Recent content by zeusbheld

Chan Chi Kee are in Hong Kong; they're easier to find than Shibazi in Southeast Asia (elsewhere maybe not so much). I got a 1301, a duck knife and a noodle knife in Singapore (Temple street, restaurant supply shops). Shibazi were also available but all I saw was stainless. On an unrelated...

i bought a Takahiro pour-over pot for coffee on Rakuten and the vendor actually listed it as a bit MORE than i paid--so basically, living in Thailand, i paid steep customs fee *and* VAT. some undervalue, some value accurately... i can't say first hand if any shops will negotiate, tbh; i...

^ i have to admit i gasped a bit when i saw the tiger-striped blade in the beginning. hmmmmmmmmmmm maybe i remove lacquer, buff it up, and lacquer in a design (dragon, whatever) then use that as a mask/reverse rather than stencil an image on. oh, yes. the dream is alive. meanwhile in the...

I went ahead and started posting before introducing myself, but hey better late than never. My name's Jeff, I live in Bangkok, I'm an obsessive home cook on a finite budget. This forum came up in Google searches about freehand sharpening, which I am new (but committed) to.

Good to know acetone will work. I'm thinking of de-lacquering my 1301. 1301's HUGE compared to the 1303 (about 40cm longer and quite a bit wider). I'm thinking I'll buff it up flat on a stone, lose the kuroichi finish and play around with using mustard to deliberately make a patina. I've...

interesting that the 1503 isn't much smaller than the 1501. i've got a 1301 and it's a big monster, dwarfs the 1303 by about 4 cm in length.

i don't mind a long soak; i have an outdoor sink i use for little else (cleaning garden tools occasionally). is, in your estimation, the Rika $10 better than the Arashiyama? seems to be the shipping difference at the moment, although that may change by payday.

I'm going through this a bit at the moment myself. I've got a pair of kings in the mid-range and I'm having a hard time making up my mind between the Arashiyama 6000 and the Suehiro Rika 5000 for my fine stone. I'm not worried about losing interest, so I'd like to get a stone I'll be happy with...