Masamoto and Konosuke Honyaki Gyuto

Anybody have experience with these two honyaki wa gyuto?

Own Konosuke B2 and W2 Honyaki 240s, but no experience with Masamotos. The two Kono Honyakis I own are done by different smiths and different sharpeners with very different characters/characteristics. Anything in particular you are interested in?

ChipB said:

Own Konosuke B2 and W2 Honyaki 240s, but no experience with Masamotos. The two Kono Honyakis I own are done by different smiths and different sharpeners with very different characters/characteristics. Anything in particular you are interested in?

Click to expand...

Chip, hate to threadjack, but any chance of posting some choil shots of the 2 different Kono's?

Thanks

No worries china! In bed at the moment, but will be happy to post a couple tomorrow. As a warning, I use my phone for photos and my W2 has a larger D handle on it vs. a thin octagonal on the B2 (should be the other way around, but the B2 handle isn't custom) so may not be able to get as much choil in the W2 shot, but will try to take a few pics to compensate.

Chip, may i know where did you order and how do you know it is from different smith? I would like to know the obviousness of the hamon too.

Hi glestain, those particular knives I bought from the site that shall not be named. In terms of the smiths/sharpeners, the knives alone are so different in profile, geometry, finish and overall execution that it was obvious they were not made by the same set of hands. Confirming that and figuring out who did them took a good bit of diligence and conversations with a couple folks over in Japan.
Hamon is present on both knives, but much more pronounced on the W2 honyaki.

Hey China, as promised, here are a couple choil shots. B2 on top and W2 on the bottom:

Those both look great. The B2 looks like the tall-bevel Fujiyama grind, and the bottom looks like a "regular" laser. I bet they both cut great.

ER, you hit it on the nose with that read. They are both fantastic and very, very different. I have a hunch the sharpener responsible for the B2 is the same as the Fujiyama sharpener (though I'm also sure the smiths are different) and the W2 Honyaki should probably resemble the W2 laser....
The W2 is basically a Honyaki laser. Insanely thin. It can take an improbably acute edge angle without getting chippy. I really couldn't believe it actually. Measured the angle OOTB at around 12.5 deg per. Had to put a micro bevel as it would literally stick to any surface I tried to cut on.
The B2 is not as thin overall or behind the edge as most of my Fujiyamas (though similar, but not identical, in many respects tot he grind and finish on the Togo Reigo I recently bought), or even close to the W2, but the grind has really resonated with me as I get to know the knife. It's definitely more demanding on the stones than my other Konosukes for what it's worth.

I like em, makes me want to own one.
+2

ChipB said:

Hey China, as promised, here are a couple choil shots. B2 on top and W2 on the bottom:

Click to expand...

Choil shots came out nicely, thanks! I really like the looks of the grind on the blue 2 especially.

Yeah, that knife just keeps growing on me. I really dig it. It's definitely aggressively treated though and not a breeze on the stones. The W2 was out for a new grip for a couple of months and had a loose install on it early on so haven't had the chance to put it through a ton of use but, it is definitely a laser in every sense.