I was wondering if there are some basic check lists (or advanced) that you guys go through before and when getting a knife before you decide to keep it, how you check for these, and what kind of issues short and long term each item would cause.
I'd add to check the handle for any gaps but you've got most of the usual suspects, which are pretty easy to assess visually. Overgrinds are tricky, but you can see them by moving a straight edge like a chopstick up and down the blade. With the proper back lighting any low spots will show light under the straight edge. The hard part is knowing if they're a big deal or not. Almost every hand forged knife will have a few low spots, and they're only a problem if they're deeper than the center line of the knife, from spine to edge (assuming the blade is ground symmetrically and you're sharpening 50/50). Low spots deeper than the center line will turn into holes in the edge that won't make contact with the cutting board.I've been reading some threads about overgrinds (not 100% sure what that does yet), Help fixing a screwed up Mazaki's, rounded tips, edges not being straight because of heat treat, pits from the kurouchi, etc.
Nice write up, but after all that, what knife did you end up buying?
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