So whats all the fuss about Shigefusa?

[slash]

I am down to 11 shigs which means I am losing the intercontinental battle with Huw. I only like shigs because Lucretia does.

I think the kasumis are fairly priced and make good everyday knives but I also think the kitaeji takes some extra thought and lots of money: once you get up to that $800 to $1,200 range there are a lot of interesting knives to choose from.

Most of the kasumi/kitaeji pairs I have had, 180s, 240s, and 270s do show a thinner behind the edge grind on the kitaeji and more effort on the surface finish (obviously). I think though that a kasumi with some thinning, if you like working on your knives, produces a great knife at a reasonable price. I do have to say though that the reactivity can be annoying and I often pull out a ginsanko of some sort for onions.

I think Nenohi/Nenox is a better illustration of overpricing but you don't see a lot of people interested in these at the moment - for that reason.

11 shigs damn! And how romantic.

 

[mhlee]

While I haven't bought a Shig recently - I've purchased two yanagibas - the wait for certain single bevel knives can be quite long. I got lucky with Maxim that a knife I wanted was coming in, but I still waited almost 6 months for delivery.

 

[orange]

Just got the email from JNS -2 Kitaeji 240mm wa gyutos available!

I saw the email too late and it's all gone by the time that I acted.

 

[gic]

Shigs take a forced patina quite well. If you google "forcing a patina on a shigefusa" the first link explains quite well how to do this. After doing that Shigs aren't really reactive at all...

As far as western shigs go, while handles are personal, I have to say I love the handle on my western shig, feels like an extension of my hand. It had to take a lot longer to make this than the tradition wa handle and thus the cost should be higher independent of forging time.