Yarenh - Chef's Knife Review - 1 Month 

By the way this is not unknown steel this is Austrian steel also known as 1.4528 or N690 creates by Boehler and used in manyyyyy brands of all kinds of knifes (not only kitchen) around the world. Also this steel is regarded to have better edge retention than vg10 according to the tests performed by knife steel nerds wich are Extremely profesional tests.

Thank you for the information. After talking to the OEMs in China, not every OEM has the same steel supplier and varies from the manufacturer. According to the manufacturers, the Chinese OEMs get their steel mostly from sources in China (some overseas). As for the steel quility, it all depends on the heat treatment and the contract between manufacturers and brands. As I have tested various 10cr steel, they differ greatly in heat treatment-some better than vg10 and some very bad. There is also a problem in the industry, as the Chinese OEM's stated to me. Their contract is with the brand owner. If they decide not to heat treat and skip it, they get a lower price quoted per batch. While the OEM's told me that they can definitely create quality knives, but all depends on the brand owner since they can even skip some quility control process to reduce cost. This makes it extremely hard to pinpoint a good unknown brand without testing them first since you simply can't buy a knife based on the core material and why I decided to review each knife individually. Thank you for the extra information. (the above problem is a problem with Chinese made knives since there are no regulations since the OEMs have a contract with the brand owner as long as they pay the manufacturing, the OEMs will deliver on what the brand paid for). One of the things why they can't state the specific steel, is because they are trademarked. If it is not VG10 from Japan, they can't say it is VG10 and other knife steel. But heat treatment is extremely important for the end results. For example, N690, if they are not sourced by them, they can't state it is an N690. They, however, can say equivalent to...

@@chefpanko since the brand you mentioned is actually a xinzou rebranded, perhaps it would be more fair to review an actual xinzou original and in that way we could avoid those oem problems and be a bit more fair to the original oem and how good their knifes are. Perhaps this brand is cheaper as you mentioned because of those motives, and the original xinzou knives wouldn't for example rust.

@@luismepu, I have tested various Xinzuo, and I'm very pleased with their heat treatment so far from their various sources of steel-types. Currently, Xinzuo is one of the select few that I can recommend their 10cr15comov and 440C and their German steel. (Each of them was as advertised). I will keep uploading individual knife reviews. Unfortunately, I can't test every single knife brand and style since I mostly pay for the knives myself (which can get expensive as I have spent more money than I get in return from the RU-vid channel to review the knives). I currently have 40+ more knives to test, and some were directly sent from the OEM's (their own brand while they also manufacture other brands) as a review sample. I also have currently tested over 60+ Chinese made knives. Unfortunately, some of the knives I got will never be reviewed; I had to directly throw them away. It was so bad that it is a waste of time to review. Unfortunately, it is not possible to know where some of the brands made their knives. They also can suddenly switch OEM's as a brand owner. One thing to note is from the many OEM's I have spoken to. They were all sincere when I asked them about VG10, and most of them directly told me that they can't deliver that core material. And they offered 10cr15comov instead, and some were able to get AUS-10 directly from AICHI Japan (Aichi Techno Metal Fukaumi). But when it came to VG10, they could not even get that steel delivered/imported to their factory for some reason. A lot of Cr steel is directly sourced from Shibazi (Yangjiang Shibazi Group Co., Ltd). they also have a separate factory in Guangdong that mainly deals with Hardware Tools. Quite interesting how big Shibazi Group is in China as they also offer boom arms, monitor stands, and more while they even source the materials to other manufacturers. Unfortunately, non of the OEM's could disclose which brand they have a contract with since that was a secret unless stated otherwise in the contract with the brand. My earlier reviews were done where there were a lot of quility control issues. Some brands I contacted told me that they improved on those flaws or will address them directly in the new batch, and if any customers weren't happy, they would replace them. Since I can only review what I bought and got delivered, I can't confirm that they have improved on the quility control. If you ask a brand where they are manufactured in China, they will mostly say ''Yangjiang,''(Chinese Kitchen Knife Center) but at that location alone, they have many OEMs offering similar designs. Even the OEM's manufacturer Shibazi is located there. However, each OEM's in that location has a different address. Some of them told me that I was free to visit. (Maybe in the future, when the channel grows, I will accept the offers and see the manufacturing facility in China). They told me the best way to get everything correctly, as a new design instead of using the standard design was to visit them, and they will sample the knife and alter it upon request. Keep in mind the Yangjiang area also offer kitchen supplies and even tools like screwdrivers and saws. As a brand owner, I understand why they don't disclose the exact location of the OEMs they used since other competitors might get in contact with the same OEM's. From all the OEM's I have spoken (30+), I only got 2 OEMs and their own original brand confirmed, and that was Shibazi and Dengjia, which both own their own factory. Hence, they are not only a brand owner but also manufacturing their own branded knives.

@@chefpanko love your videos and i just subscribed. i just bought one Xinzuo chefs knife for 52dollars before i watch your video, i am a beginner and i would like a recommendation on a entry level chefs knifes with similar features but a better rust resistance.

Thank you for watching I try to keep it up but the coming months will be hard since the holidays are coming and that means extra workload at the restaurant. But will definitely try to upload more review and guides/tutorials.

Thank you for watching, I try to give the same or more information for all the other upcoming knives review.

Sorry for the late reply and thank you for the comment :) For $30 it is a very great deal, it is hard to argue with the quality you get from those knives at that price range. Xinzuo is one of the manufacturers that has a consistent quality (from the few knives I got from them). The packaging has been improved too to avoid damage during shipping. Something that I did notice is that Xinzuo owns branded knives have more details for the packaging and information than the knives they make for resellers like Yarenh.

Thank you! 😊, unfortunately, they no longer make them, but other End, grain cutting boards, will have similar looks and performance. I use it for aesthetic purposes (for the videos), but I prefer the Asahi cutting board to do food prep at home.

Glad it was helpful!

I don't think you would find a better deal than $65 especially if it is bought on Amazon (The delivery time, send from an amazon warehouse and the warranty you get from Amazon is in some cases worth to pay extra than buying it on AliExpress). So you got a very good deal! 7 inches is for me personally the best Santoku length, everything under 7 inches is too short for a Santoku in my opinion. Xinzuo is currently the only manufacturer that I have tested with the claimed HRC, and they are currently also the only manufacturer that delivers good quality ''10Cr15CoMov'' (Chinese steel-type). Enjoy the knives! :) and great discount spotting on your part!

The situation is a bit different back in the day. The problem was that the Japanese VG10 was not getting the proper heat treatment damaging the steel brand. This caused a lot of problems in marketing that particular steel to to masses, and another brand resorted to using a proprietary called VG-Max That brand is Shun, and to this date still are the only one that can use VG-Max. Later the steel manufacturer decided to add an export ban on China which Chinese manufacturers resorted i using loopholes to get the Japanese VG10. Until that route was banned too, Chinese manufacturers had a problem as the Japanese VG10 was a very popular steel back then. They then resorted to creating a Chinese equivalent called ''10Cr15CoMoV'', however, that steel had a very rough start as it faced the same problem as the reason the Japanese VG10 was banned i.e.; bad heat treatment. Reputable manufacturers were stepping up the came and managed to get consistent heat treatment on the ''10Cr15CoMoV''. Which now even surpasses the Japanese AUS10 steel. Now that they have a steel that can compete and the sales of Japanese VG10 sales dropped they have decided to lift the ban that was introduced. At the end of 2020, the ban was lifted however many of the Chinese manufacturers no longer were ordering the VG10. Wich the 10Cr15CoMoV is now considered Chinese VG10. Besides the Chinese VG10, they also have introduced a powdered version and created their own coreless dual-core versions. However, there are still a lot of manufacturers not getting the heat treatment right. But those that do are able to compete now and can offer the knives at more aggressive pricing since they no longer need to import the steel from Japan. Hope that this explains the entire ban thing and how fast the market has shifted as the ban accelerated the introduction of Chinese equivalent versions as the Chinese manufacturers don't want to deal with such a ban in the future. As for home use vs. professional use. Let's say 1 day of prep at home is around 10 minutes of slicing for a small family. In a professional kitchen prep work can take up to 5 + hours and depending on the station the knife can be used for 8+ hours straight. This will set the knife to 30+ times more use in a day not to forget the faster and more prep the knife gets in a minute just to get the produce ready for breakfast/lunch/dinner. Kai Shun had a rough start too in introducing the VG10/VG-Max as the customer base had a lot of trouble with the knife chipping. Other knives steel that are durable: Chromova 18, AUS10, Silver Steel No 3, Vanadium Steel. There are more but those are the ones I can think of right now. Hope that this information helps.

Noted thanks! :)

A complete sharpening and maintenance guide is being made. It will include different knives maintenance, angle, what stone to use. I want to include the why, when and how in the video's so that it will be clear what stone to use why and how etc. There is no set date yet currently there are a lot of Chinese made knives review coming after that Japanese knife made in Japan including knives from Japanese blacksmiths. But in the meanwhile, I'm also filming and figuring out how to deliver all the sharpening information in one video. (Thinking about 1 long video format around 30 to 60 min long that will include everything about the sharpening process and they can be skipped to any subject since I plan to put every subject in the comment including the timeline). I don't have a specific upload date for it since I need to make sure that every information is in the video, and it will take a while to film everything with the correct angle. Thank you for the suggestion, it is noted and will be made.

@@chefpanko That's great! Thanks for being so thorough too! By the way, if you don't mind, what is your background? Are you Chinese, Japanese, ???

@@Chrysaphius I'm born in the Netherlands, I'm Chinese, and my culinary background is in the French and Japanese cuisine. I started at a French restaurant, and I rolled into an Apprenticeship program in a Japanese Restaurant and was trained by a Japanese chef. My sharpening lessons were from my former chef (I switched a few restaurants since the level of the cooks/chef's were not that great I worked with 20 different cooks in my career and I only respect 4 of the chef's that is my own first Japanese chef and the other 2 I respected what I did not know back then they were both trained by my own chef before they started their own restaurant and the last Chef was the head-chef at the french restaurant learned a lot from him too), but due to the language barrier, I had to take separate sharpening lessons from a Japanese blacksmith at a knife event, where he showed me and learned me all the how, when and why on each knife. The amount of knowledge he has is unreal and I also bought a few knives from him since they had a Diamond carving machine at the store the event was held and carved my youtube logo on the knife beside his own branded kanji. The blacksmith's name was Takayuki Shibata. With his Kotetsu line, I have 3 knives from him.

@@chefpanko Wow that is so cool! Thanks for the answer.

The build quality of the Yarenh/Xinzuo knife is good did not notice anything wrong and compared to the shun and Miyabi pretty similar. However, the handle is an Oval shape after using Miyabi's and Shuns D shape this will be a noticeable switch. I prefer the D-shape over the Oval shape, the seller does offer a D shape too and that one is similar to a Shun. The steel type 10Cr15CoMoV is definitely not comparable to a VG10 or A Miyabi it is not as rust resistance as the VG10 and the edge retention is not as good. In terms of details, the Damascus layer looks good but there are definitely better-layered knives like the Keemake 8 inch chef's knife. Not only does the Damascus layer look better there the hammered finish is also much nicer. For $30 to $40 I can't complain about the finer details, the shun is better no doubt about that but after testing more and more Chinese knives, I'm impressed. However, I will put the Keemake 8 inch chef's knife with imported AUS-10 steel above the VGMAX from Shun: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-8RXsrQdQCsY.html Miyabi is slightly sharper than the shun. In terms of price and quality, I think the Chinese manufacturers are going to make a great impact on the knives market. The shun Santoku cost without any discount around $169, in Japan the same knife cost around $99 without discount and they had a discount there when I was in Japan so it was $69. Unless EU and NA can match the pricing for the Japanese knives that they are sold for in Japan then I think that Chinese manufacturers can get a great market share by creating their own brand.

They are indeed great, unfortunately, the price has been increased by 40% / 50%. (however, they also upgraded the handle and aesthetics of the knives).

I would say that Xinzuo currently is delivering me a consistent quility, and I got what was advertised. Xinzuo: bit.ly/2TKXDor Dongsun is also quite interesting: bit.ly/3epbcSm (I got their AUS10 D-shaped black handle version, and I'm pleased with it. Handle is only a bit on the longer and bigger side but overall a good performing knife). Findking: bit.ly/2FQfN2Q (had some quility control issues, but that was early 2019, not sure if they are fixed or not, but most knives core material are as advertised). I do many individual knife reviews because not each knife from a select brand will perform the same. For example: Xinzuo 440C Gyuto: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-2GIIJe4xkIY.html&t= I like everything about it but then comes the other knife with the same material and brand. Xinzuo 440C Nakiri: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-PAgGpLy1r_s.html As a Nakiri, the profile does not perform like one but for the rest exactly the same as the Gyuto version. (a simple change in the profile can make or break the knife purpose).

@@chefpanko which series from xinzuo you racommand? I also see this knife € 34,51 49％ Off | 67-layer steel V gold 10 Damascus kitchen knife chef Knives Gyuto Santoku Cleaver Paring Steak Slicing Utility Boning Salmon a.aliexpress.com/_mOZHPv7 Do you know this knife?

Shun has been doing a lot of new line-ups with some exciting takes in the aesthetic and sometimes a minor change in function. I feel that their brand has been swayed away from being good semi-affordable affordable quality Japanese-made knives to a more daring and experimental brand targeting exclusives and higher-priced luxury segments (depending on what market they are active in, as in Asia they have a wider selection with some good quality affordable budget options). The Chinese brands are a hit or miss, with some very questionable design choices neglecting the knife functionality to prioritize aesthetics. Quality control is a major problem too across multiple brands wich many of which I did not review as it would be a waste of my time (upon arrival they can be thrown in the trash bin). But there are some golden nuggets, unfortunately, the golden nuggets I found years back are no longer the golden nuggets as the prices have been doubled and some even tripled. So it is getting harder and harder to find the golden nuggets, but the quality has been improved by multiple brands and so has the price. Hope you can still find some golden nuggets for your own knife.

@@chefpanko I've been buying Xinzuo and Dongsun for western style knives that are made in China. This year I also got a Hezhen cleaver which is decent. Honestly, I have no complaints, especially at their price point. But there definitely are poorly designed & made knives that look fancy but perform terribly like some Xituo knives. Although those are usually comparable to $10 walmart knives in price and quality.

No lo he probado, así que no puedo expresar mi opinión.

The knives in this video were approx 15 degrees per side. But this was one of the first versions that Yarenh offered they have new knives and line-ups now. So I don't know if they have changed the angle or not.

My current updated recommendation based on price/quality ratio can be found here: www.chefpanko.com/types-of-knives/ Under each knife, there is a link to the knife I recommend for that specific knife type.

Wood is a natural product (which makes things unpredictable) but the handle design plays a huge role. Right now my experience with the wooden handles from China is mixed. What I did find out is that full tang western-styled wooden handle often comes with a protrusion, it can be a bad manufacturing quality control where they did not grind down the metal parts. It can also be a shrinkage of the wood itself. The handle design of this Xinzuo/Yarenh is in an oval shape, it comes with an outer layer once that layer is washed away you will need to oil it however the shrinkage is not something you should worry about with this handle design. The maintenance of the wood depends on how many times you use the knives and wash it. You can go for years without taking care of the knife handle. But you will notice that the wood is completely dried out (for example the Kai Shun black handles will turn grey and dried out if not oiled but the handle will not crack or shrink for many years). Then the other problem is the build-up of and external layers of dirt if you do not get regular maintenance of oiling on the handles. When that happens you will see that the natural wood (light brown colors like most traditional handles of Japanese knives) will turn dark brown wich you can clearly see that it is a build-up of dirt, water, hand sweat, etc. when that happens you can use the option to sandpaper the outer layer away and reoil it after. Right now my recommendation is to look for knives with a G10 handle if you want wood don't go for the western full tang wooden handle. Also, Avoid claimed imported Japanese VG10 steel, they either can't heat treat it correctly or they are using the Chinese version called '10Cr15CoMov''' which they call VG10 on the page description without mentioning the Chinese type, once you contact them they will then say it is the Chinese VG10 in other words '10Cr15CoMov'''. You can see my conclusion here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-RLaKjcDtT44.html&t= Of course, I did not try every single manufacturer and brand. But for now, the Chinese steel type is all over the place in terms of edge retention and sharpness. for example 10Cr15CoMov can be very good for the brand ''A'' and 10Cr15CoMov for brand ''B'' can be from lower quality. This is true for all 10Cr, 9Cr, 8Cr, 7Cr, etc. versions. I will review a few more brands and upload it but if you don't want to wait for the video's then my recommendation is the following, G10 handle, Imported Japanese AUS10 (some sellers even calls the AUS10 ''10Cr15CoMov'' so contact them if you are in doubt to be sure). 10Cr15CoMov is a good steel, but the quality depends on the manufacturer and brand. So search for reviews before buying a Chinese steel types.

@@chefpanko WOW! didn't expect such a detailed answer! Thanks so much, I learned a lot just from reading this reply :). I'll definitely look into that AUS10 and the G10 Handle. Thanks again! and keep up the good work with the videos :D

@@nirglazer5962 Glad that I could help :)

Xinzuo indicates the handle is Pakkawood. Pakkawood is actually a resin impregnated wood veneer. So it should stand up to a good degree of use. I'm not sure if it would take up mineral oil due to the resin impregnation.

@@dbreardon it will eventually dry out. It will last the few months when it is new. If I'm correct the Kai Shun uses pakkawood too that eventually dried out too. However they are indeed very good with the water resistant but it won't last forever. It still uses some natural wood so the effect may last a long time at home but in a restaurant setting the knives get exposed to multiple washes a day and that where I saw the drying out effect. Once the natural wood even with the resin mixed in will dry out eventually after that it will soak up oil.

Great questions I will explain them below since each restaurant is different. Depends on the knife's steel types, but when they claim it is Stainless steel then most of the time it is as they say. All knives can rust if stored in a humid environment or in a salty environment. The stainless knives do an excellent job of not rusting or pitting even when exposed to water for an extended period of time. TLDR: At the sushi restaurant we have the knives for pretty much an entire shift in a bucket of water especially during rush hour, so in this case, the knife will be sitting for hours in a bucket with water. (why do most of the sushi restaurants do that? It will be explained below). - Short version: Sushi rice is sticky water/dampness gives a non-stick coating on the knife. - Long version and why: As I have worked for multiple restaurants it depends on what station you cover and the type of restaurant (what they serve). As for the Japanese Sushi restaurants here, we have a few setups depending on the restaurant-style. If it is Omakase Sushi then it is one chef prepping for a few guests in front of him. (here we have the time to use a damp towel to moist our knives before we slice any sushi rolls for example). Omakase style Sushi: Enough time for each guest and based on a course menu that they prebooked (including allergies and special wishes so if they don't eat raw we will modify the course menu for that guest) before reserving a spot at the restaurant. A la carte style Sushi (Including take-away sets, delivery sets like uber eats, etc): Most of the Japanese sushi restaurants will have the following setup, a rolling station to prep the sushi rolls (literally a station to roll the various sushi), a Nigiri station, Flaming station (including dragon rolls), we also have prep stations but this covers the serving station and the work that has to be done so that we can fulfill the orders. Our Sushi Vinegar consists of a combination of sugar and salt and we marinade the rice with it. To have a non-stick coating, we can cross our knives across a damp towel before we portion size a roll. Wich can be done if it is not busy or it is an omakase restaurant. But if it is a high-volume a-la-carte restaurant that also does takeaways and delivery this scenario is not practical and very time-consuming before we can get an order out. 1 out of 3 (seems like the comment was too long)

That's why the serving station is modified: We use a bucket with water where we set our stainless steel knife in, a damp towel at the edge so that we can remove excess water from the knife. The bucket with water is under a running tap to prevent bacteria build-up and once there is some breathing space we need to clean the area constantly (since you never know went the health inspections come and check the kitchen). So in this case, once we get an order during rush hours (and all the things that need to be prepped on its place: mise, and place) we will get a lot of tickets that we need to fulfill on order and need to have enough to cover each order. So before the rush hour starts we pre-roll the Sushi rolls that we have, since the competition is fierce and each restaurant keeps offering more and more combinations we need to pre-roll 15+ kinds of rolls. So the one at the serving station needs to prep the space for the rush hour this includes, a bucket with water and a knife, etc. The one at the serving station needs to check how many guests have reserved and needs to calculate how many walk-ins that they expect. Based on that he can call out the rolls that the guys at the rolling station need to roll. On a busy day, we say the following to the rollers, 15 California roll, 10 Salmon Uramaki, 12 Spicy tuna Uromaki, 8 Crispy Rolls, 4 Spicy Salmon Rolls, 5 Chicken Rolls, 5 Beef Rolls, 12 Salmon Maki, 10 Avocado Maki, 12 Tuna Maki, 15 Cucumber Maki, etc. Once the guys have rolled everything that you called for you at the serving station need to portion size each roll this is very time-consuming and if you need to do each roll and wipe your knife each time you will be losing a lot of time and you will be chasing the tickets. Hence the bucket with water method since rice is sticky the slightly wet knife prevents the knife from sticking and making the rolls look ugly since the rice fell off the seaweed not providing a clean-cut and therefore ruining the plating presentation. The running tap is to prevent bacteria build-up in the water since it gets fed with a constant stream of cold water and we need to constantly wash the area once we have breathing space. But the running tap also removes the salt, sugar, and vinegar from the bucket from constantly slicing the rolls so it will have less of a rust effect on the stainless knife. #5566 Dine-in: 2x California rolls (8 pieces per roll) 6x Salmon Nigiri 6x Seared Salmon Nigiri 1x Tuna set 1P (consist 4 pieces spicy tuna uramaki/inside out roll, 4 pieces Tuna Maki, 3x pieces Tuna Sashimi, 2pieces Tuna Nigiri) ^ order ticket #1 (but during rush hours we get like 30x of those tickets all in different combinations and orders coming at almost the same time especially when it is fully booked and we still have the online orders to deal with). #5567 Take-Away: 1x Salmon set 2P (consist 4 pieces Salmon uramaki/inside out roll, 4 pieces Salmon Maki, 3x pieces Salmon Sashimi, 2pieces Salmon Nigiri) 2x Tuna set 2P (consist 4 pieces spicy tuna uramaki/inside out roll, 4 pieces Tuna Maki, 3x pieces Tuna Sashimi, 2pieces Tuna Nigiri) #5568 Uber Eats (Delivery): 10x Salmon Nigiri 10x Tuna Nigiri 6x Seared Salmon 1x Rainbow roll - Uber Eats Comment: Extra sauce on the Rainbow Roll, no sauce on the Seared Salmon. To keep up with the speed at the Sushi kitchen excluding our frying station, teppanyaki station, saute station, etc we have the following setup: - Serving Station (checking the prep-work, guest reservation ) - Nigiri Station/Poke bowl station - Flaming / Dragon/Rainbow rolls station (also a station that has a bucket with water for slicing the specific rolls). - Rolling Station 2 out of 3

- Serving Station (Uromaki/Maki Serving station): Checking guest reservations, Checking the prep work if it is enough for the day, maintaining a clean workspace, and need to call the exact amount of sushi rolls for the rollers to roll. Each sushi has a time period that it needs to be served otherwise we need to throw them away. So once he calls for the rolls for the rush hour he keeps a timer for each roll, he also keeps the roll supply up. He can't ask for too many rolls since you will need to throw it away after a period of time and he needs to keep track of all the tickets. - Nigiri Station/Poke bowl station: Their job is to see what ticket the person at the serving station is preparing and need to prepare the Nigiri/ Poke Bowl orders and any separate nigiri and poke bowl order is their responsibility. - Flaming / Dragon/Rainbow rolls station His job is to cover the Salmon searing part, Beef Nigiri, and slicing the Dragon/Rainbow rolls. Those rolls have the Avocado and salmon and sushi on top and need a different slicing method so that everything stays on top. - Rolling Station 2/3 persons at this station since one will keep track of the rice. Cooking the rice and mixing the rice they need to ask the person at the serving station if he needs to keep cooking or not (an experienced team does not have to ask any since the entire team can see when to stop and keeps track of how many reservations and guest there is but this station is usually covered by less experienced cooks). The other 2 person keeps rolling and one of them also covers the Sashimi. With this setup, you have a continuous circle to cover the sushi kitchen during rush hour. So to beat the rush hour, we start rolling at 5pm if the rush hour is 6pm. So everything is portion-sized and ready to be served. 6pm rush hour, in this case, I cover the 3 order tickets from above. The 3 tickets above take approx 30 seconds to prepare all 3 of them with a team of 5 (and we have 2 printers one for the Rolls serving station and one for the Nigiri station). If all 3 come in at the same time, we need to prioritize, Takeaway first then Uber eats (Delivery) then dine-in tickets. (Takeaway guests are waiting with nothing, Uber delivery man/woman is still on the way, Dine-in guest will get or already have their drinks first but of course, everything depends on the situation, if the Dine-in guest is in a hurry the waiters/waitresses will communicate that with the kitchen or add a comment on our ticket). #5567 Take-Away: 1x Salmon set 2P 2x Tuna set 2P The serving station grabs 3 separate takeaway boxes, calls out the order place 4 pieces of salmon Uromaki in one box and 2 times 4 pieces of Tuna Uramaki in separate boxes. The box with the ticket goes to the Nigiri station, he calls out the Sashimi that is included in the sets gives the box to the sashimi person at the Rolling station and then the order goes out. (We don't have to walk to each station or leave or station since every station is in arm's length reach). Rolling, Nigiri, searing station is next to each other and the rolling station is behind us. #5568 Uber Eats (Delivery): 10x Salmon Nigiri 10x Tuna Nigiri 6x Seared Salmon 1x Rainbow roll - Uber Eats Comment: Extra sauce on the Rainbow Roll, no sauce on the Seared Salmon. Since this ticket does not contain any of the Uromaki/Maki stations the ticket will come out at the Nigiri station printer. The one at the Nigiri station checks the ticket memorizes it and gives it to the flaming/searing station they both have their own serving plates and take-away containers. The Nigiri person will mention the comment below so that we don't make any mistakes with the added comment. (since this will hurt our online restaurant rating). #5566 Dine-in: 2x California rolls (8 pieces per roll) 6x Salmon Nigiri 6x Seared Salmon Nigiri 1x Tuna set 1P + Sashimi (consist 4 pieces spicy tuna uramaki/inside out roll, 4 pieces Tuna Maki, 3x pieces Tuna Sashimi, 2pieces Tuna Nigiri) The serving station chef gets this order sees dine-in: Calls out the order that is relevant for the Nigiri Station and then gets the correct plates for each of them. He will say the following: 6 Salmon, 6 seared Salmon all in one plate! Since it is already pre-prepped he only needs to grab the pieces and plate them. In this case, we will put the 2 California rolls (16 pieces) on a big plate with enough room for the 6 Salmon and 6 seared salmon nigiri the plate goes next to him so that they can plate the rest. And the set is always separate so that get's its own Plate, Since it is a set we don't need to call it out, the Nigiri station cook will directly know what set it is. - The bucket with water, since we need to time our rolls, first in first out, and have so many variations we will be serving and slicing the entire shift. And as you have worked at a restaurant you may know that we don't have a relaxing break, if we are hungry we need to crouch and eat fast so that non of the guest sees us eating and then keep finishing the orders. You only go to the toilet before rush hour and after or if it is less busy. So we pre-slice everything, timer it, and once we are done with the tickets we look at our stock and ask the rollers to roll more and you keep portion sizing it. And for this reason, the knife will sit in the bucket with water and a running tap during the entire shift for hours. The station will get messy but that is also why we need to clean it each time we have some breathing space, wiping the knife clean and the station, etc. I have a picture but not sure if RU-vid deletes it since it deletes links so I will add the link in a separate comment to show you the bucket with water. Most sushi restaurants have a similar setup, in that picture, you can see me testing the Wusthof knife. If a knife says it is stainless it will not rust at all for years, we are using this setup for years and none of the claimed stainless rusted here but for some reason the one in this video did. Hope that this answers your question if you have more questions feel free to ask :) 3 out of 3

www.chefpanko.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Wusthof-Classic-Knife-ChefPanko.jpg ^Example Picture if RU-vid does not delete it then you will see the link if they delete it this comment will be gone too

@@chefpanko interesting, but as I say, I've never come across it. Must be something to do with environment - humidity? I'm in UK and it's not uncommon to leave knives, ladles, whisks etc in buckets of water and sanitiser for ease of use.

I agree (rockwell is slightly lower and the thickness of the knives is different but edge retention is around 59/60 I did not receive a knife that came close to 61 but that is 100% fine considering the price), I have tested a few grandsharp knives and I,m happy with the VG10. But not all knives are equal. But that has more to do with the knife series than the core material. I have 2 more knives from them a review is on its way.

@@chefpankoGreat videos! I am doubting between xinzuo, grandsharp and amber nakiri.

@@stijnpeusens2798 Out of the 3, I would say Xinzuo over Grandsharp (this one has some knives that are below expectations). As for Amber knives, they have a lot of knives in their product line that is sold by a lot of other resellers. I have no idea if Amber knives are better or not, but some of the knives they offer do not have bad heat treatment. I always question the sellers when they offer the exact same knife like this one: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-FiunVYwOuPg.html&t I dislike the heat treatment; while it looks good, the performance was horrible.

@@chefpanko and fangzuo, you have tried this knife?

@@stijnpeusens2798 No, I did not, but it looks good, but I can't say much without trying it personally. I have bought knives which look the same as another, but the quility and heat treatment were very different. So without trying Amber or Fangzuo, I can't say much about any of them. (one of the reasons I review individual knives since some brands ahs good knives, but some series were below my expectations).

These knives are all made in China, this was one of the first videos that I uploaded on youtube so my English was not great. I have since then added CC (closed captions), but that was based on the already translated version from RU-vid. It is supposed to be ''Yarenh'' not ''Iran'' I will update the subtitles thank you for noticing :)

谢谢你，很棒的视频！ 你的英语也很好。 您是不是很推荐这些中餐刀适合家庭使用，但不适合餐厅厨房使用呢？

@@changeiswelcome The knives are good for home use, decent rust resistance. For restaurants use, the Chinese knives, in general, are a bit too short. But they do sell great Chinese made knives Xinzuo now also offers 240mm: bit.ly/31mvqbo And 210mm: bit.ly/3hW2Bbo Review of it can be found here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-2GIIJe4xkIY.html Thanks :)

Imported Japanese VG10 made in China, they can't get a consistent Rockwell or/and I highly doubt that they are using a real Japanese VG10 steel for most of the sellers on AliExpress. Only a select few were good but then they had other problems like protrusion on the handles, a way too round profile, etc. Many of the sellers that say ''Japanese VG10'', and when I ordered them and tested them I get a feeling that it is a 10Cr15comov. Once I contacted them again they told me it is a Chinese VG10 which is according to the seller equivalent to the Japanese VG10. Well, it is not! 10Cr15coMov is not bad the only problem is with the sellers/resellers: 1. They lie about the Japanese VG10 and sell them as VG10 while it is a 10Cr15comov. 2. The claimed ''imported Japanese VG10'' quality is inconsistent across many sellers and brands from China. 3. ''10Cr15comov'' is sold as a ''VG10'' or ''Japanese VG10''. 4. 10Cr15comov is an unknown steel-type in other words the manufacturer is unknown, resulting in different quality in terms of Rockwell and edge retention. 10Cr15comov, some are the same or even slightly better than the Japanese VG10, but some are worse. Only a select few manufacturers/ brand is delivering a 10cr15comov that is on par or comes extremely close with VG10/AUS10 is from Xinzuo. Many resellers have the same knives as Xinzuo but than with their own logo on it aesthetically and performance-wise they are the same knife. An example is the ''Yarenh'' brand which is basically a Xinzuo knife. Things to improve for Chinese manufacturers are weight, thickness, spine distal taper and quality control if you compare it to a real Japanese knife. However, for most home cooks, the knives from AliExpress are very good when it comes to quality/price ratio. I hope that this explains it, feel free to ask more questions love to help.

@@chefpanko I bought this set "XINZUO 5-Piece Kitchen Knife Set Damascus Steel, Chef Knife Carving Santoku Utility and Paring Knife 67 Layer High Carbon Japanese Stainless Steel Pro Chef's Knives Set with Pakkawood Handle - Ya Series" on amazon.ca sold by Xinzou for 279.99 CDN. Do you think these are ok? Or will they be crap? They should arrived in a few days.

@@konradvonmarburg7733 The knives from Xinzuo are 10Cr15comov depending on the series they don't sell VG10 or AUS10. Xinzuo is one of the few that is actually not lying and clearly state that they sell 10Cr15comov. I like the quality from Xinzuo, they are also delivering a consistent 10Cr15comov quality. For home use, they are absolutely good enough. The edge retention is good especially for the price, it sits around 59/60 Rockwell (so definitely not the 62 that they advertise with on Amazon the Rockwell rating should be 60 +/-2) the only thing to note is that they have decent rust resistance but I don't recommend long exposure to water. One thing to note all my knife reviews on this channel are done after sharpening the knives myself, the reason for that is that many Chinese manufacturers are sharpening the knives on an extremely low angle something that is not good for a knife with a Rockwell of around 60. The low angle they use should only be used to a Rockwell of 62+. So the edge retention out-of-the-box will get dull faster than you may be used to but after resharpening / own touch -up they are absolutely fine. As for the ''Ya'' series, I have no experience with them, but looking at the picture the handle looks extremely big, but the curve upper and under can be comfortable. The only concern about that handle is the knuckle clearance on the Chef and Santoku knife and the balance point of those. If the chef knife handles/back heavy then the knife is balanced correctly for a western chef knife (middle heavy is fine too but that is more for a Japanese Gyuto). The santoku knife balance is preferably at the blade (middle balance) but because of the handle design, I think it will be handle/back heavy. Above is based on pictures I don't know how they will feel in your hands. It can be nice and filling in your palm so that's why my concern is more with the balance point and knuckle clearance. The core material and blade should be fine with no concerns there. As for Pakkawood, the handles of Xinzuo are coated very nicely and impregnated pretty well. So you probably won't need to oil them for a very long time. Especially if you use it at home. I would wait with buying food-grade mineral oil until you see that the coating goes away and you can visibly see the wood drying out then you can apply mineral oil. Pakkawood won't soak up a lot of oil so just 1/2 drops should be enough.

Thank you for the feedback and thank you for watching!

@@chefpanko I thought I heard a Dutch accent and the "handzeep" confirmed it :)

@@dominicnzl lol I think it was the cheapest one at Kruidvat, you will probably notice more dutch items like Calve pindakaas :)

Keemake and Sunnecko is a brand I can't recommend due to a few misleading marketing tactics. While it is years back when I last spoke to them, back then they had the steel import data provided which was indeed imported from a Japanese manufacturer. However, the brand Sunnecko got rebranded to Keemake, and a lot of other things in between developed over time where I can no longer recommend them as a brand that is going in the right direction. Other brands that I still like and can recommend are Dengjia, Shibazi, Xinzuo/Hezhen. Many other brands I have mixed results with the above brands are currently my top recommendations. However, keep in mind that knife style and design is something that should be considered as not every knife is equal in terms of end-usage comfort wise and more. But in terms of quality control, those above-mentioned knives were the most consistent and the most honest about what material they used. PS: a Q&A with the co-founder of Xinzuo/Hezhen will be posted on my website (link in description) tomorrow. (My experience and timeline with the brand Xinzuo/Hezhen is already uploaded on my website but the long-awaited Q&A will be published tomorrow).

@@chefpanko so I understand that Keemake is a totally separate 'entity' from the Xin'\Hez' ?

@@generaldistrust that is correct: Keemake and Sunnecko are the same. Sunnecko was supposed to be the budget version whereas Keemake was supposed to be a more premium knife. They entirely changed it due to the better reviews of the Keemake branded knives they changed the exact same knife sold as Sunnecko and just rebranded it with the Keemake logo. Defeating the purpose of having the Keemake brand. (along with many other things that I did not like about them as a brand and the direction they went). Xinzuo is a OEM making knives for multiple brands but Xinzuo is their own brand named knives that they sell. Hezhen is also part of Xinzuo but with a different focus. Xinzuo and Hezhen are both made in the Xinzuo factory. As a sub-brand of Xinzuo, Hezhen places greater emphasis on creating premium knives with a focus on aesthetics, design, and materials, resulting in a more luxurious offering compared to the main Xinzuo brand. (ie; premium wooden handles, more daring design elements, etc). The area (Yangjiang City, known as the “city of knives” in China) where the knives are made has multiple manufacturers making a lot of branded knives for other brands all around the world.

@@chefpanko wow MAANN.. maybe make another newer updated *proprietary* video *magnifying exactly* what you just said right up here.. see, *I know* you explained that kver a couple or so videos, but making one dedicated to this w\ a dedicated title - that could save a lot of trouble.. but on the other hand, it might trouble you with another video editing process... so IDK, I'd hate to push anyone into making anything, so this is just a humble suggestion MAJOR THANKS to you and your precious work!

@@generaldistrust it is on my to-do list but unfortunately, it has been very busy lately as I have stopped accepting any new knife review samples from various brands since I have quite a big backlog of reviews that will be released soon. One thing that might be interesting is the Q&A that I have done with the co-founder of Xinzuo. The Q&A will be released tomorrow on my website, as it is quite a long article but it might reveal a lot of things, and questions that you might have might already be answered there. The Q&A goes a bit deeper into the manufacturing process of Xinzuo/Hezhen. (link to my website is in the description). While a video is on my to-do list I can't guarantee that I actually get the time to make it, so currently I try to update new information through my website as it is less time-consuming in getting the footage filmed and edited compared to w written blog post. The Q&A alone took a very long time due to time (like: time difference) and back-and-forth conversations to get the correct answers answered. I even had to redact a few answers as it was explained in detail but it was information that currently can't be publicly revealed so they asked me to keep it to myself. (Xinzuo will eventually reveal itself as it is part of prototyping and collaborations and R&D for a new product/series launch).

You bought it for $140??? Those knives are around 35/40 USD per piece (santoku or chef knife). All the reviews are with the price calculated in. But for $140 I think you got ripped off. And you could indeed go for a Japanese knife at that price point. Thank you for the comment may I ask you where you bought yours? Can't imagine that someone is selling it for $140....

ChefPanko it a xinzuo knife with a alligator sheath bought on amazon put a nice edge on it and cut meat about one hour into cutting meat knife went dull returning it back I like knifes but not this brand my shun still out perform it’s over 10 years old

@@blongyang5555 Interesting but $140 is definitely overpriced even with the sheath. This will take away the most interesting part about these knives that is the price, the edge retention is definitely not better than a Shun, not only that the Shun has a distal taper something many Chinese manufacturers don't have on their knives also the Shun has a higher Rockwell than the Xinzuo, Xinzuo is around 59 Shun 61. The spine distal taper and the thinner blade of the shun will definitely outperform this knife no doubt about that. The price of Yarenh and Xinzuo is up after I uploaded this review. So they are now approx $50 (I paid $30/$35 per piece) while still very attractive for that price range and definitely good for the price of $50. I personally would not spend $140 even with the sheath on those knives. Since with that price point, they are reaching the price range of Japanese knives like the Shun, and that will take away everything that I find interesting about these knives is the price/quality. I looked at AliExpress the sheath itself is approx $25 USD that will make the knife still $70 more expensive. So I do understand your statement now, and interesting to see that the knife with sheets is $140 on Amazon while on AliExpress they are $70/$75 with the sheath. Thank you for your input and experience with them it is always nice to see what others are thinking. I just wasn't sure if we were in line when I saw $140 that you paid for I was directly thinking that you got ripped off especially when I paid around $30 per piece. The review of the video is with the price of $30/$50 in mind, but I totally understand your point of view now $140 is definitely way too high. And I will Choose a Shun that is actually made in Japan over a knife that tries to be Japanese but made in China if the price was the same.