Description
The Alder 8 inch chefs excels at all the mincing, chopping and slicing tasks normally expected of a cutting board knife (use a cleaver or saw for bones and breaking down frozen foods). What distinguishes the Alder is its blade, which we now make with CPM MagnaCut stainless steel@61-63 HRC. This particle metallurgy steel has broken new ground in terms of toughness, and corrosion resistance and it’s edge holding is also improved over the blade steel we’ve used until now. Periodic honing with a diamond or ceramic steel should keep it tomato-slicing sharp, but if you do need to sharpen, conventional abrasive tools are all you need.
The Alder comes standard with practically indestructible G10 composite handles which are waterproof and highly stain resistant. If you want a fancier look, we offer this model with a carbon fiber handle. The CF scales are 15 grams lighter than the G10. With CF scales, the balance point is right where the front of the handle ends, while for the G10 version it is about 3/8″ (9.5mm) rearward of the front edge of the scales.
The Alder takes its name from the Red Alder, an under-appreciated west coast deciduous tree that is now finding more uses in cabinetry and woodworking. Indigenous peoples of the coast are known to have used its bark to make a red dye.
We back all of our knives with a warranty and satisfaction guarantee!
GS (verified owner) –
A new standard for western knives
After using the North Arm Alder for a couple of weeks nightly in my home kitchen, I can say confidently that it sets the standard for western knives. The Magnacut blade takes a keen edge, is thin, light, highly stainless, and very tough. It’s hard to overstate what this combination means to folks who cook in the Western tradition. It’s a knife with the lightness and precision of a Japanese blade and the toughness to survive the rigors of Western food prep techniques. You can for example, crush garlic, cut crusty bread, or slice tough squash without damaging the edge.
There is only downside is that the food release is not good. I’ve gotten half of a potato to stick to it so stubbornly I could shake the blade vigorously without moving it. Of course, you can get around this with adjustments to technique, but it’s worth mentioning.
A suggestion for those purchasing this knife: spend the extra money on the carbon fiber scales. I got the G10, and while they look great and are indestructible, it makes the whole knife noticeably handle-heavy and somewhat unbalanced. I’m about to go back and spend the extra $70 USD to get the carbon scales.
jensen.jackf (verified owner) –
This is a review for 3 kitchen knives.
I recently purchased the Alder 8″ Chef, Sitka Santoku (both in CPM S35VN), and Trillium Paring (MagnaCut).
All three knives came as sharp as you could ask for and have exceeded my expectations. Don’t hesitate if you’re reading this trying to decide if they’re a good deal, these are the best value kitchen knives I’ve owned.
I’ve now used them to prepare a few large batch meals for our family over the holidays (including a dinner with 14 people) and can say they’re just a joy to use. They’re light, the handle ergonomics are great for full grip or pinch grip, and most importantly they cut and slice and stay sharp! The G10 is so reassuring in the hand compared to the thermoplastic on our previous favorite “quality German” knives.
In particular, I put the Santoku to the test against my japanese Nakiri (in Aogami Super) to prep 2 bags of carrots, a giant pile of potatoes, many onions, a couple bunches of celery, garlic, and ginger. I made sure to hone (ceramic 3000 grit) and strop (green compound on leather) both knives before starting. I used a maple edge-grain cutting board. I used the knives interchangeably every couple of minutes and I can honestly say that in terms of pure slicing and chopping there was no perceivable difference. I still like the full flat edge on the Nakiri but the ergonomics of your Santoku are superior… and it’s stainless! Maybe in another couple of months I’ll have something else to say, but at 1/2 the price and made in Canada… that Santoku is just something else!
My daughter put the small Paring knife to work (she’s 12, makes most of her own food, and prefers a small knife). The MagnaCut is just the ticket for her – she leaves it in the sink, cuts on whatever cutting board is closest, and uses that thing for tasks normally best met with a bigger knife. I checked it after a few days and it looks fully pristine with what seems to still be an exceptional edge. I just sliced up a mango with it and it’s a really nice knife to use with a long handle and just the right blade shape for precise cuts.
The larger Chef’s knife has seen less intense use so far but as expected it’s performed very well indeed. Chops and slices as it should. Made very quick work of a large ham, turkey, and bag of apples and was so light in the hand (important for those of us with arthritis!).
Tyler Hebbron (verified owner) –
Been using this knife almost daily now and it’s still has an incredibly sharp edge with no maintenance. Feels and looks great. Customer service was top notch.
Thank you!
John (verified owner) –
I’ve had this knife for about 5 months now and used it almost daily. There’s been no real loss in sharpness yet, so it could be more than a year until I need to sharpen this knife at the current rate (assuming I don’t bang the blade into the counter or something). It hasn’t even gotten to the point where I felt that I should strop it.
I was pretty impressed at the factory edge. I put my own edge on knives shortly after I get them, but the factory edge was so good I couldn’t beat it. This is the only brand I’ve tried where that happened.
I’m impressed with the toughness too. I’ve banged the knife around a bit and even cut into a spam can accidentally once, but I’ve never seen any real edge damage. The spam can deformed the edge enough that it was visible under a bright light but it wasn’t enough that I could feel it when cutting (even when cutting through thin paper). My old 1.4116 chef’s knife frequently ended up with microchips, so I’m really happy to have a knife where that no longer happens.
I’m really happy with this knife overall. I doubt I’ll ever buy another chef’s knife (unless they bring out a 10″ version). The value is pretty amazing too. I looked for quite a while and this is far cheaper than any other chef’s knife in a powder-metallurgy steel that I was able to find.
mike bajsel (verified owner) –
I think I’ve had this knife for about 2 years and I think it’s only fair to have something for at least a few months or longer before reviewing.
The knife holds its edge extremely well and have only been honing it with 1-2 minor sharpening sessions…however as of 8/2/20 I think I’m gonna have to finally sharpen it properly as it’s pretty dull and barely slices through onions (and that’s if I put in a bit of force now)
There has been no corrosion although I did leave water on it to dry once and there is a ring on the blade somewhere close to the edge, however this is only cosmetic and doesn’t matter in the least bit to me.
While it matters to some and not to all, the knife was extremely sharp out of the box and flying through magazine paper like on some of these Youtube cutlery demonstration channels. Keep in mind though, you may want to get a slightly harder than normal whetstone to sharpen this at home regularly while also getting either a strop or a ceramic honer. This knife is in the range of 58-60 Rockwell (the rating for hardness in knives) so one should expect to get faster wear from some of these whetstones that were meant for softer knives.
0 chipping on my knife so far, and the handle is holding up perfectly as well. Love this knife and I’m gonna be ordering one for my friend soon as a wedding present. Thanks!
Bert –
Have been using this knife + the parer for about 4 months now.
I have only needed to sharpen them once in that time, edge durability is very good.
Stain/rust resistance is also fine, much better than some otherwise excellent knive I own made of carbon steel, “CarboNext” and other semi stainless steels.
As far as toughness, I don’t really abuse these but have run them up against chicken, pork and beef bones during boning of roasts plus used the parer to debone chicken legs while preping ballantine of chicken. No chipping so far.
Unless I’m slicing large roasts, wider than the length of this blade or preping more than a gallon of veges at a time, this is the knife I usually reach for, along with the North Arm parer.
I have cooked professionaly, owned German knives (all were tempered too soft, usually forged too heavy, many had useless, heavy, fat bolsters), Japanese knives (mostly are great cutters with good ergonomics but edges were often so hard with thin grinds they are vulnerable to chipping and overly delicate, even some semi stainless variants are also not sufficiently corrosion resistant for “real world”).
These North Arm knives strike an optimum ballance between hardness, toughness, corrosion resistance, ease of sharpening, thinness & bevel angle of blades and ergonomic sensible handle geometry. About perfect, best choice for my money.
Cory –
A few years back I was in the market for new, higher end knives to replace my first just-moved-out set. I ran into North Arm at a craft fair and I have purchased over the years, and am very happy with, both the chef’s knife and the paring knife and I am looking forward to adding the fillet knife to my roster. I find the knives I have to be very comfortable in the hand, stand up to every job I’ve thrown at them so far, keep an edge very well, and just all around be fun to use in the kitchen.
Yi –
This masterpiece exceeds all my expectations for a 8 inch Chef’s Knife. It’s well balanced and feels like a natural extension of my arm. Thanks for the great Canadian product.
Ken Bryden –
I have had a blue handled 8″ knife since August of 2014. I have yet to sharpen it although I hone with a ceramic rod hone about once a month. This knife is fantastic and is virtually as sharp as the day I bought it. It is a joy to use every time, and I know will last a 100 years if it is properly looked after. These knives are worth every dollar you pay for them, and if you buy the right knife for what you need, you won’t be disappointed.