I spent a wonderul hour slicing and dicing with Harold Arimoto, the president of MAC knives yesterday, and I must say I was very impressed by these knives. They are a bit different than most of the other knives discussed here in that they are stamped (yes, stamped) rather than forged. The bevil is about 15 degrees (60-40) and it extends all the way up the knife...generating very thin and even cuts. I spent most of the time cutting with the 9 1/2 inch chef's knife from the Ultimate series, which was beautifully balanced for my touch, though it is slightly heavier than some of MAC's other lines. However, the most intriguing aspect was the suggested cutting technique. While you can use any cutting technique, MAC recommends an approach that is a bit different than many of us are accustomed to...using an exceptionally light touch with the movement coming from the elbow not the wrist and fully allowing the knife to do the work. First, the knife is held parallel to the cutting board. For softer items (such as tomatoes), one starts just inside the heel and lightly pulls back letting the knife do the work. For harder items such as carrots, one starts at the tip and pushes forward, again allowing the knife do the work. I'll confess that overcoming my ingrained rocking style took some concentration, but it did produce beautiful, effortless, precise cuts...and once you get used to it, you can employ some very fast knifework. The knife just seems to glide. I can certainly see why these knives rank so highly in so many comparison tests and why Ripert and Keller might favor them.
One more bit of a surprise. MAC recommends using a Rollsharp for honing and sharpening their blades...
