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danemonji said:
Just some first impressions. It is a looker and Jiro knows how to sell the package. Came in a nice textured black box. The handle is ebony so it has a nice texture and it looks good in combination with the orange spacers. The Ku is not actually ku. It is hand hammered but I believe it is forced on with perma blue liquid ( used to blue guns). The finish of the blade is done by hand on stones and there is a nice graysh kasumi with a mirror finish on the hagane. You can see that someone really worked hard on this knife.
It is handle heavy due to thick metal in the handle, and the balance point is right where the scales of the handle begin. The handle is not thin as I thought, and sits comfortably in a medium size hand. 291g for a 218mm long and 58mm high, takes some use to, but once you start cutting you come to enjoy it. It comes naturally to push cut since it has a generous flat spot and it shreaded a potato to translucent chips. On the apples it dragged a bit due to the taller and almost flat blade road. It came with a very sharp edge and I can't wait to test the edge retention on this.
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So kind of like Wat nakiri "KU"?
 
danemonji said:
Never tried the Wat nakiri, but i have seen that many knife makers including Kato, fill in the scratches in KU with this finishing agent. It's a neat trick and seems to hold quite good.
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Well if Kato is using that bluing solution to fill scratches then Maxsim is giving misinformation. I specifically asked him about the marks after he corrected a post I made that they were made by a roller to straighten the blades. He said it was a reaction with the clay and that he didn't think Kato even owned a roller.
 
Corradobrit1 said:
Well if Kato is using that bluing solution to fill scratches then Maxsim is giving misinformation. I specifically asked him about the marks after he corrected a post I made that they were made by a roller to straighten the blades. He said it was a reaction with the clay and that he didn't think Kato even owned a roller.
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This is just my asumption that what we are seeing here is some sort of bluing solution. It has all the look and feel so to say (maybe i am wrong). But there's nothing wrong with this, just a cosmetic touch-up.
20200602_221513.jpg

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danemonji said:
This is just my asumption that what we are seeing here is some sort of bluing solution. It has all the look and feel so to say (maybe i am wrong)
View attachment 82532
View attachment 82529
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I tend to agree. I was never convinced by Maksim's explanation on IG. The marks tend to follow the direction a roller would take ie longitudinally. If it was clay they would be more random. Luckily whatever it is it seems durable and doesn't wear off exposing bare cladding.
 
Corradobrit1 said:
I tend to agree. I was never convinced by Maksim's explanation on IG. The marks tend to follow the direction a roller would take ie longitudinally. If it was clay they would be more random. Luckily whatever it is it seems durable and doesn't wear off exposing bare cladding.
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I found this discussion on how the kurouchi may be obtained:
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/kurouchi-clay.1234205/The most plausable method for these traditional knives is described in that forum post as:
"Many Japanese blades have the black surface enhanced with an application of beeswax and turpentine ( often called a "blacksmiths finish" in the west). This is applied to the hot blade when the blade has cooled down to about 700-800F. It will smoke, and possibly burn, like crazy, but when the blade has finished cooling, there will be a black "varnish" baked into the rough upper area. Any of the black varnish on the other areas of the blade will be removed in grinding and sharpening. Rubbing in the black with steel wool makes for a nice sheen"
 
danemonji said:
I found this discussion on how the kurouchi may be obtained:
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/kurouchi-clay.1234205/The most plausable method for these traditional knives is described in that forum post as:
"Many Japanese blades have the black surface enhanced with an application of beeswax and turpentine ( often called a "blacksmiths finish" in the west). This is applied to the hot blade when the blade has cooled down to about 700-800F. It will smoke, and possibly burn, like crazy, but when the blade has finished cooling, there will be a black "varnish" baked into the rough upper area. Any of the black varnish on the other areas of the blade will be removed in grinding and sharpening. Rubbing in the black with steel wool makes for a nice sheen"
I doubt they use a roller
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Would that be similar to the treatment of these Tanaka blades? https://carbonknifeco.com/collectio...ue-1-kurouchi-gyuto-240mm-taihei-ebony-handle
 
Doesn't really explain the longitudinal pressure marks with their different reflective properties.
 
DitmasPork said:
Can't feel a gap.
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I am not a TF fanboy, have some unpleasant experience with TF directly, and in contrast to some people here I think that for its price, the quality (f&f) is crap. I know that some people don’t care about f&f, and see such a knife as project knife, but I don’t. For me, it is unacceptable that an 800$ knife is a project knife that comes with a ****** handle.

Having said that, especially the red handled Denka knives do speak to me... They look so badass, and yeah, we all know they are cutting machines... Hope yours is as good as you were hoping for. I envy you!
 
labor of love said:
The product page said 270grams when I bought mine. I didn’t know what to expect to be honest.
Sounds like our Katos are about identical.
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I don't think he ever updates those specs from years ago. He gives the weight of the brushed 210WH as 186g but mine is 204g
 
I think you’re right. Mine is older and is 241g but that could also be the burnt chestnut handle. Still the choil looks like the grind is a bit higher and thinner towards the spine.
 
I didn’t expect the product page to be accurate. I’m quite happy I didn’t get a 270gram kato. And the other kato I have is a year old and like 240ish grams
 
labor of love said:
I didn’t expect the product page to be accurate. I’m quite happy I didn’t get a 270gram kato. And the other kato I have is a year old and like 240ish grams
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The crazy thing is I emailed him and asked for specs. I think he sent me the product page. I am pretty much dead on with your measurements. 227g / 246mm x 53mm. I am fighting shadows but a couple quick pics.

160F669A-F710-4591-B073-F93D6162DB8F.jpeg
4AE06C99-4056-4DD8-9DA4-0F8BF811D0EF.jpeg
185E7191-CD09-49BF-8C10-CBCDA4A61262.jpeg
 
So I'm guessing the flyweight 240WH is one the left. Speaking of which as a lefty, happy with the grind?
 
Nice that they’re north of 50 as well, my 240 is right at or juuuust south of 50 iirc I’ll have to pull out my 210 and what the dif was on that one as well. @Corradobrit1 youbsaid yours was 186g? Also burnt?
 
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