Pros and Cons of Manaka

[Hockey3081]

I did a search and haven’t really gotten a feel for the overall sentiment here about Manaka. I am kind of digging the Modern Cooking offering because I like wild handles but it seems like it’s definitely a bit pricier than the usual Manaka offerings.

Any thoughts would be appreciated from those who own(ed) Manaka knives.

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

I had a Manaka 210 in shirogami and I liked it. Had that Sanjo-esque, Munetoshi-like grind and performance. It was really sexy for about ten minutes and then the KU just started coming off. Others report their models being more robust. That said, I'd still get another one without hesitation if the desire struck. It was a good performing knife I was just in my experimental phase.

 

[tostadas]

Pros:

• Tall blade height
• Generous spine out of handle
• Decent forward balance
• Bevel geometry cleaner than most. Close to stone ready (varies).
• "natural" finish (see additional details in cons below)

Cons:

• Significant curvature in the edge compared to most japanese knives
• Stock finish is coarse. Feels similar to king 800. It looks nice in photos, but has a lot of drag and can feel like it's wedging, but actually just sticky. If you polish it with a finer mud, it drastically improves performance.

Other

• I'm a fan of the diamond pattern hammered KU finish. It's not a coarse forge finish like you might find with some others, but I like the look.
• The grind is a high flat on both sides. Sometimes you might get a bit of convexity, though I think it varies. I think it performs like medium-medium/thin gyuto, depending on your particular example. It has enough meat to not feel flimsy, but no wedging.

 

[Uncle Danny]

“KU” was painted on, on my knife and the Manakas I’ve tried didn’t cut very well.
Good looking knives though.

Saw an interview with Kisuke Manake where he had some half a$$ explanation on why people had a different view on how knives should cut well compared to him. Wouldn’t buy a knife from him anymore.
Good looking knives though.

 

[dabes]

• Stock finish is coarse. Feels similar to king 800. It looks nice in photos, but has a lot of drag and can feel like it's wedging, but actually just sticky. If you polish it with a finer mud, it drastically improves performance.

On my Enn, I could feel the grittyness of the oxides from the etch. OOTB it couldn't even halve an onion, polished it on an uchi for like 5mins each side and the difference was night and day.