Question about TF Maboroshi

Looks like this will be available during the upcoming KW garage sale.

Me likey



https://knifewear.com/products/fujiwara-denka-wa-gyuto-240mm

 

$1357 (thats about $600 for a fancy Urushi handle and saya) way out of my budget for a knife like that.

And then there's this. Whata crazy shape

 

that description on knifewear sounds almost unbelievable. did TF really invent forge welding for stainless steel? any steel nerds care to chime in?

 

I’m not convinced all the legends are true. Performs like a champ tho.

 

Agree. Legends are “dope,” but ultimately have no bearing on actual performance.

Speaking of performance, I’ve had my Denka in hand for 6 shifts now. Using Asahi boards and working through some heavy production, this blade really does have outstanding edge retention. Also not challenging to sharpen. Thinning and regular maintenance are not so pleasant (thanks, ss cladding), but overall this is a real deal worthy performer.

By now I’ve worked through about 80% of the overground kireha, just for my personal preference of presentation. Ultimately I don’t want to hog through dozens of sharpenings’ worth of steel just to get a clean surface. I’ve come to accept this as just a rustic tool.

I will have a 240 and/or 270 eventually, price be damned. It’s worth the investment for me. I’ll work around catastrophic F&F issues by purchasing through a vendor and communicating my expectations clearly before I pay. It is a bit frustrating that kind of coin gets relatively rough looking products, but for me what’s lacking in aesthetics is made up in performance.

I’m having tons of fun with my TF! Thanks to the vocal supporters for vocalizing your opinions. This time the curiosity paid off.

 

its quite a simple process and i guess it would have been invented about 100 years ago or so. but you never know...
maybe they were the first to emply it for knives??

 

Buy direct from TF, don't waste time with vendors. I was in Japan recently and aside from Morihei, everyone else who had OEM TFs were all trash and I suspect western vendors would be the same. Get yours from TF direct and you will end up with a killer blade like I did.

 

Also, this pic just confirms my suspicions all TF vendors get stuff that looks like ass. The urushi lacquer knives I saw at TF looked nothing like that.

 

checked out the morihei site yesterday for several hours and i saw no TF knives at all. what are they called on the morihei site?? maybe i'm just blind.

 

Morihei Hisamoto

 

IMO Urushi is awful as a handle material. Way to slippery, especially when wet.

 

Anyone tested both morihei hammered finish and KU finish? Is the food release better on the stainless clad or the iron clad?

 

Inzite is the only person i know who could answer that, but as far as i know the hammered SS clad Moriheis are sold out. There's a Ku finish 210 on sale in Australia but it has a couple of major issues and were the reason I returned it.

 

Major issues like?

 

I'll pm you

 

I don't like TF Ku, especially not at Denka prices.
I much prefer the Maboroshi and Nashiji finishes...

 

Morihei/TF Ku is MUCH cheaper than Denka. I paid $280 for my 240.

 

I think Ku on stainless cladding is silly...
I went to TF shop to buy a $500 Denka and left with a $180 Maboroshi gyuto.
Took wifey out to our favorite restaurant in Kamakura with the savings...

 

Its reactive soft steel, The polished and hammered Moriheis are the SS clad versions

 

I sanded my ku off, too. i like it better that way too. unless you want it for the look . .

 

I think you have it backwards. Morihei may have some reactive clad TF knives, but the TF Denkas are stainless clad Ku which IMO is silly.
What's the point of a less durable Ku finish on a more expensive knife if the cladding is stainless??

 

Ah OK. In support of the Denka, the Ku finish is quite different between it and Morihei Ku. Its also very stable in my experience with a sheen rather than matte surface. I like it much more than the polished Mab giving Denka some additional character.

 

If you thought the Maboroshi was good, the Denka is a world of difference. It was for me. Much sharper, more aggressive, even crazier.
If you thought it was just a difference in steel, think again.

 

How is that even possible?

 

I did ask Inzite about this. He thinks my Maboroshi could have been crap, so when a perfect Denka lands in my hands, it could be that difference.
But hey, even a crap Maboroshi was my fav knife along with my Toyama honyaki, until the Denka came along, and I think that speaks volumes about how good it is.

Btw, it is lefty ground specially for me, you'll love it too

 

I’m not sold on Denka, sometime in the next month or 2 I’ll try and grab another maboroshi.
Maybe I’ll get a chance to try one someday.

 

Understandable. It took me a couple of years to talk myself into a Denka. I've no need for another 210 sanmai gyuto now.

 

Yeah, the TF maboroshi already has super nice steel. I don’t need forever edge retention, I dunno.
Maybe one day you can say “ I told you so”

 

It's not a world of difference. it's noticeably better in many respects though. . . so assume the positive jump from ashi ginga to tf maboroshi in terms of steel use properties in everything except toughness. . . the denka is like an extra 10% of that jump.

Really, it feels like a steel with more alloying elements and more carbon with a heat treat that is really hard and fine grain and fine-ish carbide -feeling, with the same tf ballpark feeling while sharpening just a tad glassier. This is speaking as someone who started with a lot of tf and uses mainly other stuff now.

I'm interested in shi.han, if that means anything, cause the edge feels like heiji. And I like both heiji steels better than denka.

So compared to the heiji semistainless, the denka feels a good bit harder with more carbon and a little less refined in carbides or something. The heiji feels like its actually more alloyed (which it probably is) with less carbon and more refined feeling.

so tf is a tad harder, heiji is more refined. i like the heiji kind of biteyness, cause the tf bitiness can feel too smooth sometimes and then it suddenly cuts.hard.

 

Shihan 52100? Yes, the man is an animal.