Sharpening services experience with Korin

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Zwiefel

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Based on the advice of the forum, I recently sent two knives out to be professionally sharpened:

240MM Suisin INOX Honyaki wa-gyuto
210MM Masamoto VG (Formerly VG10)

Korin in NYC performed the work.

The Suisin had been in use in my home kitchen for about 4 months with the OOTB edge.

The Masamoto had been in use in my home kitchen for about 3 years, with some touch-up/gentle sharpening of the edge on my waterstones.

Sugai-san put new bevels on both knives at lower angles than the OOTB and adjusted both knives to accommodate my lefty-ness (not a political comment :rasberry:).

I used them both, as well as my Gengetsu 180MM Petty, and Calphalon 8" Chef's knives to prepare a large bowl of fruit salad as well as to prep veggies for an omelette and hashbrowns for breakfast this morning.

The last time I used the Calphalon was before the purchase of any of my Jknives, and I recalled being pleased with it's performance (about 3 years ago). Wow, how much my expectations and sensitivity have changed! :eek2: Tremendous amounts of wedging and sticktion. Very very disappointing. This was abandonded completely.

Next up was the Gengetsu. While it performed quite well, it's clear that the edge I'm able to put on it was no match for the work Sugai-san did on the other two. I do fully blame my skills for that, not the materials/design of the knife. To criticize the Gengetsu here is sort of like criticism for being the 3rd fastest runner in the world, or being the 4th greatest chess champion. No wedging at all, very little sticktion.

The Masamoto slid effortlessly through all of the fruits/veggies and grabbed the board every single time. I tested every section of the edge for starting the cuts, and got the same result every time...though near the tip it might have been slightly easier. There was a small amount of sticktion...but still a dream compared to the Calphalon.

The Suisin was last...and well out-performed the lot. Just like the Masamoto, it slide through every type of skin/flesh combination with ease...at times I couldn't even feel it "break" the skin it was so smooth. Grabbed the board everytime a slice was completed. very little sticktion. I was surprised at the difference in performance between the masamoto and the suisin...clearly the grind and thinness differences make a....uhhhh...difference :eyebrow:

Conclusions:

As was suggested by forum members...the OOTB edge on these two knives does a poor job of indicating what they are capable of. Having them professionally sharpened was very educational, and certainly removed whatever doubts I had about the level of my skills in this area. :O

Both knives have always performed well for me, with a clear edge to the suisin...but that gap looks bigger now

Suigai-san did excellent work in bringing out the qualities of these knives. I wouldn't hesitate to use Korin for this type of work in the future.

Thanks to Mari-san for facilitating these services, typing up Sugai-san's comments about both knives, and the lovely hand-written card she included when returning the package!

Hope you all find these comments useful.
 
Nice to have some 'new' knives, huh? I guess you were hestitant to really sharpen them up yourself before?
 
Yes...my experience is quite limited, so I've been practicing on my Henckel's + Rada blades...recent got a CCK1303, a Tojiro ITK, and Ittosai Bunka to practice with as well.

Now I at least have a benchmark for these blades!
 
Yes...my experience is quite limited, so I've been practicing on my Henckel's + Rada blades...recent got a CCK1303, a Tojiro ITK, and Ittosai Bunka to practice with as well. Now I at least have a benchmark for these blades!

Something that's often suggested for straight razor users is that they have their first sharpening done by a honemeister. Gives them a great shave, but perhaps more importantly gives them a benchmark for how sharp their razor can be. Glad it worked out at Korin!
 
I met Vincent, one of the Korin western knife sharpeners, at a demo here in Philly last week. Really knowledgeable guy who was great to chat with. All the people from Korin were great actually. And they gave me a free saya pin for a buddy at work who is missing his :) Glad your experiences were positive, I'd def let Korin sharpen my knives.
 
Thank you for your wonderful feedback!! It was really nice to read and I loved working with you. I'm so happy your knives got back to you in tip top condition.

I'm going to go pass this to Mr. Sugai and Vincent. They will be super happy. :D
 
I met Vincent, one of the Korin western knife sharpeners, at a demo here in Philly last week. Really knowledgeable guy who was great to chat with. All the people from Korin were great actually. And they gave me a free saya pin for a buddy at work who is missing his :) Glad your experiences were positive, I'd def let Korin sharpen my knives.

Oh!! With Wendy and Jack too, yea? :) They came back telling me that they had a great time. Thank you for having us!
 
Yup, I was at the demo but wasn't from the restaurant it was being held at. It was good fun, hope to see you guys again!
 

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