Oded
02-19-2005, 06:38 PM
Some first impression about this somewhat unusual knife...
Steel: Aoko #1B (1.2% - 1.3% Carbon)
Manufacturing method: Forge laminated, hand hammered. Forging is done with the same traditional methods used for the limited edition HAYATE and AYA
Blade shape: similar to other large deba such as the Mioroshi.
Blade length: 210mm nominal 203mm actual.
Blade thickness: 3mm at the heel side of the spine.
Handle: Ebony, octagon.
Balance: 2mm behind the heel, about 10mm in front of the handle.
Weight: Unknown.
Finish: in one word: impeccable.
The blade is mirror finish on both sides (very unusual) the spine is well rounded. Altogether it looks absolutely astonishing.
The handle is chunkier then other traditional handles including those found on most Suisin knives. I have not measured it but it feels comparable to the one I have made which measures 28mm x 24mm on the thick (back) side. The finish of the handle is comparable to other Japanese maker - good but not as good as my home made handles. It is possible to feel the contact point between the Buffalo horn ferrule and the wood when passing the thumb on it. I do not feel that when holding and using the knife. And with all fairness, I could not expect any of these manufacturers to invest as much time finishing the handle as I do. I will probably take it to the workshop one day and polish the handle to my standard. One thing I have noted is the wood is not stripy like typical Macasar Ebony but I guess it could still be within the variation of the species.
This knife is my take on a general purpose, single bevel knife. While double bevel is normally used for Wa-gyutos I decided to try for myself if the advantages of the single bevel would be worth the learning curve of using it.
I have not used the knife allot yet – just cut few vegetables with it for a salad. My first impression is that this thing is SHARP, possibly, even sharper then Watanabe’s togidashi and that is something I did not think is possible.
I have tried both push-chopping and slicing and it does both happily, with the weight of knife together with the amazing edge doing the work. I was there merely pointing it in the right direction.
I am really still learning the knife, using slowly and carefully until I have a better feel for it. Tatsuya Aoki from Suisin has warned me that the Aoko #1 is more prone to chipping then the #2 due to higher percentage of Carbon. Also, in order to keep weight to a minimum, they have agreed to make the blade 3mm thick, thinner then what is usually used for such knife. Time will tell if the risks I was taking are worth it or not.
Steel: Aoko #1B (1.2% - 1.3% Carbon)
Manufacturing method: Forge laminated, hand hammered. Forging is done with the same traditional methods used for the limited edition HAYATE and AYA
Blade shape: similar to other large deba such as the Mioroshi.
Blade length: 210mm nominal 203mm actual.
Blade thickness: 3mm at the heel side of the spine.
Handle: Ebony, octagon.
Balance: 2mm behind the heel, about 10mm in front of the handle.
Weight: Unknown.
Finish: in one word: impeccable.
The blade is mirror finish on both sides (very unusual) the spine is well rounded. Altogether it looks absolutely astonishing.
The handle is chunkier then other traditional handles including those found on most Suisin knives. I have not measured it but it feels comparable to the one I have made which measures 28mm x 24mm on the thick (back) side. The finish of the handle is comparable to other Japanese maker - good but not as good as my home made handles. It is possible to feel the contact point between the Buffalo horn ferrule and the wood when passing the thumb on it. I do not feel that when holding and using the knife. And with all fairness, I could not expect any of these manufacturers to invest as much time finishing the handle as I do. I will probably take it to the workshop one day and polish the handle to my standard. One thing I have noted is the wood is not stripy like typical Macasar Ebony but I guess it could still be within the variation of the species.
This knife is my take on a general purpose, single bevel knife. While double bevel is normally used for Wa-gyutos I decided to try for myself if the advantages of the single bevel would be worth the learning curve of using it.
I have not used the knife allot yet – just cut few vegetables with it for a salad. My first impression is that this thing is SHARP, possibly, even sharper then Watanabe’s togidashi and that is something I did not think is possible.
I have tried both push-chopping and slicing and it does both happily, with the weight of knife together with the amazing edge doing the work. I was there merely pointing it in the right direction.
I am really still learning the knife, using slowly and carefully until I have a better feel for it. Tatsuya Aoki from Suisin has warned me that the Aoko #1 is more prone to chipping then the #2 due to higher percentage of Carbon. Also, in order to keep weight to a minimum, they have agreed to make the blade 3mm thick, thinner then what is usually used for such knife. Time will tell if the risks I was taking are worth it or not.