Hi guys, I just encountered a knife I would be interested in from a private offline seller, but from what my quick search yielded, the supposed maker‘s kanji look differently. Dont wanna spoil who that supposedly is as to not skew the results, but can you help?
Hi guys,
I have a question for you regarding your experience and opinion on whether I should return this stone or not:
My Green Brick of Joy just arrived today. It smells really musty, like stale water or an old damp basement. The print also looks smeared, almost as if water kinda dissolved it a bit. One side is fairly scratched up, and the inside of the box also shows marks/signs of wear.
What bothers me is not really the visual appearance, but rather whether the stone itself is still okay if it actually has retained moisture internally.
Any input is highly welcome!
P.S. All photos are of the same stone — any color differences are probably just due to lighting.
Jeez, fat fingers: typo in the title, so embarassed. So „turn“…
Hi guys,
quick question on what is new territory to me: I wanted to remove the forced patina from my TF Maboroshi Santoku. So i started with some baking powder and water, got the dark patina off, and then wanted to polish it using this stone: https://hiomakivi.fi/en/p37453/tsushima-nagura
I‘ve use the stone before for finishing touches during normal sharpening. I used a very flat angle, laying it flat on the primary bevel, and with very moderate pressure about 0.5-1cm from the edge, started polishing. A little time in, the core steeö progressed nicely, but I discovered some spots on the primary bevel that were also affected, while some others weren‘t. Please disregard the scratches higer above, my wife scrubbed the knife with the rough side of a sponge, bless her heart 😂 So, getting to my post title: did this reveal a need to thin it it out? If so, should I do a 320-1000-3000-6000 progression? Or is this a totally unrelated issue that I am currently unaware of? I tried to capture this in the photos, the side with the darker core is untouched, for comparison.
Before this, the knife was completely untouched, had and used it for 4-6 months, didnt need sharpening.
Looking for any helpful info tha can guide the further process. Thanks a bunch! Gabe
Hi guys,
i was finally able to get this knife, after it had been sold out in my usual stores. I've been eyeing it for a longer time, without having any prior first-hand experience with Takeshi Saji. I am not particularly driven by design and optics (though it is a flashy beast), I personally value the experience and devotion the smith brings into it more than any features, processes, alloys that others might consider beneficial. One might argue that R2/SG/AS does this and that better, or another smith might be cheaper or have better bang for buck, or even that the rainbow damascus is just show. I totally accept all that, and also understand it is totally subjective. I am a total traditionalist. I subscribe to the theory that if I favor a japanese knife over a Wüsthof (I live in Germany, like 50km from Solingen) because I believe that the knowledge, history, methods that go into making them is either superior (objective) or more appealing to me (subjective), than I will always opt for a knife that is closest to these attributes. That being said: I dont buy a knife to display it, I am not a collector, but a simple home cook that prepares at least 1, sometimes 2 meals a day. To me, function, perform and pleasure while using it comes first.
That being said, here are my first impressions of the knife: It feels substantially heavier than its pure weight might suggest. At 173 grams it has more heft than my 21cm Matsubara Gyuto at 160 grams. The weight distribution is very blade heavy, for my pinch grip I need to hold it 3-4cm in. With this particular knife this gets a little uncomfortable while just holding it, without having performed a single cut yet, as the choil it not rounded as the spine. It not necessarily sharp, but has a prominent feel against my ring finger.
OOTB sharpness is virtually nonexistent. I placed the edge on my index finger, held the handle with two fingers and the blade across my finger over a distance of a couple of centimeters. Nada. Zip. I dont know if the pictures catch this, but a secondary bevel is virtually there and not visible. Did any of you who have a TS or this knife in particular have the same experience? I mean it's no issue putting the edge on it, I was just a bit astounded as to how little OOTB sharpness it has.
Regarding the grind, with my limited practical experience on varying Nakiri grinds, I would say that I like it. Not too thin that I wouldnt feel comfortable cutting dense veggies like punpkin, but also not too thick like Sakai grinds. I feel its a good middle ground, but feel free to provide differing/opposing opinions.
Personally, I am not a big fan of the rosewood handle, I will probably change it to a mono-handle, maybe something with a yellowish or reddish hue to match the blade color.
Thanks for your attention, looking forward to your feedback. Take care guys!