Xinzuo Lan Series Santoku Knife Review: Chinese SG2 vs. Chinese VG10 - Which One's Right for You? 

Hope it was helpfull! :) if it wasn't for this side by side I would have never known but 14Cr14MoVNb indeed does make a big difference where I find the price jump compared to the Chinese VG10 (10Cr15CoMoV) acceptable.

Thank you for sharing your experience. I’m looking forward for the newer knife line that is probably going to be released next year. They told me it will be more in line with the Japanese knives. So I hope for a thinner blade and that the knives are lighter.

I have indeed seen the price increase lately, the European side has been more prominent since they now include the VAT/Tax so that we don't get hit with import tax later. But in general, the prices have indeed gone up and I think some brands may increase the price some more when they get more popular. But a lot of brands where I had mixed results stayed pretty much at the same price with adjustments for inflation. Sunnecko/Keemake were at the time definitely a decent knife especially for the price, in terms of newer series and QC they have not improved much. And one thing I disliked was when they rebranded all Sunnecko knives to Keemake making the sub-brand Keemake not needed anymore as I generally liked the Keemake more but after that rebranding move, I can no longer recommend them (basically no changes in shape, grind, etc. with a price hike beyond the inflation adjustment). Yarenh is one of the first I have tested and back then for that price a great deal! I haven't kept track of them since. But seeing progress being made with Chinese-made knives, especially with the Xinzuo/Hezhen brand. There are other brands releasing a lot of new series but those brands have burned my fingers already with their older versions, I no longer will explore their newer series (as the older versions had QC problems, bad heat treatment, random chipping, and more problems and lower Rockwell rating than advertised and even using bait and switch after my review changing the core material to a cheaper material to the page I linked and updated the description secretly, wich gave me a bad after taste).

Thank you for sharing your experience with the Lan series. For me it was a handle when on first touch I was like, I'm not sure about the bulbous belly. But after using it more and more it no longer bothered me besides the other feedback I have gotten for those with medium/small hand sizes that it was too big where they are not able to enclose/wrap their entire hand around the handle losing some grip. (They all prefer the Global Classic handle which for me is on the tad too small side for my hands cramping my hands up if I use it for too long). But after some while of getting adjusted to it, the handles were alright and not bad at all (with my first impressions I really was doubting the bulbous part, glad I did not directly disregard the handle and gave it some more time). Chinese SG2 (14Cr14MoVNb) is definitely a steel-type to look forward to when they release more series with it, I also addressed the handle size with Xinzuo and they told me that the new series would address the handle sizes so that it caters to a wider customer base (designs/prototypes should be ready in a few months from now).

Thank you glad it was looking good! Was not sure if I should include it but many people may wonder what happens to the ingredients that I cut while making the video and the Sushi prep is one of the dishes that is being prepped with the ingredients that have been cut. I also tested the knife without recording a video with other types of dishes to get to my final conclusion. The same with cutting at the edge of the cutting board my camera otherwise would not focus when I prep in the middle or on the other edge of the cutting board. (with sometimes awkward positions for me to cut/prep just to get the shot on camera).

@chefpanko The exhibition of cutting was very useful! For example your rolling cut with carrots has shown me what the purpose is of a higher cutting board rather than just being cool. So it doesn't slam the tip down the table or hard surface. I like it a lot and I stand behind your decisions!

Thank you for sharing your experience, yeah the handle even for my large hand size needed some time to get used to especially the bulbous part underneath.

Perked my interest too. Was already dipping my toes in the SG2/R2 market a couple years ago, but couldn't justify paying for an exotic powdered steel as I was really happy with my Japanese VG10 and Chinese Aus-10 main knives. I am sure the Xinzuo 'SG2' knife will still cost a pretty penny, but it won't be the $300+ usd for a the plain uncladded Japanese made SG2 santoku I found before.

@@anasevi9456 The Chinese SG2 (14Cr14MoVNb) from Xinzuo/Hezhen is definitely a steel type to look for. If it was not for this side by side I would still be wondering why the knife would be 2x the Chinese VG10 (excluding the premium materials used on it like Damascus cladding and Olive Wood handle). But glad I asked for it when Xinzuo reached out when I already had purchased the Chinese SG2 (14Cr14MoVNb) version so I asked for the 10Cr15CoMoV for this comparison video. Looking forward to more series getting released with the Chinese SG2 (14Cr14MoVNb) steel-ype. Also, 11-11 sales on Ali are around the corner you might be able to get a nice deal with that sales event. (import tax and longer shipping may apply, for after-sales it is probably better to order from Amazon EU/NA). The handle is big so therefore my recommendation is for those with a large/X-Large hand size for the Xinzuo Lan Santoku.

Both knives the one with Pakkawood and Olive wood version had the same balance point so indeed surprising. Keep in mind that the handle is more suitable for those with a large hand size. The biggest surprise for me was the performance of the Chinese SG2 (14Cr14MoVNb), if it were not for this side by side I would still be thinking about why a simple core change would make the knife double the price of the Chinese VG10 version (excluding the premium materials such as Olive Wood and Damascus Cladding). Hence my suggestion is to get the Chinese SG2 (14Cr14MoVNb) over the VG10 it is just that much better. Definitely a steel-type to look out for with Xinzuo/Hezhen.

Thank you for sharing your experience with the Shun Kaji Santoku, I only have the Classic Shun Santoku but compared to that the one from Xinzuo is noticeably heavier.

Thank you for the comment the next video will be the Xinzuo Zhen Series Tall Nakiri after that the Hezhen Elegant Santoku knife is in the planning. Most of the reviews/testing of the samples has been finished so if you have any questions feel free to ask. (Just the editing side and refilming some shots that have been out of focus takes more time).

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Kudos on the pun, even though the dimples are completely silly especially on a santoku.

Edge retention is dependable on the use case scenarios for each person it would be different. But to give you a rough estimate I would say approx 8+/- months before a maintenance session on a stone is needed. But this does include regular honing sessions on a rod. If we estimate 5 min a day for home use it will be like around. 3+/- months before you need to touch it up on a honing rod. Let's say each hone (the edge retention reduces faster since you straighten the blade) You can get around 3 honing sessions out of it. That means after each hone it reduces the edge retention more and more which means you need to hone the knife more frequently until you can't get away with a honing session and need to maintain the edge/reading a new edge with a whetstone. Honing sessions: Honing Session #1 removes 2 weeks of lifespan reducing the edge retention to 2.5 months. Honing Session #2 removes 1 month of the retention so the edge now lasts 1.5 months. Honing Session #3 Removes Another 6 weeks of lifespan the edge now last 0.5 months. So the factory edge is let's say 3+/- months then you add the lifespan of the 3 honing sessions which is approx: +/- 7.5 months before you need a whetstone maintenance session (you can push it to 8ish months but you need more honing sessions wich to a point you can't anymore and need a whetstone to add a new edge). 3/4 months before a hone on a rod is needed. With around 3 honing rod sessions approx 7/8 months before you need a Whetstone maintenance session. (this would be my estimate for this powdered version)

Aah those are part of the Xinzuo Classic series it was one of the few knives where they started with, and many wish that they went a bit back to that design as the newer series the handle is significantly bigger. Classic series is currently the select few series I can recommend to those with small to large hand sizes were the newer series caters more towards the medium and mostly large/XL hand sizes. Will see what I can do once I have finished all the current reviews.

Unfortunately, the store I bought it from is no longer active on Ali. There might be some similar ones but the quality is not the best and what you can expect from a 13-ish Euro Apron (free logo printing). Denim Apron is probably the search term for it. Just don't pay too much around 13 ish euros is quite fair (that is the price including the 21% Dutch sales tax).

yeah, it is quite on the heavy side but the handle was something I needed more time to get adjusted to due to the belly. But in general, most Santoku-styled handle like the Global Santoku in the video is too small for my hand size (Large). The thickness spine is around 2.1mm on my version (this may vary per version as the VG10 was 2.0mm). The tallest point is 54mm. Both have a spine tapering to 1.7mm/1.6mm (Powdered version/Chinese VG10). The biggest surprise was the core material when I first bought the Powdered version I was wondering why the price was double the Chinese VG10 it does not make sense is it so much better? And if it wasn't for this side-by-side I would have never known. But I can say that I highly recommend the powdered version for the core material alone. I also asked Xiznuo if they added a more aggressive profile taper as everything glides/feels so much smoother while using it. To my surprise, they said that the grind is approximately the same and they do not aim to add a more aggressive profile taper but that there might be some +/- 0.2mm difference due to the hand finishing at the end. So the difference felt alone was pure due to the core material difference. But both were indeed on the heavy side for a Santoku and the handle is big which I had commented on some who asked about it I had to say if you have a small or even medium hand size I don't recommend it as some wanted to gift one to their wife or gf which, generally speaking, will have a medium to smaller hand size (quite strange for me as normally I could blindly recommend the Santoku styled knife for those with small to medium hand sizes as they are normally on the smaller side for me with large hand size, with an exception of the octagonal handle or the D-shaped one from Shun).

@@chefpanko Great info! Here's to hoping they introduce lighter weight models in the future in powdered steels. I still believe that the Takamura R2 Santoku is the gold standard for high performance santokus. It's thin as hell at 1.6mm, no distal taper, but has enough convexing so that food doesn't still too badly. It's hard to get used to a 200+ gram knife once you've been using sub 150 gram knives.

That is a good question, which is quite a hard one to answer tbh. Some I do like but they could not provide the same QC over to all the series they over which left me with mixed feelings about the brand. Some abandoned their entire idea of creating a subbrand making the sub-brand redundant and bad. I would actually say those that have adequate performance are Dongsun while some series can use some updates as now I have seen brands like Xinzuo/Hezhen (same manufacturer) show me that they can take the blade grind to the next level. So decent performance for the price Dongsun, hope they update or add a newer series with a thinner blade grind. Other mentions would be Dengjia (They do have a budget line and a more premium one and Shibazi more budget to mid-line knives but good for the price). And then all the others, I currently can't recommend if it was 4 years back that knife would be okay. But the competitors have been going beyond the baseline grind and taking it a step further which I currently can't recommend and the QC was very mixed. Most of them focused too much on Design and not on the overall comfort or blade grind. So other brands mixed results: Grandsharp (they really need to step up fast, need better materials). The brands I can't recommend: are Xituo, Sowoll, and Huiwill (mixed QC, bad/mixed heat treatment, and outdated). Huiwill is a nightmare to avoid at all costs! A brand I wished they continued making kitchen knives was TwoSun, they were really on a good road in terms of making kitchen knives but it seems like they entirely abandoned the project and went back to only focusing on pocket knives. While I have not explored the brand Findking lately but I remember linking them 4/5 years back, if they have improved the blade grind that would be a brand I would say to keep an eye on (which I clearly did not keep an eye on but would like to mention it). Sunnecko/Keemake - in today's standard (outdated) I no longer recommend them and also they rebranded all Sunnecko to Keemake making the Keemake sub-brand redundant. Their heat treatment was not the best but for the price they sold the knives back then it was a sweet deal. But since the rebranding from Sunnecko to Keemake I no longer recommend them both as I don't stand with the decision of the manufacturer/brand owner. (I really hate the bait-and-switch tactic as I had recommended Keemake over Sunnecko but they entirely changed the vision of the sub-brand). So long story short I hope most of the brands step up and keep up with the fast pace that Xinzuo/Hezhen is pushing the knives at. While I don't agree with all designs, I have seen the improvements that are being made in newer series. I also want to see less Japanese AUS10, the 10Cr15CoMoV if heat treated well is currently outperforming most Japanese AUS10. (Still, a lot of Chinese manufacturers have mixed heat treatment results but those that do great in that part really excel with the Chinese Equivalent steel). Not sure if Tuo Cutlery is still on AliExpress but I can't recommend them either due to the QC problems and them being outdated in terms of blade grind. (I had knives for review provided by them but after the review, all contact stopped which is a shame if they took my critical point and improved on it the brand would be better). Before the review the communication was great!

Damascus refers to the look they added ie the softer outer layer. There is fake Damascus laser etched and there is real Damascus without needing to add multiple layers and there is fabricated Damascus to replicate the Real Damascus which is fabricated with multiple layers of steel on top of each other to create a certain look. Xinzuo orders the Damascus billets from a steel manufacturer. The Damascus stops at the handle since the handle is welded to the blade (this reduces the cost of premium materials so they can use softer cheaper steel for the handle part). Hope that this explains the Damascus part. The non-Damascus version is a cladded version made of 2 softer layers whereas the Damascus version uses multiple steel on top of each other to create the look/pattern. I prefer Ceramic as it is very effective on even high Rockwell knives but at the same time gentle and removes little material while still being effective. Ceramic stones in general will last longer and will not dish out as fast as nonceramic (soaking stones). Hope this answers your question feel free to ask more :)

@chefpanko thank you for the answer. this explains very good the making process of this types of knives. it is a good thing they are not using fake laser engraved knives and at least some pre-built steel layers are used to make the Damascus patterns. I like to call it a "half" Damascus since it has some perbuild seel layers. The core though is the reason that I've chosen this knife because it is made from Powder Steel...at least that is what they are saying it is. From what I've read this material is superior to VG10 and other types and the technology of creating such material is also interesting. I'm new to knives, new to seel types and sharpening ways so thanks once more for explaining the making process

damascus steel* (steal = to take away without asking)

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Which is why he always refers to it as Chinese VG-10 dummy..go kick rocks lol

Chinese VG10 - 10cr15comov. The Chinese equivalent to the Japanese VG10. I have added it in the description, video, and title to avoid any confusion and even mention ''Chinese'' in them with the added animated text ''10Cr15CoMoV''. Sorry if there was any confusion.