WIP - Help Me Decide...

[HumbleHomeCook]

Alright @tostadas and company, help me decide if and what I should consider doing with this blade. It is a Homi iron clad AS core nakiri and obviously on the rustic side. It has a little wobble in the spine but the edge is straight and good.

I'm not a polisher.

You can see it is blotchy and while the kurouchi is pretty robust you can still see where it there are spots missing.

So, would you remove the KU even if you don't polish? Hand sand? To what grit ya think?

I'm really thinking about removing it but not at all committed.

Other ideas?

 

[tostadas]

Is it hollow grind?

 

[MowgFace]

Random Orbital, and some elbow grease.

 

[Pie]

tbh I wouldn’t remove the KU. I find it makes knives look weird because there’s so much roughness and topographical inconsistency from the forging, the end result looks kind of naked. To me, anyways. Entirely subjective. If it’s a must, I’ve had a small amount of success with a soft backing to the sandpaper to get into more of the nooks and crannies.

I kinda like the look of patchy KU. Maximum rustic-ness. OG Takeda/ancient relic sort of thing.

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

Is it hollow grind?

The edge bevel is flat to slightly convex. The left side main blade has a unique, almost "S" grind with a shallow hollow down the center.

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

tbh I wouldn’t remove the KU. I find it makes knives look weird because there’s so much roughness and topographical inconsistency from the forging, the end result looks kind of naked. To me, anyways. Entirely subjective. If it’s a must, I’ve had a small amount of success with a soft backing to the sandpaper to get into more of the nooks and crannies.

I kinda like the look of patchy KU. Maximum rustic-ness. OG Takeda/ancient relic sort of thing.

Thank you for the input. That was kinda my thinking as well. That's why came looking for other opinions.

 

[MarcelNL]

If anything I'd make the profile flatter over time, that Ku wobble is indeed only rustic-ky

 

[KenjiF]

I love the look of a rustic KU, wavy shinogi and polished bevels… I’d keep it.

Not sure how thick the knife is bte but I’d raise the bevel for (for less wedging), flatten or convex it and give polishing a shot. Looks like you have plenty of height there so I’d be ok if it took a mm or two of height to get rid of the hollow grind.

If by wobble you mean it’s got a twist then fix that before you do anything. Straightening stick and a vice will work or a hammer and stump.

Looks like fun.

 

[Moooza]

Work on the edge only, and leave the KU. It's nice, shows it's handmade, etc.

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

I love the look of a rustic KU, wavy shinogi and polished bevels… I’d keep it.

Not sure how thick the knife is bte but I’d raise the bevel for (for less wedging), flatten or convex it and give polishing a shot. Looks like you have plenty of height there so I’d be ok if it took a mm or two of height to get rid of the hollow grind.

If by wobble you mean it’s got a twist then fix that before you do anything. Straightening stick and a vice will work or a hammer and stump.

Looks like fun.

Oh, it's plenty thin at the edge and has a really nice grind. This knife is a performer! Hence the fancy suit I'm working on.

Just a little bend in the spine. Haven't studied it, might just be a little overgrind. No twist though.

 

[tostadas]

I would just adjust it for comfort. So spine and choil rounded and polished. Then if there's any issues with profile, clean it up and re-thin if needed. I think KU looks good and is practical, unless it's the fake painted-on kind. In which case, I'd remove some of it with some very very light sandpaper. Turning the knife from KU to migaki is gonna be a decent amount of work if you are hand sanding only. And if you only do the work halfway, it will usually look bad.

You did mention you dont like to polish, but you could do a lengthwise brushed finish on the blade road with sandpaper to remove vertical grind marks for aesthetic purposes. If you choose to, I'd start at around 120 and go up to 800-1200. It will improve the cutting feel slightly too.

Looks like you have the handle all ready to go. Can't wait to see what it will look like after you install that baby!

 

[Choppin]

What I usually do with my knives from KnifeJapan is polish spine and choil (they are usually a bit rough so comfort is much improved) and get the bevels stone ready (I might do it overtime, thinning a bit every time I sharpen).

But I always leave the KU on. IMO it holds a lot of character and contrasts nicely with the polished bevels and spine/choil.

Oh yes the handle looks nice! What wood is that?

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

Yep, spine/choil got done on the first day.

Thanks all.

 

[gentiscid]

Sharpen and use. Don’t remove it. Let it have its character on its way down…