which blue no.1 knife?

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J

Jlaw

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in between two knives
Mizuno Tanrenjo Akitada Ao Hagane DX Series Blue Steel No.1 Clad Wa Gyuto
or
Choyo Blue Steel No.1 Mirrored Finish Gyuto Japanese Knife

looking in the 270 range, open to other blue no1 alternatives =.
 
well, both are incredible.

Mizuno f&f kind of weak. Choyo's is top tier. both have grinds that are as good as it gets. Mizuno cladding is pretty reactive IME.

Strata has a 270 k-tip Togashi blue 1. not my favorite shape, but Togashi is a master of the steel.

I feel like there's a suminigashi Tanaka blue 1 from JNS on the bst. those are great too.

if it were my money, well I have the Tanaka in 240mm.
 
Thanks, I was considering a kritsuke 270mm but am afraid i wont like the height.
 
Jlaw said:
Thanks, I was considering a kritsuke 270mm but am afraid i wont like the height.
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kiritsuke or k-tip gyuto? totally different knives.

if it's the latter, the one I pointed out on strat is 54mm which is getting up there into big boy territory.
 
The Mizuno 270 is a BIG gyuto that runs long and feels tanky. The Choyo will be lighter, more nimble, and would get my vote. I have two Blue #1 Tanakas and love them.
 
TSF415 said:
Any specific reason?
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My reason is just as you noticed - inconsistent quality. My first Mizuno from 3 years ago was a dream; good steel, good grind, good 800 grit satin finish - sold later. Later I bought another. It came with very rough finish (maybe 120/220 grit generously), unrefined grind that was both a bit thick and a bit sticky. Best of both worlds really...

As a personal pet peeve, the cladding is reactive enough to rust by looking at it wrong. Combine that with deep scratches from a low grit finish, and it's a recipe for trouble. I don't care if the finish is on the rough side, really I don't. But when the cladding is that reactive, it prevents maintenance. That's a functional issue for me.

My first knife was great, and my second left me unpleasantly surprised. Not a bad knife, but a let-down. Still good steel, but I was pretty surprised to see a price hike and a noticeable decrease in finish quality at the same time. I've also seen great examples like panda's, YMMV.

In contrast, I've had 5 Yoshikane, and purchased others for friends. Each one was of a consistent quality. Same with Sukenari. And Murata. And Ryusen. And others.
 
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Have you seen the Kagekiyo blue 1 kiri tip on BST? It's bit shorter, but so much knife for the money.
 
captaincaed said:
My reason is just as you noticed - inconsistent quality. My first Mizuno from 3 years ago was a dream; good steel, good grind, good 800 grit satin finish - sold later. Later I bought another. It came with very rough finish (maybe 120/220 grit generously), unrefined grind that was both a bit thick and a bit sticky. Best of both worlds really...

As a personal pet peeve, the cladding is reactive enough to rust by looking at it wrong. Combine that with deep scratches from a low grit finish, and it's a recipe for trouble. I don't care if the finish is on the rough side, really I don't. But when the cladding is that reactive, it prevents maintenance. That's a functional issue for me.

My first knife was great, and my second left me unpleasantly surprised. Not a bad knife, but a let-down. Still good steel, but I was pretty surprised to see a price hike and a noticeable decrease in finish quality at the same time. I've also seen great examples like panda's, YMMV.

In contrast, I've had 5 Yoshikane, and purchased others for friends. Each one was of a consistent quality. Same with Sukenari. And Murata. And Ryusen. And others.
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Yea I was a bit surprised by the finish when I got mine.The cladding on mine is pretty reactive but it doesn’t rust nearly as easy as a few other knives I’ve picked up since, including a heji.

I actually just picked up a murata last week partly due to you always raving about it 😂 Haven’t played with it yet though.
 
TSF415 said:
I actually just picked up a murata last week partly due to you always raving about it 😂 Haven’t played with it yet though.
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Oh god, no one was supposed to take me seriously!

All jokes aside it's a pet favorite. It's a little wabi sabi but also feels like the right price point. Sharpens up with less finesse required than Mizuno, and took some abuse when I made mistakes. Definitely not highly refined F&F, but also not claiming to be. If you put a coffee patina on the cladding, it's pretty bullet proof too. If you're nutty like my local sharpener and mirror polish the cladding, it also resists patina and rust pretty darn well.
 
Jlaw said:
so we are leaning towards the choyo?
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it's your money mate, only you can decide how to spend it.

if there's more info we can provide to help though, let us know what it might be.
 
looking for high fit and finish, sharpness and performance of blue no1, robust, refined, a workhorse with prestige.
on the 270 side of things
 
Jlaw said:
looking for high fit and finish, sharpness and performance of blue no1, robust, refined, a workhorse with prestige.
on the 270 side of things
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Choyo or a high end Togashi then.

Personally I am unwilling to spend 700+ USD on a knife that comes with a ho wood handle though. All of my Togashis are in shirogami, but I really his work.

As far as sharpness goes, well I mean it's blue 1. if you have the right stone everything in this thread is gonna scream off it.
 
any thoughts about kisuke manaka hamono? CKC got some nice blades from him
 
Jlaw said:
Custom Limited Edition, Mizuno Tanrenjo Akitada "Special Custom Order "KS-Style"" Ao Hagane DX Blue Steel No.1 Wa Gyuto (MCL-47)
I know the Choyos run short so i was considering there is this one as well...
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interesting knives but the handles are too big and the f&f isnt there for the price. just my take having owned one at one point.

if you want a mizuno and you care about F&F spring for a honyaki or sumi, but even then it's not at the same level as Choyo, Takada, Hitohira $$$, etc
 
Yeah I heard that, damn, I just hate being in that window of a one off coming out and the others being in stock.
 
Tanaka-Yohei! The 270 mm is about 205 gm and 3.3 mm at the spine - it is a fabulous knife
 
josemartinlopez said:
+1. Absolutely wonderful. Miura Knives in Japan is a good source.

+1 for Hitohira Tanaka Yohei too.

Both wonderful lighter knives.
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I noticed the carbon knife co stock specs is more like a workhorse, pretty unusual from Kisuke.

Miura selection is really great!
 
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