Yoshikazu Tanaka House Brand Sharpener?

[DiceOfLife]

Who is the sharpener for the yoshikazu house brand? Or at least what I assume to be his house brand as it's what many of his knives that aren't under the major labels like hado are sold as

For reference
https://knivesandstones.us/products/yoshikazu-tanaka-white-1-damascus-gyuto-210-240mm

Bernal and a number of other shops just have many of these similar looking knives just listed under Yoshikazu Tanaka, but I cannot find any info on the sharpener.

 

[Cliff]

I doubt it's a single person. Likely farmed out to a specialist, who, in this case, doesn't seem to be named.

 

[thebradleycrew]

I agree with @Cliff - it's likely to be multiple different specialists depending on availability/capacity at the time the batches of knives are forged are ready for sharpening. I think the good news is that none of them are likely to be anything but excellent sharpeners, but in many of these cases, it would be hard - if not impossible - to determine who the sharpener is unless it's specifically called out.

 

[chiffonodd]

Looks like Morihiro/progeny?

 

[bsfsu]

Some of my suppliers will not name sharpeners of some lines. Either the artisan wants anonymity or as @Cliff and @thebradleycrew have said, it could be outsourced to various sharpeners etc..

 

[DiceOfLife]

Some of my suppliers will not name sharpeners of some lines. Either the artisan wants anonymity or as @Cliff and @thebradleycrew have said, it could be outsourced to various sharpeners etc..

Thanks! Yeah I'm coming to understand that this seems to be the industry standard unless a maker has the intention to craft the product as a collaboration between a specific smith and sharpener.

 

[bsfsu]

Thanks! Yeah I'm coming to understand that this seems to be the industry standard unless a maker has the intention to craft the product as a collaboration between a specific smith and sharpener.

Your spot on there, I also think some of the older sharpeners don't really want to be "known", that might change with the younger artisans.

 

[DiceOfLife]

Your spot on there, I also think some of the older sharpeners don't really want to be "known", that might change with the younger artisans.

True, at least many of the all star sharpeners ive heard of like myojin and maruyama are pretty young. I've just gotten into the world of high end knives so I just assumed sharpeners being well known was always a thing.

Anyways, thanks for the info. I decided to buy it so hopefully the grind is decent. It sounds like I shouldn't be too concerned.

 

[bsfsu]

True, at least many of the all star sharpeners ive heard of like myojin and maruyama are pretty young. I've just gotten into the world of high end knives so I just assumed sharpeners being well known was always a thing.

Anyways, thanks for the info. I decided to buy it so hopefully the grind is decent. It sounds like I shouldn't be too concerned.

Jump down the rabbit hole!

 

[JoBone]

That looks like one from Hatsukokoro and they do not disclose the sharpener. I believe the sharpener may change, but at one time it was a well respected sharpener who had officially retired.

 

[Cliff]

Tanaka is among the best smiths out there. I'd be confident. He sends his work to good craftsmen to finish.

 

[Qioda]

Did you end up buying this knife? It also caught my attention

Edit: Just saw that you bought it. Are you happy with the knife? I wonder if the damascus pattern causes sone friction when cutting

 

[DiceOfLife]

Did you end up buying this knife? It also caught my attention

Edit: Just saw that you bought it. Are you happy with the knife? I wonder if the damascus pattern causes sone friction when cutting

I literally just got it a couple days ago, but I've been away so I haven't gotten a chance to really use it besides some test curs. Haven't gotten a chance to sharpen either. But the test cuts I was able to do felt pretty decent. Only very minor wedging when cross cutting a very large carot, but it didn't really feel like much additional force was needed. As for some meat that I cut, went through like a breeze. Also just normal cuts through the cart were fine. I'll write a more in depth review once I've sharpened and have a good feel for the knife, but my initial reaction is positive.

I will say, it has some heft to it like a workhorse. The spine has more thickness than I had anticipated but the additional weight feels really nice. I've come to like heavier knives.

 

[Qioda]

I literally just got it a couple days ago, but I've been away so I haven't gotten a chance to really use it besides some test curs. Haven't gotten a chance to sharpen either. But the test cuts I was able to do felt pretty decent. Only very minor wedging when cross cutting a very large carot, but it didn't really feel like much additional force was needed. As for some meat that I cut, went through like a breeze. Also just normal cuts through the cart were fine. I'll write a more in depth review once I've sharpened and have a good feel for the knife, but my initial reaction is positive.

I will say, it has some heft to it like a workhorse. The spine has more thickness than I had anticipated but the additional weight feels really nice. I've come to like heavier knives.

That sounds really great thank for this write-up, gives me a good feeling with this knife. The shop Meesterslijpers states that the knife has a spine thickness of 3.2mm - sounds pretty comfortable. Sadly the knife is only available with Walnut Handle in Europe.

Do you mind sharing a picture or two of the knife? I am really curious to see how it looks in real life

 

[DiceOfLife]

That sounds really great thank for this write-up, gives me a good feeling with this knife. The shop Meesterslijpers states that the knife has a spine thickness of 3.2mm - sounds pretty comfortable. Sadly the knife is only available with Walnut Handle in Europe.

Do you mind sharing a picture or two of the knife? I am really curious to see how it looks in real life

 

[DiceOfLife]

That's what it looks like BNIB I can post newer photos when I get home of the patina but it's not very built up yet. It hasn't taken a greT patina yet but I haven't used it for much acidic stuff or hot proteins

 

[Qioda]

This looks really beautiful thank you a lot for taking those pictures