Kippington workhorse honyaki pass around

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Aw sweet! :biggrin:

Have you got a pic of what it currently looks like?
I'm curious to see how the mirror polish is holding up to a patina.
 
Aw sweet! :biggrin:

Have you got a pic of what it currently looks like?
I'm curious to see how the mirror polish is holding up to a patina.

It’s loaded up with patina at this point. I will try and remove much of it w BKF to take a decent pic. The mirror polish hung in there for a few weeks, but my daily workload eventually overwhelmed it lol. Do you still have a pic of the mirror polish somewhere? It definitely looked stunning ootb.
 
The reason I want to do this pass around is because I would like to drum up support for Kippington. He’s our guy, who relatively recently acquired his hobbiest craftsman badge here at the forum. He’s full of innovative ideas about how to make knives better. As great as it is to chase after accomplished makers whose work resonates with you, I really the idea of supporting a guy like Kippington. This gyuto is great in all the areas that matter to me. He is a math wizard, and it shows in the extreme distal taper and grind. That being said, this is a workhorse. So it does have a beefy feel to it while maintaining a weight that’s comfortable in hand (I wanna say somewhere around 205grams-210 grams).
I wanted this particular knife because I thought I would be cool to own a workhorse honyaki as it seems most honyaki blades are quite thin. So this blade feels special in that respect. But I should point out that he’s not just making workhorse blades, I’ll likely be getting something thinner from him soon.
The steel used was W2, which I found equally enjoyable to sharpen as heiji carbon and mizuno honyaki, although it would be nice to get a second opinion (Anton?). It has all attributes that honyaki fans like IMO. Kippington just doesn’t have an established reputation yet that other makers do. But I’m confident he will once he gets more commissions and feedback. Anyway, if you’re on a Hiromoto honyaki budget I would suggest you atleast consider Kippington first, customizing a honyaki is a pretty cool venture IMO.
Anyway, enough shilling.
This is a very important knife to me so I’m going to be selective about who uses it. Sorry, but that’s just way it’s gotta be. I don’t have any rules set in stone yet but regular posters that have been posting for a couple of years most likely won’t have a problem getting in.
 
If you'd be down with a Portland passaround, if like to try it and as you know there are a couple pros here that maybe interested as well...I'll hit up Josh and Travis if cool with you?

Funny but the very first honyaki I had tried was Salty's Mizuno a few years back and it gave me the impression that all honyaki were workhorses...I've since found out how special that knife was.
 
If you'd be down with a Portland passaround, if like to try it and as you know there are a couple pros here that maybe interested as well...I'll hit up Josh and Travis if cool with you?

Funny but the very first honyaki I had tried was Salty's Mizuno a few years back and it gave me the impression that all honyaki were workhorses...I've since found out how special that knife was.

Oh man Brainsausage would love this knife! I know he loves his Toyamas and Katos. Yeah let’s do it.
 
Great idea and very generous passaround offer! :doublethumbsup:

I've enjoyed Kippington's posts and want to throw my name in but definitely have no time for a passaround. It's an exciting idea though.
 
Labor, if this knife makes it way up to the US Pacific NW, I'd love to check it out and would also be happy to be a point person for coordinating its movements round these parts. I've sold several used knives on BST, always been real careful about packaging, etc. The only disclaimer I should give is that I've never used or sharpened a honyaki blade, so if you'd rather keep this passaround to folks with more experience in that regard I totally understand.

Anyway, thanks for floating this idea. Shoot me a PM if you think I could make it into the rotation.
 
Here’s some rough pics to show the knife in its current condition. Still impressed by how light it is-which I suppose is a testament to its killer distal taper.https://m.imgur.com/a/000c3
The spine is about twice as thick as my KS but the knife only weighs 35-40grams more than KS.
Kippington took better pics of the distal taper in his WIP commission thread than I ever could.
 
That grind looks amazing :D If your ok with canucks I'd love to play with her, my honyaki experience is fairly limited with only one honyaki in my possession and another enroute but I'm sure I can give some good feedback on this blade from a professional point of view. I'm not sure why but the blade reminds me of a very early dalman, and we all know how that guy turned out. :knife:
 
Thanks for the kind words Labor (and for the passaround!), I really appreciate it :biggrin:
 
That grind looks amazing :D If your ok with canucks I'd love to play with her, my honyaki experience is fairly limited with only one honyaki in my possession and another enroute but I'm sure I can give some good feedback on this blade from a professional point of view. I'm not sure why but the blade reminds me of a very early dalman, and we all know how that guy turned out. :knife:
I’m sorry but I think it would be best to keep it in the states.
 
Labor, if this knife makes it way up to the US Pacific NW, I'd love to check it out and would also be happy to be a point person for coordinating its movements round these parts. I've sold several used knives on BST, always been real careful about packaging, etc. The only disclaimer I should give is that I've never used or sharpened a honyaki blade, so if you'd rather keep this passaround to folks with more experience in that regard I totally understand.

Anyway, thanks for floating this idea. Shoot me a PM if you think I could make it into the rotation.

No worries. Ill simply tell you what Kippington told me right before he sent it off, the knife is quite thin behind edge so be careful. That would go for sharpening and use. I do want you guys to test it on the stones though, it feels so nice.
 
I'd like to add that kip is the only custom maker that I have any interest in. I've posted before that I don't want anything not made in Japan by an old master or have the right pedigree yet this guy is the exception. Reason is he genuinely seems to me like he cares about geometry/profile and what makes a knife perform the way it does. Where as most other custom makers primary concern is how it looks because that's what customers care about.
 
I'd like to add that kip is the only custom maker that I have any interest in. I've posted before that I don't want anything not made in Japan by an old master or have the right pedigree yet this guy is the exception. Reason is he genuinely seems to me like he cares about geometry/profile and what makes a knife perform the way it does. Where as most other custom makers primary concern is how it looks because that's what customers care about.

Have to agree that there is generally way too much emphasis placed on looks vs performance. Really looking forward to giving this one a go.
 
I've posted before that I don't want anything not made in Japan by an old master or have the right pedigree yet this guy is the exception. Reason is he genuinely seems to me like he cares about geometry/profile and what makes a knife perform the way it does. Where as most other custom makers primary concern is how it looks because that's what customers care about.

+1
 
I'd like to add that kip is the only custom maker that I have any interest in. I've posted before that I don't want anything not made in Japan by an old master or have the right pedigree yet this guy is the exception. Reason is he genuinely seems to me like he cares about geometry/profile and what makes a knife perform the way it does. Where as most other custom makers primary concern is how it looks because that's what customers care about.

Not that it would ever change your opinion but I own honyaki from pretty much every "old master" certainly the more known ones mentioned here from Japan and I have plenty of customs that perform as good as any of them. However that extra aesthetic is very expensive and does not add to performance for the most part ( I personally prefer some of the ergonomics brought into custom tho)
 
Bloodroot, Dalman, Catchside, and a bunch of other makers are very interested in performance and what aspects of their knives contribute to it, and a lot of the evidence for that is here on the forum. Strange assertion, just saying... I think most custom makers who specialize in kitchen cutlery are very interested in getting the best performance and constantly doing R&D.
 
I know firsthand just how interested Bloodroot Blades is when it comes to performance aspects. We (David and I) have shared many emails and they have all focused around profile and geometry. The only time we discussed cosmetics is when I would bring them up. David would rank at the highest level of obsession I have seen amongst our membership. When he is not making knives, he is researching them... Always looking for good sources of information, be it books or feedback. They may be a vendor here, but with a nearly 4yr wait list do you think they are here to increase sales or because they see us as one such resource?
 
Okay first I’ll be shipping the knife off to Pensacola Tiger next week. Then in no particular order we have:
Chiffonodd
Miles
East coast connect(China, brainsausage, tkern).
 
Labor, if this knife makes it way up to the US Pacific NW, I'd love to check it out and would also be happy to be a point person for coordinating its movements round these parts. I've sold several used knives on BST, always been real careful about packaging, etc. The only disclaimer I should give is that I've never used or sharpened a honyaki blade, so if you'd rather keep this passaround to folks with more experience in that regard I totally understand.

Anyway, thanks for floating this idea. Shoot me a PM if you think I could make it into the rotation.

Are you friends w pleue by chance?
 
You rang :)? I'd love to check it out. I'm out of the kitchen but would love to try it at home. I'm in portland, or btw
 
Okay first I’ll be shipping the knife off to Pensacola Tiger next week. Then in no particular order we have:
Chiffonodd
Miles
East coast connect(China, brainsausage, tkern).

I wasn't going to ask to be in, fearing I might like it. But. The PO knows the route from Rick to me by rote. Please?
 
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