Recent content by Koop

Man, you guys are killin' it tonight. So many great looking dishes.

Another new stone showed up via UPS. A Wastikivi from Finland. This is a coarse phyllite (metamorphised slate I'm told). I'm not sure what I'll do with it. That's the problem with surfing the 'net while enjoying a cocktail or two. Seemed like a good idea at the time.

Not really a kitchen knife stone at 150x40mm - but should be great for my straight razor. It came with the bout - nice nagura.

In process photo. This is a nice blade, I love slicing with it. Note the ebony isn't all dark, it has sap wood.

One of my first Japanese kitchen knives is a JCK Blue Moon sujihiki - a Sanjo sourced blade from an un-named maker. The original handle was perfectly serviceable, but the oval shape and the rough finish of the chestnut handle begged for an upgrade. Tokushu has a sale on selected hardwood...

I received a USPS notification that my wa knife handle shipped from Tokushu Knife in Tennessee a week ago Monday. They gave an ETA of Thursday April 11. Friday, USPS tracking still said delivery by Thursday, but we knew that wasn't happening. Saturday it updated to "in transit from Chattanooga."...

Better yet, buy Larrin's book - Knife Engineering.

My Tsushima is very hard and slow. I need to raise a slurry with either a tomo naguri - again, slow - or a diamond plate (quicker) to get it to cut at a reasonable rate. I use it as finishing stone in my knife progression - more or less a strop. I think it's becoming more useful as it "breaks in."

How about a thread for natural whetstones that aren't mainstream or collectible? Any interest? I'm finding a lot of possibilities out there - everything from Finland to Indonesia. I'll start with a few that I'm using. Three Indonesian stones - medium to fine. A Japanese stone, but not a...

I have a modest collection of Spyderco folders. Before I discovered Japanese kitchen knives, I bought a Spyderco santoku. Not a good buy. It was stamped out of a steel called MBS 26 and ground with a bizarre bevel - I don't know, maybe 80/20 or 90/10? I love my Spyderco folders for EDC and...

I don't think I'd have a thumb after peeling ginger like that!

I just finished peeling and French cutting a jicama. That was a worthy wedging/cracking test.

It just occured to me - I received this e-mail notification this morning, April 1st. Maybe it's April Fools click bait.

Seem like a solution searching for a problem. I'm not left handed nor do I switch hands, but I've seen enough sharpeners switch hands to believe stones work either way!

Okay, any mention of TF always garners a response. I bought my first nakiri about a month ago from JCK - a FRKZ white #1, which is a rebranded TF Nashiji. I liked it so much, I'm waiting on a TF Maboroshi nakiri I ordered. It's not the steel, it's the treatment. His white #1 is a joy - it may...