Really interesting video on sharpening yanagiba on a convex stone

[dhruan]

I’ve previously watched his other videos but this one seemed interesting enough to post it here. As most of you know, the kireha of a yanagiba (or most any other Japanese single bevel knife) is not “straight” in any two directions. You can deal with this more complex geometry using a convex stone, in a similar fashion to how traditional Japanese swords are sharpened. Really insightful stuff.

 

[ethompson]

While sharpening and polishing can definitely be done on a convex stone, I'd caution anyone from thinking this is a cure all or hack that will makes things easier. Sharpening and polishing on a convex stone requires a related but distinct skillset from using flat stones. There is a non-trivial learning curve involved and for someone used to flat stones your results are likely to get a good bit worse at first and there is no particular reason why they'd be better after investing the time to master the domed stones. In general knife geometries are very flat compared to sword geometries and convex stones simply aren't needed and add another variable to the shaping process for uncertain gain. There are some advantages in certain contexts, but I think it's pretty rare honestly.

 

[simona]

I’ve previously watched his other videos but this one seemed interesting enough to post it here. As most of you know, the kireha of a yanagiba (or most any other Japanese single bevel knife) is not “straight” in any two directions. You can deal with this more complex geometry using a convex stone, in a similar fashion to how traditional Japanese swords are sharpened. Really insightful stuff.

Excellent, I was just about to post it myself - he is quite a character, but mostly appealing because he is a sushi chef looking after his tools.
Cheers.