I tried my hand at producing a kasumi finish on a soft stainless clad ginsan gyuto recently and I am really happy with how it turned out visually, however ever since I refinished it, the knife requires more force to get through tall / dense products than it did before the refinishing. It really feels like the blade grips once the knife is 10-15mm or so deep in the cut. Onions are especially unpleasant to cut now and it becomes noticeably more difficult towards the tallest section of the onion. Normally I would think of wedging, but the knife is ultra-thin behind the edge, freshly sharpened, it was performing well prior to applying the kasumi and the grind did not change in any major way during the refinishing process. Accordingly, I believe the kasumi finish is somehow adding a lot of surface friction when cutting and that is responsible for the increased resistance. Has anyone experienced anything similar and if so, how did you solve the issue? It should be noted that the grind is relatively flat, so that probably increases the influence that the blade finish compared to more convex grinds.
The refinishing process comprised the following:
Prior to the refinishing the blade looked subpar, but performed well, now it looks good but performs subpar. I’d like to find a combination of the two, but have very limited experience with kasumi finishes, so any help or advice would be much appreciated.
The refinishing process comprised the following:
- I refinished the entire blade up to P3000 grit with sandpaper (almost a mirror finish).
- I worked a slurry consisting of F1200 grit silicon carbide powder (approximately equivalent to the grit size found in 4000 grit whetstones) and Windex into the blade using a 2400 grit micro mesh pad (approximately equivalent to the grit size found in 1200 grit whetstones).
- I used 0000 steel wool to work in the same slurry mix instead of the micro mesh pad.
Prior to the refinishing the blade looked subpar, but performed well, now it looks good but performs subpar. I’d like to find a combination of the two, but have very limited experience with kasumi finishes, so any help or advice would be much appreciated.