What do you use for polish mules?

[Pie]

I’m happy to have these guys back within arms reach - what’s left of a moritaka kiritsuke and a mystery santoku. Bought both near the beginning of my sharpening journey, happily discovered they were iron clad, and now they suffer the unenviable fate of being rubbed on any and every stone that appears at my door. The moritaka is twisted and wonky, and the edge on the santoku is bent over to one side. Oops.

What do you guys use for testing new jnats?

 

[Cliff]

Don't have a picture handy, but, lately, a Moritaka cleaver and a couple of Munetoshi

 

[Heckel7302]

I'm just starting to get into polishing and don't have the confidence to put a finish on my gyutos yet, but for playing around/learning I spend time rubbing my Morihei Kiridashi, Moritaka Honesuki, and large higo no kami on rocks. Playing around with mud levels, water, and pressure to get a sense of what does what.

 

[Homechef]

I alternate between a polish whip or polish carrot...

@BillHanna - pun police have any issues here?

 

[Cliff]

Found one

 

[Cliff]

 

[Pie]

Found one

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You ever find any weird stuff going on at the cladding line with your moritaka?

There seems to be a double cladding line in some areas, and then those dark spots along it as well. I’m curious as to what those are.

 

[Cliff]

I've seen that on some other knives -- I'm thinking of a stainless-clad Kurosaki -- but not on my Moritaka. I have no idea what that is.

 

[KingShapton]

There seems to be a double cladding line in some areas, and then those dark spots along it as well. I’m curious as to what those are.

Maybe I can help... the double cladding line should be copper. This was a common technique in Japan several decades ago.

In the description of Jin-knives at Japanese-Knife-Imports there is a note in the middle of the item description that says "You will notice that in between the softer carbon steel and harder High Speed Steel cutting edge, there is a tiny bit of copper. This was a method of cladding that was used long ago in Japan."

https://www.japaneseknifeimports.co...-13-jin-170mm-high-speed-steel-deba-with-saya