Lefty Knife Fix

[Andrew H]

No, I got a 250 and 1k.

Use the 250 instead of the extra coarse. And check your progress practically every second, those things remove metal like it's no joke.

 

[Mats]

Use the 250 instead of the extra coarse. And check your progress practically every second, those things remove metal like it's no joke.

I kind of bought the Fujiwara as an "introduction" into carbon knives and sharpening so I don't mind messing it up if I'm learning things.

 

[Andrew H]

I kind of bought the Fujiwara as an "introduction" into carbon knives and sharpening so I don't mind messing it up if I'm learning things.

If you want to play around with it, have fun. But there's no point in not picking up on good practices (using appropriate stone for the job, checking often, etc) from the beginning.

 

[Mats]

If you want to play around with it, have fun. But there's no point in not picking up on good practices (using appropriate stone for the job, checking often, etc) from the beginning.

Ya, I'll check it often. I still want the knife to be usable and achieve maximum sharpness. I've been looking into stones the past 2 days. I'm willing to invest in a good setup and leave my Henckel's stones (250, 1k, 3k, 8k) at my parent's house to sharpen stuff there. I'm a fisherman so I need adequate knives at my parent's place because that's where I keep my fishing gear and up till now, my Victorinox collection consisting of large butchers and slicers.

 

[Dave Martell]

Dave,
You don't think the Fujiwara is a thin enough so it would work well with a large, lefty, chisel-ground edge?

I think of that as a fatty, am I picturing the wrong one?

 

[labor of love]

Since we know that there is no such thing as a 50/50 ground Japanese knife, we can then conclude that leftys should either buy left handed knives or the thinnest 60/40 ground blades that they can find to avoid sharpening and twisting issues. There's lots of nice knives that fall into this category but I don't believe either of the ones mentioned by the original poster are of that criteria.

***Remember, the edge is not the only thing that's ground asymmetrical - the entire blade is too.

On second thought you should just listen to what dave says here. Im kind of defending my own purchase of the moritaka ks when I say its no big deal for a lefty to use it. I just got used to dealing with its righty grind over time as I have most of my japanese knife purchases. But then again, when it comes to gyutos there arent alot(that I know of)left handed knives to chose from so I dont really know what else people like me and you are supposed to do besides to just deal with it. Or get custom knives. But asymmetric grinds on thinner knives dont seem to be noticable so that might be something worth considering too.

 

[stevenStefano]

As a lefty, if you're just gonna try and buy lefty knives you aren't exactly spoiled for choice, so I say just buy whatever knives you like. If you put a 99/1 lefty edge on a knife it should improve food release a lot more than a 50/50 edge or if it still isn't that great a little thinning should help. Or as others have suggested, you could buy thinner knives because the left/right bias will be a lot less pronounced

 

[euphorbioid]

I am left handed also. I don't notice a lot of difference between the 6 gyutos I have as far as steering or cutting goes. I stay away from the 90-10 righty biased knives, but 60-40 or even 70-30 work just fine. I sharpen them based on the makers original angles. I also always use a pinch grip which may account for the lack of steering. If you are talking about getting into traditional single bevel knives, that is another issue. You will have to pony up the "lefty tax" of 40-60% and get a knife made for you. Good luck.

 

[tk59]

I think of that as a fatty, am I picturing the wrong one?

Fujiwara Teruyasu makes thick knives that are roughly 50:50 partial ground. I think he's talking about the inexpensive, relatively thin Fujiwaras (not Teruyasu). As for the Moritakas, I would expect those not to have a strong right hand bias (if any at all), is that incorrect?

 

[labor of love]

Salty does a good job explaining the grind on the moritaka ks in the video. One secondary bevel is more steep than the other and there's no steering issue for me because of the flat profile I'm guessing??? The entire knife comes off the cutting board with every stroke/slice including the edge and I think steering would be more likely to happen if the tip remained on the board during cuts. Does that make sense?

 

[NO ChoP!]

I'm a lefty, and I've put lefty biased edges on all my knives, with zero issues. Infact I own thee mori ks in saltys video. Most of todays popular knives are thin, or at least thin behind the edge, and if not we usually thin them ourselves... You'd really have to try hard to notice any steering issues from the likes of a fujiwara it moritaka.

I say thin behind the edges a little, and then reinstate a slight lefty bias....

 

[euphorbioid]

I'm a lefty, and I've put lefty biased edges on all my knives, with zero issues. I say thin behind the edges a little, and then reinstate a slight lefty bias....

As Dave has often pointed out, it's not just the edge but the whole blade that is asymmetric. I too have put lefty biased edges on some of my knives but I think this does little more than make me think I have fixed the problem, if it is truly a problem. The whole blade would need to be reground to really accomplish anything. Overall, I have not found major issues on double bevel knives.

 

[dav]

I'm naturally left handed but due years of using either/both hands with carpentry tools (very useful to learn) I don't really have a major issue for example my single bevelled knives are righty's and thats how they are used. Otherwise with my double bevelled knives I use my left hand and have had no issues what so ever although I'm obviously no pro lol. All of my knives seem to be quite thin other than the Watanabe's and looking at my Konosuke Hd Gyuto there is a right bias but looking its probably 65-70 in favour of a righty and due to the thinness I've experienced no issues. I have 3 Moritaka's (all quite thin) they are great cutters and looking closely are not far off 50/50 perhaps a very slight right bias at most 60/40 so good for left handed use.

 

[labor of love]

BTW it's really lame virtually no Japanese makers stock lefty friendly knife
Grinds. I know there's a decent amount of leftys using Japanese knives
Hopefully this changes overtime...

 

[Mats]

Thanks guys, lots of good info here. As Labor says above, maybe some makers will be willing to stock lefty knives in the close future. It's a shame we have to check out all the details behind a knife in order to purchase one. I might go the custom route very soon.

 

[Rottman]

The only Japanese maker I remember that offers lefty knives for all models is Misono, in the last years Koki/JCK is offering more and more lefty knives upon request.

 

[NO ChoP!]

It does seem there is an inordinate amount of lefties on this forum...

 

[stevenStefano]

One thing I might add is that my Masamoto KS has a proper lefty grind and didn't cost extra so if there are any leftys on the fence about buying one I hope that helps. To be honest I think the disadvantages of being a lefty aren't that big a deal, unless you like single bevelled knives. The only one I have is an usuba and to be honest I don't use it so much any more, trying to use one in a pro environment is a bit of a nightmare

 

[Heath Besch]

Since we know that there is no such thing as a 50/50 ground Japanese knife, we can then conclude that leftys should either buy left handed knives or the thinnest 60/40 ground blades that they can find to avoid sharpening and twisting issues. There's lots of nice knives that fall into this category but I don't believe either of the ones mentioned by the original poster are of that criteria.

***Remember, the edge is not the only thing that's ground asymmetrical - the entire blade is too.

Welcome!
I would have to agree with Dave on this one. I'm a lefty as well and every right handed Japanese blade that I have purchased and subsequently ground for left-handed use has ALWAYS given me wedging/pulling problems some more severe than others, but the problem has always existed. Go ahead and get some left handed knives. By the time you spend the money on a righty and the professional regrinding to a lefty it will be basically the same amount without any of the hassle. Best of luck on this venture!

 

[tk59]

...By the time you spend the money on a righty and the professional regrinding to a lefty it will be basically the same amount without any of the hassle. Best of luck on this venture!

+1. Unless you just want the experience, I'd buy lefties.