I don't think anyone has ever complained about the heat treat on a Shigefusa. They found one carbon steel they love and they make it really well. Does not mean they are stuck in the iron age. Carter and Bill Burke also heat treat by eye I believe.
This thread isn't about what custom makers are great or might be great. This thread is about edge profile.
"God sends meat and the devil sends cooks." - Thomas Deloney
Getting back on topic a little bit...
We need to make a distinction between geometry and profile here. I love my Mizuno geometry, and the profile is very good, though I think I might like the Masamoto KS profile a little better. The profile of the Shig reminds me a lot of my Mizuno. Long, long flat from the heel, but then a gradual curve to the tip. It makes for interesting cutting technique, as you can't really easily push cut near the tip for delicate work. This curve allows the knife (which is narrow, by a lot of gyuto standards) to function as a slicer readily enough, and it allows for some board work with the tip, but you have to use a bit more of a rock to your push cut, which some people might prefer anyway. Not a lot of rock, just a little wrist twitch as you are going down and forward to make sure you don't make accordion food. The flat near the heel is perfect though. And the convex geometry is killer.
I like the flat area near the tip (what Salty calls the sweet spot) on the KS, and would love to try one out some day and see how it compared to the Mizuno. I'd say if you are a gyuto person who likes to use the tip for a majority of board work, then the KS is a perfect knife. If you like to use the gyuto as more of an all rounder, both for slicing and chopping, and you do your chopping more towards the back half of the knife, the Shig/Mizuno profile can't be beat.
Here's a short vid of my Mizuno 270. Note how long the flat at the heel is in relation to the board at the beginning of the video.
we're in complete agreement, Joe.![]()
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Yeah, Marko, my Miz 270 measures about 263 from heel to tip. Everyone I've ever heard who has used a KS says they run long. In fact I think most of the knives in the KS series run long.
My Masamoto is 25cm heel to tip so it's only a little long