Aoko Honyaki

[Fred]

I've really enjoyed using my Masamoto shiroko kasumi yanagi. I applied a full bevel sharpening job to it and it cuts like nothing else in the kitchen. However, that kind of sharpening looks a little strange because the bevel is iron, not steel and takes on a strange look from the waterstones.

Well, my approach to solving this nagging issue was to get myself an aoko honyaki yanagi so that I could apply the full bevel edge and end up with a polished bevel. Made sense. So I ordered one about 4 months ago from Kikuichi in 270 size and it arrived today. Nothing special. Not particularly pretty. It is a user. Ho wood handle but it is aoko honyaki. This type of knife gets a little pricey so I got a basic one. I'm anxious to get started on the sharpening and I will do so right after dinner (stuffed bell peppers.)

I'm assuming I will like it enough that I'll sell the Masamoto. We'll see how it goes. Stay tuned.

[louisianacook]

Have fun flattening that bevel! At least it's only a 270mm.

How about some before and after shots if you think about it?

[zini]

hehe, my wrist hurt when i think about it. i still remeber your mizuno...

[esvoboda]

Flattening the bevel of 270mm of aoko honyaki? Do it this weekend and your Labor Day weekend will be filled with plenty of LABOR!

[Fred]

No kidding. I've spent a half hour on it so far. I started by flattening with the 220 stone. I thought I had the bevel pretty well scratched up evenly after about 25 minutes. Then when I went to 1000 I discovered how uneven the bevel really was. So I'm now going to have to go back to the 220 for a while longer. I'm going to take a break now and sharpen my gyutos and sujihikis. It's way, way more work than doing the togidashi to a kasumi knife and this one didn't start with a secondary bevel like the kasumi knife did. I thought it would be easier. Ha! The blue steel is just a tad harder than the iron. Whew.

Well I'll get back at. I did photograph the before for Lee so I'll be able to post some pics.

[louisianacook]

Cool, this should be a fun project to view. I've never done it to a honyaki, or seen it done for that matter.

Ever tried using DMT plates for this sort of work? I used to use waterstones too, but got tired of flattening them during the process. I like switching to the waterstones at the 1000 grit level.

[Larrin]

Yeah, DMT rocks for re-profiling. Anyone tried the DMT diamond paste for fine polishing?

[Fred]

Cool, this should be a fun project to view. I've never done it to a honyaki, or seen it done for that matter.

Ever tried using DMT plates for this sort of work? I used to use waterstones too, but got tired of flattening them during the process. I like switching to the waterstones at the 1000 grit level.

I gave up for this evening. I sharpened 4 gyutos, 2 sujis, 2 parers, 3 pettys, 1 honesuki and a partridge in a pear tree.

Interesting thought. I could use the lapping plate and somecarbide grit to flatten the bevel. It wouldn't be hard to scratch things badly that way, though. I do have some diamond plates but I don't think they are as flat as the waterstones. I could take a dmt out of stock, I suppose. I'll spend more time with the 220 waterstone. The knife is well finished and it took almost nothing to flatten in inside. It should be doable with a 220 waterstone.

A half hour and I don't even have a burr yet. This is no small task.

[louisianacook]

I've tried some diamond paste as a strop treatment, but I don't like it as a polish. Even the .25micron left ghost marks in the finish. Maas or flitz is better suited to this application.

[Fred]

Day 2. I didn't count the actual strokes but I stopped every hundred to see how I was doing. I made thousands of strokes on the 220 stone. I'm pretty close. There is an area about 1/3 of the way from the tip that doesn't respond as quickly as the ends. That means, of course, that the ends need more grinding. I finally got to the point where the stone was dished slightly and I wasn't getting good action from it. I flattened the stone and put everything away for the evening. More sharpening blog to come.