Tojiro ITK Kiritsuke

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jayhay

jayhay

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So they just came in-stock, you know where, and I ordered one. Excited as it is my first white #2 knife. I'll post again when I get the blade. I'm poor these days, so it's all about finding that fun/price/performance knife. I'm excited!
 
I like the W#2 on the Tojiro's even if its a machined knife. You'll have to put work into the edge but once you do it'll be fun to use.

Its too bad that they won't ship Tojiro's to Canada anymore otherwise I'd pick it up as well to play with it.
 
I had the nakiri and gave it away. I don't want to be too critical as it cost $30, but i thought it was worth about $30.
 
Congrats! I won the prototype of the very same and I'm getting it re-handled soon. I'll post as well when I get it back.
 
Yeah, bummer they won't ship outside of the US. Do you know anyone state-side that could order it for you, then ship over it to you in CA?
 
macmiddlebrooks said:
Congrats! I won the prototype of the very same and I'm getting it re-handled soon. I'll post as well when I get it back.
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What were your initial impressions of the knife? Did I waste my hard earned greenbacks? :)
 
What are your expectations for this knife? That is...the same website sells a Konosuke Fujiyama for $200 more. The Konosuke is an outstanding knife If you're expecting your knife to b e on par with the Konosuke, then you will be disappointed. Can you get this knife to perform at the level the Konosuke would after a good sharpening? Again, Not going to happen. If you are willing to put in a couple of hours to a days worth of work thinning, changing the edge profile, regrinding then resetting the primary bevels, in the process screwing up the finish, then you might have a knife as nice as the Konosuke.
 
Sorry, it's inbound to me from Mark and should arrive on Fri. I'm sure you'll love it :). I have a Konosuke fuji Kiri in W#2 that just blazes through pretty much everything in it's path. The only aside is that it's not really profiled for any kind of rocking motion (herbs). I think it's a great shape.

jayhay said:
What were your initial impressions of the knife? Did I waste my hard earned greenbacks? :)
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I'm hoping it to be fairly thin, take a good edge, be flat as hell and have a horrible handle. I'm wondering more about the blade, since measurement and weight info is unavailable. I'm sure it will preform up to it's $80 price tag. Just looking for a few words from a person who has held one.
 
Mmmm...granted I don't have mine in hand yet, but I think after a bit of re-profiling and easing the corners off the choil and spine....it should be a heck of a cutter. Especially for 80 bones or clams or whatever you call them (name that quote ;)).
 
El Pescador said:
... If you are willing to put in a couple of hours to a days worth of work thinning, changing the edge profile, regrinding then resetting the primary bevels, in the process screwing up the finish, then you might have a knife as nice as the Konosuke.
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Sounds about right to what I did with the gyuto ITK that I got.

It came with no edge and the KU finish was rough. Removed the finish, rounded the spine/choil, thinned, raised the tip a little, put a new bevel in and then sharpened and it became a good cutter. Something that I use as a beater or loan out for people to try a decent knife. By no means will it be my primary knife but then again I think most people would take a custom over this if they good.

It's nice to be able to try a KG for 80 dollars though and It'll also give you good practice on the stones.
 
macmiddlebrooks said:
Mmmm...granted I don't have mine in hand yet, but I think after a bit of re-profiling and easing the corners off the choil and spine....it should be a heck of a cutter. Especially for 80 bones or clams or whatever you call them (name that quote ;)).
Click to expand...

My favorite movie. The Big Lebowski, duddee!

If the choil and spine are square, I'll round them too. I'll figure out what else to do once I see the knife.

@El Pescador - I don't expect the knife to be a Konosuke. That would be silly of me, they aren't in the same league. They are too different of knives. Can't wait to get the thing nonetheless.
 
Why won't they ship Tojiro's to Canada? Is there an alternate retailer?
 
Can you order them from Japan? Knife ware's selection of them is meh.
 
To my knowledge, these ITK Kiritsukes were special ordered by the retailer from Tojiro. So he is the only one selling them.
 
Well, the prototype arrived.
My take:

The first thing I noticed is that it's ground sooo thin...too thin. Thin enough that it takes very little to bend the blade out of true (so no b-nut squash for sure).This is the #1 worst thing about it...because I can't fix it :(. I sanded down the finish, spine, choil and handle. I then scorched the handle for the hell of it, sanded again and added several coats of tung oil....feels way better, not sure if I improved the look any ;). It came pretty sharp but I went ahead and put a toothy 1000 grit edge on it. After all that it has a pretty good feel and moves through food quickly... but, I'm constantly worried that the blade is about to bend if I look at it funny. Well, since this was a free give-away it's going to a co-worker in need.

7608181130_008c4377bb_c.jpg


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As you can see in the pic above, it's not thin at the heel..but at around 1/2 way towards the tip it starts to look/feel more like tin foil. This was impossible to capture with my camera, I apologize.
 
Not a bad looking blade at all. Kinda like the scorched handle look. It reminds me of a couple of Steve Vai's old guitars.
 
I would not worry about how thin it is,sure you will not be cutting butternut squash or Kabocha pumpkin with it.It is very flat,great for push cuts more blade on the board.Think about it almost all food is soft & thin blades reign supreme,glide through food & cut down prep time.

My first Carbon Gyuto was a Masamoto over 30 yrs. ago.It was so thin it makes a Konosuki look thick.Even when it was worn down I used it for slicing panco crusted nori Ahi or insideout sushi wt.Tobiko eggs on top precise cuts.

When I read about persons worring about thin blades steering issues,flex etc.Not my experience at all.I even read one guy got rid of his Sakai Ultra Thin.Sure for the average person a thin Gyuto is going to get damaged from misuse.I am sure most on this forum know way more about knife care than the average person.Thats why they sell thick stainless blades,big bolsters,built like a Tiger Tank,throw them in their dishwashers & wonder why after a while plenty chips & don't cut worth a *@%^.

I know that I sound a little set in my ways,and use my yrs. of experience in a Banq. kitchen.For that sorry if it gets a little tiring.:stinker:
 
I have given both the ITK 210 petty and a few of the nakiris away as gifts. It talk kes me maybe an hour max to remove the stupid sandblasted finish and even out the deep grinds and the performance increases dramatically.

I think that these are fun knives both as cheep learning knives for newbies or beaters / project knives for vets.

I have a tweaked nakiri in my current rotation right now (just breaking it in before i pass it along) abd its a lot of fun.
 
Justin0505 said:
It talk kes me maybe an hour max to remove the stupid sandblasted finish and even out the deep grinds and the performance increases dramatically.
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Agreed...I took my tojiro 120 itk petty and cleaned it up and turned it into a boning knife:O Edge of spine is sharpest part and works perfectly for boning out chicken...just needs new shoes now.
 
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