Anybody tried the JCK Fu-rin-ka-zan W2?

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Polycentric

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Hey y'all I was looking at the fu-rin-ka-zan w2 240 gyuto and then realized that there really is very talk about it! I was interested by the spine which is listed as 4.2mm which is a good bit thicker than most knives that I've seen (unless it's measured at the handle rather than the heel).

I was wondering if anybody has tried this knife or held it and whether they have any impressions on it.
 
Not yet, but the Hon Kasumi gyutos looks really nice for the price though it is a bit too low at 47mm @ 240 blade. I am planning to get the 180 Ai-Deba sooner than later.
 
Just wanted to bring up the fact that there's steel that's also called W2. This is white no. 2 and not W2. May cause some confusion
 
sharptools said:
Just wanted to bring up the fact that there's steel that's also called W2. This is white no. 2 and not W2. May cause some confusion
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Thank you. I never know which of the two steels people are referring to half the time
 
I agree, let us know about it! No more knives for me until I get the last one I ordered. I am on strike until then.
 
Haha, so much pressure to pick one up! I'm pretty sure I'll get one, but first I sent Mr. Iwahara (Koki) an email with some questions about the knife and for some pics of the spine and choil. I'll see when he responds.
 
K813zra said:
I agree, let us know about it! No more knives for me until I get the last one I ordered. I am on strike until then.
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i FINALLY got some traction. its sitting in JFK as on 421pm today.
 
I almost got one of these a while back. F&F looks top notch, sweet blonde handle. Ultimately the low heel height turned me off though. Please get one and report back!
 
So Koki got back to me and said that they were around 47mm and there wasn't too much variation in height unfortunately. He also sent me a choil and spine picture.
The distal taper looks pretty good, but I'm still not sure what exactly to look for in choil shots. I think it looks pretty good behind the edge with some weight to the blade near the spine, but what do you all think?

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K813zra said:
I agree, let us know about it! No more knives for me until I get the last one I ordered. I am on strike until then.
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Now didn't I tell you? I swear your knife and my stone are on the same boat and is headed the wrong way or.....
 
inferno said:
w2 is w2, except when talking kitchenknives or japanese knives in general, then its white2 :)
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Maybe not. I've made this mistake before, calling a W2 blade shiroko. As you probably know, W2 is used by some Western bladesmiths for differentially hardebed blades because it shows a nice hamon (and it's often hard for them to obtain shiroko outside of Japan)
 
Nemo said:
Maybe not. I've made this mistake before, calling a W2 blade shiroko. As you probably know, W2 is used by some Western bladesmiths for differentially hardebed blades because it shows a nice hamon (and it's often hard for them to obtain shiroko outside of Japan)
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Yep. I have a custom coming in W2 soon.
 
Nemo said:
Maybe not. I've made this mistake before, calling a W2 blade shiroko. As you probably know, W2 is used by some Western bladesmiths for differentially hardebed blades because it shows a nice hamon (and it's often hard for them to obtain shiroko outside of Japan)
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yeah it was a joke (but semi true).

I know what w2 is. Personally I have a feeling hitachi white 2 is better than w2. w2 is just a standard that anyone that melts steel can make (pretty lax std too if iirc), and you will get everything from super duper clean steel to quite crappy stuff depending on price and who makes it.

Pretty much all waterhardening steels will make a hamon one way or another, but will they all bend the same way for katana use? thats the question.
 
inferno said:
w2 is just a standard that anyone that melts steel can make (pretty lax std too if iirc), and you will get everything from super duper clean steel to quite crappy stuff depending on price and who makes it.
.
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Source for this misinformation please...unfortunately don't have Gator's app on my phone.
 
chinacats said:
Source for this misinformation please...unfortunately don't have Gator's app on my phone.
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W2 is a standard. do you want me to explain what a standard is? its every steel that falls within a certain alloying %-age, it could be bobs backyard recycled steel to uddeholm gen 3 powder. quite a difference there.
as long as its within the specs for "w2" its w2.
 
so C can be from 0,6% to 1,4% (lol and I mean LOL)
Cr from 0,00000000000 to 0,15%
Mn from 0,1 to 0,4%
P from 0,00000 to 0,03% (thats quite high, but not for recycled crap ingot though)
S from 0,000000 to 0,03% same thing again.
Si 0,1-0,4%
V 0,15-0,35%

this is extremely lax standards.

so. you were saying??
 
Lax standards perhaps. I still wouldn’t discriminate against all W2, im in possession of a w2 honyaki that I wouldn’t trade for any wh2 blade. I’m also the former owner of another w2 honyaki that was truly excellent.
 
Anyone with gator's chart confirm this please? Seems all the makers that use it get pretty good results and offer it in addition to other quality steels.
 
labor of love said:
Lax standards perhaps. I still wouldn’t discriminate against all W2, im in possession of a w2 honyaki that I wouldn’t trade for any wh2 blade. I’m also the former owner of another w2 honyaki that was truly excellent.
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I'm not.

its probably good enough steel. no matter the exact composition, but there is a potential large gap there between really good and quite crappy imo. now. most steel producers are not operating in the gray areas but they potentially could be and it would still be "w2".

I have always wondered *** "swedish steel" is since I'm swedish, this must some kind of strip steel product from either era kloster (or that region)/sandvik or uddeholm strip imo. It has most likely been the exact same composition from the introduction.
everybody knows how to work it and it always turns out exactly the same as last year. why is that?? because "swedish steel" is not, a, heheh, quite lax "global standard". its of course its a finished product with a real name, from one the swedish steel mills. and it never changes by even 0,01% in anything. its always the same. thats why the Japanese want it. they know what they get. I think I'm gonna call around some and find out what "swedish steel" really is. I'm guessing its just some common standard, but buying from here you get the same sh1t every time (like you have been since the 1600s or so). Standards are one thing and integrity in a whole nother game imo. I bet when the *** makers are buying "swedish steel" they are not speccing "whatever crap you have" but "x95y28z6" steel from maker X. (i made that sh1t up if that wasnt obvious).

w2 can be good, but it still has the potential to be sh1t, its still within the standard. youre not buying a backed product here, you're buying a standard.

thats what I'm saying. and thats how it works.
 
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