What knife mods do you do?

[NameAlreadyTaken]

<disclaimer>Apologies in advance for the newbie question!</disclaimer>
I've been recently reading up on a number of threads that cover different types of knife mods, like rounding the spine / choil and rounding the sharp back edge of the blade, both of which I hope to give a shot soon (now I know about it, I'm wondering why I didn't think of it).
I understand that there could be a whole host of reasons why you might modify your knife based on your personal preferences, like how you hold your knife, how you use your knife, or what geometry / grind you're trying to achieve.
Hence, I thought I'd inquire to the far more experienced pool, what modifications do you typically do to a knife out of the box after you buy it to customise it for you?
Interested in your thoughts.

 

[musicman980]

For starters I like to put my own kasumi on it if it has a wide bevel, and straighten out any bends in the blade if it has any. You'd think they'd be straight, but probably half of my blades weren't perfectly straight when I got them. Round the choil, round the spine, yes and yes. I was thinking about thinning out my new Takeda, but that's a lot of work and I'd like to take it around the block a few times before I start messing with the geometry. That will be done eventually though.

For knives that were used but new to me, I rehandle them and have even changed some from yo to wa handle style for a fresh look.

 

[Nemo]

The main thing I do is to ease the spine and choil, but only if it really uncomfortable. If it's just a little uncomfortable, I sometimes don't do it for years (or possibly at all).

If it needs it, I'll thin it but I try not to buy knives that need thinning in the first place.

Sure, I sometimes polish a wide bevel or even do a semi mirror or (almost) mirror polish on a narrow bevel, but this is just for fun or as part of a thinning after using and sharpening for a while. FWIW, I tend to thin a little whenever I sharpen with a medium or coarse stone. Fine stones generally don't remove enough metal to bother. For knives made of quality steel (Japanese style knives), I generally use a fine stone for every sharpenjng and only go to medium if I can't raise a burr quickly and easily. As an aside, Western knives OWustes, Vics, Mundials in my house) generally get sharpened on 400-500 and deburred on 1-1.5k

Having said that, food release on a wide bevel (and maybe a narrow bevel, although I haven't tested it) does appear to me to respond well to certain finishes. Around 2-4k but uchigumori also works for me. This corresponds to what you might call semi-mirror. Any higher and stiction (surface tension) goes through the roof. I assume that lower grit finishes increase the drag of the steel surface through the food.

 

[panda]

hello kitty stickers all over the handle

 

[Nemo]

hello kitty stickers all over the handle

I thought you put them on the blade

 

[panda]

I thought you put them on the blade

the blade gets etching to make it more permanent

 

[M1k3]

Rub the handle in tears of FNG's.

 

[NameAlreadyTaken]

Having said that, food release on a wide bevel (and maybe a narrow bevel, although I haven't tested it) does appear to me to respond well to certain finishes. Around 2-4k but uchigumori also works for me. This corresponds to what you might call semi-mirror. Any higher and stiction (surface tension) goes through the roof. I assume that lower grit finishes increase the drag of the steel surface through the food.

Interesting observation Nemo, thanks for sharing your experience. That's certainly a variation that I hadn't considered, I'll have to try out some variations and give that a shot!

 

[Ruso]

I try not to buy knives that need any customization right away, unless this is the intended purpose of the purchase; aka project knife. At the end of the day most of us here have intrest in a high end cutlery by most people standards.
I also think, it make sense to try the tool as the maker intended it before rushing into thining or regrinding etc.

 

[panda]

my TF denka is an expensive ass project knife.

 

[NameAlreadyTaken]

I try not to buy knives that need any customization right away, unless this is the intended purpose of the purchase; aka project knife. At the end of the day most of us here have intrest in a high end cutlery by most people standards.
I also think, it make sense to try the tool as the maker intended it before rushing into thining or regrinding etc.

Yes, fair point Ruso. Perhaps I should have phrased the question: What knife mods have you done in the past?

 

[RDalman]

I mod the finish with stray scratches, don't hesitate to scrape off a knife on the cast iron pot. It patinas over anyway. Gf likes to mod tips and make edges largely toothy. She sticks with the stainless ones.

 

[Nemo]

Try

I mod the finish with stray scratches, don't hesitate to scrape off a knife on the cast iron pot. It patinas over anyway. Gf likes to mod tips and make edges largely toothy. She sticks with the stainless ones.

Try as I might, I can't get my Dalman AEBL to patina .

People in my house like to test the corrosion resistance of Mundials by soaking them in the sink for days at a time .

Having said all that, Robin makes an excellent point- carbon knives will patina and hide your pretty kausmi finishes or your stray scratches.

 

[RDalman]

Try

Try as I might, I can't get my Dalman AEBL to patina .

People in my house like to test the corrosion resistance of Mundials by soaking them in the sink for days at a time .

Having said all that, Robin makes an excellent point- carbon knives will patina and hide your pretty kausmi finishes or your stray scratches.

My mom can make even aeb-l rust

 

[KingShapton]

I tend to force a patina on simple carbon steels with a mixture of mustard and vinegar 50/50

 

[ian]

I try not to buy knives that need any customization right away, unless this is the intended purpose of the purchase; aka project knife. At the end of the day most of us here have intrest in a high end cutlery by most people standards.
I also think, it make sense to try the tool as the maker intended it before rushing into thining or regrinding etc.

Eh, whatever. Knives are tools and fun things to use and modify.

I tend to make adjustments pretty soon after a purchase. On my Tanaka Yohei, I softened the extremely sharp edges of the octagonal handle and rounded the top of the ferrule slightly, then cut in a slightly more aggressive edge bevel, and cleaned up the blade with 1200/2000 grit sandpaper. All this was like the day after purchase.

On my Tanaka Ginsan petty, I sanded off the lacquer or smooth coating or whatever on the handle.

On my Munetoshi butcher, I flattened the bevels (well, except for a couple small spots near the heel) and gave it a kasumi finish.

On my kurouchi Wat 180, I took off the kurouchi and reground it into a laser with a fat spine near the heel and a bit of an S grind. Then sanded the handle and buffed the ferrule.

On the Mizuno KS that I sold last month or so, I thinned it upon receiving it.

There are a lot of other examples.... but I feel like I know pretty quickly what works and doesn’t work for me.

 

[Ruso]

Eh, whatever. Knives are tools and fun things to use and modify.

I tend to make adjustments pretty soon after a purchase. On my Tanaka Yohei, I softened the extremely sharp edges of the octagonal handle and rounded the top of the ferrule slightly, then cut in a slightly more aggressive edge bevel, and cleaned up the blade with 1200/2000 grit sandpaper. All this was like the day after purchase.

On my Tanaka Ginsan petty, I sanded off the lacquer or smooth coating or whatever on the handle.

On my Munetoshi butcher, I flattened the bevels (well, except for a couple small spots near the heel) and gave it a kasumi finish.

On my kurouchi Wat 180, I took off the kurouchi and reground it into a laser with a fat spine near the heel and a bit of an S grind. Then sanded the handle and buffed the ferrule.

On the Mizuno KS that I sold last month or so, I thinned it upon receiving it.

There are a lot of other examples.... but I feel like I know pretty quickly what works and doesn’t work for me.

To each their own.
The beauty of buying an expensive* tool is that somebody else have put the time and money into researching it and making it. Enjoy the way it is or let it go. Obviously, if you are having fun and can spend time on tinkering with the tool, all the power to you. Your time - your money.

*expensive is relative. Expensive for one, cheap for others.

 

[ian]

To each their own.
The beauty of buying an expensive* tool is that somebody else have put the time and money into researching it and making it. Enjoy the way it is or let it go. Obviously, if you are having fun and can spend time on tinkering with the tool, all the power to you. Your time - your money.

*expensive is relative. Expensive for one, cheap for others.

Maybe true, but not all craftsmen pay the same amount of attention to all parts of a knife. Like, I can buy a TF because the steel is phenomenal, but maybe I’ll want to improve the grind a bit. Similarly with the Tanaka Yohei. The handle wasn’t the best out of the box, so I improved it a bit. Similarly with the fingerprints on the finish I had to clean up. Doesn’t reflect on the overall quality of the blade. I get your point for some of the more extensive modifications, but in the example of the 180 Wat, for instance, I liked many things about the knife, eg the profile & the steel, but hated the look of the kurouchi, and I also really wanted to tinker around with something. I’d say both of our viewpoints are totally valid, but I’d push back against the idea that because a knife cost $400 every single part of it is a perfect realization of the maker’s vision. That’s probably more true of boutique Western makers, but many excellent Japanese makers seem to prioritize utility, and don’t sweat the small stuff in order to keep costs down. (E.g. an ill fitting plastic ferrule on a $300 Watanabe nakiri.)

 

[Benuser]

Getting rid of the factory edge by putting a first, working edge on it — SG320, Chosera 2k, that's it. Chamfering choil and spine. Forcing a patina — coffee, yoghurt, formic acid, whatever. Use it at home as a one and only knife for all tasks for a week or so — peeling an orange with a hankotsu. Getting cut — happens only once. Giving a full sharpening as a reward. It's mine.

 

[Ruso]

Maybe true, but not all craftsmen pay the same amount of attention to all parts of a knife. Like, I can buy a TF because the steel is phenomenal, but maybe I’ll want to improve the grind a bit. Similarly with the Tanaka Yohei. The handle wasn’t the best out of the box, so I improved it a bit. Similarly with the fingerprints on the finish I had to clean up. Doesn’t reflect on the overall quality of the blade. I get your point for some of the more extensive modifications, but in the example of the 180 Wat, for instance, I liked many things about the knife, eg the profile & the steel, but hated the look of the kurouchi, and I also really wanted to tinker around with something. I’d say both of our viewpoints are totally valid, but I’d push back against the idea that because a knife cost $400 every single part of it is a perfect realization of the maker’s vision. That’s probably more true of boutique Western makers, but many excellent Japanese makers seem to prioritize utility, and don’t sweat the small stuff in order to keep costs down. (E.g. an ill fitting plastic ferrule on a $300 Watanabe nakiri.)

I understand what you are saying, I did numerous tweaks to my knifes as well over time. Nothing as extensive as regriding Wat to a S geometry laser (which I think is an insult to Wat, so good job there ), however the OP asked what is done Out of the box.

To which I respond, do nothing - envision how the maker did it. There is beauty in utilitarism as well.
This plastic ferrule “saved” a horn and bought you an extra beer

 

[ian]

Nothing as extensive as regriding Wat to a S geometry laser (which I think is an insult to Wat, so good job there ),

Pretty sure Watanabe would not be very upset about this. He’s a businessmann.

And really, that knife is my best pure cutter by far now. If I’d done it with a cheaper knife, it’d be a good pure cutter with crap steel, which is useless to me.

Guess I took the OP to mean “what do you do soon after getting the knife”. Started every project above within a few days of owning it, so I’d say that counts.

Sorry if my initial post seemed dismissive. I see your point of view too, for sure. To each his own, right? We’re both having fun, and that’s what matters.

 

[tostadas]

I save the warm meat juices from sous vide pouches and use it to force a patina. Works similar to the vinegar method but gets the blues of slicing meat.

 

[inferno]

i try to keep the blade profile (well...) and HT of my blades. but the rest can, and should be modified to my liking. imo. its fair game i'd say.

 

[Corradobrit1]

Biggest criticisms are handles. Thats my only mod. And get the edges even sharper.

 

[parbaked]

I take the stickers off of the handles...

 

[tostadas]

I take the stickers off of the handles...

You need to at least leave the one that says "Dishwasher Safe" so that people don't leave it in the sink.

 

[BarryMM]

When handle, spine or choil are giving me hotspots I fix it. Simple sandpaper work does the trick. A knife must be comfy to use. So I make it comfy.

 

[mikaelsan]

Really depends on the knife:
I got a thin nakiri some time ago, i roughed up the bladeroad on that, the buffed surface was crazy sticky.
Got a santoku that was way to curvy, i reprofiled that to reduce the curve, then thinned the knife, to compensate for the metal i removed.
I got a knife chef knife from a lesser known euro maker, that to me, had a really nice grind and finish, except it was 0,4 mm directly behind the edge -> heavy thinning
I got a cheap tanaka, with a handle that had a 1.5mm step from the ferrule, i took that handle to the belt grinder and evened that out.
most of my knives gets their spines and choils rounded, and slightly polished, that makes a large difference.

All in all things that made me go from eh, to actually really wanting to use the knives.

And last but not least, some patina to get things going and calm down reactivity. I like to do it by carving warm meat with the knife, letting the knife sit a little and washing it under as warm water as possible

Other then that i care mostly about how the knife cuts, so i adjust grind and profile when i feel like there is a need.
I dont believe in a "perfect knife" or a "perfect grind" so i like having some knives with different "personalities" with different strengths: very thin, durable grind, foodrelease focus, middleground allround
I dont want a knife that is "too nice/too expensive" to be a project knife, because i will do something to it at some point