first knife: Fujiwara Denka?

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From what I've seen, Mabs tend to be a little heavier compared to Denka. But as I said weights are not spec'ed. They are what they are and generally related to the thickness, especially along the spine.

If its got a hammered Ku finish its a Denka
 
Corradobrit1 said:
From what I've seen, Mabs tend to be a little heavier compared to Denka. But as I said weights are not spec'ed. They are what they are and generally related to the thickness, especially along the spine.

If its got a hammered Ku finish its a Denka
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Unless it’s a bastardized panda knife
 
Corradobrit1 said:
Despite all the Debbie Downers you can find a great Denka 210 direct. Just do your homework and ask plenty of questions.





TFTFTFTF
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Can I ask what exactly you should ask TF if you try to buy direct but cannot go to Tokyo yourself (almost impossible right now, for example)? I saw old threads asking for help checking photos sent by TF, for example.

By the way, I agree with OP that if you know what you want and feel you have done your research, you can "step up" and start with a knife at the highest price point. I think I can say that, and my questions were to check, for example, that OP doesn't soon after think he wants a 240 or a stainless knife, etc.
 
lemeneid said:
If this was your first “serious knife” I would advise against purchasing a Denka. Subsequent knives would just be disappointing and you wouldn’t enjoy the journey. It’s like starting off on heroin then trying other stuff like magic shrooms, you wouldn’t get a kick out of it any more. I would suggest trying a few of the other classics before jumping to TF.

On the other hand, if you intend to make this your only knife purchase and quit KKF for good, by all means get the Denka.

As for specs, just go with the stock knife. You’re far too inexperienced to know what you really want in a knife still.
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CMCMCMCMCMCM
 
I thought I was set and was going to buy the 245 mm Denka WA handle, but the 194 gm weight has poured cold water on those plans - too light for a Denka when I hear people on this forum mention 240 gm, 279 gm, and even 290
 
I will call the retailer to ensure the weight is correct. My blue dama Y Tanaka from JNS was listed at 184 gm but came in at a perfect 208 gm when I weighed it. Website weight was the old Tanaka knife’s weight
 
RockyBasel said:
I thought I was set and was going to buy the 245 mm Denka WA handle, but the 194 gm weight has poured cold water on those plans - too light for a Denka when I hear people on this forum mention 240 gm, 279 gm, and even 290
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Wa handle TF's will always be lighter (less metal in tang) especially with Ho wood handle. You're comparing apples and oranges. Although an extreme example compare the weight of Wa vs Yo Jiro's
 
Corradobrit1 said:
Wa handle version will always be lighter, especially with Ho wood handle. You're comparing apples and oranges.
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I do know Wa handles will be lighter as you and lemeneid have both astutely pointed out. This one is a rosewood handle, but most of my knives are Wa handles and the Sanjo and sakai knives I have are generally 200 gm plus. My toyama is 208, jiro is 245, etc.
This seems more on the side of laxer than what I thought a Denka would be. Lemeneid is saying his are up to 270’gm
 
RockyBasel said:
I do know Wa handles will be lighter as you and lemeneid have both astutely pointed out. This one is a rosewood handle, but most of my knives are Wa handles and the Sanjo and sakai knives I have are generally 200 gm plus. My toyama is 208, jiro is 245, etc.
This seems more on the side of laxer than what I thought a Denka would be. Lemeneid is saying his are up to 270’gm
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If you're talking about his incoming Denka I'm pretty sure that will also be Western handle
 
I made the plunge. Just ordered directly from TF! I’ll report back with pics once they send them to me, before shipping it.

I did request that the heel height be around 52mm, not too thick or thin, and to hand select one with a good profile. Those are rather general, so I'm not expecting my request will carry much weight. But it was worth a try.
 
microtech said:
I made the plunge. Just ordered directly from TF! I’ll report back with pics once they send them to me, before shipping it.

I did request that the heel height be around 52mm, not too thick or thin, and to hand select one with a good profile. Those are rather general, so I'm not expecting my request will carry much weight. But it was worth a try.
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most helpful. I think this is the way to go.
 
microtech said:
I made the plunge. Just ordered directly from TF! I’ll report back with pics once they send them to me, before shipping it.

I did request that the heel height be around 52mm, not too thick or thin, and to hand select one with a good profile. Those are rather general, so I'm not expecting my request will carry much weight. But it was worth a try.
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Awesome! I trust that good vendors try their best to fulfill reasonable requests—one's I've dealt with have.
 
microtech said:
I made the plunge. Just ordered directly from TF! I’ll report back with pics once they send them to me, before shipping it.

I did request that the heel height be around 52mm, not too thick or thin, and to hand select one with a good profile. Those are rather general, so I'm not expecting my request will carry much weight. But it was worth a try.
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I see your request but if I were the blacksmith I would wonder what are you asking for besides a very specific 52mm height? I would be interested in what you actually get and see how that measures up to your expectations.
 
microtech said:
I made the plunge. Just ordered directly from TF! I’ll report back with pics once they send them to me, before shipping it.

I did request that the heel height be around 52mm, not too thick or thin, and to hand select one with a good profile. Those are rather general, so I'm not expecting my request will carry much weight. But it was worth a try.
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Roundabout way to passively/aggressively say without an overgrind, please?
top_ph01.jpg
 
DitmasPork said:
Awesome! I trust that good vendors try their best to fulfill reasonable requests—one's I've dealt with have.
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If all the “good” ones gets requested from people that call in or cherry-picked in store, it makes me wonder what happens to the ones with subpar F&F or profile. They have to go somewhere. I’m assuming these gets dumped to people that order blind without saying anything.
 
microtech said:
If all the “good” ones gets requested from people that call in or cherry-picked in store, it makes me wonder what happens to the ones with subpar F&F or profile. They have to go somewhere. I’m assuming these gets dumped to people that order blind without saying anything.
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They go to the Western retailers. I wouldn't be surprised if most ex Japan sales are through 3rd party vendors rather than ordered direct. We happen to be the nit-pickers
 
microtech said:
If all the “good” ones gets requested from people that call in or cherry-picked in store, it makes me wonder what happens to the ones with subpar F&F or profile. They have to go somewhere. I’m assuming these gets dumped to people that order blind without saying anything.
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I highly doubt a good maker would intentionally dump the lemons onto customers that aren't picky, or to give subpar ones to Western vendors (good way to poison a business relationship). I've asked for pics from different makers, and they've obliged.
 
DitmasPork said:
I highly doubt a good maker would intentionally dump the lemons onto customers that aren't picky, or to give subpar ones to Western vendors (good way to poison a business relationship). I've asked for pics from different makers, and they've obliged.
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You'd be surprised. Several vendors dropped TF because of the number of sub-par product they were getting which ended up being returned by unhappy customers. EE even tried to ensure some additional QC by paying $100-150 extra per knife. This was a few years ago and fortunately as Lemeneid says the 'new management' have addressed a lot of those concerns.
 
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