Question about Tanaka's B1 and W1.

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Perverockstar

Perverockstar

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I often see that knife enthusiasts tend to praise Tanaka's Aogami 1 knives more than his Shirogami 1 ones. Any particular reason for this?
 
blokey said:
He makes more B1 knives.
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Do you really believe that’s the only reason?

He does make a lot (seemingly almost exclusively) B1 at this point, but I would love to try his white 1. He is known for having on of the best, if not the best B1 out.
 
There’s Hado Junpaku and some Fujiyama in white #1 by him, I heard good things but there’s simply not that many out there. If you are willing to try there’s a Hado in BST, Miura also has some with 10% off.
 
Some say Tanaka W#1 is excellent and it was something that He considered his best work. Blue 1 is what most people have experienced said and his Blue 1 is really good.
I never see any good reviews about his Blue 2 and White 2 (this one I have and didn't see anything special.)

I have his Aogami super and i haven't really use much to know how good is his AS.

Overall I still think TF makes the best W#1 followed by Tanaka.

Blue 1 I would say Tanaka, Shiraki, Togashi are on the same level. Nakagawa is also outstanding.
 
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Probably because there didn’t used to be quite so many knives in B1 so the availability when he started making so many under his own name, plus being revealed as the Fujiyama smith, was most notable. Also his B1 is available in so many different grinds and shapes, more so I believe than Togashi and Nakagawa. Several factors that lead themselves to buzz and an active market. White 1 just didn’t garner as much buzz, although I like every knife I have in W1 and don’t really see anything lacking compared to blue.
 
His B1 been known for good toughness and edge retention. I only had about a week and sold it because of the Machi gap. It’s good for heavy prep.

His W1 feels more delicate, gets sharper than B1 easier/faster. I only use it for delicate tasks that require less board contact.
 
Blue 1 and white 1 have been fantastic for me. I have a white 2 FM petty...and I will just say the edge retention is not satisfactory for me, but that might just be white 2 in general.
 
Can't really comment on his B1 as i hasn't had a lot of interaction but i have 2 of his white 1 knives, a 240mm Hado junpaku and a 240mm kikumori dammy. Both are pleasant to use and is really sharp( test with finger and hair popping ) but are different in cutting feel due to the geometry. I gotta second @zizirex here. Sanjo's white 2 is superbly impressive, they hold their edge pretty well. YMMV
TF is on a another level, have his entry level nashiji petty, truly ugly grind but cut like a dream.
 
I own a Hado Sumi Ko-Bunka. Now, truth being told, I still haven't used it. I'm actually planning to sell it since I want a Junpaku instead, since I prefer the SS cladding and the Migaki finish. Now I'm feeling even more inclined since many you seem to agree that his Shirogami 1 is better.

Do you know if he makes a Shirogami 1 Usuba?
 
I have a gyuto in blue 1 and a yanagi in white 1. Let’s just say there’s a reason for that. His white 1 is incredible to sharpen and gets scary sharp. It doesn’t hold nearly as long as his blue 1 though. I also found that I prefer the blue 1 at a lower grit (4K) than the white 1 (6k rn) and they both fill their roles so well. The blue 1 is tough, holds an edge exceptionally well, and comes back to life quite easily. For a gyuto, it’s my favorite steel. I had one a few years back, sold it because it was a bit too short for me, then missed it so much I just purchased a migoto branded wide bevel in blue 1 that’s taller than my old one and I’ll probably never let it go (unless it’s for another variation of a blue 1 Y Tanaka Gyuto). Both of the steels just work very well for the purposes I use them for.
 
I think that tanaka is famous for his B#1 because it is a steel that not many smiths work with. There are so many famous treatments of white #2 (Mazaki, Hinoura, Munetoshi, Yoshikane, etc.), TF often gets the credit for the king of W#1 (I would agree). Watanabe/Toyama gets a lot of attention for B#2 despite many smiths/brands working with that steel. Blue #1 doesn't have a ton of competition though. Only a few smiths really bother to work with B#1.

That said, the steel that Y.Tanaka produces is excellent. Sharpens easily, holds it for a long time, and reasonably tough all things considered. I don't think it excels in any one category to an extreme like some other famous smiths, but rather, it is a relatively balanced HT that does most things very well.
 
I have a tanaka in w1 I really adore. Like others have said, it sharpens like a dream and feels wonderful on the stones. I also think, as others have said, that TF w1 seems to have better edge retention. Still I much prefer tanaka over tf, not only in grind and cutting feel but overall, steel included.
 
Alder26 said:
I think that tanaka is famous for his B#1 because it is a steel that not many smiths work with. There are so many famous treatments of white #2 (Mazaki, Hinoura, Munetoshi, Yoshikane, etc.), TF often gets the credit for the king of W#1 (I would agree). Watanabe/Toyama gets a lot of attention for B#2 despite many smiths/brands working with that steel. Blue #1 doesn't have a ton of competition though. Only a few smiths really bother to work with B#1.

That said, the steel that Y.Tanaka produces is excellent. Sharpens easily, holds it for a long time, and reasonably tough all things considered. I don't think it excels in any one category to an extreme like some other famous smiths, but rather, it is a relatively balanced HT that does most things very well.
Click to expand...
Nakagawa and Togashi are big names that do a lot of blue 1...it's not that hard to find from a variety of makers
 
Tanaka B#1 is my favorite steel in terms of sharpening, hardness, and edge retention. I've had 3 Tanaka B1 from different sharpeners and all have been amazing. I've also had way too many TFs in W#1, and also several examples of Watanabe B#2 as well. They're also good, but I still like Y Tanaka more. Nakagawa B#1 is also very nice, and I'm not sure that I can tell a difference between the two.
 
Alder26 said:
Good point on togashi and Nakagawa. I have not owned a Nakagawa so I often forget about them, but I have had a togashi or two and they do excellent work as well.
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A Blue 1 Honyaki was one of my grails, glad to achieve that with mine from Togashi, him and Nakagawa are the only ones I can think of in Japan doing blue 1 honyaki (I've also heard Togashi is increasing his prices for blue 1 Honyaki by quite a large margin):

togashi.jpg
 
Check out the thread by @ahhactive with all the YT B1 styles... Nobody else has that many different sharpeners/grinds so widely available in B1, nor does YT in W1 that I know of. Saturation/penetration/profile/platform; which isn’t to deny that it’s one of the best steels out there by one of the best smiths, but to the original question there’s a partial answer.

Also there are some good established shops besides YT, Nakagawa, Y Ikeda, and Togashi working in white 1: Asano, Kunimitsu, Yoshimitsu isn’t bad, TF of course… whereas off the top of my head B1 competition before recently had Murata and a bunch of Tosa smiths at great price points but not at a comparable level of grind and finish.
 
Any of these guys do chunky spines with taper where the thiccness (sorry) is at least one-third from the core? And don’t say Mazaki.
 
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