Poor Mans Kato?

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soigne_west said:
Watanabe has my interest, although can someone explain to me what it would take to get a knife from them?
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Before I contacted Watanabe-san, I was worried about problems understanding each other, but his communication is fantastic. There's a contact form on his website, and he promptly replies, using very good English. Just explain to him what you want, and be prepared for him to ask for a drawing. It was a very smooth transaction for me.
 
Pirendeus said:
Before I contacted Watanabe-san, I was worried about problems understanding each other, but his communication is fantastic. There's a contact form on his website, and he promptly replies, using very good English. Just explain to him what you want, and be prepared for him to ask for a drawing. It was a very smooth transaction for me.
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Agreed, Shinichi's communication is excellent. Should note that you won't need the drawing if you just want his standard knife...and he delivers fairly quickly.
 
Yes, good point. From earlier posts, I presumed the OP wanted something custom. It's very easy to order a stock knife from Watanabe.
 
Thanks for all the replies. I think I'm gonna go with Kochi after speaking with Jon.
 
They do seem great. Which one KU or Migaki and I would be interested to hear what was behind the decision on which one you went for?
 
JaVa said:
I might be wrong, but the way I have understood this is, that aren't the KU Katos wide bevel knives? I don't mean true wide bevel as it has the secondary bevel (wide) and the primary bevel, but isn't that style of grind called wide bevel?

I have no idea if the OP was even talking about the KU Kato at all? It just came to mind and I thought I'de trough the question out there.
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Iggy said:
I'd call this a wide bevel, yes...



(btw.. 180 Kato Kurouchi Workhorse Nakiri)

But the normal Kato Gyutos and such of course aren't wide bevel. I guess that's what was ment...
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Here is my Kato KU Gyuto after a spa treatment at JKI.
https://www.facebook.com/JapaneseKnifeImports/videos/10153852845718860/
 
Wow. I wish I could thin a knife so it looked like that.
 
soigne_west said:
Thanks for all the replies. I think I'm gonna go with Kochi after speaking with Jon.
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Great choice! I bought a used one from a KKF member and it is thin behind the edge and easy to sharpen. The non staineless clad (iron clad, i imagine) is a bit too reactive, but mine i use only for meats, so it's awesome. There is now the stainless clad too. I also like its weight and balance.
 
Marcelo Amaral said:
Great choice! I bought a used one from a KKF member and it is thin behind the edge and easy to sharpen. The non staineless clad (iron clad, i imagine) is a bit too reactive, but mine i use only for meats, so it's awesome. There is now the stainless clad too. I also like its weight and balance.
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From what i gather from a couple members comments is that the cladding is not terribly reactive. Jon even states in the description that they are less reactive than many he has seen. The question im asking myself is Do i pull the trigger on the iron clad gyuto or the stainless clad k tip gyuto. Can any one comment on the K tips?
 
I have the stainless clad k-tip and its honestly one of my best cutters, but its nothing like a kato. Not saying which is better, but they are just different animals. You wont be disappointed with the stainless k-tip kochi.
 
Mine is iron-clad and is quite reactive in my opinion, more than most carbons i used so far (a bit more than Watanabe, much more than Takeda). I know people here don't find it very reactive, but that's just my own experience with the one i have. I usually end up polishing the blade road in order to take those dark yellow spots mine produce after i use it. It cuts very well and i don't mind polishing it, so that's fine with me. The part that has the kurouchi finish is less reactive, though. I use it mainly to portion beef and pork meat.
 
Thanks everyone for the information. I have been stocking this forum for years. you are all very helpfull
 
Marcelo Amaral said:
Mine is iron-clad and is quite reactive in my opinion, more than most carbons i used so far (a bit more than Watanabe, much more than Takeda). I know people here don't find it very reactive, but that's just my own experience with the one i have. I usually end up polishing the blade road in order to take those dark yellow spots mine produce after i use it. It cuts very well and i don't mind polishing it, so that's fine with me. The part that has the kurouchi finish is less reactive, though. I use it mainly to portion beef and pork meat.
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Shows that everyone is different...I also have the iron clad and do not consider it to be very reactive at all...and in fact much less than my Watanabe was when I got it...Marcelo, maybe if you let it patina rather than polishing it that you wouldn't find it as reactive? Mine keeps a very nice deep blue/purple hue and I never do anything to clean it...that said, I sharpen it on the entire bevel so I get fresh steel up to the ku every time I sharpen. I use it for everything (on a rotation with other knives) so it's not like it is babied.
 
chinacats said:
Shows that everyone is different...I also have the iron clad and do not consider it to be very reactive at all...and in fact much less than my Watanabe was when I got it...Marcelo, maybe if you let it patina rather than polishing it that you wouldn't find it as reactive? Mine keeps a very nice deep blue/purple hue and I never do anything to clean it...that said, I sharpen it on the entire bevel so I get fresh steel up to the ku every time I sharpen. I use it for everything (on a rotation with other knives) so it's not like it is babied.
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And see, I can totally deal with that, I have many carbon knives but only owned two that were iron clad. One a cheapo Tojiro shirogami and the other a moritaka. Both would not produce a stable whatsoever. They both left a terrible taste in my mouth. I prefer the idea of a iron clad knife if it will build a stable patina because I'll be doing the thinning myself.
 
I take that back. I can totally deal with the cladding on my CCK
 
Hi chinacats! Yeah, mine seems to be more reactive than others. I just couldn't so far let it patina because along with the patina, there are always those brownish spots that show up after i finish using the blade, so i end up polishing the entire bevel. I was thinking lately to try letting the patina stabilize by rubbing a cloth with sharpening stone powder only on the spots that shows the brownish color. Anyway, that's not a big deal for me at all and i love this Kochi. One of the best cutters i have.
 
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