Best of yoshikazu tanaka

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shobudonnie

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Besides the obvious stuff like Kagekiyo, takada no hamono, yohei, OG konosuke fujiyama, or kyuzo, what other gyutos do you think are some of Tanaka’s best works?
 
Some of the more common offerings that come in blue 1. Not the super rare ones that use uncommon steels like Togo reigo and such.
 
Tanaka‘s work across brands is pretty uniform, what you’re really after here is grinds and finishes that aren’t done by Tanaka.
 
I bet that massdrop is going to be awesome. I do enjoy my JNS Y Tanaka.
 
How is his AS? Trying to decide if my next purchase should be a tanaka AS (and then do I want a wide bevel or convex one?) or a denka
The steel is hard as hell but somehow doesn’t feel brittle or chippy at all.

Make sure you get one that has a good grind otherwise you’ll spend a load of time and possibly money getting it remotely usable.
 
Photos!!!
Ya photos!!! What size did you get
I will happily show her off. Here is a before and after. Brand new versus how she looks today. Edge is 230 mm. Spine is 4 mm thick at the heal. 218g. 65 HRC AS.
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Yoshikazu Tanaka Vintage Swedish Carbon steel
228x50,6mm
184g
3,16mm out of the handle
Nicely balanced with a burnt chestnut handle. Nice profile imo, cuts really well, interesting convex grind and nice to look at.
One of the best Japanese knives I have tried.
If the grind on the Rentetsu ones is as good, they clearly win.
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If you want a cheaper version look for Miura Itadaki. Quite affordable. Nice knife but quite reactive cladding.
 
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