u/152bb

What is up everybody,

since thinking about restructuring my collection I will have to part ways with this absolute beauty.

The knife comes from the very first Kaeru line that Maksim from JNS ever did. Back then it was a collaboration with the one and only Toshihiro Wakui when he was still very unknown in Europe.

The knife is around 6 years old and discontinued. So you will likely never find a Wakui Gyuto with that exact kanji, which is very nice imo.

Blade is ground a midweight convex geometry paired with a super thin edge, beautiful Sanjo taper and immaculate heat treatment by Toshihiro-san.

Specs:

Steel: W2 with stainless clad
Handle: ebony both blond buffalo horn
Edge length: 240mm
Blade height: 48mm
Weight: 204g

Asking 240€ + shipping

Feel free to ask any questions in DM’s ;)

What‘s up fellas,

I am back with another update on my Jnat polishing journey.

The new kiridashi has arrived. I always wanted to buy one to have the most rat Tool to open packages and all that sort of stuff and for testing stones as well. Now it finally came home and it’s honestly as fun as I thought.

Manufacturer is undisclosed but I am pretty sure it was made by Tsunehisa in B2 with soft iron clad.

Polishing went very nicely. Maybe I could have taken more time in between the grits and around the very last stage to make sure to hide every last scratch.

Progression (as seen in the pictures) was:
- Atoma 200
- chocera 400, 1k, 3k
- Hideriyama Shiro Suita Renge
- Ohira Uchigumori

It was also the first test of my Hideriyama Shiro Suita Renge and I can tell you guy. I can really recommend as pre finisher for polishing and finisher for edges. Stone feels really creamy and fast self-slurrying. It’s quite thirsty at first. While polishing it does require some water management because slurry is drying pretty fast.

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Kiridashi Specs:

Steel: B2 with soft iron clad
Edge length: 50mm
Overall length: 155mm

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Munetoshi polish on Shiro Suita will follow soon.

Thanks for watching 👀

Cheers 🙏🏻

📌 Hideriyama (not Nisshoyama) Shiro Suita – got some stone in my Renge - community already helped me out :)

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First of, short introduction

I want to start documenting my Jnat polishing journey for everyone who’s still hesitant whether to dive the rabbit hole or not.

Little background: I’m actually still a student in University and somehow got sucked up by Japanese knives. In the beginning I just wanted to have sharp knives as we all did. Now I’m a little too obsessed with shiny steel haha. As a Student I generally have a tight budget which makes the journey even more exciting because I’ll have find a little trick here and there to make it, with some extra research along the way

I am absolutely not new to sharpening/polishing as I have done Kasumi on synthetic stones for a year now and decided to climb the ladder.
Also I am not completely new to Jnats. I’ve worked with Uchi fingerstones for a while now but that wasn’t enough for me anymore because I want to learn how to polish like the people I show up to.

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Why did I pick that stone in particular?

Just picked up this beautiful Shiro Suita which originated in the Nisshoyama mine near Ohira. It’s widely spread that stones from other mines around Ohira have very similar quality at a much smaller price (keep in mind, it’s a “budget” project) that’s why I’ve chosen that stone in the first place over some Ohira suita.

My intention was to pick a stone for my progression after chocera 3k and before my very very small Ohira Uchigumori, as a sort of pre finisher for polishing.
In addition, I’ve heard many great things about the edges from Shiro Suita’s which could also benefit my sharpening lineup.

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The Stone itself:

Very obvious, the stone is full of Renge which are iron-rich mineral deposits formed naturally during the stone’s creation. These are highly appreciated by many JNat enthusiasts for both their appearance and the feedback they can provide during sharpening. And I can absolutely see why its appearance is that sought after.

The stone’s polishing front features actually only one big Namazu line but and a clean-looking surface with very few visible imperfections but no toxic inclusions on the first look. The contrast between the pale stone and the reddish mineral veins makes it a real eye-catcher.

Shiro Suita’s seem to differ quite a bit from the visual perspective, at least in the ones I’ve seen so far. There are ones with much much Namazu and the others with much Renge. Then some are very darkish grey and others almost as white as quartz. Maybe anyone can elaborate further - makes that a difference in quality?

It‘s still in pretty rough shape, BUT Lucky the bottom is very flat. As a first step of working with it, I’ll adjust the shape and prepare it for its first use.

Last pic is bonus for the wet look of the stone - looks like proper A5 Wagyu to me lol

Stats:

Length: 130mm
Width: 110m
Height: 35mm
Weight: 950g
Hardness: 3.5/5
Surface area: 17.5cm^2 / ~ 11sqin

Can’t wait to test it on my new Kiridashi and other carbon steels and see what kind of edge and finish it produces in the upcoming days.

But before that I will have to shape the stone further. Take away any sharp corners and edges, make sure it’s flat as a pancake and take enough preparation time as needed (as Ivan would say).

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What can you expect in the future?

I will try to share as much insights as possible from the polishing & sharpening work, thoughts behind it and generally the journey to becoming a decent polisher.

Thank you very much if you made it this far :)
I’m very happy for ANY feedback you can give me along the ways.

Cheers fellas 🙏🏻

What’s up fellas,

I hope ya‘ll are doing great.

I‘m hoping on today to help out a friend of mine. He bought that knife a while ago just for admiring purposes. Now that he somehow get’s tired of it he want’s to sell it. Since he’s a little older and not into social media and that kinda stuff, I offered him my help.

Disclaimer: the knife is in my possession and I’m just taking care of selling and shipping.

BNIB, laquer is still on except for a 5x3cm spot where he tried the knife on I think it was daikon.

Quick stats:

Blacksmith: Y.Tanaka
Sharpener: Yuki Wakae
Steel composition: W2 with soft iron clad
Edge length: 230mm
Blade height: 53mm
Weight: 175g with perfect balance for pinch grip

I’d love to keep it myself but I don’t have the funds right now, but I’m sure it’ll make someone else out there very very happy :)

He’s asking 310€ + shipping.

Thanks for reading and helping me support my buddy, take care.

What’s up guys,

I happily present to you my newest addition to the magnet and one of the freshest batches of Baba knives out there.

First of all, big shoutout to u/nisko- giving me the deciding hint!!

I’ve had that exact knife before but in 210mm. I had to sell it because I don’t get along well with Sakai 210’s unfortunately. From then on I was searching for it constantly for over a year now. But the wait has finally ended :)

Put it to the test as usual with a nice bowl of fried rice. I’d did very well or like a nice guy from forged n fire likes to say - “it will cut”

I’ve noticed a couple differences from the older batches to the newest ones.
I’ve had the 210 version about a year ago and from older pictures and my memory I came across some differences. The grind feels a little more hollow and actually more asymmetrical than before. The second thing I’ve noticed is, that they have changed the way they achieve Kasumi finish to the (unfortunately) more industrial way by sandblasting the soft iron cladding. One can really see how thick the Kasumi is. It really hides the factory scratch pattern that they had before.

Specs:
Edge: 230mm

Height: 50.2mm

Weight: 176g

It’s was the first knife I really looked up to when starting my Japanese knife journey, now it came home :)

What was your guy’s first “grail” knife coming up? Show me some pictures and tell me the story behind in the comments!!

Cheers!

Small job - big knife

I pulled out the big JNS Munetoshi 240 Gyuto today to whip up some quick soba noodles for lunch.

I have to admit it looks absolutely humongous on the Kama-Asa size: S board, but it absolutely works fine.

What knife did you use today, let me know, I wanna seeee

Cheers

Hello everyone,

I sell here an absolute magnificent piece.

Ginsan steel hand forged by my lesser than Nakagawa-San and ground by Ren (the angel of the legendary Morihiro-san).

The workmanship is at the absolute highest level. Comes with matching magnolia Saya.

I bought the knife not too long ago at Karasu Amsterdam for 319€, you can’t get Nakagawa Ginsan anywhere that cheap.

Specs:

Total length: 390mm

Edge length: 229mm

Handle to tip length: 240mm

Blade height: 51mm

Thickness: 3.3 mm

Handle length: 144mm

Weight: 184g

Hand alignment: Two-handed

Asking 299€ + shipping

If you have any further questions, please contact me :)

What’s up, guys,

To finance a larger purchase, it must unfortunately go.

Forged by the only Y.Tanaka in W2, sharpened by Baba Hamono in the house sharpener Yuku Wakae to an absolute laser of a knife. I mean, the Choil says it all.

Comes with complete set, also magnetic saya.

Specifications:

Edge: 201mm

Weight: 128g

Height: 47mm

Back thickness above the heel: 3 mm Hand alignment: 50/50 two-handed

Bought from a friend for 320€
Asking 310€ + shipping

If you have any questions, just contact me:)

What‘s up gang,

I want to renew my collection, that’s why some pieces have to go.

Today we got a legend up for grabs. Forged by the master himself Genkai Masakuni in absolute mint condition. Vintage Mizu Honyaki Yanagiba from the late 90’s. Never used nor sharpened, comes with matching ho-wood saya as well.

I am primarily looking for a trade for around the same value. Preferably double bevels.

If no cool trade comes to stands, I would also be willing to sell. To be honest with you, I don’t have a price in mind rn, because I’ve never seen one like mine hitting the market.

Preferably in the EU but WW would be possible.

Cheers!

What’s up fellas,

little NKD a bit different today. Must be the thickest Shibata I’ve ever seen. Edge is not so thin yikes.

Thought I’d recycle that little fishing jig as a cool key fob.

Cheers!!

What’s up fellas,

I can’t get my eyes of that knife. I‘ve just decided I need one myself.

Condition doesn’t matter, handle doesn’t matter.
I’d consider any length as well.

So guys if you have one and no longer use it, I’d be more than happy to take it.

Cheers

What’s up guys,

gotta make some room for new knives so this one has to go. I‘m not the Petty guy so it was only used for 3 meals in total.

It comes with matching magnetic walnut saya.

Asking 90€ + shipping