Apologies for my absence after posting this threadgot super busy dealing with work and life issues. Wow, didn't know the mere mention of CB knives would conjure up such a lively discussion!
For the record, I live in Brooklyn, but because of my Asian heritage lack the required number of facial follicles for a full beardand I don't own any flannel shirts.
I had been curious about the CB 'Osaka' collaboration because his other two knives are the 'Prospect' which has a more contemporary design and handle; and the 'Journeyman,' which looks more traditional, kind of Sabatier-likeboth made in his shop. With the 'Osaka,' he obviously wanted a Wa knife in the CB line up, just didn't understand why CB didn't do a Wa knife in-house like his other knives?
I can't express any opinions on CB knivesother than visualsince I've not handled any of them. Someone on this thread mentioned that CB doesn't heat treat or forge in-house? Is that a fact? I just assumed that CB did all that in-house (except for the 'Osaka')?
Also, I was able to track down additional info on the Osaka, below are some excerpts (did't want to cut and paste the whole thing):
"I'll say that what we've made is a limited, numbered run of hand-forged Osaka Journeyman 240's, in the Japanese style with western parameters, from cladded Hitachi Blue #2 steel and black walnut."
"...in a neighborhood on the south side of Osaka called Sakai where they've made some of the best kitchen knives in the world for centuries. And it's all about the forging in Sakai. Everything is forged."
"I asked a handful of these workshops if they'd be interested in doing their own interpretation of a Journeyman 240 blade, that I would finish and handle here in Brooklyn."
"It was the unsure fellow who had connected, whose guys nailed the profile, bevel geometry, edge, distal taper, the whole package. They nailed it, and it was beautiful to see, and to hold in my hand. That man's name was Baba."
"Baba-san chose two particular craftsman, shokunin, for the work: one man to forge, and one to grind."
"The man on the hammer was Nakagawa-san, a young shokunin who's already been at his craft 15 years. He's forged more than 10,000 blades and works the steel with a grace and nuance I didn't know was possible. He doesn't drop a stray blow; every stroke lands exactly where he means it, and it's magical to watch a blade appear under his hammer."
"The Osaka Journeyman 240 is a 50/50 convex ground chef's knife, with a 50/50 edge. For the handle I chose the choicest cuts of black walnut I've stashed away over the years, and the collar that mates blade to handle is made from black G10. The handle is tapered slightly back-to-front, and weighted to balance the blade just behind the heel. Weight is right around 225g, blade length is 240mm from heel to tip, and overall length is 385mm."
"For the steel I chose Hitachi Blue #2, known as aogami, for its awesome edge holding ability. These knives are 'cladded', so the aogami, which does the cutting, is sandwiched between two layers of mild carbon steel known as jigane."
"The handle work and all the final tuning and finishing happen here, at my place in Brooklyn. There's a certain feel to the knives that leave my shop that I'm really proud of, an aliveness that only appears after hours in the hand, and only when you've sunk a whole lot of care into the details. That care is in these knives, all the way from Osaka to Brooklyn, and it shows up in the hand. Japanese ethos, American logos."
