Kai Seki Magoroku Santoku Review - Imayo Series - 165mm 

Thank you for sharing your experience with the Seki Magoroku wich series was yours? I know that they have multiple series withint the Seki Maoroku line up.

I may look more into the other Kai series at the lower price range section. Something I want to explore but a lot of the series are available in Asia for some reason they have other line-ups for Europe. That being said they have some interesting series in Europe too with a higher Rockwell rating than this one for a reasonable price.

Thanks for replying 🙏

Which Xinzuo did you get? I like their 440C version.

@@chefpanko I got the 10cr15comov version. I can recommend it highly, especially since it survived being dropped by my brother ;~; Unfortunately, the point was bent quite a bit, so I had to reprofile it. Other than that, it's an excellent slicer with an edge that lasts quite a while.

@@vloomn aah Xinzuo is also offering a good 10cr steel-type. I'm surprised that it did not break the tip. Was it a soft floor/wooden floor?

@@chefpanko no, it's a hard floor. The main reason it survived is because it fell on its handle first, than bounced 180 degrees on its point. XinZuo, from what I've understood, is using the same factory as other Chinese knife brands, like hezhen, so it would make sense for it to be a quality steel.

Thank you for the great feedback, hope to include them in future videos.

😅

Thank you for the information I wish I was still in Asia since those knives were widely available there. Wish that I bought the Benifuji too, but unfortunately I was already near my import free limit :( and they stopped me at the customs and checked every knife and receipt. Kai had a lot of series in Asia that I was not aware of and they were reasonably priced too. Really wish I could take more knives with me to test.

@@chefpanko Thanks a ton for your review anyway, chef. At least someone has done what was long awaited. Hope to see more such right here sometime soon. I wish people could get reviews of more such widely available knives here as correctly mentioned by you. Especially the Clad series, viz., Aoto/Aofuzi and Momoyama ❤️

Can't promise anything but will take it into consideration when I explore more knives.

Thank you for mentioning it, I will see what I can do since they are not available here in The Netherlands. So I may import some knives directly from Japan. I have added it to my list since I'm exploring budget-friendly knives and knives with a Rockwell of 58/59 is definitely a knife that I can recommend to anyone. As a workhorse/beginners knife at the restaurant over knives with a Rockwell of 61+.

It is a good knife for everyday home use, just don't put it in a dishwasher, and make sure to dry the knife before storing even if it is stainless it can still rust if not taken care of. (but it should be able to handle some abuse and long exposure to moist). If you can get a good deal on shopee then go for it I would say around $25 is a nice deal for what you get.

いまよう!! - Imayo!! - Let's go!!

It seems like the Mokuren has a different handle material and is cladded (3 layer construction). So a hard core is sandwiched between 2 softer stainless steel. This adds some wavy aesthetic. Other than that the steel might be different but I have no idea what steel they use on the Mokuren. I was told that the Imayo series uses 1K6 steel by Daido and Benjifull uses AUS8, so not sure what core steel Mokuren uses. But the cladding alone will make the knife priced higher.

@@chefpanko thx for great described, in my opinion, I still worried on hrc which is might higher that 60+ that make me have a hard time for current sharping stone. Have any idea ?

In general how harder the knife the longer it stays sharp, but in return, it can become more brittle. 56 is quite on the softer side but good enough for everyday use and home cooking. A Rockwell of 58 is nearing professional usage. 52-54 HRC: Cheap chef’s knives, mostly very cheap 8 euros (10 dollars). It needs to be sharpened every time we are done with a task. 54-56 HRC: Better than cheap knives. Mostly for home cooks and not for the professional kitchen. Chinese bone cleavers use this kind of hardness. It needs to sharpen a few times a day if used in a professional kitchen. 56-58 HRC: Easy to sharpen and used in a professional kitchen. Mostly german knives or better quality Chinese vegetable/bone cleavers use this kind of hardness. 58-60 HRC: Better quality kitchen knives like Japanese knives. They stay longer sharp but are harder to sharpen. 60-62 HRC: The knives remain sharp for a long time but have more risk of becoming brittle. Harder to sharpen, and quality depends on the production. Mostly used in Japanese knives. 63-66 HRC: Needs cleaning after each use and is more prone to breaking and becoming brittle. Some steel types with this high HRC need a wet towel wipe before each slice. So a Rockwell of 60 the edge can stay sharp for around 5/6 months with regular honing sessions before you need to maintain it on a whetstone. A Rockwell of 54 can last you around 1 week and the edge will not be sharp. A Rockwell of 51/52 can even get dull after just a few uses (5min usage). Manufacturers and how the knives are made and what steel they use play a role so the above is just a general guideline.

@@chefpanko oh wow. Very detailed explanation. You are a good teacher. I appreciate it.

I prefer a straighter blade profile over the aggressive curve on this knife. For home use not a big deal but a detail that we need to consider. Some prefer the rocking approach motion, for them this knife will serve them better than the straighter profile.

@@chefpanko I usually find push-cutting more natural and effective, so I think I would side with you on this. The curve is quite striking, though. Thanks for the input!

Yeah, I found it odd too, and one of the reasons I don't prefer the Kai knives since I prefer a straighter profile.

@@chefpanko On an unrelated matter, I was wondering if you plan to do a review for Cangshan knives. They're quite popular on Amazon, and have some unique designs. I recently took a huge chance and bought their $200 USD Thomas Keller Chef Knife. Its high price is supposedly because of the Swedish RWL34 powder steel it uses. RWL is pretty high end, on par with or better than R2. The knife is still in the mail, so I don't know how good it is yet...

@@theredbar-cross8515 Cangshan has been on my list for a long time, unfortunately, they don't send them to my country. Usually, the option is set on ''on'' with the included import tax when they sell on Amazon but Cangshan or Amazon did not open that option for The Netherlands. So the item will be listed as unavailable on my screen but when I change my country/city to New York only then I can see the price and delivery option. On the European amazon store, all the orders from Cangshan are fulfilled by a third-party seller and they charge 500 Euro for the Thomas Keller Signature series. So hoping that Cangshan will eventually open an official European Amazon store. Dalstrong however is currently widely available in Europe (used to be different). Also waiting for MErcer Culinary to open an official Amazon EU store (currently also only third-party sellers selling them for 150 Euro for a Knife that has an MSRP of $20/30 in the NA Amazon store).

@@chefpanko Wow! 500 euro is far too much for the CS chef knife. I got mine on American Amazon for 140 USD, and it includes the paring knife and a walnut knife display! I got the 8" chef knife in today and it's better than what I was expecting. The scales are perfectly fitted (more precise fit than my Zwilling or Wustoff) and the blade is perfectly straight (I tested it with a ruler). The spine & choil are slightly rounded, enough so that it's no longer sharp. Out of box sharpness was what I expected from a Japanese VG-10 15 degree bevel. The knife has a thin flat grind, skinny behind the edge. Honestly, in terms of fit and finish, it is better than the Zwilling Pro I have, and is on par with a mid-tier Japanese knife (better than my Tojiro DP at least).