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AT5760

AT5760

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With winter coming, I’m thinking about a project or two. So I’m looking for a knife that will be a bit rough. My goal is to totally remove the initial edge, work on the choil and spine, practice flattening bevels, and have something I can “beat” on and fix up as needed.

I’m thinking 150-190mm around $100.

Maybe I get froggy this winter and try making a new handle, but that’s unlikely.

what are some good candidates?
 
AT5760 said:
Are JCK’s FRKZ made by TF? The 160mm petty might be a possibility then?
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Yes, they're basically the nashiji line.

Project knife wise, I would recommend some cheap carbon steel knife on fleabay. Maybe the tosa stuff that comes in real thick.
 
Had you considered a WTB for someone’s “unsellable”(Due to low value) knife?
 
Masamoto's and other similar used in various stages of condition and sizes pop up on ebay from time to time. Tosa knives are another option. The Tojiro Shirogami line might be worth a look, maybe.

Could also look at yo-deba's -> Gyuto conversion? Depending on how much work you're looking for.
 
AT5760 said:
With winter coming, I’m thinking about a project or two. So I’m looking for a knife that will be a bit rough. My goal is to totally remove the initial edge, work on the choil and spine, practice flattening bevels, and have something I can “beat” on and fix up as needed.

I’m thinking 150-190mm around $100.

Maybe I get froggy this winter and try making a new handle, but that’s unlikely.

what are some good candidates?
Click to expand...

What about Dao Vua at $54.95?
https://homebutcher.com/collections/dao-vua-knives/products/dao-vua-190mm-rocking-gyuto
 
i saw a vid dao vua posted. they basically put the very edge into charcoal so the lowest few millimeters get glowing, then dunk it in water or oil or whatever.
and its seems that was basically it. quite questionable HT if you ask me.

i'd say it would make a very bad project knife, unless the project involves re HT-ing it!
 
AT5760 said:
With winter coming, I’m thinking about a project or two. So I’m looking for a knife that will be a bit rough. My goal is to totally remove the initial edge, work on the choil and spine, practice flattening bevels, and have something I can “beat” on and fix up as needed.

I’m thinking 150-190mm around $100.

Maybe I get froggy this winter and try making a new handle, but that’s unlikely.

what are some good candidates?
Click to expand...
Since you want to practive flattening wide bevels, you'll need a knife with wide bevels :)
In ascending order of price: Tosa, or Moritaka, or TF nashiji. Zakuri is a nice tosa, with a notch higher F&F (but also pricier) compared to the run of the mill Tosas. Tosa have wide bevels so you can practice flattening them. Or you could practice convexing them. Or removing the KU... Moritaka can be fun project knives, too.
One thing to keep in mind, and not sure if this'd bother you, but if you get a tosa, the spines are KU, so when you round the spine, you'll have a shiny spine and black KU sides.

Another direction... Old euro/american carbon steel can be fun to restore--and really cheap on ebay.
 
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Forgive my ignorance, but what would be the objective of rounding, or working on, the spine of a knife? And what would one be doing?
 
cotedupy said:
Forgive my ignorance, but what would be the objective of rounding, or working on, the spine of a knife? And what would one be doing?
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When you hold a knife in a pinch grip, you rest your index finger on the spine of the knife. If the spine is a sharp rectangle of metal, it becomes uncomfortable after some period of time. You smooth it by taking a strip of sand paper and blunting the edges using a shoe-shine motion (the motion of the sandpaper is orthogonal to the spine).
 
nakiriknaifuwaifu said:
When you hold a knife in a pinch grip, you rest your index finger on the spine of the knife. If the spine is a sharp rectangle of metal, it becomes uncomfortable after some period of time. You smooth it by taking a strip of sand paper and blunting the edges using a shoe-shine motion (the motion of the sandpaper is orthogonal to the spine).
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Ah ok, ta. I've done this on cheap cai daos, but not had to on anything else so far.
 
I've worked over 5 Dao Vua. Two had micro cracks at the edge. They were well hidden with heavy grind marks, but could be felt with a fingernail. Also, the tangs are super wonky. I wont mess with them anymore.

I like Gekko and Zakuri. They are affordable and pretty evenly ground with decent steel and HT. Also, Dojo are cheap, but use AS steel with stainless cladding.
 
These came in yesterday, complete with free recycled wood sayas.

They seem like decent little knives, rough, but that’s expected (and desired) for the price.

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What is this warning on Hida's website? Is it the steel that contains these (trace?) elements?
 

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It is a standard California Prop. 65 warning. The State of California requires warnings to be placed on products that contain substances believed to cause cancer, birth defects, and other serious illnesses. It doesn't mean the actual product is known to cause these issues, only that some substance used in the product is believed to cause those illnesses in some situation. It could be the steel, plastic in the ferrule, coating for the handle, protective lacquer on the blade, or the artificial KU.

IMO the warning doesn't do much except lead to warning fatigue and cause consumers to disregard more serious warnings. It has also produced a cottage industry for plaintiff's lawyers; they sue product manufacturers whose products contain trace amounts of these substances for failing to include the Prop. 65 warnings.
 
AT5760 said:
It is a standard California Prop. 65 warning. The State of California requires warnings to be placed on products that contain substances believed to cause cancer, birth defects, and other serious illnesses. It doesn't mean the actual product is known to cause these issues, only that some substance used in the product is believed to cause those illnesses in some situation. It could be the steel, plastic in the ferrule, coating for the handle, protective lacquer on the blade, or the artificial KU.

IMO the warning doesn't do much except lead to warning fatigue and cause consumers to disregard more serious warnings. It has also produced a cottage industry for plaintiff's lawyers; they sue product manufacturers whose products contain trace amounts of these substances for failing to include the Prop. 65 warnings.
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The warning is also a little alarmist. If a substance will possibly cause cancer in high doses that you wouldn't run across day to day, it gets a warning.
 
I have one of those tosa nakiri from hida tool. I very rarely cut anything with it, but It's my go to stone testing blade. The grind is weird. Thin at the spine, thin at the edge with a bulging middle. Works great for practicing polishing and sharpening wide bevels though and it can't really be beat in the sub $40 price class.
 
Well, gotta start somewhere with polishing.

I’ve spent a lot of time trying to flatten the bevels on this one, but haven’t gotten there yet.

I started with a King 300. It left a ton of scratches. Switched to wet/dry sandpaper. 220, then 500. After probably an hour with these abrasives, there are still low spots that are untouched. I ran out of steam and decided to focus on taking out some of the scratches.

Next was a King 800 (which dishes if you look at it). Stopped at the King 1200, which produces some pretty nice contrast

Anyway, one decent looking section sandwiched between two ugly areas. I’ll use it for a while, and work on the bevels again next time it needs a sharpening.


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