Project knife advice

[fortheloveofmoar]

Hi all,

thank you all for looking and any comments in advance.

So I have a TF mabaroshi 210 gyuto and in true TF fashion I received it with some wabi-sabi (I know probably a bit pricy for a project knife but alas past decisions are past decision).

I've done some general thinning and I think I got the high spots... and it slices quite nicely now but I do get a fair amount of wedging when trying to go anything thicker (onions slide slices, yams, potatoes etc). So I'm thinking of doing some thinning around the tip area and some more thinning at the secondary bevel but wanted to check in with those who have more experience.

Richard.

 

[deltaplex]

From the looks of your spine shot (and this could certainly be lens distortion) there's a not insubstantial warp to the left as you travel from heel too tip, I'd check how true the knife is before doing any more material removal. That said, it's also a little hard to see your scratch patterns with the lighting in the photos, but it looks like you have removed material from the transition at the top of the bevel, and less so along the rest of the bevel face?

 

[ethompson]

Agree with @deltaplex on there possibly being a warp, but the spine doesn't always tell the story at the edge.

Looks like the blade is thin enough overall to not have serious wedging issues from the choil and tip shot. Is the edge at nail-flexing thinness yet? If not start there and see where that gets you. I'm always surprised by how small changes in behind the edge thickness can make large improvements with cut hesitation.

Moving the shinogi as you've mapped out on your blade is not a simple or short task and I'd exhaust other things before chasing that.

 

[NickMinton]

Not sure on your location but if worse comes to worse, Ryan at DC cutlery does a lot of TF wabi-sabi fixing

 

[ian]

What’s the “secondary bevel” mean to you? The wide bevel, ie the ground part of the blade, as opposed to the part with the hammer marks? Or are you subdividing the wide bevel into primary and secondary somehow? Just checking: I was a bit confused by your wording.

What’s the state of the wide bevel? Is it flat, or convex? I can’t really tell how thin the knife is behind the edge from the pics, but if the bevel’s super convex then it’ll wedge. A little convex is better imo.

 

[fortheloveofmoar]

Will take a better look at comments later. but...@Nick - not about fixing it per se. it's the journey for me lol. I need something to do and this seems like a worthy venture lol.

Not sure on your location but if worse comes to worse, Ryan at DC cutlery does a lot of TF wabi-sabi fixing

 

[NickMinton]

Will take a better look at comments later. but...@Nick - not about fixing it per se. it's the journey for me lol. I need something to do and this seems like a worthy venture lol.

Totally fair!

 

[fortheloveofmoar]

Appreciate you though. I have heard about district cutlery so if I say F it. I'll send it to Ryan

 

[fortheloveofmoar]

Okay thanks All again for the comments I picked up the knife again to do some work and I think I have some answers

@deltaplex - it took me a long time and a lot of staring, pretty sure my wife and or the neighbors think I am nuts. The edge doesn’t look off but I think it may be some distortion but also how much I ground off one side at the tip. I did some more grinding on the other side and it appears straight, at least to me.. taking etompsons thought I also looked at the edge side and it looks fine.

Ian, delta and Thompson- thanks for checking me on terminology. as delta noted im pretty sure im taking it off the top of the bevel or around where the hammer marks start. I think im. Setting the bevel? I pretty much put the blade flat and pushing a few cm above the edge. (Watching some of the Milan videos) and I’m pretty sure there are a lot of high spots that I needed to remove. I think it’s still convex? If it is, then it’s on its way to flat . But not sure how to tell.

EThompson, I don’t think it’s nail flexing thin yet but it is pretty damn TbE I’m destroying almost all but the thickest produce, up to and including sweet potatoes. Doing some more general thinning tonight yea… I think my marks were a bit ambitious. But I’m not worried about time. This is just a project for me so I got time to kill. More meditative than anything (I’ve retired jujitsu due to the pandemic so this is part of my stress relief)

 

[Choppin]

Which part of the knife exactly is wedging in produce? From the choilshot it looks thin enough BTE (but the choil doesn't tell the whole story). Is it wedging when you begin the cut, or when produce reaches the shinogi line? That could indicate where you need to remove material.