Konosuke-Sakai Vintage Carbon Steel (Togo Reigo) Current full line up

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Hi Gavin, corresponded via email and phone.
It is an incredible handle. When I spoke with Ivan before I had received the knife, I asked if the wood was stabilized. It is not, but it is completely bombproof (at least it feels that way on initial use), and indeed, has some tackiness (as it relates to grip, not aesthetic) which makes it feel very secure in the hand. While very hard and clean, it is not dense in the same way that Kono's ebony grips are. In terms of balance, the wood might be best suited to a light blade but is an aesthetically perfect match with this knife.
 
That's kind of funny. Yeah they don't seem to answer emails well. I'll spare the gory details, but suffice to say my experience left me with a very bad taste in the Ol mouth.

Doesn't change how handsome that knife looks though!
 
I am thrilled to say that I am the caretaker of the 210mm Gyuto.

I am very new to this. I first stepped into Tosho Knife Arts on December 15 on a recommendation from a friend. I was looking for a gift for my father for Christmas, and Juner hit it out of the park with his recommendation of a Kaneshige stainless gyuto. I look forward to seeing my Dad's face on Christmas morn.

I went back on December 18, with the Kaneshige in tow, to ask about the fit of blade to handle. I learned about Machi, and that the fit was good. Actually, I had tried to learn a lot about Japanese knives in the intervening 3 days: gyuto, kiritsuke, petty, damascus, white #2... So much to learn.

There was this knife... in the middle of the shop... behind the hinged glass. It called to me.

To the other patron on that morning, thank you for your kind laughter as I take my small steps, I do appreciate it..

I fully realize what a great honour it is to possess this blade.

First steps, but very big steps.
 
Congratulations on a fine new acquisition! :) As you proceed with learning how to sharpen, take things step by step, and feel free to ask folks here at KKF for advice and the folks at Tosho in-person for pointers :)
 
Here are my thoughts post-sharpening:
So, I sharpened up the Togo Reigo this evening, and it certainly lived up to the Fujiyama sharpener's assessment. It's not quite as buttery on the stones as W1, but better than my Honyaki B2 or W2, and maybe slightly behind an HD2. I put a 16 deg. per edge bevel on the knife, starting with a Shapton Pro 1.5K (should tell you something when a new edge angle can be applied with a 1.5K stone in about 10 mins on the EP) and progressed to a Meara which I also used to strop. The edge quality is outstanding and on par with the W1. Pretty damn crazy for a steel that is taken to 65-66 HRC...
Don't have a ton of produce on hand, but put it through a couple Anaheim peppers, apples and scallions. Stunning performer. The grind is thicker than my other Fujiyamas, but I did not notice that one bit. Falls through with almost no effort. This is yet again and example of a knife you fall in love with as soon as you pick it up, then just blows you away on the stones and on the board from the Fujiyama smith and sharpener. Feel very lucky to have scored this knife.

Seriously, hats off to the folks at Tosho and Konosuke for making this knife a reality. Great offering.

Chip, what a beautiful blade, I'm also partial to these Kono wide double bevel knives. As I read through the thread you said that you spent 10 minutes sharpening with an EP (edge pro) on a 1500 grit stone. As someone that has ruined several fancy Japanese knife blade roads with the EP, I must caution you if your going to to use tool to sharpen such a highly asymmetric profile and grind.

Just be cautious with:
1. Heel, if you don't keep the spot your grinding in direct line with the shaft axis, you'll. Create an over grind (hole) right I front of the chin. It might not be obvious at first but it will happen.

2. Tip, sme advise, Be careful you don't create a bird beak there either. I've done that too. Hole in the primary bevel right behind the tip.

Also, with a knife so new, you really shouldn't need more than a few strokes across the stone. If you're grinding with a decent 1500 grit stone for ten minutes, your taking off a lot metal.

Curious, does the knife have a visible bevel on the edge now? Both of the Kono. Ginsanko I have had zero grinds, that is, the wide back bevel extendes completely to the edge. The EP will create shoulders on that zero grind that will change the knifes cutting performance. These sharp shoulder on the primary bevel will cause resistance against the object being cut.

Just saying because I used to be an Expert EP sharpener before going free hand. Sorry if I'm a little off topic, just wanted to share cause I've been there. PM me if you have any questions.

Either way, sweet knife. Love the Kanji too
 
Hey Mocho, thanks for the tips! I too have made some mistakes on some costly knives I wish I had not when I started on the EP and hope I've learned a bit from my follies there. I'm glad you recognize the asymmetry of the knife (many don't notice). The edges I tend to put on my Konosukes are indeed symmetrical though. I consider them more akin to micro-bevels however as I really try to keep the edge bevel as short as possible. As you point out, the EP is not very well suited to a zero grind. This knife, as with my other Konos is zero ground on the weak-hand side (left) with a very short edge bevel on the right. At least it was until I but a small 16 deg. per edge bevel on. I'm very light in my application of pressure on the EP and the time span I mentioned included setting the initial 16 deg. bevel with an SP 1.5K and finishing with a Meara. Definitely did not overgrind. I find with some fujiyamas, the final grind gets so damn thin that they can even stick into synthetic and a micro bevel is almost a necessity, especially on a softer end grain board. That said, my preference would be, all else equal, to be as true to the final grind as possible, but that is probably something I can't do very well with the jig.
The advice on the heel is particularly appreciated. On some of my first knives, I have noticed a bit of a lip forming at the heel which is very consistent with what you described. My tip work seems to be OK (at least for now). I'm always open to learning more and do hope to transition to freehand, just keep putting it off :) I do go freehand for tip repair etc., it's just hard for me to move to the technique for edges as the consistency I can achieve on the EP is pretty astounding and would imagine it would take a hell of a lot experience to achieve an edge of that quality freehand. That said, until I do, I do learn, I'm tremendously limited in what I can do beyond edge maintenance. That said, with finer knives, I'd prefer to have a real pro do any major work, like a full thinning or re-profiling.
Here's a pick where I tried to capture the edge bevel I put on the Togo Reigo (will be cleaning off patina on the cladding FYI):
bjd4at.jpg
 
As a follow up to the above, that is the most visible edge bevel on any of my Konosukes, which I largely attribute to the thicker grind. Will post some pics of other edges in the AM
 
As promised, here are bevel pics of a Kono Fuji W1 270 and the Togo Reigo cleaned up a bit (tried to keep the picture consistent with the earlier).

243m51f.jpg


110dg5w.jpg
 
Chip, thanks but the best way to show any holes forming are to put the knife perpendicular to a cutting board and shine a light behind on one side of the knife, observe from the other side. I'm probably not doing a great job explaining.
 
No you are. I was just trying to give examples of the bevel size I'm aiming for understanding that I can't realistically replicate a zero grind on the jig without spending an entire day at it. I'm pretty sure I've got one forming at the heal of a Fujiyama W1 240 which I am going to have to pay close attention to. Really do appreciate the insight on the heel alignment suggestion.
 
As a follow up to this post on the Togo Reigo, I wanted to emphasize that the grind on this knife is certainly thicker than the more familiar Fujiyama lines. This isn't either good or bad, but it does result in a very different knife, both in performance and feel. I've gone back and forth in my estimation of the blade vs. other iterations and have come to the conclusion that it really is more different than similar to most of the knives produced by the smith/sharpener combo. Without a doubt, the steel is absolutely outstanding and the general lines of the grind are familiar. Grind and weight-wise, this knife would be at the thicker/heavier end of the spectrum vs the Hitachi steel variants produced under the Fujiyama line. The B2 is the thinnest and most "laser-esque", followed by the W1, then would come the Togo Reigo. That said, the Togo Reigo is less related in character than the other two. All of this said, It makes it a very satisfying purchase. It clearly shares the same DNA with the other Fujiyama knives, but is very different. I'm not sure a clone of my other Konosukes with a sexy handle and exotic steel would really add that much to my block. With this knife, I get something familiar yet with a unique raison d'etre.
 
Hi, I'm the other guy who bought the one with the ebony khii handle. I have not cut with it yet but I'm itching to. It feels quite hefty for its size.

IMG_1181.JPG
 

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