Custom Profile Honyaki Gyuto, Kenji Togashi/Tosa, from K&S - Initial impressions

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My interest is in a honyaki with a nice hamon on a 240 honyaki from Takayuyki and hence interest in this thread.

I suppose its a different Hamon polishing style...

I prefer a clear distinct clear line separate from the softer steel area. A darker shaded area would perhaps enhance a white hamon line.. perhaps make it "pop" ....further.

Does clear lacquer makes the Hamon line disappear on the Blue steel? If so removal of the lacquer will make it reappear?? I do know that on BLue steel a clear hamon line is also possible...

rgds Z

tks and rgds Z
 
Quick question. Does the w#2 have the “clouds” or alloy banding?Pretty sure his blue 1&2 has it atleast the once that i saw. Im getting mine on monday so excited.
 
zitangy said:
My interest is in a honyaki with a nice hamon on a 240 honyaki from Takayuyki and hence interest in this thread.

I suppose its a different Hamon polishing style...

I prefer a clear distinct clear line separate from the softer steel area. A darker shaded area would perhaps enhance a white hamon line.. perhaps make it "pop" ....further.

Does clear lacquer makes the Hamon line disappear on the Blue steel? If so removal of the lacquer will make it reappear?? I do know that on BLue steel a clear hamon line is also possible...

rgds Z

tks and rgds Z
Click to expand...

It isn't the clear lacquer that makes the hamon invisible on the Blue2, it might help hide it but that's not the main reason.

The reason you can't see the hamon is the absolute perfect mirror finish of the blade.
 
I remeber james saying that blue1&2 has a high HT temperature range. Thats why its harder to bring out the homon on blue steels compared to whites. Dont know what it means exactly
 
LucasFur said:
I'd take these togodashi's over any denka made, ever.
Even though I only own(ed) one of each.
Click to expand...
I would take both, and in my chase a Ikeda/Ino western honyaki. They are not compatible!
 
khashy said:
It isn't the clear lacquer that makes the hamon invisible on the Blue2, it might help hide it but that's not the main reason.

The reason you can't see the hamon is the absolute perfect mirror finish of the blade.
Click to expand...

The Togaashi B#2 that khashy referenced before was mine. The hamon is there, and even with the mirror polish you can see it at certain angles. After using it for a few weeks, I decided to clean her up so that I could see what the hamon looked like. It was simple enough to do with some fingerstones, but in the end I took her back to a full mirror finish.
 
Here is the choil shot


https://instagram.com/p/BfgFWgBnYXJ/

59_C67352-_A85_D-4_B90-_AED9-_DF116_FCD7605.jpg
 
LucasFur said:
I'd take these togodashi's over any denka made, ever.
Even though I only own(ed) one of each.
Click to expand...
Tbh I'd take my Comet over my Denka any day since I haven't thinned it yet, god tier heat treat on Aogami Super but the grind is just clumsy.
 
khashy said:
I thought it might be a good idea to shine some light on the new custom profile honyaki gyutos that Knives and Stones have made available from the collaboration with Sakai Takayuki.

IiQISKo.jpg


Please excuse the background...

I candidly dubbed this knife ‘TheJames’ when it was being made, as I knew that James was involved in the design of the profile in every stage and I think the name kind of stuck! Of course the official name is Shinko white flame.

These gyutos are forged by Kenji Togashi and sharpened by Tosa-san. I’m pretty sure neither craftsman needs introductions but I’m sure James can step in and provide any info required about them.

The gyutos are made in Blue#1 and White#2 steels. I was lucky enough to get my hands on the Syousin bluefrost Blue#1 honyaki gyuto that K&S stocked some time ago, therefore decided to get the new custom profile gyuto in white#2. I believe this is the first one that K&S have shipped :doublethumbsup:

I have only had it for a day so have not had a chance to cut anything with it, therefore everything you are reading is based on visual assessment of the knife.


Initial Impressions

Well, what can I say, I’m a sucker for a nice hamon and this certainly has one. The white#2 blade comes with a frosty finish (whereas I believe the Blue#1 is mirror polished) and the hamon certainly stands out.

James was also kind enough to allow me to pick my own handle and I ended up going for the Ringed Gidgee with horn cap and ferrule and three Nickle Silver spacers. It’s not a cheap handle by any measures but I think it really works for a knife of this caliber.
Besides the hamon and the handle, the next thing that hit me was the profile. I had seen photos of it before but it’s actually different in real life to what I had imagined. In the photos it came across as almost a funayuki to me, however it isn’t.

The profile is actually really well thought out and subsequently beautifully executed. The 240 gyuto's blade runs long and that’s a good thing. This has allowed for a beautifully generous flat spot of the cutting edge and still enough curve to allow rocking. Personally I do not rock cut at all, rather chop or push cut, therefore the flat makes a world of difference to me.

Then there is the tip - oh god that tip....

I spent a good bit of time examining this last night (to the displeasure of my wife I might add) and I think this tip is utterly brilliant. I like a long pointy tip and this certainly ticks the box. The difference being how it has dropped a tad more than the previous profile. I'm casting my mind back to all the gyutos I have used where I wished that the tip would be ever so slightly lower, so imagine my delight when I saw this! I tried to take a couple of photos to demonstrate this.

sKOLDAC.jpg


All blades in the photo above are forged by Togashi-san and sharpened by Tosa-san.

From left to right you have 270mm Blue#2 honyaki gyuto (this is an absolute beast from Carbon Knife Co, which deserves its own review, which I will do separately), TheJames White#2 honyaki gyuto, Syousin bluefrost Blue#1 honyaki gyuto.

As I said the ones that are comparable are the two on the right, the 270mm Blue#2 is just a separate category.

As you can see the new profile is a beast! It was too late for me to take any measurements last night. I will do so tonight and update this thread. Visually, the new knife is slightly thinner that the Blue#1 and both have a nice distal taper. The new knife is definitely taller than the Blue#1 and the Blue#1 was a beautifully tall gyuto.

V8dfnmi.jpg


They are both substantial knives, partly because of the handles, which for me, is a positive - I like the power that comes with it! Neither blade feels like it needs to be ‘babied’ in any way shape or form.

There is zero flex and it feels super confident.

The choil is polished and actually shaped really nicely. The one thing that I did notice however was that the new gyuto’s spine was not rounded like the Blue#1 was. I have since confirmed with James that going forward, they will be rounded. As it is, it’s by no means uncomfortable - it’ll be even nicer when it has been rounded.

I have been fortunate enough to have been able to handle a good few gyutos and I have said time and again that the Syousin bluefrost was one top3 cutter for me - Ever. This I think the Shinko white flame could potentially be even better.

I can’t wait to start using it – James was kind enough to sharpen it for me on his uber stones, so it’s ready to go...

I think it’s also worth mentioning that I offered to send James my review/initial impressions before posting on KKF. His response was that the review is my personal opinion and that I should go ahead and post it without sending it to him – Thanks you James.

I’ll have more details as soon as I get some time from family duties.
Click to expand...

Hoooooly **** I'm excited, I ordered the Blue #1 with no handle is currently at Terrafern getting an insane western handle - copper carbon fiber inlaid with dinosaur gembone
 
panda said:
Makers should offer non polished honyaki at a lower cost for those that don't give a flying f about hamon.
Click to expand...

But it's soooooo pretty, why waste the time and extra cost with a differential temper and not just buy something like a Tanaka Blue #1 if you're looking purely for performance and not aesthetics as well?
 
My Marko already looks like sh1te, shows you how much I care about finish.

Those non noob tanakas do look really nice, I just don't like wide bevel otherwise I'd have kept my hinoura and also have a heiji gyuto. I reground my heiji petty, it looks like a disaster lol but sure as hell performs like a son of a gun
 
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