Iron San-Mai or Honyaki for Gyuto?

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I just use the soft side of a sponge. No worries about abrasives or what color it is or "oh ****! I scratcheded it up done good!"
 
In my mind the hamon line defines the boundary between soft and hard. But is there a transition in hardness as you go closer or further from the hamon?
What i mean is if the hardness of the steel in the 1st cm from the hamon the same as the hardness of the edge?
The reason I am asking this is because I've noticed that some knife makers take the hamon all the way down towards the edge while the top honyaki smiths in japan only do a slim hamon on the spine to ensure the blade flexibility.
I only wonder how much hard steel you are getting if the hamon is 2/3 of the blade.
 
not all sponges scratch steel. i found this out recently when trying to clean a pot, the sponge material has no abrasives in some sponges.

from what i have seen this is unfortunately the most common way to clean knives.
and to remove discoloration its either sponges, sandpaper, benchstones, rust erasers, finger stones, scotchbrite, buffing compounds, metal polishes and so on. depending on what people have at home.
You're forgetting the most accessible AND least harmful one... Baking soda.
Please stop suggesting harmful ways to clean knives.
Thank you!
 
not all sponges scratch steel.
The blue (for nonstick pans) and pink (for delicate glassware) Scotch Brites are pretty gentle. The rough side of the pink sponge just doesn't scratch anything I think it's like using a microfiber cloth.
 
I can feel, maybe, some difference between Monosteel vs. clad steel, but I can’t feel the difference between regular monosteel vs. Honyaki monosteel.

I have a mix of clad Japanese & western monosteel custom knives, but Honyaki is not justifiable from utility perspective IMHO. It is, however, justifiable from collector perspective, where value is not measured by performance.
 
I have 2 honyakis, a few monosteel knives, and some san-mai knives. If I have to choose one for performance, I'd choose the one with better geometry and profile. The edge retention of honyakis is not noticeably better than my other knives in the same type of steel. The board feedback is indeed something different, and they do feel harder on the stone, but the difference is not big enough to let me neglect grind and profile. And they are not cheap. For the price of a honyaki, you can probably get a sakai monosteel laser plus a sanjo workhorse sanmai knife, the combination of which I think will outperform a single honyaki.
 
The reason I am asking this is because I've noticed that some knife makers take the hamon all the way down towards the edge while the top honyaki smiths in japan only do a slim hamon on the spine to ensure the blade flexibility.
I only wonder how much hard steel you are getting if the hamon is 2/3 of the blade.

IMHO makers who hamon down to the edge should re-HT the blade. When the hamon line or ashi goes all the way down to the cutting edge, then there will be parts of the edge that are softer.

The more of the blade that is the softer area, the less lifetime due to loss of height from sharpening and thinning. Probably not a big consideration for most people tho; it should take a while to lose 1/3 the height of a gyuto. Maybe bigger issue for a heavily used and sharpened yanagi tho.

I would bet most steels used for cutlery in Japan and the western world are tough enough to use in culinary work without differential hardening. Anecdotally, I was whacking a carbon steel knife I made on a face grain cutting board to see how the blade (I forged it too thin so it was way flexy) and edge held up and I broke the wa handle before I dulled the edge. :laughingchef:
 
there was a time and I got sick with buying honyaki , I bought mizuno honyaki gyuto 240, yes it is a great hard knife, I love it, but this is not my favorite (it is in the box) . for several years I have used it only 3-5 times. If you have a strong desire, just buy yourself a honyaki, I'm sure you will be happy for a short time)) but your quest for Excalibur will be continue…
 
why did you write this? 😂now I won't sleep ...
TF is the only knife I haven't used, but I want to.
I'm just embarrassed by the many diverse reviews (from admiration to disappointment)
 
Look at what came in the mail today ;)
 

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You can get 90% of the 'feel' of a honyaki on the board with san mai blades that are given a high HT. My TF Denka for example with its AS core and HRC65-66 hardness is as close as I've come for a fraction of the cost of a well executed honyaki. I think the TF water quench helps achieve that result.
TF Denka is the only blade I’ve used that comes close. Incredible board feel. People can debate the price tiers and QC all day, but this point is one reason they are so fervently defended by TF fans
 
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