Pics of three Yamawaku knives

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narcnh

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Greetings,

Based on comments in this forum, my very first Japanese knife purchase was of three Yamawaku knives on EBay. While waiting for them to arrive from Japan, I also ordered and received a couple of other knives from ****. Call me impatient. Or addicted. Since I found so much useful info on this forum, I thought I would give a little back and post a couple of pics. I lined them up against the two other knives I have for comparison. In order they are:

Konosuke HD Wa-Gyuto 270mm, 182g
Yamawaku Wa-Gyuto 240mm, 226g
Moritaka Supreme Nakiri 165mm, 142g
Yamawaku Nakiri 165mm, 162g
Yamawaku Petty 150mm, 81g

JapaneseKnives01.jpg


JapaneseKnives02.jpg


That is a shadow on the petty in the first pic, not discoloration. I did not want to use the flash and got in the way of the overhead light. Duh. The pics don't show it very well, but the front of the blade on the Yamawaku nakiri is rounded, I guess to keep it from digging into the cutting board. I can get a lot closer and show more detail, if anyone is interested. Didn't want to tie up excess bandwidth with too many pics.

I have only briefly tested the Yamawaku nakiri and the petty. Both have decent edges OOTB (through a loupe they look pretty clean), but I will be sharpening all of them over the weekend. If nothing else, it is an excuse to play with my Edge Pro. I was surprised at how much heavier they were compared to my other knives. The 240mm Gyuto is actually heavier than the 270mm Konosuke by a lot. I don't know which is more typical of a Japanese knife. The finish on the Yamawakus (and the Moritaka), whatever it is called, looks pretty cool, but I do like the cleaner look of the Konosuke better. I can see now that my purchases will be evolving over time. Maybe next will be something Damascus (I like the look of the Tanaka Sekiso Damascus line)?

Anyway, that's it for my meager little collection. if anyone has any particular questions, I will do my best to answer them. Thanks for the opportunity to give just a little bit back.

Bill
 
I really like all three. The gyuto has me wanting to own it! Haha
 
Sweet! Looks like you are building a nice collection.

Cheers!
 
congrats, they all look great. Now get to chawppin' and send us some feedback on how they all do.
 
The finish is called kurouchi, and the weight is about average. The Konosuke knives (and the like) are ridiculously light compared to pretty much everything. That "super model" type knife has been popular for a few years now, so there are lots of them floating around, but I still wouldn't consider it the norm. Hand forged knives tend heavier as well, as they thicken towards t he tang.
Congrats on picking up a new habit. :)
 
Nice Bill, congratulations.

Two nakiris? Couldn't choose just one? ;)

I'll be interested to hear your impressions after you have had a chance to use and sharpen them all a bit.

-Johnny
 
"Kurouchi"! Thanks. Had found it, lost it, now it's burned into my brain. Thanks for the head's up on weight. I had seen the term 'laser' WRT the Konosuke and some others, which I had only ever seen before as a means of cutting out the blank, when used in reference to knives. Here, I guess it refers to the thinness of the blade?

I have two nakiris, because, at first, Mr. Nakaota from EBay (330mate) said the petty could not be made and the gyuto was on backorder for a while. So, I cancelled the order and placed one for the Konosuke and the Morikata with Mark. An hour later, I got an email from Mr. Nakaota that the knives could all be made (note the different wood for the petty handle). So, I kept both orders. After all, like guns, can one ever own too many knives?

Will use them this week and report back.
 
The Konosuke makes me want to buy it. Nakiris look fun.
 
Very nice collection!!

Two Nakiri's makes sense to me, I tend to use that style of knife a lot:)
The Yamawaku Nakiri looks awesome!
 
I like the angle on the petty. It seems like many makes don't realize that short, narrow blades need a steeper heel to tip ratio in order to maintain knuckle clearance and a comfortable grip and cutting position. -Makes me think that they have put some thought into how it is to actually USE their knives...
 
would it be possible to take a macro picture of the choil on that Yamawaku gyuto? i'd love to see what the geometry looks like. and i agree about the petty, i like the looks of it a lot.
 
If it's anything like my old Yamawaku (which was awesome), it will be a thin, fairly flat grind, with some convex at the edge. Overall, very nice to use. I've wares the gyuto for a while, but I realize I don't need it....
 
Ask and ye shall receive. Here are some close-ups of the Yamawaku Gyuto choil. Other than cropping, I have not edited any of the photos here or in my earlier post - no sharpening, no color enhancement, no balance adjustment, etc. Just shot on my cutting block under an incandescent ceiling light.


Choil_1.jpg


Choil_2.jpg


Choil_3.jpg


The angle on the petty is nice for its purpose. I used it to chunk slice and then remove the cores from some tomatoes for a salad, which is more front end work, and my knuckles had plenty of clearance. If you worked up near the heel, maybe not so much. But, for me at least, that would be more for chopping, for which I would use another knife.

Hope the pics help. Let me know, if the angles aren't good.

Bill
 
i meant pics of the choil head on, so that we can see how thin it is behind the edge.
 
Yeah, pics looking heel to tip, with the edge turned up.
It looks like the grind I had in mind, but I could be mistaken.
 
Whoops, my bad. Here are a couple more pics. From the angle I shot, it was a bit of a challenge to get the camera to focus across the whole width of the knife, so the two pics have primary focus close to the edge and away from the edge. Hopefully, I'll get better at this over time.

Choil_4.jpg


Choil_5.jpg


Let me know, if you want a different angle.

Bill
 
Perfect, Bill!
Looks like slight convex into a flat, finished with a convex at the edge. Or am I drunk?
 
Great photos! Thanks bill!

I see flat, slight convex, and then either flat or concave right behind the edge. Bottom line: looks good! Very thin behind the edge with geometry above the edge that should give good separation and release without wedging.
To quote Borat: "Very nice, I like."
 
Looks great, and I love nakiri too. (Own one.) You downplay your collection, but when did you start? I've got less and I started 2 months ago.

The pics don't show it very well, but the front of the blade on the Yamawaku nakiri is rounded, I guess to keep it from digging into the cutting board.

For what it's worth, I know that a rounded front and square heel - like yours - is so-called Kansai-style, and if both front and heel are rounded (probably more rounded profile as a result) then it's Kanto-style. Mine is also Kansai.
 
I see flat, slight convex, and then either flat or concave right behind the edge.


So, I stared at the above for a minute and thought "Huh?" But, I put on my engineer's magnifying lens and looked carefully at the edge. I think you be right. Hopefully, I won't mangle it, when I run it on the Edge Pro. So much to learn, and so little time....
 
.....but when did you start?

Everything, including the sharpener, arrived in the past couple of weeks. I am a complete newb at this. But, it's fun to learn something new. Helps keep the mind (and knives) sharp, Thanks for the explanation about the style. It all goes into my mental dictionary.
 
Whoops, my bad. Here are a couple more pics. From the angle I shot, it was a bit of a challenge to get the camera to focus across the whole width of the knife, so the two pics have primary focus close to the edge and away from the edge. Hopefully, I'll get better at this over time.

Choil_4.jpg


Choil_5.jpg


Let me know, if you want a different angle.

Bill

that's more like it! that's a nice grind. i might have to get one of these, at some point.
 
Thanks for the explanation about the style. It all goes into my mental dictionary.

My pleasure - although Kansai or Kanto style... I'm not sure if that's really important. (Historical differences? I'm interested in Japan, so maybe I'd like that.)

'Mental dictionary' - yeah, an appropriate term. Loadsa lingo around to quiz oneself on. We'll catch up.
 

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