While these knives are nowhere equal, I included my Mora 2/0 to compare to this KAI $7 knife I found at my local Mituswa (Japanese Grocery Store). I thought it makes a great food prep knife for the camp foodies among us.

Here she is in all her 1.1oz glory. Off the bat, she is sharper than my Mora! I use the "shave your arm hair" test:


Here is the 1.8oz Mora 2/0 that we will use as some base for comparison:


The two compared side by side:


The handle says "Stainless", the Magnet says "Maybe Laminated Steel":


According to my trusty magnet, it appears to have a tang about 1/3 the length of the handle:


Teardrop/D-shaped handle, so sorry lefties. For righties, this tucks nicely into the bend of your index finger:


In it's sheath. Just slips in, does not lock in any way. Just a slight amount of friction hold:


Blade length is just shy of 3 7/8":


Total knife length is just a hair over 7 5/8":


Blade thickness comparison:


I think this is a great $7 little knife if you're going to be doing some gourmet backpacking. It's handle design and blade shape lends itself more to chopping and other food preparation than the Mora 2/0, and the blade length should be more than adequate for cheese blocks, vegetables, fruits, dried sausage, etc. Who knows how much of a beating it could take for other purposes too. Maybe if someone is California lives near a Mitsuwa and has $7 to burn, they could put it through some abuse and see how it handles it.

If anyone wants to know any additional information about this knife, just let me know.

HTH Someone!

KJ

Edited by f8less on 09/15/2012 17:41:41 MDT.

Ha! I know we have one of these buried in storage someplace. My wife bought one at least 10yrs ago for picnics. Even has a matching small wood cutting board. Maybe not branded by KAI, but still sold at our local equivalent $1 stores too.

Funny you say that. I first saw this at the 1 Yen Store in Harajuku back in 2007 and realized later that it might make a decent lightweight gourmet backpacking food prep knife...and sure enough they had them here @ Mitsuwa in IL. Considering the awesome value of the dollar right now, I think 1 Yen probably roughly translates to $7...heh. *sigh*

There were multiple versions of this knife there. Different makers and definitely different build quality. In the packaging, this one was clearly a nicer grind and was made with a better quality wood.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/xdpy/forum_thread/67201

Another that Dale brought up recently.

FYI, it very well could be stainless steel, since a small subset of stainless cutlery uses alloys without the addition of a sufficient ammount of nickel to render it non-magnetic. Someone feel free to correct me if I'm off :)

-David

KAI is the parent company of Kershaw.
That knife is from their line of kitchen knives.

"Considering the awesome value of the dollar right now, I think 1 Yen probably roughly translates to $7...heh. "

Ken, 1 Yen is equal to about 1.3 cents.

Perhaps you visited a 100 Yen store. Since that is about $1.30, that is a practical price for lots of small gadgets. Such stores are found around California except that due to inflation, they were talking about 100 Yen, then 150 Yen. Since it is in dollars, they settled on $1.50 per item. That works. There are lots of gadgets that a backpacker needs for $1.50 per item.

--B.G.--

We have strict knife carry laws here in Japan so I bought this 14g Swiss Advance safety knife last year,

http://www.crystalfallstradingcompany.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=2045

Scary scalpel-like sharpness makes quick work of garlic cloves, ginger root, cheese, sausage and thin baguettes. Rounded point makes it easy to scrape the bottom of peanut butter and Nutella jars too. Holds its edge but can be touched up with a few swipes across a rock when needed.

Edited by rmjapan on 09/15/2012 20:29:26 MDT.

Those are great knives. We've had one of these in our kitchen drawer for more than 20 years and it both holds and edge and sharpens keenly. Brilliant to think of it for backpacking use! Not so good for the hip, but one heckuva nice blade for cooking and everything else (other than whittling, perhaps).

"FYI, it very well could be stainless steel, since a small subset of stainless cutlery uses alloys without the addition of a sufficient ammount of nickel to render it non-magnetic. Someone feel free to correct me if I'm off :)"

Knives are made from martensitic stainless steel, because this is the only class of SS which can be heat treated to make it hard enough to hold an edge. Martensitic stainless steels are magnetic. All of my kitchen knives (ranging from discount store bin grabs to yuppy-approved status brands) can hang securely from the magnetic knife bar I installed next to the stove.

I just saw this knife at a local asian supermaket (99c Ranch Market) for $2.29. I don't think it was KAI branded. I didn't buy it either.

Is the fairly famous Opinel folding knife made in France. Can get for about 10 bucks shipped. If I have food prep to do on trail like slicing meats, cheese, vegs, etc this is my favorite. Not sure on weight but its not heavy.