a while back, i bought a "practice" japanese knife. what is it?

we had a local shop announce a closing sale..well, they got bought out and would just be 100% online sales. (japanese woodworker in alameda).

i made a mental note to go by and pick up some Axe. it was a mad house in there. it was actually the bi-annual sale..but people knew the close was imminent. i was ogling the axes, and looked at the kitchen knives. i was not a member here, so i knew NOTHING about them. (i actually thought the knives were too light).. i told the sales guy that i had no knowledge and never tried a stone. some guy offers me to sell me a "starter" knife so i could practice with stones. not so sure what i actually paid..i bet $30 bucks. they were just hand scribbling out paper reciepts..no return policy. i bought 2 of the knives.

well, i have some waterstones, and this knife. the thing was sharp as a scalpel. you could play music on the edge by flicking your fingerprint groove on the edge..zing zing zing!! i soaked a stone and ran it a few times. it can pop off my coarse leg hairs.

being a new member here on the forum..i realized the VAST information..but i have no clue what this inexpensive knife is..full on high carbon. sharp..CHEAP! i got it to use and to practice the art of sharpening. i imagine this is an everyday beater knife back in japan? this thing takes and edge easy..maybe too easy to get proficient with a waterstone.

this thing can push cut a light piece of paper. the second knife i gave (he gave me a quarter) to my BIL. i think he is scared to touch it to food.

btw..not a fan of the shape. (santoku?)..at least i learned what shape i dont like

Hmm. Looks to me like a Tosa-style santoku. Bit of guessing there, but it's certainly in the same design family as the Takeda banno bunka. Any which way, think of it as a santoku ... which unfortunately you're not a big fan of.

If you really don't like it, you can put it up on the second-hand market and I'm sure someone around here will snap it up

looks like a Tosagata to me, rustic kuro uchi knives made in the style of a village blacksmith, they are a decent knife, the main difference between these and more expensive knives will be that these are not ground as thin as the more expensive ones. Just clean and dry after use, carbon steel will rust if not cared for. Initially some J knives come with a layer of clear lacquer to protect them in storage, your knife may not patina until some of the lacquer wears off the edge, then you will see oxidation. The lacquer should be food safe, but if you want you can remove it with acetone.

i'll probably give it away to the next noob..when done

go to japanwoodworker website it will tell you about the knife.. blue steel tosagata.. when I first got the Japanese knife bug that was the first knife I bought ... because it was inexpensive and I was going to learn to sharpen before I bought $$$ knifes.. I like that knife gets sharp easy to use and I really like the rustic look lcb

lowercasebill said:

go to japanwoodworker website it will tell you about the knife.. blue steel tosagata.. when I first got the Japanese knife bug that was the first knife I bought ... because it was inexpensive and I was going to learn to sharpen before I bought $$$ knifes.. I like that knife gets sharp easy to use and I really like the rustic look lcb

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where the hell have you been?