Tsourkan Knives - Gallery

[Marko Tsourkan]

Thanks guys. 52100 is a good steel.

[chazmtb]

M,
I am really impressed with your grind. You have taken alot from Shigefusa's page in your grind, because that's what the choi shots really remind me of. Nice distal taper, slight convex from what I can see.

[Marko Tsourkan]

I took some things from Shigefusa, but not the grind. Shigefusa grind is difficult to replicate, but not impossible (you need a huge diameter radius platen) as Shigefusa double-beveled knives are hollow-ground from below spine to about 3/8 from the edge.
I have done it on a couple of practice knives, but I didn't think it had that much of an advantage over a convex grind for the extra trouble in grinding and finishing. I do a shallow convex grind similar to Carter knives instead.


M

[chazmtb]

Shigefusa is different because the spine is so thick, then it really goes down, like a concave, flattens out, and a little convex at the end. Your edge at the end and shoulders are thin like his. It's more pronounced on the small one.

[Marko Tsourkan]

Shigefusa is different because the spine is so thick, then it really goes down, like a concave, flattens out, and a little convex at the end. ...

Your description of Shigefusa geometry is exact.

[mr drinky]

Bravo chazmtb. With that answer, you have won a showroom full of cash and prizes.

Joking aside. Your description and Marko's confirmation has probably imprinted in my mind more about Shige geo than anything else. I don't own one, but at least I understand them a bit better now. Thank you for this mini discussion.

k.

[Marko Tsourkan]

It is a very unique geometry, though I have seen it on razors (come to think Iizuka-san studied under Iwasaki) and some variation of it on swords. Hollow-grinding (concave) reduced weight and thickness in the mid-section while leaving thickness on the spine intact, but it doesn't go all the way to the edge - it stops about 10mm from it, and then there is a transition into convex.

It's pretty impressive if you think that Shigefusa folks do final shaping and polishing by hand. They have their methods and I am sure they are pretty efficient (soft cladding helps if you use sen or metal scrapers of sorts), but still.

Their hollow-grind translates into 7-8' radius, so it won't be done on a typical whet wheel (~3' radius).

M

[maxim]

Yes that one is very difficult to replicate.
I think its thats why he only stik to clad knifes, it will be almost impossibile to do on mono steel knifes.
I think he use "San" to do that. But still very impressive how he do that by hand, i think the only thing he use his weel for is for ura on single bevel.

It is a very unique geometry, though I have seen it on razors (come to think Iizuka-san studied under Iwasaki) and some variation of it on swords. Hollow-grinding (concave) reduced weight and thickness in the mid-section while leaving thickness on the spine intact, but it doesn't go all the way to the edge - it stops about 10mm from it, and then there is a transition into convex.

It's pretty impressive if you think that Shigefusa folks do final shaping and polishing by hand. They have their methods and I am sure they are pretty efficient (soft cladding helps if you use sen or metal scrapers of sorts), but still.

Their hollow-grind translates into 7-8' radius, so it won't be done on a typical whet wheel (~3' radius).

[Marko Tsourkan]

Their hollow-grind translates into 7-8' radius, so it won't be done on a typical whet wheel (~3' radius).

M

I meant diameter, on a typical water wheel(2-4'). However the radius on a sen to get a hollow on Shigefusa would be equivalent of 7-8' radius.

M

[Marko Tsourkan]

D style handle inspired by Fish and Kramer.

W2 steel with hamon (not very visible in the pictures, but visible up close - wavy pattern comparable to Japanese).

Handle is VERY comfortable.

Western handle coming in a near future. Oval handle - immediately.