Also in the UK and would be very interested! Brexit really has ruined the simplicity of EU pass arounds for us 
Guirec Peron Honyaki US Passaround
- Thread starter Guirec PĆ©ron
- Start date
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Guirec PĆ©ron
Member
Hy Yoshi. For now I concentrate the tour in the US. But I could make one in UK soon...
big D
Well-Known Member
If there is room I would like to join in.
I have the knives in hand and will be posting my thoughts by the end of the week and sending them onto the next person no later than next Monday, probably a little sooner!
Guirec PĆ©ron
Member
Hy, of course,
you could join after the last one on the list. No problem for me...
big D
Well-Known Member
Thank you.
First of all, thank you @Guirec PĆ©ron for sending out a pair of your knives for public testing!
I didn't have as much time to use the blades as I'd hoped, but I have enough experience now to provide some user feedback I think.
Performance
Overall, I found the knives enjoyable to use. Both feature wonderful profiles, superb distal tapering, capable grind work, comfortable weighting, etc. Both knives felt very natural in hand and in use. In particular, I found the smaller one to a ton of fun - incredibly nimble and great performance! The grinds are a very nice mid-weight convex with lots of taper leading to a very nimble tip without sacrificing rigidity. A very mature grind that doesn't chase trends or the current 8mm spine workhorse zeitgeist - this is the kind of grind I enjoy most! I would personally push the thickness just behind the edge to nail flex territory at which point I think the blades would really come alive and start to perform amongst the absolute very best. But each person judges their own balance of toughness and performance.
The steel felt great on stones abrading cleanly and predictably. Edges held a good amount of tooth up to finer stones indicating to me a well done heat treatment. I didn't get to use the blades enough to judge retention.It seems that @Guirec PĆ©ron has excellent control over his steel - always a good thing!
Aesthetics & Other Impressions
Again, mostly very good things. I enjoyed the natural woods and construction methods of the handles. The handles are exceptionally comfortable, that surface finish is grippy and velvety and feels warm. I found myself picking it up just for fun because it felt that comforting. The polish work is also exception - very strong and clean mirror with good display of the hamon. The best "stock mirror" finish I've seen on a honyaki. Lots of subtle banding as well that started to pop with patina. For the polisher or banding enthusiast these would be a lot of fun! Choil and spine rounding also very tastefully and cleanly done. Superb fit & finish!
@Guirec PĆ©ron is a maker to keep your eyes on! These knives show a lot of refinement and maturity for a relatively new maker and I think it's very exciting to have another smith showing strong interest in producing honyaki at a high level in the west.
I didn't have as much time to use the blades as I'd hoped, but I have enough experience now to provide some user feedback I think.
Performance
Overall, I found the knives enjoyable to use. Both feature wonderful profiles, superb distal tapering, capable grind work, comfortable weighting, etc. Both knives felt very natural in hand and in use. In particular, I found the smaller one to a ton of fun - incredibly nimble and great performance! The grinds are a very nice mid-weight convex with lots of taper leading to a very nimble tip without sacrificing rigidity. A very mature grind that doesn't chase trends or the current 8mm spine workhorse zeitgeist - this is the kind of grind I enjoy most! I would personally push the thickness just behind the edge to nail flex territory at which point I think the blades would really come alive and start to perform amongst the absolute very best. But each person judges their own balance of toughness and performance.
The steel felt great on stones abrading cleanly and predictably. Edges held a good amount of tooth up to finer stones indicating to me a well done heat treatment. I didn't get to use the blades enough to judge retention.It seems that @Guirec PĆ©ron has excellent control over his steel - always a good thing!
Aesthetics & Other Impressions
Again, mostly very good things. I enjoyed the natural woods and construction methods of the handles. The handles are exceptionally comfortable, that surface finish is grippy and velvety and feels warm. I found myself picking it up just for fun because it felt that comforting. The polish work is also exception - very strong and clean mirror with good display of the hamon. The best "stock mirror" finish I've seen on a honyaki. Lots of subtle banding as well that started to pop with patina. For the polisher or banding enthusiast these would be a lot of fun! Choil and spine rounding also very tastefully and cleanly done. Superb fit & finish!
@Guirec PĆ©ron is a maker to keep your eyes on! These knives show a lot of refinement and maturity for a relatively new maker and I think it's very exciting to have another smith showing strong interest in producing honyaki at a high level in the west.
