Two more utilities arrived

Mmm the two cheapie Chinese ones landed today and they are both gorgeous IMHO - they surpassed my expectations by a mile and are total bargains.Less than 30 bucks for the pair of `em - all inc - wow.
Even the small one with the two rivets has a fabulous finish and lovely polished magnolia handle and is full tang and about 2mm thick - the black 5.5" one is about 2.1mm - 2.2mm - I am just guessing because my digital vernier calipers have run out of batteries.

The black one is lethal - I barely only touched it and my finger was bleeding for hours.
I just tried them both on two semi frozen radishes and I got more than 25 slices from each radish and knife and that wasn`t pushing it.

The big bumpy one with the black ebony handle came in a beautiful black box with care instructions and certificate of quality and compliance.
I didn`t have to do anything to them - they are both literally shaving sharp.
My friend seems to think that the hagane is too close to the edge of both and not layered however other reviewers have said both are thin core budget damascus blades.
It doesn`t matter to me - both are bargains and I don`t care what the edge retention is - I have a little red plastic holder with magnets always next to the sink for quick diamond plate swaps so I can do regular touch-ups in seconds.


The quoted specs of both knives are -
The one with the black ebony handle has the following specs and was $20 all inc :

JUMCSONG 5.5-inch Utility Knife
Blade material: three-layer composite steel, 9Cr17MoV core
Handle material: Red precious precious wood+ebony
Blade hardness: 58 ± 2 HRC
Blade size: 5.5 inches/14cm
Thickness: 2.0 ± 0.2 mm
Surface: Hammer pattern blade
Weight: 87 grams
Packaging: Exquisite gift box

The one with the two rivets has the following specs and was $6 all inc :

67-ply Forged Damascus Steel Steak Blade Sharp Peeling Fruit Knife Magnolia handle Boning Knife Household Kitchen Knife
Name: Steak knife
Blade length: 12.5cm
Handle length: 9.5cm
Knife width: 2.3cm
Total length: 22cm
Blade thickness: 2mm
Weight: 65g
Blade material: Damascus steel
Handle material: solid wood handle

 

Until I read your posts I never would have considered Chinese knives. I'm rethinking that now.

 

Ah bless you Wagner - The Chinese are getting better and better now and their equivalent of VG10 is excellent because they collaborate with American and German and Japanese steel makers and do OEM stuff - It`s all Global today and the factories are all ISO 9001 which is the same standards everywhere.
The two above are pretty much bottom of the range but makers there are doing 110 layer damascus from $70 up and they`re doing powder steels and semi-stainless and harder much better quality steels plus the fit and finish is now as good as the Japanese makers and a lot of the time better with tighter tolerances and superior technology..
Look at this one for example - it is just under $200 all inc and it`s 110 layer damascus at HRC 60-61 which is the sweet spot for durability and edge retention.


They are open to negotiation for price, design, expedited shipping etc.The Chinese have always been traders - look at the Silk Road - Now they want a New Silk Road and obviously America is not happy - but heh, things change - nothing stays the same forever.
I know the score because I`ve lived there and got family there but I am mostly Russian so I am global as well and can see the bigger picture.