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swarth said:
Me too. His site leaves nary a clue.
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Note on the contact page says he's not taking orders right now because wait times are over a year. I sent a message anyway to see if I could find general pricing. Looks like we'll have to wait a while to get on the list if we find a way to get on it.
 
Funny thing is that so many people have had bad denkas including me...... all you hear is how great they are from current owners. Wonder where all the bad denkas are? Lol! They just go away!
 
Chicagohawkie said:
I have heard that the Takefu knife makers are mainly overseen apprentices and that kurosakis studio is filled with apprentices making his knives.
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Dropped by his own workshop twice... Only other person i saw was a family member doing the finishing /polishing work. Where as in the Takefu knife village, the whole premises are shared and the number of power hammers and forge are already fixed. They cant expand anymore.

~Z
 
I'd be interested to see where Shi Han/Genrei stack up in this discussion. Seems like they fit the thick spined definition of a WH
Labor, do you have any imput?
 
zitangy said:
Dropped by his own workshop twice... Only other person i saw was a family member doing the finishing /polishing work. Where as in the Takefu knife village, the whole premises are shared and the number of power hammers and forge are already fixed. They cant expand anymore.

~Z
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Cool. Always wondered how Yu OEMs, has his own lines as well as dozens of house branded knives for dozens of worldwide retailers and does it all on his own. He must be a Superman!
 
Nomsdotcom said:
I'd be interested to see where Shi Han/Genrei stack up in this discussion. Seems like they fit the thick spined definition of a WH
Labor, do you have any imput?
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I can weigh in - I've owned a 240 Shi Han mono carbon for a few months. If you search my posts in the Mazaki thread, I did a bit of a comparison, with photos and detailed, there.

For purposes of this thread, you're right that they are a thick spined work horse. The grind is very high and came very nicely convexed on the right side. F&F is superb. Food release is better than on my Toyama 270, but not as good as on my Kochi.

My only complaint with the Shi Han is that it is blade heavy in a way that doesn't fit my preferred feel. I am considering rehandling it, although the tapered ho-wood handle that's on it is top-notch (just too light for the knife, in my opinion).
 
HRC_64 said:
I stopped reading at the part where you sent TF your CAD drawings. :rofl:
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Ya, more like a child’s rendering of what I basically wanted. Got almost the opposite of what I asked for. I’ll make it easier for you asked for x, got y.
 
Watanabe or Kato Standard for workhorse types.

Pure cutting (gyutos) Ikea/Kasahara Blue 1 or Halcyonforge Blue 2 (both midweight spine knives but ridiculously thin BTE).
 
Seems like quite a few persons on this Forum own Denka's. I'm for the most part a bang for the buck guy the average cook thinks 200.00 is a lot for a knife. There are exceptions have met Cooks & students that are willing to spend more, but they are few and far between.

Always liked KU carbons, you can get fine cutting knives for relatively cheap. Older grind Takeda carbons with tall heels & great KU finish were about as high I would go on a knife. Really like my KU Watanabe. Since I got my Kochi become a fan of Stainless KU carbon core blades. So with the talk here decided to go for a Denka three month's ago. It was not in stock so asked for a blade with a rough KU finish, and a good grind. EE said they would pass this on to Fujiwara. Got the Ebony wa handle. They have not charged my card yet not until the knife is forged and delivered to EE. It is the most I have ever spent on a knife, don't mind like to support traditional forging esp. if the kind of blade I prefer. Kind of excited to see how it turns out.
 
Keith Sinclair said:
So with the talk here decided to go for a Denka three month's ago. It was not in stock so asked for a blade with a rough KU finish,
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Do you mean without the hammer marks? I have the Ku finish on my western handle 120 Maboroshi petty and really prefer it over the hammered, polished standard Maboroshi.

I thought Ebony Wa handles were no longer available from TF. Is EE installing one specially for your knife?
 
panda said:
Shihan/ginrei look like a very good knife indeed. Not fan of the profile though.
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If I didn't have a Raquin lost somewhere in the mail I would have jumped on one already. What don't you like about the profile? Looks like a pretty nice flat spot imo
 
labor of love said:
He has a honyaki in the works. You guys remember who he worked under right? They might be very special knives.
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Oh man, I'd love to see what he does with that. If his Jamons look anywhere as cool as his lamination lines that's bound to be a looker
 
Corradobrit1 said:
If I were looking at a 240 I'd definitely buy from a knowledgeable reseller. The price difference vs direct is quite small unlike 210 and shorter blades. For example the 240 Denka gyuto is $707 from Knifewear and $685 direct from TF. Clear choice IMO.
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The key word is “knowledgeable”. The chances of someone at Knifewear applying the same kind of rigour and insight as you are expecting is slim.
 
Corradobrit1 said:
Do you mean without the hammer marks? I have the Ku finish on my western handle 120 Maboroshi petty and really prefer it over the hammered, polished standard Maboroshi.

I thought Ebony Wa handles were no longer available from TF. Is EE installing one specially for your knife?
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No Ku with hammer marks that's what I wanted. EE still offers the Wa Ebony all those are backorders for the gyuto's.
 
Nomsdotcom said:
Oh man, I'd love to see what he does with that. If his Jamons look anywhere as cool as his lamination lines that's bound to be a looker
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I bugged the maker to do an iron cladded knife series with the same great lamination lines as his stainless. Not that I have any sway, mind you! Right now, I'm aesthetically drawn to knives that show a ton of core material and that are fully reactive. We'll see if after he makes a few honyaki he starts a new line...
 
MrHiggins said:
I bugged the maker to do an iron cladded knife series with the same great lamination lines as his stainless. Not that I have any sway, mind you! Right now, I'm aesthetically drawn to knives that show a ton of core material and that are fully reactive. We'll see if after he makes a few honyaki he starts a new line...
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He did mention he had some new stuff coming out over the summer in his Honyaki post
 
I love my Toyama 240mm!!! Absolutely falls through food.
 
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