

Dave: Yes Dave, we were both heartbroken but **** happens and life goes on. Anyway, this one is gonna be even better, no harm done.


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## Dave Martell

Yeah it sucks when something like that happens, sucks for everyone involved but like you said **** happens. Also like you said you'll end up with something even better, that's usually the way. Still sucks though...


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## V1P

I believe that it sucked more for Cris than for me, I get a nicer handle [emoji16].

Anyway, here is a video of the knife with the new handle (still a few more buffing process and wax to be applied).



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


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## steelcity

I really like Cris's work. I'm waiting for him to start dabbling in stainless.


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## marc4pt0

I always forget why Cris calls it Scorpion Forge. That video is certainly a reminder, some great f'n knives coming out of that desert there.


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## V1P

steelcity said:


> I really like Cris's work. I'm waiting for him to start dabbling in stainless.



I am mostly a stainless guy as well but I decided to cross over to the dark side [emoji16]. I have planned to use the knife at home for a while, develop a stable patina then bring it to work. 

Marc, I don't wanna see the reason it's called scorpion forge, lol.


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## skiajl6297

I am seriously excited to hear how this sucker performs. In the passaround, the ONE thing I really wished for was some more meat on the bones, and this sounds freaking fantastic, and looks spectacular! Can't wait to hear more - you have good taste sir!


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## V1P

skiajl6297 said:


> I am seriously excited to hear how this sucker performs. In the passaround, the ONE thing I really wished for was some more meat on the bones, and this sounds freaking fantastic, and looks spectacular! Can't wait to hear more - you have good taste sir!



Yes, mine is the first 'extra thick' one from Cris. I believed that this would be an option now, if you order from him. Same as you, I would like more heft and authority when cutting. This was one of the main requirements when I placed the order, next to height at heel and thin tip. I let him work his magic on minimal wedging and food separation.


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## marc4pt0

I've had one in the works with Cris for quite some time. These were also my specs as well. I think his knives are skinny little pieces of miracles, but I just desire some heft along the spine and I like my heel height. We've been bouncing ideas off one another for over a year. By this I mean my one or two ideas to his many. He's a great guy to talk with. Most of the time I feel stupid when we chat. Cris is a Wealth of knowledge, which is second only to his passion.


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## V1P

Marc, I agree with you on all accounts, he is a wealth of knowledge. Not only on knives but other things as well. Also, he would not send out any knife in less than perfect condition and I thought I had high standard.


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## rick_english

How did they get the light inside the handle?


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## V1P

rick_english said:


> How did they get the light inside the handle?



Small LEDs, of course [emoji6]


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## V1P

Here's the new unpolished handle with mokume, nickel silver & wrought iron set up.


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## Cheeks1989

Ferry I keep comming back to this thread it is just stunning. Can't wait to hear how it performs.


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## CutFingers

Nice...robust, tall and semi compact, those are features people who work in kitchens need.


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## V1P

Lol, the performance side will have to wait a little longer as Cris is still finishing on the handle. He is currently playing around with patina on the mokume and wrought iron, to better match the handle wood.

Here are photos of the progress of only the wrought :











Cutfingers: those specs tick all my boxes!


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## V1P

New handle still in progress. Currently trying out different patina on the wrought iron and mokume, for the overall look of the whole knife. This is the video showing what we ended up with.

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


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## V1P

Everything is pretty much finished, except for final sharpening. If you notice, the blade has been repolished and the end result slightly different than the first iteration. 

The first one was more traditional and pretty much mirror finished. This one has more dramatic in-your-face hamon, the lower area darker but overall still high polish. I think this better suits the whole look and feel of the whole knife.

[video=youtube_share;iGJ045Wc_fU]http://youtu.be/iGJ045Wc_fU[/video]


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## V1P

More updates : 

[video=youtube_share;afOu3cyIBEw]http://youtu.be/afOu3cyIBEw[/video]

[video=youtube_share;tnsXO__jB3Q]http://youtu.be/tnsXO__jB3Q[/video]


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## V1P

Here are the eye candies :


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## oldcookie

I was looking at Cris's work on another forum, saw this knife, and thought whoever is getting it is one lucky guy. Then I come back here and see this post.  Very envious.


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## V1P

Thanks for the kind words.Yes, I am the lucky owner, cannot wait for it to arrive.


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## V1P

Just a quick update :

This knife has arrived in Australia but currently held in customs [emoji22]. I wished they would hurry up so I get to use it for a bit before I go on holiday.

I'm really glad I put my order in when I did, it seems like Cris is closing his book in a week. Anyone on the fence on ordering from him better get on quick. I read from his Scorpion Forge FB page that he does not require a deposit currently, but will again when he reopens.


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## mikedtran

Love Cris' work, was wondering (if it got through customs) and how you have been enjoying it! After seeing your post last month I actually added myself to Cris' books!


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## V1P

mikedtran said:


> Love Cris' work, was wondering (if it got through customs) and how you have been enjoying it! After seeing your post last month I actually added myself to Cris' books!



It got through customs! When it arrived, I had to go overseas on vacation the next day. I am currently just getting used to the knife with home use and slowly building a stable patina.

Work is kind of hectic for a chef, at this time of the year and I do not want to bring it there yet.

I am no reviewer but I intend to give my impression of it on this thread, pls stay tuned. Initial impression is that it is a beauty. F&f is impeccable, I cannot find any fault with it and can hang with the best out there.


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## Corradobrit1

Would love to hear your impressions of this knife and ergonomics which look pretty unique.


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## V1P

Sorry I have not updated this thread for a while now, I have been swamped at work, especialy at this time of the year. It is summer now in Australia and the beginning of the holidays, the food service industry is at full bloom.

I have used Cris' knife to work for 2 full days and here is my impression. I am not that analytical for a full review but I have used/owned quite a few knives in my time and I know what I like/want. That is what I want to share here.

This knife balances right behind the maker's mark, in a pinch grip. The shape of the choil, rounded and polished spine and choil makes for a comfortable grip for long use. I opted for Cris' dual taper handle design and could not be more satisfied. Your middle, ring and middle fingers will thank you for it, as they will wrap nicely right about where the metal spacers are. I have a medium-sized palm and the facets help with comfort.

This knife will make you look like a rockstar with a fancy, custom electric guitar. In a world full of Victorinox, wushtof and Shun, a knife with hamon, badass patina and custom handle will be the star of the show.

Cris W2 is not as reactive as I thought it would be. It quickly developed a stable blue and black patina and very manageable even on first day of use. This is probably due to the polish that we decided on, not shiny at all, the blade is light grey from new and the hamon is well defined (pls refer to above photos).

I describe this bad boy as a sniper rifle, not a machine gun. It will reward you using the right technique and precision. It is a different beast than what I am used to, but a beast nonetheless. Master the needle like tip and the rest is history.

It excels at push cutting and slicing. Chopping can be done using the middle part of the blade, but a slightly different technique, by lifting the whole hand.

Horizontal cuts on onion? This knife does it better than any knives I have used. The first 1/3 of the blade will get the job done like it is nothing.

I will report back on stiction and resistance on cutting dense vegetables, when I get to it.

Here are photos of the blade now, with its battle scars.


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## Cheeks1989

Damn I was hoping to pick this up if you sold it. Looks like that isn't going to happen. :tease:


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## V1P

Haha, thanks cheeky!

I will sell it when I can afford a 270mm from him.


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## Matus

Now that is a very cool looking knife - a very interesting design. It is good to hear that it is now only about the looks


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## malexthekid

Cris' knives look even better with some use &#128512;


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## V1P

Yes, it is not just a pretty face. 

I was surprised at the level of reactivity, it is so manageable. Cris said that is pretty much there is to it for W2, from this stage it would be more stable.


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## marc4pt0

Oh man, I can not wait!


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## mikedtran

This is making me even more excited about the one I have on order from Cris!


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## malexthekid

Yeah when i see posts like this im glad Cris convinced me to get on his list now to just continue saving the money for it.


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## V1P

Hey guys! I know I'd promised a further review of this knife, but I've decided to go ahead and order a 250-270 from Cris after seeing Joe and Marc's recent knives. I have asked Cris if he is willing to take this blade back for a credit on the new one, as I would like to keep my existing handle.


Just wanted to let you all know what was going on with this. Being the holidays here in Australia I've been crazy busy with work so I haven't been able to update as I'd have liked. All I can really say is that I've said as much here before. If you have any specific questions for me feel free to drop me a PM, but honestly this blade is at the top of my list of everything I've ever owned. It's just too short for my tastes as I like longer .


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## aboynamedsuita

Did you think to list your knife on BST, I think it may get better exposure there


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## marc4pt0

That would've been very exciting, but I think Ferry wants to keep his handle. If he was willing to let go of the whole package, if be all over it


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## V1P

Yes yes, I am keeping the handle, just selling the blade. Anyway, Cris has started sorting this out from his end, I would quietly wait.

Marc, that handle is perfect for me, no point ordering a new one and it saves me some money.


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## marc4pt0

Totally understood and agree. That handle is gorgeous, and I thinks it's awesome that Cris builds his knives in such a way that the handles can be removed without damage


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## Neens

Just thought I might be able to pickup where VIP left off seeing as I know have this knife. Coming from all German stainless to one of Cris's knives is like going from riding a bicycle to driving a lamborghini. I've never felt a knife move through food like this before. 

I took it to work where I chopped enough veggies for 160 quarts of chicken soup, a case of broccoli, some spinach, stripped two dozen chicken breasts, and finished with a little parsley and basil. It put in a full day and kept going. When I got home I cubed some pancetta, halved some sprouts, and prepared some spuds for mashing. 

After everything without stropping or sharpening the knife still flew through an onion. I passed it over my 6000 stone as Cris had told me to do after each day and it was back to hair popping sharp.


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## V1P

I like your bicycle analogy [emoji106]. Glad to know that she is in good hands.


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## Neens

Picture didn't want to work so I rehosted it. 





I had wanted to mention dealing with Cris was really something else. I had a lot of questions for him, he always responded quickly, often going deeper than necessary into the subject to give me an answer. I feel like he went out of his way to make sure I was not only happy with the knife but with the process as a whole. I actually asked to be put on his list for another knife before I even got the first one.


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## Cheeks1989

Beautiful knife neens.


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## mc2442

I am sorry if this is an misinformed question, but how do you actually order one of Cris's knives? No site that I see, check a couple of the major resellers.


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## Neens

mc2442 said:


> I am sorry if this is an misinformed question, but how do you actually order one of Cris's knives? No site that I see, check a couple of the major resellers.



I got in contact with him directly on Facebook. I believe he also has an active Instagram account. Just google "CJA edged art Facebook" He's always responded very quick to my messages.


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## Cheeks1989

I think he still has his books open for custom work. I'm not sure how long they will be open. I missed the chance to get on his books a couple of months ago, but I got lucky by getting a stock knife(they don't come up often).


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## mc2442

A couple of nice people were able to provide contact info. Thank you for that, and I hope to enjoy some of his work in the near future.


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## Cheeks1989

Any update Neens? I'm thinking about pulling the trigger on a stock knife he just made that is 240 it looks sweet.


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## Pensacola Tiger

Cheeks1989 said:


> Any update Neens? I'm thinking about pulling the trigger on a stock knife he just made that is 240 it looks sweet.



Go for it, Sam. I gave up buying knives for Lent, or I'd have picked it up.


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## marc4pt0

I came close to getting it too. Then I remembered that I'm not buying knives at the moment, but rather selling to raise funds for non knife related things


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## malexthekid

You go for it. If i didn't have plans in the works it would be damn tempting


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## ynot1985

I got on Cris's list the other day, it's still open but ETA wait time can be a year


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## Cheeks1989

I just got a 260 from him and it is amazing. I'm trying to come up with the money. The part that is really appealing to me is jumping his very long custom list by getting what he calls a stock knife(it's really a custom) .


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## Neens

Cheeks1989 said:


> Any update Neens? I'm thinking about pulling the trigger on a stock knife he just made that is 240 it looks sweet.



Sorry didn't get the notification about an update. Even though the knife is his extra heavy style I'm still able to flick the knife through potatoes. I'm able to keep the blade very very sharp with minimal maintenance. I tapped my thumb on the heel reaching for something and came away bloody. 

I picked up one of his stones also. I like using it. Five or so minutes at the end of the day seem to bring the edge back really well. I believe it's the only stone he uses to put an edge on his knives but I'm not sure. I haven't yet been able to get the knife back to the sharpness it was shipped to me with but I think it's more of my skills with free hand sharpening.

I'll see if I can get some pictures tomorrow. The patina is coming along nicely

Is it that one with the crazy hamon from yesterday? You made a great choice with Cris. I've got another knife in the works with him and the lines of communication are really amazing.


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## XooMG

I think you'll like it. Cris and I have something in the works and I'm more into shorter blades. If you dig the length and the crazy hardening transition, it'd be nice to jump to the front of the line and get a very cool, unique knife.


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## Cheeks1989

Thanks for the info XooMG and Neens. The hamon is really unique and beautiful on it.


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## V1P

I just saw the available stock knife on Cris's IG. It can be made in the range of 225mm-240mm apparently. Someone should get it and get in front of his list.


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## V1P

It has been more than 2 years since the journey of this knife. I currently have something new in the works with Cris Anderson of Scorpion Forge.

Here is a sneak peek, I will be starting a new thread on the making of the knife.


 https://youtu.be/NL2LTqSF5fE


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## mc2442

That is definitely different than what I have seen from Cris! Looking forward to seeing more on it.


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