Knife recommendations and a few quick questions

[GlassEye]

Plain, yes; horrible, not so much.

My Tanaka petty has a ho wood D-handle with a horn ferrule. There is no step between ferrule and handle, unlike the bargain basement handles found on Tojiro ITK's.

Rick

I agree. I have two Tanaka with ho wood/horn d shape handles, that are rather decent.

 

[bikehunter]

I agree. I have two Tanaka with ho wood/horn d shape handles, that are rather decent.

I have one as well, and it was damn cheap. One of my favorites.

 

[Scrap]

You all very nearly have me sold on this Tanaka. I may very well appreciate that stainless considering the environments I'll be using it in. This has proven to be more difficult than anticipated, but I greatly appreciate all of the help everyone has provided.

 

[don]

Tanaka Blue Damascus are nice knives for the price, but they are thin and lightweight knives. Don't know if that's a factor for you.

 

[Keith Sinclair]

Before you pull the trigger Scrap,you might give Jon a call at Japanese Knife Imports.At around 150.00 the Gesshin Uraku is a good workhorse blade,around 60 Hrt.Wa Handle wt Buff. Horn collar,holds a good edge,easy to sharpen,not a Lazor but thin behind the edge where it counts.It has inscribed Kanji & a Saya.I have been using this knife awhile & think it is a great choice in the 150.00 range.

 

[Timthebeaver]

You all very nearly have me sold on this Tanaka. I may very well appreciate that stainless considering the environments I'll be using it in. This has proven to be more difficult than anticipated, but I greatly appreciate all of the help everyone has provided.

Just a note that Tanaka's Ginsanko and VG10 are stainless clad, stainless core knives. The Blue #2 is carbon core, soft iron clad and quite the opposite of stainless - it's very reactive.

 

[Scrap]

Just a note that Tanaka's Ginsanko and VG10 are stainless clad, stainless core knives. The Blue #2 is carbon core, soft iron clad and quite the opposite of stainless - it's very reactive.

Ah. Iron clad sounds like it could be troublesome, thank you for the correction, It gives me more to consider. I looked at the damascus and have trouble getting past the pattern, but it looks to be worth it too. The Uraku looks right up my alley too - any other thoughts? also, how comfortable are octagon handles? The seem like they wouldn't be the greatest...

 

[Timthebeaver]

Ah. Iron clad sounds like it could be troublesome, thank you for the correction, It gives me more to consider. I looked at the damascus and have trouble getting past the pattern, but it looks to be worth it too. The Uraku looks right up my alley too - any other thoughts? also, how comfortable are octagon handles? The seem like they wouldn't be the greatest...

Some people acid etch their soft-iron clad knives to attenuate the reactivity. The VG10 Tanaka is clad with stainless damascus, the ginsanko has a matte, non-damascus textured finish called Nashiji (Pear-skin finish, after the fruit). All quite different knives, the Blue is typically thinner than the Ginsanko. You can't go wrong with the Uraku in the up-to $150 category.

I like both Octagon and D-shaped handles, generally octagon is preferred. Ymmv.

 

[mhlee]

Did you look at the Zakuri that I posted the link for in my previous post? I also previously posted a link for the Uraku in one of my earlier posts.

 

[Keith Sinclair]

Ah. Iron clad sounds like it could be troublesome, thank you for the correction, It gives me more to consider. I looked at the damascus and have trouble getting past the pattern, but it looks to be worth it too. The Uraku looks right up my alley too - any other thoughts? also, how comfortable are octagon handles? The seem like they wouldn't be the greatest...

Personally I like Octagon handles,many makers don't leave sharp edges,rounding them slightly.If you want to round them more,easy wt. a little sanding.Nice thing about the Uraku is a saya so classy transport for your knife bag.I used a mix of 50/50 tung oil & bullseye amber shellac on the handle & saya.The tung oil is good for the wood,but slow drying.The amber shellac speeds drying & adds a amber color to the wood.

 

[Scrap]

I did look at thez akuri, actually - how do the zakuri and the uraku compare? I'm pretty torn between the two, both seem of high quality so I'm guessing it'd mostly be preferential variations. Also, are there any other oils good for handle care? as in...do I need to purchase some form of mineral oil, or will some kitchen oils I have around already do?

 

[greasedbullet]

I would not use kitchen oils because they go rancid. I use butcher block oil from Lowes. It penetrates the wood and forms a layer on the outer surface so it can almost be treated like a stabilized wood. Takes like 4 days to do properly, which isn't too bad compared to things like tung oil and is more permanent in my opinion.

 

[chinacats]

The Zakuri is carbon and so will stain, the Uraku is stainless. I have a Zakuri and think it is a very good knife, though very rustic. The Uraku which I've not used has a reputation for being much better f&f--I would definitely call Jon and get his thoughts.

Cheers