I check the new arrivals every morning with coffee. While I have just about everything I want you never know what might pop up that causes "the urge" to strike and next thing you know the "place order" button is pushed. So, Im a sucker for a rustic hammered finish and when I saw the new line from Daovua in 52100 steel had to take one for a drive. Being a Nakiri person and already having a Daovua tall leaf spring nakiri, I ordered a new 52100 version to compare and it arrived in short order.
The finish is very rustic, with a few hammer marks in it very reminiscent of a Fujiwara Marborishi gyuto I used to own. To me this surface is more appealing than a kurouchi finish. After cutting an onion and a few other items, the steel was only mildly reactive which was nice!
And like many knives OOB, it needed a bit of stropping to get it up to my paper towel cutting standards. But how does it cut? Well it got sharper than the leaf spring version did and cuts very nicely. Too soon to tell if the edge retention will be longer but with this higher quality steel it should.
Worth getting? If you want to try a nakiri, get one of these! lots of scooping power, good looks, nice handle and the price makes it a bargain.
Im thinking of grabbing one of their cleavers next...
The handle is on par with other good quality handles I have purchased if not nicer. Since it appears to be a bit heavier than the handle on the leaf spring nakiri it balanced the knife a bit more rearward making it feel lighter even though it weighs 5g more. (leaf spring=186 52100=191g). This knife also has a thinner grind than the leaf spring version which also helps the balance. Bottom line is this knife isn't blade heavy like many nakiri's.Daovua 52100 series
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Re: Daovua 52100 series
Daovua 52100 Kiri Cleaver 180mm $79.95 in new arrivals. Just saying, maybe it will fill the void. There is also a small cleaver in new arrivals that is 201mm long. 90m high at heel. But you already knew all this. Checked to see what the full size cleaver is in any of their lines and it doesn't show, even in the sold out stock. Looks like they aren't making them any more.
You can blame Mr. Suburban for my being here.
The thing about quotes on the internet is you can not confirm their validity. -- Abraham Lincoln
All steels are equal if you can't keep them sharp. -- Jeff B.
The thing about quotes on the internet is you can not confirm their validity. -- Abraham Lincoln
All steels are equal if you can't keep them sharp. -- Jeff B.
Re: Daovua 52100 series
At work:
Tall nakiri's are baby cleavers and great for stir fry kinda stuff
This ended up being Pad Thai (before noodles and with alot more sprouts and then sauce etc) Had some scallops in the freezer and decided to throw them in and they were awesome.