Mizuno Tanrenjo KS Profile Honyaki White #2 Gyuto 240mm

Hello to you all fellow KKF members.

I thought I would share with you good folks in regards to my request of a honyaki gyuto with Koki of JCK. Since I couldn’t get a hold of a Masamoto KS gyuto and have a good relationship with Koki, I asked him if Mizuno would be willing to make me a honyaki with a KS profile back in early November. Mizuno agreed to make the knife and it is currently in the works now. I was originally told by Koki that it may take about 3 to 4 months for delivery time.

I just got a word from Koki today that they expect the knife to be finished in February. I was also told that they did not just make one (my original request). They are making 6 total including my knife on this first batch. They may have the handle available in 3 options. The handle options are D shaped magnolia wooden handle, octagon shaped magnolia wooden handle, or octagon shaped ebony wood handle. No price is set yet but I would guess that it will be same as the regular Mizuno white #2 honyaki.

I just wanted to share this with you just in case you are in the same boat as me wanting a Masamoto KS but couldn’t get a hold of one.

Disclaimer: I have no relation with Koki other than being a consumer. I just wanted to share this information just in case you are interested.

Cheers and happy holidays!

Andreu

You evil man for pasting this

malexthekid said:

You evil man for pasting this

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Define evil. 😜

Definitely interested in seeing the finished product, might even pick one up myself if the price is right

Agreed, would love to own one of these badboys.. Might have to message koki myself heh.

Would love to see this in mono steel non honyaki to keep the price point down.

K813zra said:

Would love to see this in mono steel non honyaki to keep the price point down.

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+1
But actually I’d just like to see more wa handle mono jknives in general.

K813zra said:

Would love to see this in mono steel non honyaki to keep the price point down.

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+2

I figured, if I was going to ask for something, I might as well go big. Hence, the hoyanki.

It never hurts to ask again, right? Stay tuned.

does he have a trace of the profile? what kind of grind are we looking at? is there going to be taper like original ks?

panda said:

does he have a trace of the profile? what kind of grind are we looking at? is there going to be taper like original ks?

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I honestly don’t know if he submitted a trace to Mizuno. But since he is a vendor for Masamoto, I left that up to him. I told him to work with Mizuno as to what grind would be best for the knife but I’m almost positive that it will not be a wide bevel. It will most likely resemble the grind of the regular Mizuno honyaki. I requested for the knife to have a good distal taper as well. Will it have the taper of the original KS, that I cannot answer. I basically left it up to Koki to work with Mizuno in regards to the grind. All I know is that it will be longer than the regular Mizuno honyaki as I had requested a 240mm cutting edge. The blade length will most likely be 255ish depending on the length of the emoto.

They’re also making B#1 clad honyaki to this profile.

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, but this could be nice. Interested in seeing the final product. Hoping they have a template, original KS, or a Masamoto employee in on this one. Thanks Andreu.

fujiyama said:

They’re also making B#1 clad honyaki to this profile.

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, but this could be nice. Interested in seeing the final product. Hoping they have a template, original KS, or a Masamoto employee in on this one. Thanks Andreu.

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Yes, they are also in the process of making this knife in blue #1 iron clad. I forgot to mention that and thank you for posting it, Fujiyama.

As far as the price is concern, I spoke with Koki again last night and he said that they have not set a price yet but stated that it may be a tad higher than the regular profile gyuto (both iron clad and honyaki) as the knives are a bit longer. If my memory serves me correctly, I requested the height to be 50mm but not sure if they will stick to that dimension.

labor of love said:

+1
But actually I’d just like to see more wa handle mono jknives in general.

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Me too.

@andreu have you tried a KS before?

Anton said:

@andreu have you tried a KS before?

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I am one of the unfortunate ones that has not had the chance to try it but had tried several KS clones. I am a big fan of a flatter french profile knives. This is the reason why I specifically went to Koki for my request rather than going to other Japanese vendors because he carried a KS and has a good relation with Mizuno. He at least has more knowledge and had a first hand look and experience of the KS in regards to the grind than I do. I only specified the dimension and profile. The grind, I left that up to him and Mizuno to hash things out. Hope this helps.

the edge length needs to be 250mm, otherwise it's not a clone

panda said:

the edge length needs to be 250mm, otherwise it's not a clone

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I think the grind of the Miz version might be a little different (thinner) than the original Masamoto KS. When I had emailed Koki last month, this is what he said:

My question to Koki: How close will the measurements of the new knife be to the Masamoto KS?
Koki's answer: The blade shape and dimension are the almost same. We are requesting Mizuno Tanrenjo to make thinner blade profile.

panda said:

the edge length needs to be 250mm, otherwise it's not a clone

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True. Mine measures 253mm to be exact. I have the Akebono too, while the profile is KS-esqe.. the KS has better distal taper, especially the tip and definitely a more gentler curve on the profile from the extra length.

If anything, the forgecraft 1st edition resembles the KS the most. Profile and distal taper is almost an exact match, except that it is a much heavier zero grind.

Additinal info regarding the knife. Koki gave me a more concrete info in regards to the dimension and also sent me the drawing of the knife. I was wrong to inform you of the dimension as I gave you the dimesnion of my original request of the knife. I guess he made some adjustments to it to really be close to a KS. The approximate cutting edge is 255mm and the height is approximately 49mm. The drawing he sent me was based on the KS model KS3124 which is the original KS profile. They will make the knives with a good distal taper with a thin tip. They are also making it with a blue #1 steel iron clad in addition to a honyaki version. I hope this help clarify any confusion.

Thats good news Andreu.
It's really hard to clone a profile like the KS
while at the same time shortening it.

i hope people realize the KS shape/grind is not a one size fits all. definitely is not for everybody, especially if your knife skills arent consistent. cant help but think some people are going to be thoroughly disappointed when it doesnt blow them away. one of those things that just has to click for you otherwise you'll be left with a resounding 'meh'

panda said:

i hope people realize the KS shape/grind is not a one size fits all. definitely is not for everybody, especially if your knife skills arent consistent. cant help but think some people are going to be thoroughly disappointed when it doesnt blow them away. one of those things that just has to click for you otherwise you'll be left with a resounding 'meh'

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Yup

Is not just the tip...

People buy all kinds of knives and don't like them. Isn't that why we have BST?

I do wonder how many people would buy something like this and not use it but just have it as a drawer queen. I don't understand that mentality but some people like to do that.

yeah i have a strong distaste for collectors as they drive up the prices instead of letting it get to a user who will put it to use.

maybe i will pick one up at a discount when such a user eventually goes through this despite my warning

panda said:

i hope people realize the KS shape/grind is not a one size fits all. definitely is not for everybody, especially if your knife skills arent consistent. cant help but think some people are going to be thoroughly disappointed when it doesnt blow them away. one of those things that just has to click for you otherwise you'll be left with a resounding 'meh'

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Couldn't agree with you more. A few of my gyutos have very distinct personalities, the KS is definitely one of them—it jives with me very well. Not a tall knife, significant flat area—I'll also use it for tasks that are fitting for a sujihiki. Others I have with a lot of character are the Kato and Kochi.

panda said:

i hope people realize the KS shape/grind is not a one size fits all. definitely is not for everybody, especially if your knife skills arent consistent. cant help but think some people are going to be thoroughly disappointed when it doesnt blow them away. one of those things that just has to click for you otherwise you'll be left with a resounding 'meh'

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I’ve owned 4 KS gyutos. 2 of which were close to ootb. Definitely not for me. However I’m pretty open to KS inspired stuff as there are parts of the blade shape I think could see improvements.

you a chopper, i'm a slicer

panda said:

i hope people realize the KS shape/grind is not a one size fits all. definitely is not for everybody, especially if your knife skills arent consistent. cant help but think some people are going to be thoroughly disappointed when it doesnt blow them away. one of those things that just has to click for you otherwise you'll be left with a resounding 'meh'

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I totally agree with you on this. As with all knives that we see and covet, we don’t really know if it’s going to meet our expectation or not. We all have individual preferences. A knife may work for one but may not work for others. Most of our purchases are based on pictures, dimensions, steel types and reviews of others. A knife can have a glowing review but once we purchase it and put it through the pace, that’s the only time we know if the knife is for you or not. If it is the latter part, that is when BST comes in to play. Even a custom made knife can have faults and not meet an individual’s expectation. That’s the reason why we see a few custom knives in BST. I collect knives but none of them are drawer queens. Much like my collections of watches, they are eventually used and use some more.

panda said:

you a chopper, i'm a slicer

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Nah I primarily slice and thrust cut/pull cut. KS narrow tip is just too extreme, it’s the polar opposite of watanabe. Which I also kinda gave up on. Both fun knives though.