# A Custom Maker Review: HSC///



## ModRQC (Apr 30, 2021)

1- The Maker






_Harbeer is a knifemaker based in Clarkdale, Arizona. He was born in England and retains citizenship to this day; he also lived a few years in Toronto when he was younger, and still has Canadian citizenship as well. His girlfriend lives in Paris, where he set up a smaller shop to keep work going whenever he goes there. He’s around here with us on KKF, and you can find knives he has for sale as well as information about his work right __HERE__. _






For Harbeer, knifemaking is a passion and a choice to prioritize freedom over income. He’ll usually work 6+ days a week, make/sell 8-12 knives per month, and his pricing is more than fair towards the excellent work he does. To him the deepest satisfaction that lies into this is the customer’s, which basically also ensures him a great rate of repeated business and general mouth to ear appreciation for the positive experience he provides. In fact, his main reason not to also use a web storefront to sell his production is that he would rather establish a connection with each of his customers, for each of his knives.






In my own experience working with him, he is an honest and straightforward maker that listens to what the customer wants and has it at heart, while his feedback is prompt and down to business, which greatly helps to settle things down and get a project going. What this means is you can totally trust him that, while he will pointedly set the limits that work for him, all along the way he will pay heed to what was said. With the timeframe set upon initial agreement, he still maintains a steady communication. I never felt the need, at any point, to query for updates on the project.






To make a living with this business, Harbeer leads a very simple life with as few expenses as he can get away with. Despite having two graduate degrees with one an executive MBA, he told me he “runs his shop finances on the back of a napkin”. It tells of a man that likes to keep focus with what he loves to do, and thus leads his independent career with very little involvement administrating it, calculating only a general monthly performance as to ensure he can continue doing what he loves – and then going straight back to the next projects waiting in the shop.






As a bladesmith, Harbeer started by making utility hunter blades and neck knives before making kitchen knives, while he also learned to make friction folders and slipjoint folders, the latter learned with Mike Vagino. Since he started full time in January 2018, the bulk of his work is with kitchen knives. He will either work through forging and grinding or simple stock removal, depending on the steel, customer’s preferences and budget, or simply what suits the project best. He is strongly committed to steels and proven treatments that ensures him a tough product with ease of sharpening.






Where one should probably address Harbeer directly for up-to-date info and range of adaptability (for example he recently started testing HT on 9 samples of @Larrin –designed Magna Cut blades), here’s a few steels he is used to work with extensively:

26c3: either mono, SS clad or wrought iron clad – usually 62-63HRC.

A2: excellent cost-oriented option – usually 63-64HRC.

Z-Wear: learned with his friend Tim Wright, plate quench and cryo – usually 62-63HRC.

AEB-L: learned with Tim Wright also, plate quench and cryo – usually 61-62 HRC.

Hitachi White #1 SS Clad: learned with Murray Carter, water quench + flash temper – usually 63-64HRC.

Suminagashi Takefu White steel: learned with Carter too, oil quench + flash temper – usually 63-64HRC.






To see a bit of him at work, you can have a look at his own upload on YouTube, from which I borrowed some emblematic moments for the pictures in this section:







Harbeer knew of my habit in reviewing knives, which to him amounted to one thing only: even where he has little time to spare, he graciously took some still answering my questions about his ops – more than I could honestly hope for. Moreover, he was truly not concerned at any time with how and to what extent I would use or not the information he provided me with. He only asked that I would be perfectly honest when reviewing the knife.






Through these exchanges, my respect for Harbeer only grew stronger as I got to understand more and more about the simplicity that defines him and the focus that drives him, and as a token of my respect, this review will be as honest and dedicated as he stands up to be. But more important to me still is this presentation, which I’m hoping at least can do him justice.






Where he’ll openly admit that, on top of the impossible schedules, there’s not much money to be made where he stands, I also detected in his answers some reluctance to change anything about his ways for reasons I suspect of personal ethics. Just as much as he’s not interested to run the calculator on every aspect of his work as long as the bulk adds up for him, Harbeer wants people to experience great knives, and thus he likes to say that he makes “a humble knife for a humble price”. On his business card, there’s the mention “for use”: it’s a matter of importance to Harbeer that his work is targeted for the end user rather than the collector. No worries: I’m pretty sure he’s open to the fact that us, KKF customers, can’t seem to have one without the other.


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## ModRQC (Apr 30, 2021)

2- The Making

I got in contact with Harbeer on February 2nd 2021. His reply was fast and enthusiastic. The knife got to me, in Canada, on April 9th 2021. The rudimentary packaging came in a USPS triangular mailing tube, going through Toronto in the process, which was both inevitable and fitting; and while of agreement with Harbeer that I needed no box nor fanciness for this knife, I appreciated the modest touch of elegance with the outer layer of his package.






I appreciated even more his concern for well-faring of the knife in transport, and the efficient DIY of his securing it. He even nicely provided a napkin around the handle, for me surely to budget my next knife expense on the back of it; and I sure was tempted, upon mere first assessment of his work, to give him yet another pet prototype project of mine on the spot.






The blade was further wrapped in paper sealed tight with a few pieces of tape. The literature involved was also interestingly representative of its maker… 






The knife thus got to me in perfect state.

The demands that were discussed:


“Prototype” knife – no bells and whistles, focus towards wanted ergonomics
~ 225 / 52
Machi – no gap – spacious neck
“Special” S-Choil – heel in line with finger rest (not backwards) – well smoothed
About 3mm thickness at spine – no need to smooth the spine
Fine spear-like tip
Good taper
Ideal balance 15-25mm forward
Ideal weight 170-190 grams
Optional: basic lengthwise finish
After some back and forth, steel was determined from a choice Harbeer gave me to be AEB-L around 62 HRC, and the handle was going to be his bog oak. Harbeer told me he would most probably just go for a hairline belt finish to keep this within the reasonable budget ballpark.






For the choil, Harbeer asked that I would send a drawing so that he got the right idea. In attempting to do that, I realized it was rather weird to draw just the shape of it to illustrate the concept without also drawing the neck and whole heel section at least and trying to make the shape fit with required heel height. In the end, I pretty much went to draw the whole blade to scale, and added some measurements as the schematic had them working out. I just wanted to help.

Rather, it prompted Harbeer to warn me that executing from a blueprint was not how he worked, and if he must, implied heavier costs. I realized that from his POV this was rather heavy, and assured him again that the schematic had been mostly for sakes of plausibility, and he could do whatever he wanted around the idea: with a machi, good balance, and some finger rest, I would be happy. So I was shocked when, one month into the project or so, I received a mail one night from Harbeer asking if I wanted the heel even more forward:






It was my schematic pretty exactly, with the heel indeed a bit backwards of mine from some minor correction Harbeer had carried to the whole shape. Told him it was perfect this way. Didn’t know if measurements fell within the schematics, and never cared to verify: once the knife in hand, ergonomics were indeed perfect, blowing the beloved Yo Mabs out the waters in this regard. Well, as it obviously turns out, in _any_ regard, but I never expected less than that.





_Boom!_

Another surprise came in as the knife was ready: Harbeer had went for a basic lengthwise finish after all, but didn’t polish out the stray scratches. The idea being a “Prototype” on the lower budget, I was ready for a very basic pattern “on the rough”, but his pictures didn’t show any scratch much – blade looked mostly polished.





_Signature HSC/// Shot_

We’ll take a closer look in the actual review.

Being a dreamer all my life, I focused on working with Harbeer because, beyond the absolute confidence I had that he would do right by me, he had just that knack of making a minimalist design elegant and beautiful to my eyes, while his usual profiles weren’t so far off my dream one: I believed he could make me the perfect prototype.






All in all, he carried the dream much farther than I could have hoped for. What I wanted the most was there, and then some. What was left in his hands to fill the holes in-between my requirements, he adapted in a natural, seamless way. And thus, my worst fear going into this, which never was in doubting Harbeer’s skills, but in doubting me wanting so many things, didn’t pan out in reality: the knife was more than just the boring sum of some sterile demands. It had its own soul.






Sure, it was to many extents “expected”, a natural fit, and it connected with me in a viscerally egotistic way. Yet, it wasn’t owned already. It was also something else, another mystery to wrap my preps around and see where that would lead me. Somewhat like just any new knife should be: filled with expectations and wonders.


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## ModRQC (Apr 30, 2021)

3- Review: Thoughts on Specs & Aims



*MAKER*​*HSC///*​*ID*​*Customized “Prototype”*​*TYPE & LENGTH*​*Gyuto 225mm*​*STEEL & BLADE*​*AEB-L Monosteel*​*FINISH*​*Lenghtwise Hand Sanding*​*WEIGHT / BALANCE*​*180g / +20*​*HANDLE MATERIAL*​*Bog Oak Monopiece*​​​TOTAL LENGTH​383​BLADE LENGTH​245​EDGE LENGTH​*226*​​​HEIGHT AT HEEL​*52*​HEIGHT AT MID BLADE​47​HEIGHT 35mm TO TIP​27​​​*SPINE*​*THICKNESS*HEEL​*2.9*​MID BLADE​2.1​35mm TO TIP​1.3​10mm TO TIP​*0.7*​​​*EDGE THICKNESS*​@ 10 / 5 / 1mm overHEEL + 10mm​1.1 / 0.6 / 0.1​MID BLADE​0.8 / 0.4 / 0.1​35mm TO TIP​0.8 / 0.4 / 0.1​TIP​0.8 / 0.5 / 0.1​**20mm up the edge: 1.78mm (heel + 10mm) / 1.27mm (mid) / 1.11mm (35mm to tip)****30mm up the edge: 2.33mm (heel + 10mm) / 1.62mm (mid) / 1.15mm (35mm to tip)*

The usual specs grid, where I added an extra set of measurements at the bottom: to date the most interesting lengthwise geometry tapering that I ever encountered, going hand in hand with the nice spinal taper. Also, the specs grid sorts of carry the last post’s argument further: Harbeer has exceeded any expectation I could have for the knife to meet my demands so closely.

However, in this instance there will be no scoring: more of a showcase. There’s a trap with trying to give a score to a customized custom knife: it’s been made to specs that are sure to befit me and rock the usual criterions I’ve focused upon reviewing. It’s basically a loop…

I will be honest as to how everything presents and works out as always, but since peculiarities of my demands are of no one’s interest but mine ultimately, scoring would feel like… self-congratulating. I still aim, instead, to leave the stage to Harbeer’s work.


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## ModRQC (Apr 30, 2021)

4- Review: Ergonomics






HSC/// Bog Oak Handle

I thought I’d like that handle: I had seen it a number of times in pics, and it was sexy and plain like I prefer them to be. Having it firsthand, however, is rather a case for absolute delight: give me grain, and texture, and smooth grips like that on every single Wa I own and my quality of life will improve dramatically.

Harbeer just sculpts it righteously, and ergonomics here… with the machi, spacious neck, custom choil and bullseye spine thickness, weight and balance to it all… are downright ecstatic!

Different lights to different hues and composures:








_Nice grain…_








_Splendid texture…_





_Almost metallized glaze…_

The keen eye might have noticed all the above are of the same side of the handle. It’s not to hide the other one, just keeping in line with showing how light plays with it. Here’s a picture of the other side, where I sought a lighting that would at once give away all of the above.






That handle alone is a good reason why I’d have another knife made by HSC for me. It feels like the hues indicate all at once, and then some more various shades of let’s-get-to-work-with-this-baby awesomeness – and righteous, confident forgetfulness in use.

I was almost forgetting – blade fit is spot on. Harbeer uses epoxy unless asked otherwise. Here, no “leftoverflow”, and there’s barely detecting the insert at all, so tightly fitted it is.


Forget F&F Standards – Blade

I had asked for the choil to be smoothed well, as I don’t have the tools nor patience to work with a shape like this myself, but for the spine I didn’t mind if Harbeer just ground it flat. Well he rounded it anyhow, and not half-heartedly. Which also goes for choil smoothing.






The quality of the work there exceeds that of even my Shi.Han or the Nomura-ground Y. Tanaka I had once, both of the highest standard you could devise – and both much more easier shapes to smooth. It is perfectly rounded and smoothed to mirror polish all the way through; the spine is comfortably rounded and polished to blend well with the blade finish.






I love rounded spines for the same reasons anybody does, but I also like plain flat spines for their board scraping skills and how neatly they will tap eject a garlic clove out of its peel, both moves not always so effective with rounded spines. In this case the knife does these things very well and the extra comfort then is only positive. Peculiar details to focus upon one might argue, but the accumulation of such turns a great knife into a favorite.


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## ModRQC (Apr 30, 2021)

5- Review: Performance






“Basic” Lengthwise Finish

What I had asked, if Harbeer went that way, was a basic pattern. It really wasn’t of importance to go for any high polish, since obviously my motivation was easier refinishing after some stone work – which tends to happen soon enough with knives I love for various reasons, would it be a simple envy to do a Kasumi.






I was thus ready to put out some work on it from the onset to polish it if needed, but if I could avoid working against a hairline finish on the long term, it was a plus to me. I think Harbeer went beyond basic here, and there are very little stray scratches. With some more direct light and the right angle, it shows, but I kept with the nicer pictures since they’re closer to what meets the eyes under most circumstances.






What can I say… thanks Harbeer!







Grind & Performance






For the grind Harbeer didn’t get special instructions. Well, not considering spinal taper and fine tip, which I guess are pretty usual demands and something he often does even with his own free production. So, it’s really all of him here.






Still, it’s very hard to separate my demands from his work even there, and I’ll start with the only downside I’ve found to Harbeer’s knife as to explain why: upon initial use, I’ve found the knife to have rather poor food release, and moreover to have a strong tendency for suction with many a produce, leading to a lot of stuff sticking to the blade and quite aggravating to move off.









Now, where food release is a consequence of the geometry in itself, suction was not: in lightly polishing the blade with fine sandpaper until it felt more “stone smooth”, suction is no problem anymore. I asked for the lengthwise finish even if real basic, and Harbeer met my demand; suction wouldn’t have been a problem if I hadn’t asked anything and let Harbeer hairline it and call it a day as he probably thought best anyhow. However, it was so little effort to polish it on my end that I’m doubly grateful that he started it so stringently.

Once the finish suction settled, obviously, poor food release improved into average food release, and great performance. That is no big mystery: Harbeer describes his grind as geared with just such an inclination. Thus, if no serious food release contender, the knife is indeed a gifted performance contender: a thin V-grind with perhaps a dash of convexity on the cutting side. Matter of preferences, geometries can be discussed until Hell freezes over and sends the utility bill to Heaven; here Harbeer goes for the simple maintenance and straight benefits of a basic thin grind.









And then geometry tapering comes into play: as hinted discussing the specs grid, it’s much more pronounced here than the bulk of knives I’ve ever used. It’s thin enough behind the edge (averaging 0.8 / 0.4 / 0.1 but the thicker heel section) to meet the requirements for performance. At the heel it is only slightly thicker 20mm and 30mm up the edge than any nice midweight of that spine thickness category, and thus gets a rather workhorse feel; once past the heel area, it would rather tend to flirt with laser thin territory. It comes out as a middle of the road Gyuto with a touch of heft, combining a powerful heel with nimble manoeuvring and ghosting-through mid to tip area. My kind of awesome.

The nicest bit is that this geometry tapering also yields out of Harbeer’s grind improved food release when balancing either push or pull technique with the proper spot for the proper stuff; some interesting variations may apply. It also helps with meeting a surprisingly high versatility in use. Working in bulk ingredients, I like to go for an in-between rock and push cut with it, using that nice flat heel section at times in an accented gliding forward and have more stuff fall off the blade in finishing the cut. It can do a solid rock chop too, and feels very sturdy tip to heel there; it can downright chop a lot of stuff with gusto; it’s more than tough enough to endure without a sweat any of the bluntest western techniques, yet fine enough to use with delicacy into skilled cuts. Disclaimer: impressing myself does not make me a skilled cutter. However, making me impressed with a V-grind where I usually have a strong inclination for food release does mean a skilled knifemaker.

Discovering how to maximize its potential is quite fun and satisfying, and on the whole a natural learning curve: in a few preps I went from “I wished this thing would have stuff fall away more” to “God this thing can zip through a prep”. I’m expecting to reach the “Where has this thing been all my life” stage soon enough.


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## ModRQC (Apr 30, 2021)

6- Sharpening Experience

As soon as I hit the stones, Harbeer’s AEB-L started to shine at once: pleasantly smooth, consistent feedback, and so easy to deburr. At that, a quite clear departure from sharpening Zwilling’s FC61, which was plagued with clingy burrs and somewhat of an inconsistent report. One way to put it is that the Zwilling never really felt like a fine grain steel – more like VG-10 really, which is the closest comparison I could make of its behavior on stones back then. Of note that I never found VG-10 particularly difficult to sharpen, so my experience of stainless steel so far had been either harder and nicer or softer and crappier, and I never could distinguish much otherwise than difficulty in deburring between different iterations.






Harbeer’s AEB-L thus incontestably wins my award for best behaved stainless steel in sharpening – which to date was held by a cheap Hisamoto 440C for its real easy deburring. Mind you, I never invested much in quality stainless steel: most my knives have been carbon steels and low alloys. As such I had considered Zwilling FC-61 to behave quite nicely overall compared to cheap soft SS. In hindsight, it was pretty crappy – and VG-10 also.

On a side note, as to conclude this review, Harbeer’s knife fortifies my attachment to my Shi.Han (and vice-versa): two US based makers have made my best Wa gyutos so far. So much money sent the J-knife way, and that’s the outcome…


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## nakiriknaifuwaifu (Apr 30, 2021)

dibs when u sell your mab plz


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## ModRQC (Apr 30, 2021)

Mabs is not the one going to BST soon


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## AT5760 (Apr 30, 2021)

Looking forward to reading the rest! I think Harbeer may top my list of makers I'd most like to have a beer with.


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## nakiriknaifuwaifu (Apr 30, 2021)

ModRQC said:


> Mabs is not the one going to BST soon



*puts away rockpaperscissors strategy books


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## ModRQC (Apr 30, 2021)

nakiriknaifuwaifu said:


> *puts away rockpaperscissors strategy books



*creates a fake alias to sell Mabs


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## ModRQC (Apr 30, 2021)

AT5760 said:


> Looking forward to reading the rest! I think Harbeer may top my list of makers I'd most like to have a beer with.



Definitely! Then again I'd take a pint with any willing to discuss trade, and only one I know a bit more now is Harbeer...


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## captaincaed (Apr 30, 2021)

Cut something already


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## JayS20 (Apr 30, 2021)

Hey man, I love how much effort and data you put into your reviews.
Keep it up.


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## ModRQC (Apr 30, 2021)

captaincaed said:


> Cut something already



Learn to read already.



ModRQC said:


> 2- The Making
> 
> I got in contact with Harbeer on February 2nd 2021. His reply was fast and enthusiastic. *The knife got to me, in Canada, on April 9th 2021.*


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## captaincaed (Apr 30, 2021)

tl;dr


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## nakiriknaifuwaifu (Apr 30, 2021)

captaincaed said:


> tl;dr



Harbeer is a good guy. I bought a knife from him. I told him some things, and it came out good. I got the knife and it was good, but the scratches were too small. I fixed the scratches and the knife cuts better. Overall it was good.


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## captaincaed (Apr 30, 2021)

That was the Up Goer 5 explanation, pitched exactly at my level. I love it.


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## captaincaed (Apr 30, 2021)

Kms reviews. Just saying


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## ModRQC (Apr 30, 2021)

captaincaed said:


> tl;dr



You’d have saved time saying nothing.

td;db


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## ModRQC (Apr 30, 2021)

nakiriknaifuwaifu said:


> Harbeer is a good guy. I bought a knife from him. I told him some things, and it came out good. I got the knife and it was good, but the scratches were too small. I fixed the scratches and the knife cuts better. Overall it was good.



Problem being, most of it would apply to a lot of cheap factory knives, and accolating the Harbeer part to it doesn’t make up for it.

But I like it - shows you can read and cared to before ridiculizing me. As I don’t care ridiculizing myself as I go, no harm done.

I’m happy people will be happy not to read. Or think it’s lame. I don’t NEED to write all of anything I post about. I choose to.

But tl;dr’ers just don’t bother or just look at the plenty pics and specs grid I add so that just you guys can zip it without reading content.

God... it’s like I’m bringing a gun against your foreheads or something.


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## M1k3 (May 1, 2021)

nakiriknaifuwaifu said:


> I got the knife and it was good, but the scratches were too small.


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## juice (May 1, 2021)

nakiriknaifuwaifu said:


> but the scratches were too small.


Mmm, OK then. Scratch it up with a file and it's all good?


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## Garm (Aug 10, 2021)

Don't know how I've missed this review until now, but it sure made a great read while enjoying my lunchtime coffee!
In the day and age of short messages, like buttons, and emojis, I love the fact that someone takes their time to describe, embellish, and fully articulate how they actually experience or feel about something that comes across as important to them. For me, at least, it makes the knife and the maker easier to experience, even if only vicariously.
Al;gr(appropriately long;great read)


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## birdsfan (Aug 10, 2021)

Hah! Me too! But thank you for bringing it forward again. Rather topical as I have been looking at Harbeer's latest work longingly.


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## ModRQC (Aug 10, 2021)

Garm said:


> Don't know how I've missed this review until now, but it sure made a great read while enjoying my lunchtime coffee!
> In the day and age of short messages, like buttons, and emojis, I love the fact that someone takes their time to describe, embellish, and fully articulate how they actually experience or feel about something that comes across as important to them. For me, at least, it makes the knife and the maker easier to experience, even if only vicariously.
> Al;gr(appropriately long;great read)





birdsfan said:


> Hah! Me too! But thank you for bringing it forward again. Rather topical as I have been looking at Harbeer's latest work longingly.



Thanks guys! Always nice to see one of my reviews revived, especially this one.

Harbeer is a great guy to work it, and he makes a great knife.


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## daveb (Aug 10, 2021)

I'm a fan.


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## Kippington (Aug 10, 2021)

Very nice. Thanks for the write-up!


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## ModRQC (Aug 11, 2021)

Kippington said:


> Very nice. Thanks for the write-up!



Thanks to you!


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## gregfisk (Aug 11, 2021)

I have worked with Harbeer a fair amount and he is great to work with and great to talk to. I have a couple of his knives and they are fantastic. Harbeer is a good listener and also a plethora of knowledge. I highly recommend him if you want a knife from a custom maker.


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## Pie (Aug 11, 2021)

Personally I like reading max detail reviews. This is basically gold standard. That being said, to each his/her own - enjoyed or skipped. Thank you for the write up.

Nice knife too


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## ModRQC (Aug 12, 2021)

Pie said:


> Personally I like reading max detail reviews. This is basically gold standard. That being said, to each his/her own - enjoyed or skipped. Thank you for the write up.
> 
> Nice knife too



Thanks I really appreciate that.

Yep it’s even more impressive first person. Harbeer really captured the essence of everything I asked and then some.


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## evillor (Aug 16, 2021)

Very nice knife & review.


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## Knivperson (Sep 28, 2021)

Great review, like the more narrative style.


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## ModRQC (Sep 28, 2021)

You’ll like the upcoming review then! 

I’m nowhere done with narrative reviews - if the knife is worth that I actually have something fleshy to tell about.

Thanks very much for your appreciation, it really makes my day when someone does. And today is one ****** day for me so - thanks!!


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## Knivperson (Sep 28, 2021)

ModRQC said:


> You’ll like the upcoming review then!
> 
> I’m nowhere done with narrative reviews - if the knife is worth that I actually have something fleshy to tell about.
> 
> Thanks very much for your appreciation, it really makes my day when someone does. And today is one ****** day for me so - thanks!!


I really appreciate the long detailed descriptions and the feelings and situations you transmit from your interaction with the smith and his product. I learn a lot about the maker and his knives from it as well. In these days of text limits and instant messaging, long descriptions is a welcome counter weigth. Very much appreciated. So it's me who says thanks.


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