# anyone ever knock the shoulders off a heiji?



## panda (Dec 20, 2017)

i would like to at the very least raise the shinogi on my heiji suji if i cant deal with the length of time it will take to knock the shoulders off. i find i am just not big fan of wide bevel. i prefer a continuous convex. plus i want it thinner behind the edge. so, any tips? what stone should i be looking at? shapton pro 120?


----------



## JDA_NC (Dec 21, 2017)

A couple posts/threads you might find interesting:

http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/showthread.php/12335-Heiji-spa-day?p=209280&viewfull=1#post209280

http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/s...-line-of-Heiji?p=448755&viewfull=1#post448755

I've only knocked the shoulders off of one knife - a Masakage Yuki 240mm. It wasn't a great knife to begin with IMO and I just made it worse. After my poor job at thinning, it wedged worse than before and everything stuck to it. I realized that it was going to take way to much work, and wasn't worth the time or effort. Definitelty not without a belt-grinder.


----------



## JBroida (Dec 21, 2017)

Ive had a customer ask me to do this before... would be crazy hard to do a good job on just stones alone to be honest


----------



## panda (Dec 21, 2017)

jon when would be a good time for me to send you my knife to have this done?


----------



## Matus (Dec 21, 2017)

I would only add that just raising the shinogi line while keeping the bewels flat will on one side descrease wedging a bit, but it will increase the drag and sticking. To me it would make more sense to sell the knife and get a different one with a different grind.

What you want is not just to knock off shoulders, but a complete re-grind of the knife. And I am not sure that makes so much sense.


----------



## Jacob_x (Dec 21, 2017)

I did some work on mine which I'm pretty happy with. Will get back to you with some pics and description once silly season is out the way.


----------



## panda (Dec 21, 2017)

i was thinking raise the shinogi (thinning left side more than the right), then knock both shoulders off, thin right side again, and do some blending, so yeah a complete regrind lol. i've already done this to my matching petty (just not aggressively) and its changed its character enough for me to think this might be worth a shot. 


thanks jake!


----------



## JBroida (Dec 21, 2017)

panda said:


> jon when would be a good time for me to send you my knife to have this done?



lol... if you really hate doing it yourself, bug me late next month


----------



## labor of love (Dec 21, 2017)

Just destroy heiji the best you can then send it to Jon &#128512;


----------



## milkbaby (Dec 21, 2017)

Matus said:


> I would only add that just raising the shinogi line while keeping the bewels flat will on one side descrease wedging a bit, but it will increase the drag and sticking. To me it would make more sense to sell the knife and get a different one with a different grind.
> 
> What you want is not just to knock off shoulders, but a complete re-grind of the knife. And I am not sure that makes so much sense.



That's what I was thinking... Is this a case of, "I don't really like this knife but I'm determined to keep it, so I'll just make it into more what I like"?


----------



## panda (Dec 21, 2017)

I adore this knife, but the grind is not optimal for cooked protein use. I'd like a more balanced usage.


----------



## panda (Dec 21, 2017)

Maybe I'll give it a try, and then send to Jon when I give up.


----------



## preizzo (Dec 21, 2017)

Why ruin a knife? Better you sell it and buy something else instead.


----------



## panda (Dec 22, 2017)

what makes you think i would ruin it? if anything i'd make it better


----------



## Panamapeet (Dec 22, 2017)

Please don't ruin it


----------



## panda (Jan 30, 2018)

so i made an attempt at it but only had enough patience for two hours of work. wasnt able to knock the shoulders off but did remove enough metal to smooth it out. it looks like sh1t now but i already like how it cuts more. i plan on flattening left side and aggressive thinning+convexing right side on future sessions. thinning a suji is a royal pain, much more labor intensive than a gyuto.


----------



## milkbaby (Jan 30, 2018)

Hope you have more time to keep working on it, sounds like good progress so far!


----------



## chiffonodd (Jan 30, 2018)

panda said:


> so i made an attempt at it but only had enough patience for two hours of work. wasnt able to knock the shoulders off but did remove enough metal to smooth it out. it looks like sh1t now but i already like how it cuts more. i plan on flattening left side and aggressive thinning+convexing right side on future sessions. thinning a suji is a royal pain, much more labor intensive than a gyuto.



WIP pics pls


----------



## TheCaptain (Jan 30, 2018)

chiffonodd said:


> WIP pics pls


+1 please!


----------



## panda (Jan 30, 2018)

Will take some tomorrow, be prepared to cringe. &#129315;


----------



## TheCaptain (Jan 31, 2018)

Looking forward to it! &#128541;&#128541;&#128541;


----------



## panda (Jan 31, 2018)

Totally forgot to take pics, got distracted while closing and made bacon mayo before leaving. Tomorrow, promise. I'll also show why I hate my Watanabe paring knife.


----------



## panda (Feb 2, 2018)




----------



## panda (Feb 2, 2018)

damn it, just realized forgot to take pics of the wat parer


----------



## GorillaGrunt (Feb 2, 2018)

Looks good!


----------



## inzite (Feb 2, 2018)

ah, how bad were the shoulders in use for the purpose of a suji?


----------



## panda (Feb 2, 2018)

not bad actually, good release on raw, but it struggles a little when slicing cooked proteins. right now it slices smoother, but there is a lot of drag. i'd say i made 25% progress. maybe 3 more sessions will get it to how i want it.


----------



## rick alen (Feb 4, 2018)

Comes the question, why make a suji with such heavy shoulders?


----------



## labor of love (Feb 4, 2018)

rick alen said:


> Comes the question, why make a suji with such heavy shoulders?



Perhaps yanagiba qualities in suji form? If I remember correctly panda likes it just fine for raw protein.


----------



## chinacats (Feb 4, 2018)

Do you think the drag could be related to the level of finish?


----------

