Chips
Senior Member
- Joined
- Sep 10, 2012
- Messages
- 427
- Reaction score
- 1,014
I've been a silent admirer for a long time of fine Japanese blades, spending a great deal of time plotting and deciding what I'd like to add to my collection of kitchen knives. I have plenty of Forschner's and F.Dick knives for rough work and I picked up an all steel Global style Ko-Deba a few years back.
I knew I wanted aesthetics and form fore-mostly, since the basic Gyuto design already established a solid foundation of it's function. So, I only wanted a mirror finished blade with a lot of edge work on the spine and choil, with gentle rounded curves. It obviously had to be very close to a 50/50 bevel with a handle that works for a left-handed user. I knew 240mm would be a perfect size and there were plenty of Gyuto's in this range. So I ended up with a Konosuke Honyaki Wa-Gyuto 240mm. I'm thrilled with it's F&F and it's natural balance in my hand. I only have one, very old, carbon steel carving knife that has a nice patina, but I'm unsure of what to do about the coating on the finish of this one, whether or not I should use some acetone and remove it, or leave it be?
I love working with my hands and being creative. It wont be long till I buy a cheaper Yanagiba and do all the polishing and finishing work myself, then send it off for a nice custom handle. As far as this Konosuke goes, I just need to get a fine quality saya to go with it. I got a basic one, but would like a custom exotic wood saya soon.
Thanks for looking. I love reading this forum and seeing everyone else's gear. I thought I'd finally jump in the water and share.
Tom
I knew I wanted aesthetics and form fore-mostly, since the basic Gyuto design already established a solid foundation of it's function. So, I only wanted a mirror finished blade with a lot of edge work on the spine and choil, with gentle rounded curves. It obviously had to be very close to a 50/50 bevel with a handle that works for a left-handed user. I knew 240mm would be a perfect size and there were plenty of Gyuto's in this range. So I ended up with a Konosuke Honyaki Wa-Gyuto 240mm. I'm thrilled with it's F&F and it's natural balance in my hand. I only have one, very old, carbon steel carving knife that has a nice patina, but I'm unsure of what to do about the coating on the finish of this one, whether or not I should use some acetone and remove it, or leave it be?
I love working with my hands and being creative. It wont be long till I buy a cheaper Yanagiba and do all the polishing and finishing work myself, then send it off for a nice custom handle. As far as this Konosuke goes, I just need to get a fine quality saya to go with it. I got a basic one, but would like a custom exotic wood saya soon.
Thanks for looking. I love reading this forum and seeing everyone else's gear. I thought I'd finally jump in the water and share.
Tom