Chukabocho options...

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For what it's worth, bluewayjapan recently had a ashi hamono carbon cleaver that was super thin, 1.8 mm at the handle. Thinner than the standard ginga ones. The ginga is 420 gms, so this would have been under 400 i think. perhaps he can get another one like that...
 
I have around 10 cleavers, but my current go-to chukabocho is a Moritaka I had made last year. There are some pictures of it in use in my corned beef hash post.
This is my second Moritaka, Andy helped talked me through the process of having one custom made back in 2006-7? when I had my first chukabocho made.

The nice thing about having one made is that you can get exactly what you want in size, shape, spine and edge thickness.
I went all out for my ultimate chukabocho this last time.

BrFPx.St.117.jpg


I had them make this one 22x11cm, Aogami Super Steel edge going into a polished stainless steel damascus for the first third of the blade. I had them finish it off with a hammer-patterned Kurouchi finish. I also had them put a very slight curve to the edge, thin edge going into a thicker spine. All of this for $550, I think having them put a Octagonal handle pushed it over the $500 mark that you are shooting for. I could of knocked another $100 off this same chukabocho if I went with Blue #2 instead of Aogami.
 
OT: Steve, I don't know how I missed that corned beef post, but it was awesome. Great pics. Thanks
 
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I made sheath for myself along with the handle.

I like octagonal but I made this one little thinner and it is really comfortable

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What I mean, buy a cheap soft piece of wood, and first carvve something that looks like handle, and check what size you like exactly. I wouldnt like to have it too big on a cleaver, so that the grip isnt shure, and too small can be dangerous to control, its a big blade at the end of the day :)
 
Andy777 said:
I really thought the menkiri was a killer knife, but I just personally slightly prefer a more standard cleaver shape. I never planned on selling it off, but when I started adopting the more minimalist approach to my collection it fell on the chopping block. I have been and will always be a huge Takeda fanboy. :D It's hard to say how "worth it" they are now that the price has increased 150% since I bought mine. I sold my Takeda a few weeks ago and I do miss it, maybe more than any cleaver I've sold in recent memory. Like I said earlier, my personal favorite route is to pick a blade that speaks to you and then add a custom handle. I do like wa handles on cleavers, but I think I prefer in the end a shorter handle. I do love the CCK handles but I like a slightly fatter version like the original on the Masahiro M3 (sans the horrible finish and huge gaps :) )

M3.jpg


I made something similar (round and bulbous) for my Tatatsuna

Tadatsuna.jpg


But it's also hard to beat the style that the late great Fish perfected:

KKF1.jpg


If the Takedas speak to you then go for it, you can always add a larger / smaller / shorter / fatter octagon handle or even a round one later more like the CCK style if you want.
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When you say 'late great fish' Andy- does that mean he's passed on? I was never a contributor to knifeforums, but I spent over a year and a half observing and absorbing the posts there, and he seemed like a pretty awesome guy. I'd be a little sad to hear he wasn't still cutting...
 
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brainsausage said:
When you say 'late great fish' Andy- does that mean he's passed on? I was never a contributor to knifeforums, but I spent over a year and a half observing and absorbing the posts there, and he seemed like a pretty awesome guy. I'd be a little sad to hear he wasn't still cutting...
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Sadly, yes, Greg "Fish" Crowton is no longer with us.

If you haven't found the thread illustrating his work here on KKF, here's a link:

http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/showthread.php/669-Fish-n-Poi-The-Original-Rehandle-King

Rick
 
Thx for posting that thread. It saddens me and inspires me to no limits.
 
I just want to add a +1 for the sugimoto #6. Comfy handle, awesome profile and a fat spine at the handle w/ full taper; just an all round awesome knife. It's actually been a while since I used mine what with the new job and all my new acquisitions wanting attention, but this thread reminded me how much I love using it. Put it to the stones this morning, haven't cut anything with it yet though.

I'd like to add that it's actually lighter than a lot of sites suggest. I assume due to the hand forging that there is some variation between cleavers, but mine was only 403g out of the box and what with subsequent sharpening sessions is now around 397g. Despite it's lightness though, it's certainly not a laser, still a pretty solid and versatile blade, I've heard others say it's more of a #7 lite. The only other full size cleaver I've used is the Hattori FH which is about 518g from memory and the geometry is completely different. The hattori is super thin behind the edge and one of the best knives I've used for onions, carrots etc.. but, personally, I'd never use it for breaking down birds, which I'd be more than happy to take my Sugimoto to.

FWIW, here's a link to when I first got my Sugimoto: http://www.foodieforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?10766-Sugimoto-6-profile&highlight=sugimoto. Like I said, there is probably variation between each Sugimoto #6, but it gives people a better idea of what to expect.

Aaargh, all the cleaver talk has me itching. I've always been curious about the mizuno stainless....:knife:

Cheers,
Josh
 
JKerr I wonder if youve ever heard anything about the stainless Sujimoto cleaver? Its 195mm long and much cheaper at cktg. These days Im pretty partial to stainless semi stainless stuff which is really one of the only reasons I havent already picked up a Sujimoto #6. Also I wonder how different the Mizuno stainless can be from a Konosuke stainless or Gesshin stainless(all 3 swedish steel). One of the reasons I mention this is because the Konosuke and the Gesshin are both cheaper and Ive read not so great things about the Mizuno Cleaver handle.
 
I haven't used the sugimoto stainless (CM) cleaver myself, though I have a sugimoto gyuto made from the CM steel which I'm a fan of; somewhat similar to (good) VG-10 but able to be pushed that little bit further before becoming "chippy" imo, retention is pretty good too. I had thought about picking up the same cleaver a while back for sh*ts and giggles, but figured I'd just never use a small cleaver. F+F wise I've been happy with all my sugimoto products; good edge ootb, handles well fitted, somewhat rounded spine and choil etc. Like I said though, I haven't used the CM cleaver before, so it could be different. -dg over at Foodie Forums has one and has very positive things to say about it with exception of the faux kasumi type pattern just above the edge, which can be easily smoothed out apparently. I'm not sure why it's so cheap for a cleaver, even if it is small. Sugimoto have a bizarre pricing structure though. From experience, I think they're pretty cheap in regards to knives they market for the home user (21cm CM wa gyuto $80, small CM cleaver $125, super french 21cm gyuto $75) compared to the larger sizes which start to take huge jumps in price, example with the CM gyutos again, if we're using sugimotos RRP a 21cm gyuto is about $80, the 24cm is $210 and the 27cm is $315. The 21 has a d shaped handle with plastic ferrule while the others have octagonal with horn but still, big difference. High price for low demand perhaps? I'd assume they probably make a lot of the CM cleavers what with the small "home" size, stainless and cleavers being their specialty. Might be cladded too, the rest of the CM stuff is mono-steel.

In regards to the Kono, Mizuno and Gesshin, I haven't used any of them so I can't really comment. Regarding the Mizuno though, if you were interested in that particular brand but had reservations about the F+F I'd just contact Koki at JCK before hand and voice your concerns, I'm sure he'd be able to find a solution, his customer service is awesome.

Cheers,
Josh

Oh, I should add, the CM stuff is completely stainless, in the sense that it wont discolour at all compared to semi stainless stuff like VG-10, TKC stuff etc.
 
thanks for the reply! you really helped me out a bit. Do you know of any posts dg may have made about the stainless sujimoto? Foodieforums search engine sux! I will try and look for this writing. Ive noticed Sujimotos pricing in the past, very strange indeed.
 
Sorry for the late reply, busy week.

Here's a couple of threads -dg has posted in with regards to the CM cleaver. I have linked directly to his posts, figured it'd be easy enough to find, plus they're pretty good threads anyway.

http://www.foodieforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?11316-Sugimoto-steel&highlight=sugimoto
http://www.foodieforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?9641-Cleavers.-What-to-do&highlight=sugimoto
http://www.foodieforums.com/vbullet...-that-won-t-break-the-bank&highlight=sugimoto

Cheers,
Josh
 
thanks for the good reads. yeah maybe the sujimoto stainless cleaver is too short. I dug up an old thread andy wrote about his tojiro cleaver w/a metal handle. the 921 is the western handle version and its for sale at blueway. thats my front runner. I just have to pass on the suien vc due to its curved profile. the sujimoto steel sounds intriguing but what can you compare it too performance wise? I saw where somebody mentioned an aritsugu cleaver. That sounds interesting too.
 
I honestly LOVED my tojiro pro cleaver others who have bought it were less keen on it. I think not all pf them have the same grind mine was fantastic but i heard a guy who said his ws too thick i'd make sure wherever you bought yours has a return policy if you get it and it's too thick send it back right away. I personally thought the steel handle was awesome but that's a matter of personal preference.
 
you could always do it up big like i did and score a carter cleaver!.....ryan



pic stolen from curtis

carter1.jpg
 
brainsausage said:
Takeda attracts me do to the thinness and light weight. I really would prefer a pretty thick spine that tapers pretty quickly down to a stupid thin edge. My biggest gripe with CCK(besides the weird steel), is how thin the spines are. Nothing to grab, and it punishes my knife callous. But I do enjoy the overall blade geometry. Gentle rock- to flat belly. And wonderfully thin. The ginga's seem a little heavy and thick honestly. And I really don't care for stainless. Feels awful. No offense to anyone who might feel otherwise. I like how responsive the white#2 is to sharpen, but as I said I've no experience with the aogami...
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There's a takeda cleaver in really nice condition in BST section over at knife forums right now. No one showed interest when he was asking $355 for it! Now he's just looking for a best offer.
 
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