SRS15?

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240 gyuto
The spine thickness above the heel:
Kagero 2.4mm from JKI website
Akifusa 3.1mm my measurement

Half way:
K 2.4
A 2.2

1cm from tip:
K 1.1
A 0.8

I had a Kagero (newer one), have the Akifusa now.
 
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Interesting the ones I've seen were more like kagero than yours, this includes akifausa ones. Actually never saw one like yours in srs15.
 
Barmoley said:
Interesting the ones I've seen were more like kagero than yours, this includes akifausa ones. Actually never saw one like yours in srs15.
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Ya, the Epic Edge version is the only one I know that is like this, sadly not being made anymore that I know of.
It's my understanding that the older Kagero's had a thicker spine and more distal taper than they do now.
 
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DavidPF said:
Both are wrong. Don't buy a steel, because any steel can be used poorly. Don't buy a maker, because every maker fails sometimes. Buy a knife. Buy what you're buying, not something else.

If you can't judge the knife directly and need to use other criteria, then it's just as wrong to exclude the steel from consideration as it is to exclude the maker, the retailer, or anything else.

"Buy a maker, not a steel" is always just empty words - at best. At worst, it's misleading.
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You're wrong. It might be right for you, but making these blanket statements is wrong.

Coming from the folding/sporting knife world I can assure I absolutely buy a maker/s. It took me some time and experimenting to find those primary makers and I may occasionally buy something outside of them, but overwhelmingly, I will go to:

Spyderco
Buck
lionSTEEL

These are makers I trust, have good variety, excellent products, solid companies, and have features that are important to me. No, I don't like all their designs but I know what I do like. I will buy a knife from them in a so-called lesser steel long before I will from other companies in "better" steels.

The steel is one of the last things I consider, unless I'm specifically wanting a steel but even then I will only consider the offering if the overall design looks to suit my tastes.

I'm early in my Japanese knife journey so over time I'll be looking for those companies that click with me at my price point. First I need to sort out my likes and then start drilling in and narrowing the field to a few primary companies.

But, just because a company/maker is right for me, doesn't mean it is right for everyone.

I have no idea what, "don't buy a maker because every maker fails sometimes" followed by "Buy a knife" is supposed to mean? If every maker fails sometimes how do you know a particular specific knife can be trusted? Makers establish reputations based on their consistency and when find ones you trust, you have a sense that the odds are largely in your favor that you'll get a good product.

But, all that said, which knife have you bought most recently? You're long on advice and comments but I'm not so sure as long on first hand experience.
 
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Mine too. The ones I have experience with are all within last 4-5 years and all were thinner and barely any taper. Doesn't mean anything really as it is still a tiny sample. Who knows maybe some dealers ordered different specs 🤷‍♂️
 
Barmoley said:
Maker is the whole thing
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This is another likely oversimplification. In fact there are any number of smiths, especially in Sakai, who don't grind or sharpen the knives themselves. The various tasks are subdivided by specialty and expertise. So the "maker" could potentially be several people, some of whom might be in training. There is also very little transparency about the process, and therefore it's often impossible to learn who specifically has been involved in the making of an individual knife.

In an ideal world we would have access to all these details and be able to make completely informed decisions, but that is not where we reside.
 
i dont think all srs13 and 15 and r2 knives are made in the same factory.
but they might all be laminated/welded by the same mill. since making laminates like this requires an inert atmosphere or it wont weld. and very few, if any, makers/knife factories would be able to do this in mass production volumes. thats my guess at least. and even if they could. it would be cheaper to have a mill just make what you want anyway.
 
The Akifusa also has a tapered tang, of the Japanese production knives there are only 4 with this quality that I am aware of, the Akifusa, older Kagero, Ryusen Blazen, and Kikuichi TKC.
 
I once bought a knife for the steel. Just had to get that steel and the knife seemed ok too. Didn't give too much thought to the maker or vendor. Horrible knife, nice steel though. Only knife purchase I've regretted.

Ever since I've first looked at the knife, second the maker, third the vendor, fourth the steel. Never regretted one purchase since.

W2 is one of my least favorite steel, but every smith and their mother uses that steel. So when I see a knife I like from a respected maker that intrigues me I'll bite. Like Wakui Hairline. Absolutely love the thing regardless of the W2 core. (Looking at a few new interesting W2 knives as we speak. Hoping they were ginsan, R2, SKD or B2. But they're not and still I'll probably pull the trigger on one).

I'm super interested in SRS15 steel, but none of the offerings rock my boat, even though they seem like fine knives. So regardless of my interest in the steel, I'm not biting.

These are my personal preferences on the matter, that works for me.
But do what works for you.
You like a knife and if it fits with your priorities making the purchase decision,
You should definitely get it. If you buy because of steel or because of the knife or what ever reason.
Nothing wrong with that. You do you!
No one should have any issue with that.
Or if someone thinks looking at the maker first is better for them.
That should be just as ok too.
 
W2 is one of my least favorite steel, but every smith and their mother uses that steel. So when I see a knife I like from a respected maker that intrigues me I'll bite. Like Wakui Hairline.Absolutely love the thing regardless of the W2 core.
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Did you know that there is an actual steel called W2 ( at least a specificstion) and it’s not even close to White 2 (Shirogami 2).

I am not sure when did it started but abbreviating Shirogami 1/2 as W1/2 is a bad idea. Way to much left to the context.
 
Barmoley said:
Maker is the whole thing, steel is 1 attribute.
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The maker is by no means the whole thing, nor anywhere close. Maker is just one more attribute. Show me a knife maker (with experience and with numerous knives on the market, not a two-knives-a-year type) who has never sold a knife that got resold later and has never sold a knife that had some kind of problem.

Comments on individual knife makers often focus on one special thing that they do very well, whether it's their skill in judging and executing certain grinds, a certain pattern or category of knives that they've become known for, their skill in steel selection and forging, or whatever. That's because nobody is best at everything. Knives from experienced, highly knowledgeable, highly skilled, even revered makers are criticized all the time, sometimes for technical faults and sometimes for unsuitable characteristics. People often buy knives and then sell them, and frequently it's because they "bought a maker" but the particular knife they received didn't match the reputation.

A knife that is perfect by blind luck is exactly the same as a knife that's perfect through a lifetime of study and work. It's extremely unlikely to happen, but that doesn't matter, because what does matter is the lesser, weaker version of the same thing: A knife that's good enough by luck is still good enough. When a "mystery knife" is good, you don't refuse to use it until you find out whether the right person made it. (unless you suspect it's an irreplaceable historic artifact, or would be worth a million if only you didn't touch it)

Choosing a good maker improves your chances. Choosing a good steel improves your chances. Expecting a good maker to know the right steel to use is smart, but choosing a good steel and finding out which makers use it is smart too. If "buying a maker" makes sense to someone, then "buying a salesman" ought to make even more sense to the same person, because a good salesman knows the makers AND the steels AND the customer satisfaction levels for all of them. But in the end, none of them can substitute for using the knife and finding out for yourself.
 
DavidPF said:
The maker is by no means the whole thing, nor anywhere close. Maker is just one more attribute. Show me a knife maker (with experience and with numerous knives on the market, not a two-knives-a-year type) who has never sold a knife that got resold later and has never sold a knife that had some kind of problem.

Comments on individual knife makers often focus on one special thing that they do very well, whether it's their skill in judging and executing certain grinds, a certain pattern or category of knives that they've become known for, their skill in steel selection and forging, or whatever. That's because nobody is best at everything. Knives from experienced, highly knowledgeable, highly skilled, even revered makers are criticized all the time, sometimes for technical faults and sometimes for unsuitable characteristics. People often buy knives and then sell them, and frequently it's because they "bought a maker" but the particular knife they received didn't match the reputation.

A knife that is perfect by blind luck is exactly the same as a knife that's perfect through a lifetime of study and work. It's extremely unlikely to happen, but that doesn't matter, because what does matter is the lesser, weaker version of the same thing: A knife that's good enough by luck is still good enough. When a "mystery knife" is good, you don't refuse to use it until you find out whether the right person made it. (unless you suspect it's an irreplaceable historic artifact, or would be worth a million if only you didn't touch it)

Choosing a good maker improves your chances. Choosing a good steel improves your chances. Expecting a good maker to know the right steel to use is smart, but choosing a good steel and finding out which makers use it is smart too. If "buying a maker" makes sense to someone, then "buying a salesman" ought to make even more sense to the same person, because a good salesman knows the makers AND the steels AND the customer satisfaction levels for all of them. But in the end, none of them can substitute for using the knife and finding out for yourself.
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You are either misunderstanding what I said because I didn’t explain my points well or you just like to argue for sport. If it is the first case, I apologize, but I don’t know what else I can say to make what I said clearer. If it is the second case, I am not interested in winning this argument, I just don’t care to win or to be right.

My goal was to help people new to kitchen knives to realize that a good kitchen knife is a complex tool. This is not obvious because at its base a knife is a very simple tool. Moreover, people coming from pocket or “tactical” knife world put too much emphasis on steel. In general people that don’t use knives much care about steel a lot more than any other attributes. This doesn’t mean steel is not important, it is very important, but it is relatively low on the importance scale as compared to other attributes that go into making a good kitchen knife.
 
DavidPF said:
The maker is by no means the whole thing, nor anywhere close. Maker is just one more attribute. Show me a knife maker (with experience and with numerous knives on the market, not a two-knives-a-year type) who has never sold a knife that got resold later and has never sold a knife that had some kind of problem.

Comments on individual knife makers often focus on one special thing that they do very well, whether it's their skill in judging and executing certain grinds, a certain pattern or category of knives that they've become known for, their skill in steel selection and forging, or whatever. That's because nobody is best at everything. Knives from experienced, highly knowledgeable, highly skilled, even revered makers are criticized all the time, sometimes for technical faults and sometimes for unsuitable characteristics. People often buy knives and then sell them, and frequently it's because they "bought a maker" but the particular knife they received didn't match the reputation.

A knife that is perfect by blind luck is exactly the same as a knife that's perfect through a lifetime of study and work. It's extremely unlikely to happen, but that doesn't matter, because what does matter is the lesser, weaker version of the same thing: A knife that's good enough by luck is still good enough. When a "mystery knife" is good, you don't refuse to use it until you find out whether the right person made it. (unless you suspect it's an irreplaceable historic artifact, or would be worth a million if only you didn't touch it)

Choosing a good maker improves your chances. Choosing a good steel improves your chances. Expecting a good maker to know the right steel to use is smart, but choosing a good steel and finding out which makers use it is smart too. If "buying a maker" makes sense to someone, then "buying a salesman" ought to make even more sense to the same person, because a good salesman knows the makers AND the steels AND the customer satisfaction levels for all of them. But in the end, none of them can substitute for using the knife and finding out for yourself.
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Um...what?
 
SRS15 is a decent steel that it contain certain tungsten ,which is similar to blue steel.
However it is stainless steel with scary sharpness .
After using about 4 weeks , you may use #3000 stone to sharpen it .Then use #8000/10k to polish it to mirror edge.
using a ceramic stone is prefer .
 
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