Yeah the Ikenami seems like a great fit. I really like my santoku. Grind is really good OOTB. I raised the shoulders a bit, the iron cladding is super easy to thin. Feels super natural in hand.
Maybe I need 2 nakiri! lol
Knife Japan: What's notable, worth buying, etc.?
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Maybe I need 2 nakiri! lol
FWIW, I really like my Homi. It was my primary knife until I got a one-off 180 from him.
I have a Nojiyama Marunaka. It's a great cutter. Leans towards the heavier side, while being thin in all the right places. F&F not that great, but nothing extremely wrong. Stock handle sucked and was slathered in lacquer though, so definitely something to keep in mind (and the tang was skinny and long). But I definitely wouldn't shy away from one.
Minomo Bannou just came in
Thanks, I’m specially interested in the Nojiyama. Would you happen to know the weight on yours?
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same! choil shot looks good
Mines a 240 with a burnt chestnut handle, it weighs 224 grams. It could use a slightly heavier handle, the balance is pretty blade forward.
Did some edge sharpening with Minomo and Kajibe on the side, Minomo feels more glassy, likely harder than Kajibe, but the edge taking is not as good, nor as good as Okubo, the middle part seems to more likely glide on finger nail then caught. Feels to me quite hard tho, but not abnormally hard. Here’s a cutting video with this two, some sharpening really tune up their performance quite a bit
I have just received my first knife from Yoshimitsu Kajiya in a 220mm gyuto version. The blacksmith behind it is Ide San and the steel is shirogami 2 with soft cladding. My first impression was good but more so as I looked at the knife and more so I found the presence of the famous wabi sabi. But I knew it was going to be a “project to finish” to get everything completely to my liking.
Nice KU and the handle is not to my taste but it's still very good for OOTB.
When I looked at the choil, that's when I realized that the finish was not perfect. It's honestly a big hook to the right! Again this isn't something that bothers me because I was going to replace the handle anyway.
There is a curve which testifies to the "handmade" and honestly in terms of grip, it doesn't change much the feeling.
After removing the handle (which was well sealed) that's when I noticed that it wasn't square at all. The top section is about 3mm too far behind.
At least the curve was only in the handle installation and the blade is perfectly straight. The grind is not entirely symmetrical but again, that doesn't bother me because I will be polishing this knife. I'm going to correct the geometry to put it at 50/50 and only thin it to a minimum. I already like this geometry.
One of the most annoying things when I want to change handles is when there is a much thicker section before it gets to the neck. You have to make a larger hole to insert the tang and then it leaves a gap when the handle is installed.
I removed some steel to have the same thickness so that the finish would be more nice after installing the handle.
And obviously I squared up everything by removing about 3mm at the top and trying to even out the height.
And here is the new pair of pants! I had a handle that I made that didn't fit well with a knife. But here with the KU I find that the darker wood goes very well! Balance point is exactly at the heel. Ebony, African blackwood and starfruit burl for the ring.
It feels really good to have a blade now properly aligned!
When preparing the meal, I was really more than surprised by the pleasure I had with this knife. The carrots don't crack, the geometry is almost perfect for my taste and it feels good to use a slightly lower knife (45mm for this one). Honestly I understand why this thread exists and why many of you own Michael's knives. It's a really big surprise for me and a super fun project too!
Tomorrow I'm going to have fun chasing the low spots and polishing everything on my jnat. It feels good to play with my stones again and have a different project, I missed that. See you again with photos after the spa session tomorrow
Nice KU and the handle is not to my taste but it's still very good for OOTB.
When I looked at the choil, that's when I realized that the finish was not perfect. It's honestly a big hook to the right! Again this isn't something that bothers me because I was going to replace the handle anyway.
There is a curve which testifies to the "handmade" and honestly in terms of grip, it doesn't change much the feeling.
After removing the handle (which was well sealed) that's when I noticed that it wasn't square at all. The top section is about 3mm too far behind.
At least the curve was only in the handle installation and the blade is perfectly straight. The grind is not entirely symmetrical but again, that doesn't bother me because I will be polishing this knife. I'm going to correct the geometry to put it at 50/50 and only thin it to a minimum. I already like this geometry.
One of the most annoying things when I want to change handles is when there is a much thicker section before it gets to the neck. You have to make a larger hole to insert the tang and then it leaves a gap when the handle is installed.
I removed some steel to have the same thickness so that the finish would be more nice after installing the handle.
And obviously I squared up everything by removing about 3mm at the top and trying to even out the height.
And here is the new pair of pants! I had a handle that I made that didn't fit well with a knife. But here with the KU I find that the darker wood goes very well! Balance point is exactly at the heel. Ebony, African blackwood and starfruit burl for the ring.
It feels really good to have a blade now properly aligned!
When preparing the meal, I was really more than surprised by the pleasure I had with this knife. The carrots don't crack, the geometry is almost perfect for my taste and it feels good to use a slightly lower knife (45mm for this one). Honestly I understand why this thread exists and why many of you own Michael's knives. It's a really big surprise for me and a super fun project too!
Tomorrow I'm going to have fun chasing the low spots and polishing everything on my jnat. It feels good to play with my stones again and have a different project, I missed that. See you again with photos after the spa session tomorrow
I have just received my first knife from Yoshimitsu Kajiya in a 220mm gyuto version. The blacksmith behind it is Ide San and the steel is shirogami 2 with soft cladding. My first impression was good but more so as I looked at the knife and more so I found the presence of the famous wabi sabi. But I knew it was going to be a “project to finish” to get everything completely to my liking.
View attachment 312259
Nice KU and the handle is not to my taste but it's still very good for OOTB.
View attachment 312260
When I looked at the choil, that's when I realized that the finish was not perfect. It's honestly a big hook to the right! Again this isn't something that bothers me because I was going to replace the handle anyway.
View attachment 312261
There is a curve which testifies to the "handmade" and honestly in terms of grip, it doesn't change much the feeling.
View attachment 312262
After removing the handle (which was well sealed) that's when I noticed that it wasn't square at all. The top section is about 3mm too far behind.
View attachment 312263
At least the curve was only in the handle installation and the blade is perfectly straight. The grind is not entirely symmetrical but again, that doesn't bother me because I will be polishing this knife. I'm going to correct the geometry to put it at 50/50 and only thin it to a minimum. I already like this geometry.
View attachment 312264
One of the most annoying things when I want to change handles is when there is a much thicker section before it gets to the neck. You have to make a larger hole to insert the tang and then it leaves a gap when the handle is installed.
View attachment 312265
I removed some steel to have the same thickness so that the finish would be more nice after installing the handle.
View attachment 312266
And obviously I squared up everything by removing about 3mm at the top and trying to even out the height.
View attachment 312267
And here is the new pair of pants! I had a handle that I made that didn't fit well with a knife. But here with the KU I find that the darker wood goes very well! Balance point is exactly at the heel. Ebony, African blackwood and starfruit burl for the ring.
View attachment 312268
It feels really good to have a blade now properly aligned!
When preparing the meal, I was really more than surprised by the pleasure I had with this knife. The carrots don't crack, the geometry is almost perfect for my taste and it feels good to use a slightly lower knife (45mm for this one). Honestly I understand why this thread exists and why many of you own Michael's knives. It's a really big surprise for me and a super fun project too!
Tomorrow I'm going to have fun chasing the low spots and polishing everything on my jnat. It feels good to play with my stones again and have a different project, I missed that. See you again with photos after the spa session tomorrow
Nice write-up Julien. Glad you're enjoying the knife.
I've been working with Ide-san for a few years now and I love his knives.I have just received my first knife from Yoshimitsu Kajiya in a 220mm gyuto version. The blacksmith behind it is Ide San and the steel is shirogami 2 with soft cladding. My first impression was good but more so as I looked at the knife and more so I found the presence of the famous wabi sabi. But I knew it was going to be a “project to finish” to get everything completely to my liking.
View attachment 312259
Nice KU and the handle is not to my taste but it's still very good for OOTB.
View attachment 312260
When I looked at the choil, that's when I realized that the finish was not perfect. It's honestly a big hook to the right! Again this isn't something that bothers me because I was going to replace the handle anyway.
View attachment 312261
There is a curve which testifies to the "handmade" and honestly in terms of grip, it doesn't change much the feeling.
View attachment 312262
After removing the handle (which was well sealed) that's when I noticed that it wasn't square at all. The top section is about 3mm too far behind.
View attachment 312263
At least the curve was only in the handle installation and the blade is perfectly straight. The grind is not entirely symmetrical but again, that doesn't bother me because I will be polishing this knife. I'm going to correct the geometry to put it at 50/50 and only thin it to a minimum. I already like this geometry.
View attachment 312264
One of the most annoying things when I want to change handles is when there is a much thicker section before it gets to the neck. You have to make a larger hole to insert the tang and then it leaves a gap when the handle is installed.
View attachment 312265
I removed some steel to have the same thickness so that the finish would be more nice after installing the handle.
View attachment 312266
And obviously I squared up everything by removing about 3mm at the top and trying to even out the height.
View attachment 312267
And here is the new pair of pants! I had a handle that I made that didn't fit well with a knife. But here with the KU I find that the darker wood goes very well! Balance point is exactly at the heel. Ebony, African blackwood and starfruit burl for the ring.
View attachment 312268
It feels really good to have a blade now properly aligned!
When preparing the meal, I was really more than surprised by the pleasure I had with this knife. The carrots don't crack, the geometry is almost perfect for my taste and it feels good to use a slightly lower knife (45mm for this one). Honestly I understand why this thread exists and why many of you own Michael's knives. It's a really big surprise for me and a super fun project too!
Tomorrow I'm going to have fun chasing the low spots and polishing everything on my jnat. It feels good to play with my stones again and have a different project, I missed that. See you again with photos after the spa session tomorrow
I purchase his blades and fit my handles as his f&f is a little rough, his grinds are a bit off but sometimes just beautiful. One of the knives he gave me is my daily driver, they start to sing a bit after a few stone sessions.
The nagoko/tang that Ide-san does is a little finicky, but I can understand the geometry, it works if they are burnt in. I burn them in, to fix the tang hole to the correct size then fill with hot glue and burn back in. The thin end burns in and the thicker neck holds it in.
If they aren't straight with the blade they will go off to the side, like yours, but the little down bend in the tang helps it stick into the handle. The handles the Ide-san uses generally have a smaller tang hole too. I don't know if this is a regional or personal style/variation.
He free forges so there is a variation with his dimensions. I have noticed his aogami knives are closer to 50mm in height, maybe he uses a slightly different bar stock size?
One interesting thing he told me about his training is that he studied under the last Blacksmith in Japan who forges saw blades.
In all honesty, for the price paid and especially for it being free forge, I don't see much negative to say! I wanted to have fun reconnecting with my jnats and at the same time trying a new blacksmith/profile so I'm more than happy. And I totally get it when you say "start to sing a bit after a few stone sessions"
Obviously I attach importance to the aesthetic finish but if I go beyond that, the knife was really really pleasant to use this evening for my meal. A beautiful knife that doesn't cut well isn't much use! So I'm really happy to see that even when I'm done polishing it, it's going to become a knife that I'm going to use often.
Thanks Erik!
This was supposed to be a one day project but obviously I ran out of time. But hey, it's done! I finished on Ohira iromono with Mizukihara uchigumori finger stone for the jigane. It's far from perfect but it's much more to my taste. But at least the knife is made stone ready and the geometry is corrected.
I'm finally going to start being able to use it
I'm finally going to start being able to use it
Hualicopter
Well-Known Member
Geez that is absolutely gorgeous
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@KasumiJLA
Knives that have a bulge right before the neck, it's an intentional thing that even Sakai knives have. The bulge reduces the chance of cracking the handle at the tang/handle junction.
Knives that have a bulge right before the neck, it's an intentional thing that even Sakai knives have. The bulge reduces the chance of cracking the handle at the tang/handle junction.
Anyone tried this thick boi here?
https://knifejapan.com/shigemitsu-hamono-gyuto-225mm-shirogami-2/
https://knifejapan.com/shigemitsu-hamono-gyuto-225mm-shirogami-2/
I like that profile, wants a push cut into a big cut of meat. That handle though 
And to conclude my experience, here is the beginning of the patina on my knife. I don't think I'll ever get tired of this moment!
I've meal prepped three times so far and I have to say it's nice to work with a slightly lower blade. I spoiled myself by pushing the sharpening up to 6k, I think it's been 2 years since I last did that. To date, the edge is holding up well and I still have a nice bite that manages to slice a soft tomato well. So there you have it, thank you for this thread and it was really cool to “pimp” this Ide San knife
I've meal prepped three times so far and I have to say it's nice to work with a slightly lower blade. I spoiled myself by pushing the sharpening up to 6k, I think it's been 2 years since I last did that. To date, the edge is holding up well and I still have a nice bite that manages to slice a soft tomato well. So there you have it, thank you for this thread and it was really cool to “pimp” this Ide San knife
Pretty sure I know what the majority will respond but let's play anyway. 
Which one and why...?
https://knifejapan.com/okahide-hamono-polished-sabaki-bocho-140mm/
If I remember right, this is Michael's favorite nakiri.
https://knifejapan.com/ikenami-hamono-nakiri-160mm-shirogami-1/
https://knifejapan.com/yoshimitsu-hamono-black-forged-gyuto-180mm-aogami-super/
https://knifejapan.com/okubo-kajiya-santoku-170mm-aogami-2/
Which one and why...?
https://knifejapan.com/okahide-hamono-polished-sabaki-bocho-140mm/
If I remember right, this is Michael's favorite nakiri.
https://knifejapan.com/ikenami-hamono-nakiri-160mm-shirogami-1/
https://knifejapan.com/yoshimitsu-hamono-black-forged-gyuto-180mm-aogami-super/
https://knifejapan.com/okubo-kajiya-santoku-170mm-aogami-2/
aporigine
The slow blade penetrates the winter squash
The Yoshimitsu is the most versatile of this group. However, I imagine most of us have more than one knife that fills that bill.Pretty sure I know what the majority will respond but let's play anyway.
Which one and why...?
https://knifejapan.com/okahide-hamono-polished-sabaki-bocho-140mm/
If I remember right, this is Michael's favorite nakiri.
https://knifejapan.com/ikenami-hamono-nakiri-160mm-shirogami-1/
https://knifejapan.com/yoshimitsu-hamono-black-forged-gyuto-180mm-aogami-super/
https://knifejapan.com/okubo-kajiya-santoku-170mm-aogami-2/
So I say Okahide. Weird cool.
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Yeah I for sure don't need another knife but I suspect most of us don't.
I have an Okahide Kitchen Mini and it is really handy. I like the recommendation!
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As much love as I have for Okubo, the Okahide is going to fill a better niche and be a little less redundant. I really love mine for what it does.
Still a good possibility the Okubo spoils you too.
Still a good possibility the Okubo spoils you too.
Abit of update, overall I think it is good. But I like the Okubo, Toyama and Kajibei blue 2 more, Minomo loose its bite bit quicker, but slightly harder to raise and deburr, Kajibei is not hard but very smooth to sharpen, very enjoyable.
BillHanna
Gotta get ready for ARM
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Would be my order
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Would be my order
Let's make it harderPretty sure I know what the majority will respond but let's play anyway.
Which one and why...?
https://knifejapan.com/okahide-hamono-polished-sabaki-bocho-140mm/
If I remember right, this is Michael's favorite nakiri.
https://knifejapan.com/ikenami-hamono-nakiri-160mm-shirogami-1/
https://knifejapan.com/yoshimitsu-hamono-black-forged-gyuto-180mm-aogami-super/
https://knifejapan.com/okubo-kajiya-santoku-170mm-aogami-2/
https://knifejapan.com/unshu-chuzen-hamono-nakiri-senyo-160mm/
https://knifejapan.com/kono-uchihamono-toku-sei-nakiri-bocho-165mm-aogami-1/
Oh I like that Unshu.
I have this one in my Wish List:
https://knifejapan.com/unshu-chuzen-hamono-haisu-nakiri-165mm/
aporigine
The slow blade penetrates the winter squash
I am not a rectangulista, but that Kono has a cool backstory!
