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axel1

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Hi!
I have been browsing this forum for a while but finally took the time to make an account.

I have some kitchen experience working for/with friends at restaurants during the summer. But now I’m strictly a homecook. Have learnt the basics of sharpening from my father, but now I’m here to really learn the intricacies of sharpening and J-knives.

I am left handed which I noticed makes buying J-knives harder. Maybe I should stick to the western makers? Or are there any lefty friendly Japanese makers, that at least makes truly 50/50 bevels?
 
Last edited:
It doesn’t help your wallet that there’s quite a few popular knife makers relatively close to you.
 
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BillHanna said:
It doesn’t help your wallet that there’s quite a few popular knife makers relatively close to you.
Click to expand...
That I have noticed. Especially Fredrik Spåre and Smedja Aspen. Can’t really justify spending what Isasmedjan is asking at this point. Is there any others I should know about?
 
Welcome aboard, Axel.
Both Misono and Masahiro make versions for left-handers with a truly inverted geometry, left side convexed, right one flat, edge off-centered to the right.
cleancut.se should be able to tell you about the Masahiro; so JCK about the Misono. japanesechefsknife.com
Ask for JCK Mr Iwahara. Highly competent and helpful.
koki at kencrest.us
 
Benuser said:
Welcome aboard, Axel.
Both Misono and Masahiro make versions for left-handers with a truly inverted geometry, left side convexed, right one flat, edge off-centered to the right.
cleancut.se should be able to tell you about the Masahiro; so JCK about the Misono. japanesechefsknife.com
Ask for JCK Mr Iwahara. Highly competent and helpful.
koki at kencrest.us
Click to expand...
Thank you. I really the design of these knives with western handles. But it might be worth it to get to try out a knife made for lefties. Appreciate the help and guidance.
 
Benuser said:
Welcome aboard, Axel.
Both Misono and Masahiro make versions for left-handers with a truly inverted geometry, left side convexed, right one flat, edge off-centered to the right.
cleancut.se should be able to tell you about the Masahiro; so JCK about the Misono. japanesechefsknife.com
Ask for JCK Mr Iwahara. Highly competent and helpful.
koki at kencrest.us
Click to expand...
Am I screwed when it comes to other Japanese makers such as yoshikane, mazaki, taneka etc etc? Or is it just more of a hassle?
 
axel1 said:
Am I screwed when it comes to other Japanese makers such as yoshikane, mazaki, taneka etc etc? Or is it just more of a hassle?
Click to expand...
All you may get is a neutralised edge, which is a poor solution if the grinding still is right-biased. Expect serious steering and wedging problems after a few sharpenings. Only on lasers it won't matter that much. Some makers offer a truly inverted geometry on special order, but that is likely to become very expensive.
Anyway, if a retailer tells a blade is ambidextrous and it isn't a laser, take it with a grain of salt. Have seen extremely asymmetric knives being sold as ambidextrous. Truly symmetric blades are the rare exception, and certainly coming from Japan, where left-handers tend traditionally to get ignored.
 
Ouch. I’ll have that in mind. Might stick to custom orders from Swedish makers for a while. Thanks.
 
axel1 said:
Hi!
I have been browsing this forum for a while but finally took the time to make an account.

I have some kitchen experience working for/with friends at restaurants during the summer. But now I’m strictly a homecook. Have learnt the basics of sharpening from my father, but now I’m here to really learn the intricacies of sharpening and J-knives.

I am left handed which I noticed makes buying J-knives harder. Maybe I should stick to the western makers? Or are there any lefty friendly Japanese makers, that at least makes truly 50/50 bevels?
Click to expand...

Yes for sure there are true Japanese 50/50 bevels. A knowledgable retailer will easily recommend a good one. It's not difficult to learn the intricacies of sharpening and with even a few basic stones you can get terrific results. Like many endeavors, practice makes perfect. There are many videos on youtube that explain the process. I recommend a course stone and a medium grit stone to start like 400 or 600 grit and a 1K grit. Many cooks finish with a 1K stone but if you want to take it to the crazy sharp level you can increase from there to 3K 5K even 8-10K. Have fun and enjoy the learning process. You will have excellent edges in no time.
 
Thanks. I asked cleancut about it and they just said that I can buy any knife and that the bevel being asymmetric made almost no difference...
 
axel1 said:
Thanks. I asked cleancut about it and they just said that I can buy any knife and that the bevel being asymmetric made almost no difference...
Click to expand...
I was referring to cleancut because I knew they used to have Masahiros in both, right- and left-biased versions.
I'm quite aware most retailers are reluctant to tell left-handers Japanese knives are optimised for right-handers, and that you will search desperately for symmetric Japanese knives.

https://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/threads/asymmetry-–-the-real-deal.5656/
https://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/threads/a-basic-explanation-of-asymmetry.33951/
 
Benuser said:
I was referring to cleancut because I knew they used to have Masahiros in both, right- and left-biased versions.
I'm quite aware most retailers are reluctant to tell left-handers Japanese knives are optimised for right-handers, and that you will search desperately for symmetric Japanese knives.

https://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/threads/asymmetry-–-the-real-deal.5656/
https://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/threads/a-basic-explanation-of-asymmetry.33951/
Click to expand...
Really appreciate all the guidance I’m getting. Thank you.
 
axel1 said:
Thanks. I asked cleancut about it and they just said that I can buy any knife and that the bevel being asymmetric made almost no difference...
Click to expand...

Do note that some or most people here have higher focus on the minute details than most. If you try something that a store near you recommends you might find it works perfectly fine for you. :)
 
gaijin said:
Do note that some or most people here have higher focus on the minute details than most. If you try something that a store near you recommends you might find it works perfectly fine for you. :)
Click to expand...
I will have that in mind. Commisioned a knife from Tools of Lapland but that’s 3 months waiting time. Will go to cleancut if I’m in Stockholm the coming months. Though I have ordered a cheap Chinese cleaver that I’m gonna practice thinning on, might keep me in check:)
 
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