Hey
@chuggamug,
sorry that I didn't reply, somehow I overlooked your question.
I have ordered a 240mm Gyuto and out of sheer greed also a 150mm petty not too long before the price increase. There was some back and forth in e-mails because I wanted a taller gyuto that is on the thinner side. They checked if they could make it 60mm and confirmed that (Zakahrov and Isamitsu both said 55mm is their limit for 240, so TF were more forthcoming here. Maybe the others use prepared materials? Or maybe they just don't want to bother? I don't know.)
The whole contact was quite good, response time ways around 2 days each time and I'm optimistic that this will turn out well. I was also pleasantly surprised that they didn't charge me anything extra, which sometimes they do for custom orders. They said they would make and ship the knives around April, so we'll see
I was tempted to ask for iron cladding, but in the end, I didn't. Somehow, stainless clad is part of the Denka brand lol - also I have mostly full carbon knives, so this might be a pleasant contrast.
Frankly, looking at what many of the custom makers offer, I don't know if I would shell out for a denka again. I have gotten a few nice knives in the meantime that were so perfectly finished, some of them way cheaper than a denka gyuto. I don't think I would pay so much money again for a knife with a lazy finish. But then again, I always was happy with the knives I got from TF. None of them had a great finish, but also none of them had functional defects, and all of them are a lot of fun.
I'm thinking about asking for a quote for a 220x110mm Chinese cleaver in Denka just for the fun of getting a huge number. Probably would be 5k or so
Oh, and import duties probably will be around 30%, that will hurt a bit. In Germany, its 19% Import-VAT plus approx. 8% customs fees.
