# Myojin SG2 240 - Impressions (Update 2)



## JDC (Sep 19, 2021)

For those who are curious about this line, I put together some quick thoughts and experiments with this new offering from Naohito Myojin, the sharpener behind Konosuke's Fujiyama FM knives.

I like the FM grind and SG2 steel, so I jumped right in when the 240 (actual edge length 232-233 mm) was available. Actually, I didn't ask for a choil shot before the purchase. I just trusted Myojin's craftsmanship and believed he'd only offer something near perfect.

The choil shots confirm that, from left to right are FM b1 240 (from Tosho's website), my SG2, and Kaiju (from Tosho's website)




My phone camera is a bit blurry, but the grind is as thin as the FM I had.
Further study reveals that the grind is a very thin convex, rather than a full-flat.






So the grind is great just as expected. However, the knife came with a hard coat of knife lacquer, which made everything stuck. I had to wait until it wears down before testing seriously (even acetone was not very effective in removing that, please let me know if anyone has a better solution...).

The out-of-box edge was just so so. It was close to a micro-bevel, about 16 degrees per side. The FM I had was much more aggressive in the angle.

After several acetone sessions, I started to put the knife in use. Although the grind is almost identical to a FM, I could immediately notice a difference when the blade hit the board - it is very stiff. The feedback felt like from a very hard monosteel rather than a sanmai, wow.

It glided through produces as expected because of the aggressive grind, but the edge was not acceptable IMO. So I put it on the stone.
Sharpening it confirmed the steel is very hard. I have three other SG2 knives, one Zwilling Kramer, one Yu Kurosaki, and one Shibata Koutetsu. None of them were this difficult to sharpen.

Started with Shapton Pro 1000, it took ~2 times more stokes then the aforementioned SG2 blades to create a burr. The noise it made on the stone was also scary. But after that, the sharpening became smooth and enjoyable. After burr removal on the 1k, I followed with SP 2k. After that, I started to try natural stones, and discovered that only the Okudo shiro suita can remove the steel efficiently. Uchigumori and Ohira renge suita used to work well with my other SG2 blades, but this time they performed really poorly. The last stone in this session was a very hard Nakayama mizu asagi with Aizu slurry.

Although the steel was very challenging, the final outcome was pretty good. The edge off the Nakayama turned out to be very polished yet toothy enough. I sharpened a Hisamoto white 1 tsuchime using the the same progression and compared the two edges. The SG2 was almost as polished and was noticeably more aggressive. This ultra-sharp edge sunk in peppers and tomatos, and it was well held after a few dinner sessions at home.

Normally I wouldn't dare to cut corn on the cobs with a blade this thin behind the edge. But since the steel is so strong, I tried it anyway (sorry Myojin, I tried my best to not hit the board too hard, but nontheless hit it several times).









After four cobs the edge still cut paper towel cleanly with the region that hit the board.

My guess is although the heat-treat is harder, the grain-size is finer than my other SG2s. I haven't tried to polish it to pass the hanging hair test, but I may seriously give it a try later, it already shaves arm hairs effortlessly though. Due to the adaptation to the weight and shape, I bumped the edge and tip into various surfaces, the stainless sink, the stone countertop, the wooden cabinet, you name it. Not too badly, but none caused any noticeable chipping as I would expect with high carbon steel. Now I'm willing to take the edge to 8 to 12 degrees per side in the future. My other SG2s would micro chip crazily in those angles.

So, my preliminary conclusion is that the knife is really well made from the grind to the steel. However, I think the vendors should remove the lacquer and sharpen the knife well to make it more enjoyable to those who want to enjoy it right ootb. What's more, can this replace a FM? I feel this a difficult question to answer. I like low-maintenance knives so I enjoy it very much. However, the easy-to-sharpen FMs provide a different board feedback, thus might also be someone else's favorite.

Oh, by the way, my example is 212 g with the handle.

======================Update 1=======================
Today I went ahead to attempt the hanging hair test.
Since the edge was still very sharp, I did not go to coarser stones but sharpened it directly on the Okudo shiro suita, then the Nakayama Mizu Asagi with tomo slurry.

(The Nakayama beast)





Usually, if this was a carbon steel knife, it should silently split a hanging hair. However, the SG2 blade only whittled it.





It cut tissue papers just fine.



I'd say it's pretty difficult for this blade to pass that test, if possible. Maybe a careful natural stone progression will do that, or maybe shapton 30k/stropping is needed. I don't know yet. However, the good side is, there's still some toothiness at the edge. On-board testing with tomatoes and peppers confirmed that.

Given the long-lasting beauty and the sharp toothy edge, I think this SG2 knife is a "practical Fujiyama," but not "everyone's Fujiyama". A seasoned sharpener or a user who only wants to sharpen it once will like it.

An "everyone's Fujiyama" would be made out of some easy to sharpen stainless such as Ginsan.

IMHO, the old Fujiyamas are still the all-time classical for someone chasing characteristics and the ultimate performance. However, a perfect balance between the long-lasting beauty and the performance would be a stainless-clad carbon. And when that's available, I will buy it without hesitation just like what I did with this SG2 version.

======================Update 2=======================
Since the knife world opened the door to me, I kept on buying and buying. However, this makes me feel sick.
Rather than keeping a lot of drawer queens, I'd like to build a long-term relationship with some of the best cutters by using and sharpening them. For example, I want to use and sharpen/thin my favorite gyuto until it becomes a petty.

Actually, single bevel knives in Japan are meant to be used and maintained this way:


The same should apply to double-edged knives to keep their performance and beauty at the peak. However, thinning and polishing on bench stones are very challenging to most knives on the market - the blade face needs to be free from low spots. This is something you can't tell from website images.

I bought a Hitohira Togashi wide bevel with the hope to practice stone polishing. However, the actual bevels still need much work to allow an even finish, and the shinogi line became wavy after that. Below is a Morihei TF I'm working on.



Despite being a "fine" finish, I spent considerable time on the 220 stone to take out the remaining low spots. Now it's in good working condition, and I can regain the mirror after light thinning within a few minutes.

Here is a Kurosaki R2 Santoku. You can see the reflection on the low spots. I don't plan to stone polish it as that may take too long and too much steel to fix.




Unlike these knives, Myojin finishes this knife notches above them. I couldn't feel any low spots running my fingers across the blade face. The level of consistency in the grinding is simply stunning. Below is a little experiment to confirm this.




The paint was evenly removed with a few polishing strokes, and polishing the core doesn't affect the cladding much higher to the lamination line.

The hairline finish and the SG2 steel may still cause some trouble, but this is a great grind to start with, and I will try stone polishing soon.


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## josemartinlopez (Sep 19, 2021)

Nice! Thanks for writing this! (I was hoping to hear from someone with the wacky resin handle.)


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## JDC (Sep 19, 2021)

josemartinlopez said:


> Nice! Thanks for writing this! (I was hoping to hear from someone with the wacky resin handle.)


If theirs were from a similar batch, they were definitely a steal!


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## Delat (Sep 19, 2021)

Thanks for the write up! Strange they’d put lacquer on a full stainless blade.

How would you compare the cutting performance and feel to your Kurosaki?


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## JDC (Sep 19, 2021)

Delat said:


> Thanks for the write up! Strange they’d put lacquer on a full stainless blade.
> 
> How would you compare the cutting performance and feel to your Kurosaki?


The spine of my Kurosaki R2 is thinner than this Myojin. However, this one is much thinner above the edge up to ~1.5 cm (should be 1.1 cm, measured with a caliper) compared to the kurosaki. This makes the knife heftier yet more laser-like.


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## WiriWiri (Sep 19, 2021)

Thanks very much for putting together some comprehensive first impressions - much appreciated!


I’m one of the fortunate few who sold their soul to the purple bog goblin benefited from Homebutcher’s suspiciously cheap release of Myojin‘s first range last night. In fact, I’m in the embarrassing position of having roundly, repeatedly mocked the very same gawd-awful handled abomination that I actually ended up buying just a few minutes later. Hey ho

Principles be damned though, for this thing was cheap. So cheap, particularly after someone lobbed on a 25% off discount code and reasonable intl postage became apparent, that it became clear that I could import this thing, pay p&p and customs and still have plenty to spare on the UK price. And so I caved, weakly, pressing the ‘buy’ button, accompanied by a resounding facepalm that could be heard in the Upper Highlands of Peckham

The blade sounds distinctly promising, even if It’ll have to work hard to alleviate the shame of holding something that looks like a LOTR fan’s glowing tribute to Prince’s haemorrhoids of funk.


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## JDC (Sep 19, 2021)

WiriWiri said:


> Thanks very much for putting together some comprehensive first impressions - much appreciated!
> 
> 
> I’m one of the fortunate few who sold their soul to the purple bog goblin benefited from Homebutcher’s suspiciously cheap release of Myojin‘s first range last night. In fact, I’m in the embarrassing position of having roundly, repeatedly mocked the very same gawd-awful handled abomination that I actually ended up buying just a few minutes later. Hey ho
> ...


Don’t be, I don’t see any handles on those, they are just blanks lol. My blank was much more than that by the way, envy you!


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## WiriWiri (Sep 19, 2021)

JDC said:


> Don’t be, I don’t see any handles on those, they are just blanks lol. My blank was much more than that by the way, envy you!



Cheers for the kind words. I honestly have been on the verge of buying a Myojin knife for many months now, but the price for a stamped blade seemed too high to justify a hasty punt (£285/$400 for a petty, £330/$450 for a 180), as curious as I was.

At homebutcher’s discount, even with the customs hit, the 210 was about half, yes half, the price of a 180 gyuto in the UK.Enough money to pay for a handle replacement, plus swallow the EU accredited fees for noxious waste disposal, the advised hazmat suit and lead lined pit. I’ve factored in the counselling and PR reputation-restore program too

Looking forward to seeing if my experiences with this fine-choiled number chime with yours!


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## Lakeshow (Sep 19, 2021)

Thx for the review and nice writeup. Gonna have to keep an eye on these


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## FishmanDE (Sep 19, 2021)

Great write up. Where are these available at??


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## daniel_il (Sep 19, 2021)

Thank you for the great review

I was impressed by this knife at the day u posted it on the newest buy thread, the idea of a stainless FM was appealing to me and yesterday I felt like i "stole" this knife from homebutcher.

really interesting that you found it hard to sharpen, thought its a pre laminated SG2 from Takefu so shouldn't be a big difference from a kurosaki (maybe its related to concave vs convex?).
mine supposed to be 182 g, really look forward to get it for comparison.


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## JDC (Sep 20, 2021)

daniel_il said:


> Thank you for the great review
> 
> I was impressed by this knife at the day u posted it on the newest buy thread, the idea of a stainless FM was appealing to me and yesterday I felt like i "stole" this knife from homebutcher.
> 
> ...


I just sharpened the Kurosaki up. Yes it is softer, and gummier. 
I can tell the differences among all of my old SG2 blades. The Zwilling Kramer has the biggest grain size by being the toothiest, the Kurosaki is finer and softer, and the Shibata is a little harder (thus can be a bit more brittle) than that. As for the Myojin SG2, it just feels to be a lot harder, not gummy, and not brittle. Maybe this impression will change slightly over the time as I get more familiar with the knife. 

I don't know how Takefu works regarding to the SG2 production. But the fact is, we don't even know where Myojin's blanks came from...


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## Jason183 (Sep 20, 2021)

I be all over it if he makes Ginsan version.


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## spaceconvoy (Sep 20, 2021)

I've seen unhardened laminated blanks, so maybe they're doing their own HT? As I understand it, laminating stainless is the really tricky part. I wouldn't consider prelam to be inferior - if anything it seems more reliable, tho certainly less romantic.


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## daniel_il (Sep 20, 2021)

spaceconvoy said:


> I've seen unhardened laminated blanks, so maybe they're doing their own HT? As I understand it, laminating stainless is the really tricky part. I wouldn't consider prelam to be inferior - if anything it seems more reliable, tho certainly less romantic.



yeah they seems to be more reliable, I think the downside for prelaminated is the thickness. I assume Myojin prefer a thicker spine so he can have more room for grinding and tapering.

i think this line is going to evolve in the next batches


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## JDC (Sep 20, 2021)

A little more context, the spine thickness of mine is 2.7 (out of handle), 2.2(midway), 0.72(1cm from tip). It's far away from a "workhorse" in terms of the thickness. But is certainly rugged due to the steel.


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## iandustries (Sep 20, 2021)

WiriWiri said:


> Thanks very much for putting together some comprehensive first impressions - much appreciated!
> 
> 
> I’m one of the fortunate few who sold their soul to the purple bog goblin benefited from Homebutcher’s suspiciously cheap release of Myojin‘s first range last night. In fact, I’m in the embarrassing position of having roundly, repeatedly mocked the very same gawd-awful handled abomination that I actually ended up buying just a few minutes later. Hey ho
> ...



damn 25% off 335 so... $250?? goddamn


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## josemartinlopez (Sep 20, 2021)

JDC said:


> The spine of my Kurosaki R2 is thinner than this Myojin.


Nice, I thought the Myojin might be thinner!


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## JDC (Sep 21, 2021)

Just made an update to the post


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## daniel_il (Sep 21, 2021)

JDC said:


> Just made an update to the post



100% agree with stainless clad with carbon core is the best compromise.

ginsan is great stainless but blue core steel (i prefer A2# or AS) with stainless clad is the best for me.


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## JDC (Sep 21, 2021)

daniel_il said:


> 100% agree with stainless clad with carbon core is the best compromise.
> 
> ginsan is great stainless but blue core steel (i prefer A2# or AS) with stainless clad is the best for me.


Glad that you think the same! Let’s wish for Myojin or Konosuke to make such knives.
About the ginsan, I think it’s good, but don’t know if it will survive with such an aggressive grind.


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## daniel_il (Sep 21, 2021)

JDC said:


> Glad that you think the same! Let’s wish for Myojin or Konosuke to make such knives.
> About the ginsan, I think it’s good, but don’t know if it will survive with such an aggressive grind.



i have a S.tanaka ginsan and takayuki ginsan, both have very thin grinds. they hold it quite good with great toughness.

on other hand, i prefer the aggressive and toothy edge of blue steel. for me the best steel ever is b2# by toyama\watanabe but y.tanaka is also great. kosuke should produce a stainless clad Fuji, similar to Hitohira togashi line.


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## Jason183 (Sep 21, 2021)

From what I’ve heard the stainless clad carbon Fujiyama isn’t going to happen. If Myojin can get those R2 from Takefu then it’s possible for Ginsan too, although my personal favorite was SKD12 for the Stainless/Semi stainless but I don’t think he is able to get those SKD12 steels.


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## JDC (Sep 21, 2021)

Jason183 said:


> From what I’ve heard the stainless clad carbon Fujiyama isn’t going to happen. If Myojin can get those R2 from Takefu then it’s possible for Ginsan too, although my personal favorite was SKD12 for the Stainless/Semi stainless but I don’t think he is able to get those SKD12 steels.


Good to know! However, if this Tanaka is whom I think, I don’t know why a stainless clad Fujiyama is not possible?









Sakai Kikumori Yugiri 180mm Kiritsuke Santoku Stainless Clad Aogami 1


Sakai Kikumori 180mm Kritsuke Santoku knife. Aogami 1 carbon steel core with stainless cladding. Ebony octagon handle with buffalo horn ferrule. Yugiri blacksmiths are from Tanaka Hamono. Tanaka-san’s top level forging and heat treatments make for an unusual ease of sharpening and superb edge...




bernalcutlery.com


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## madmotts (Sep 21, 2021)

@Jason183 might have something to say about this...


JDC said:


> Good to know! However, if this Tanaka is whom I think, I don’t know why a stainless clad Fujiyama is not possible?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## Jason183 (Sep 21, 2021)

JDC said:


> Good to know! However, if this Tanaka is whom I think, I don’t know why a stainless clad Fujiyama is not possible?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Well it’s different company, I have one of the White #1 stainless clad Tanaka too, unless you can convince Kosuke to make those.


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## Delat (Sep 21, 2021)

daniel_il said:


> 100% agree with stainless clad with carbon core is the best compromise.
> 
> ginsan is great stainless but blue core steel (i prefer A2# or AS) with stainless clad is the best for me.



Agree as well. For my personal preference I’ve mostly settled on stainless-clad AS as my first choice (when given an option) although definitely interested to try a stainless clad blue 1 or 2.

For the Myojin on order, I got the 180mm thinking my wife might use it so the R2 was a good fit.


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## JDC (Sep 21, 2021)

Jason183 said:


> Well it’s different company, I have one of the White #1 stainless clad Tanaka too, unless you can convince Kosuke to make those.


Ah, so it’s because of Kosuke rather than the smith? I mentioned the same to him a few weeks ago on ins, and he liked it. Maybe there’s a chance!


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## JDC (Sep 21, 2021)

Delat said:


> Agree as well. For my personal preference I’ve mostly settled on stainless-clad AS as my first choice (when given an option) although definitely interested to try a stainless clad blue 1 or 2.
> 
> For the Myojin on order, I got the 180mm thinking my wife might use it so the R2 was a good fit.


My wife doesn’t like very sharp knives, so I skipped that great deal. Hope your wife enjoy it!
I also like AS a lot. But I don’t mind to sharpen a white 2 every few meals, as long as the knife is thin-able.


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## daniel_il (Sep 21, 2021)

Jason183 said:


> Well it’s different company, I have one of the White #1 stainless clad Tanaka too, unless you can convince Kosuke to make those.



I already saw y.tanaka blue1#/AS with stainless clad. My other problem with those knives is the undersized measurements.

I think the brands was SKK and hitohira.

And Yeah I like the feel and weight of iron clad but it’s not practical for me.


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## iandustries (Sep 21, 2021)

Jason183 said:


> Well it’s different company, I have one of the White #1 stainless clad Tanaka too, unless you can convince Kosuke to make those.



which w1 stainless clad tanaka?


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## Jason183 (Sep 21, 2021)

iandustries said:


> which w1 stainless clad tanaka?











Japanese Chef Gyuto Knife - Hado - junpaku series - Shirogami 1 - S...


Knife 21cm 24cm Overall Length 350mm 380m Blade Length 210mm 240mm Blade Height at Base 45mm 50mm Blade Thickness 2.8mm 2.9mm Weight 161g 193g Steel T...




miuraknives.com




OUL Line, recently they changed to Hado, both from the same company.


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## WiriWiri (Sep 22, 2021)

It is time to give Homebutcher some huge credit - not only was their intl postage cheap, it was also bloody quick - arrived before midday in London here following postage on Monday. Would definitely buy again from them.

My very quick first impressions are positive, with the exception of a strangely tight fitting box that needed to be pried apart. OOTB edge seems good (tested on some defenceless peppers and tomatoes), with a grind that feels reassuringly solid and yet still thin enough. Choil and spine are shiny, but a little less comfortably angular than expected. Looking forward to some more testing.

I’d like to say the pink/purple fantasy arse-grape staff of a handle has grown on me. Perhaps it does look slightly better in the flesh, plus it’s clearly well made and there’s been creditable effort to keep a slightly forward balance point. In isolation, it might even look vaguely acceptable (if I was a Barbara Cartland fan with a toy poodle), but mix it with other more sober blades and it looks ridiculous, like the office joker in a clown suit at a client meeting. Needs to go…


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## Delat (Sep 22, 2021)

WiriWiri said:


> It is time to give Homebutcher some huge credit - not only was their intl postage cheap, it was also bloody quick - arrived before midday in London here following postage on Monday. Would definitely buy again from them.
> 
> My very quick first impressions are positive, with the exception of a strangely tight fitting box that needed to be pried apart. OOTB edge seems good (tested on some defenceless peppers and tomatoes), with a grind that feels reassuringly solid and yet still thin enough. Choil and spine are shiny, but a little less comfortably angular than expected. Looking forward to some more testing.
> 
> I’d like to say the pink/purple fantasy arse-grape staff of a handle has grown on me. Perhaps it does look slightly better in the flesh, plus it’s clearly well made and there’s been creditable effort to keep a slightly forward balance point. In isolation, it might even look vaguely acceptable (if I was a Barbara Cartland fan with a toy poodle), but mix it with other more sober blades and it looks ridiculous, like the office joker in a clown suit at a client meeting. Needs to go…



Huh, shipped on Monday from Texas to UK and you have yours in hand. Meanwhile mine also shipped on Monday from Texas to Phoenix and is currently knocking around in Tennessee?!?! Maybe tomorrow it’ll be in Atlanta before they realize it’s going in the wrong direction.


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## Hz_zzzzzz (Sep 22, 2021)

You made me having bought one myself and it’s a lot more pricey than the homebutcher offerings . It will arrive today.


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## LostHighway (Sep 22, 2021)

WiriWiri said:


> I’d like to say the pink/purple fantasy arse-grape staff of a handle has grown on me. Perhaps it does look slightly better in the flesh, plus it’s clearly well made and there’s been creditable effort to keep a slightly forward balance point. In isolation, it might even look vaguely acceptable (if I was a Barbara Cartland fan with a toy poodle), but mix it with other more sober blades and it looks ridiculous, like the office joker in a clown suit at a client meeting. Needs to go…



Was very tempted by these but just couldn't get past the appallingly fuggly handles. Even when it is tastefully done I really don't like resin or overly resin stabilized handles as I usually find them too slippery.


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## JDC (Sep 22, 2021)

WiriWiri said:


> It is time to give Homebutcher some huge credit - not only was their intl postage cheap, it was also bloody quick - arrived before midday in London here following postage on Monday. Would definitely buy again from them.
> 
> My very quick first impressions are positive, with the exception of a strangely tight fitting box that needed to be pried apart. OOTB edge seems good (tested on some defenceless peppers and tomatoes), with a grind that feels reassuringly solid and yet still thin enough. Choil and spine are shiny, but a little less comfortably angular than expected. Looking forward to some more testing.
> 
> I’d like to say the pink/purple fantasy arse-grape staff of a handle has grown on me. Perhaps it does look slightly better in the flesh, plus it’s clearly well made and there’s been creditable effort to keep a slightly forward balance point. In isolation, it might even look vaguely acceptable (if I was a Barbara Cartland fan with a toy poodle), but mix it with other more sober blades and it looks ridiculous, like the office joker in a clown suit at a client meeting. Needs to go…


Look forward to your full impressions!


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## JDC (Sep 22, 2021)

Delat said:


> Huh, shipped on Monday from Texas to UK and you have yours in hand. Meanwhile mine also shipped on Monday from Texas to Phoenix and is currently knocking around in Tennessee?!?! Maybe tomorrow it’ll be in Atlanta before they realize it’s going in the wrong direction.


I’m wondering if they shipped with FedEx. I had some bad experiences with them recently…


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## JDC (Sep 22, 2021)

Hz_zzzzzz said:


> You made me having bought one myself and it’s a lot more pricey than the homebutcher offerings . It will arrive today.


Well, at $650 shipped internationally I was not disappointed, hope you won’t be as well…


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## Delat (Sep 22, 2021)

JDC said:


> I’m wondering if they shipped with FedEx. I had some bad experiences with them recently…



Yup FedEx. Tracking says scheduled for delivery today but still shows in Tennessee, so I have my doubts.


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## JDC (Sep 22, 2021)

Delat said:


> Yup FedEx. Tracking says scheduled for delivery today but still shows in Tennessee, so I have my doubts.


Wow it really is FedEx. Good luck… 
Their tracking mostly didn’t work and my wines were delivered 3 days late with the risk of being cooked by the temperature. Fortunately they did deliver…


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## JoBone (Sep 22, 2021)

Hz_zzzzzz said:


> You made me having bought one myself and it’s a lot more pricey than the homebutcher offerings . It will arrive today.


I don’t think you will ever see the home butcher prices again, but I bet you will be happy with it


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## superworrier (Sep 22, 2021)

I’m gonna regret not pulling the trigger on that pink/purple monstrosity. Wonder why it was so cheap


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## WiriWiri (Sep 22, 2021)

LostHighway said:


> Was very tempted by these but just couldn't get past the appallingly fuggly handles. Even when it is tastefully done I really don't like resin or overly resin stabilized handles as I usually find them too slippery.


I was with you, but then the sheer ridiculousness of the price and discount increasingly weighed on my mind, rendering my big mouth slack (way too late) and causing me to pull the trigger. Handles can be replaced and I’ve been raised never to look a gift horse in the mouth, even if it does look laughably My Little Pony



JoBone said:


> I don’t think you will ever see the home butcher prices again, but I bet you will be happy with it





superworrier said:


> I’m gonna regret not pulling the trigger on that pink/purple monstrosity. Wonder why it was so cheap



FWIW I’m definitely not regretting my purchase, even if the handle remains utterly horrible. Even FedEx were grand here, somehow whisking the parcel to the UK within a couple of days, untroubled by any oadditional customs duties - the first parcel for many months to sneak in this way and a pleasant surprise. Perhaps there is something mystically powerful in the purple resin that brings luck to the beholder of this abominable handle. Or, more likely, customs/UPS were so bemused/amused by the awfulness of the design that they were minded to let the sorry thing go.

ETA a belated huge thank you to @parbaked, who selflessly provided the code for the 25% discount which tipped me over the edge. Much appreciated.


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## TSF415 (Sep 22, 2021)

I snagged the 210 he posted the next day which had a normal handle. Unfortunately no discount code but atleast I won’t need to swap any handles


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## nexus1935 (Sep 23, 2021)

TSF415 said:


> I snagged the 210 he posted the next day which had a normal handle. Unfortunately no discount code but atleast I won’t need to swap any handles


Let me know if you don't like it and want to let it go!

I had the same thought when I saw it, finally a "normal" looking handle, haha


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## WiriWiri (Sep 23, 2021)

TSF415 said:


> I snagged the 210 he posted the next day which had a normal handle. Unfortunately no discount code but atleast I won’t need to swap any handles



Someone else told me that the next day, which I’ll admit was a little annoying. Still, if I can return some bitter-tasting fire into your cornflakes, the same (lovely) poster in question also mentioned that they also managed to get another 25% off code working too..
(ha, mystic pink handled knife makes me bitchy, girlfriend…)

Still, glad for anyone who picked up a Myojin at anywhere near these prices. We‘re all made of gaudy, technicolour win…


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## josemartinlopez (Sep 23, 2021)

Interesting that Home Butcher prices Myojin and Yu Kurosaki SG2 the same


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## Jeff (Sep 23, 2021)

WiriWiri said:


> It is time to give Homebutcher some huge credit - not only was their intl postage cheap, it was also bloody quick - arrived before midday in London here following postage on Monday. Would definitely buy again from them.
> 
> My very quick first impressions are positive, with the exception of a strangely tight fitting box that needed to be pried apart. OOTB edge seems good (tested on some defenceless peppers and tomatoes), with a grind that feels reassuringly solid and yet still thin enough. Choil and spine are shiny, but a little less comfortably angular than expected. Looking forward to some more testing.
> 
> I’d like to say the pink/purple fantasy arse-grape staff of a handle has grown on me. Perhaps it does look slightly better in the flesh, plus it’s clearly well made and there’s been creditable effort to keep a slightly forward balance point. In isolation, it might even look vaguely acceptable (if I was a Barbara Cartland fan with a toy poodle), but mix it with other more sober blades and it looks ridiculous, like the office joker in a clown suit at a client meeting. Needs to go…



I 100% agree with you about HOMEBUTCHER.!!!!!

I recently dealt with them … ABSOLUTELY AMAZING TRANSACTION WITH A FIRST RATE COMPANY!!!!

Their knives are unique and certainly worth a visit to their online store (if you can’t get there in person).


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## WiriWiri (Sep 23, 2021)

Jeff said:


> I 100% agree with you about HOMEBUTCHER.!!!!!
> 
> I recently dealt with them … ABSOLUTELY AMAZING TRANSACTION WITH A FIRST RATE COMPANY!!!!
> 
> Their knives are unique and certainly worth a visit to their online store (if you can’t get there in person).



Steady on chap, I’m British and more restrained than shouty. But yes, I can indeed praise their decent and professional service on this particular occasion. Nice one butcher folks

Sadly I’m not quite convinced that the ’unique‘ nature of their blades, particularly re. handle choices, is always overwhelmingly a posItIve thing here. If you do have a route or special way to get through to the proprietor, please pass on my apologies for being somewhat rude, but I found some of those eye-blindindly vulgar., Please also assure him that I very much bought in spite of the handle choice, not because of it. Thanks very much and toodle pip!


PS: I appreciate that I may come across as an old fuddy-duddy, way out of step with modern ways. If there really is a thriving market for these things In Texas, rhinestone cowboys aplenty, itching to chop with gaudy pastel coloured fantasy knives late into the night - no doubts singing heartily to Dolly Parton - then let me apologise

PPS: I would also advise against HomeButcher stocking blades from Jiro. Just a thought!


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## Delat (Sep 23, 2021)

Mine finally arrived today. Oddly enough the FedEx guy first dropped a package for my wife, then a few hours came back around with my knife. Go figure.

Anyway, my wife thinks it’s gorgeous which is good because mainly I thought a 180 would be handy for her and I’ve been dying to get her off her ancient 6” Henckels. Edge seems moderately sharp but a bit inconsistent OOTB so I’m going to do a light touch up on a 4k before using this weekend. I don’t see obvious lacquer on the blade but I’ll take my cue from you guys and wipe it down with acetone anyway. 

No two colors of the red, green, and yellow handle are complementary and somehow all three together manage to create 3 factorials worth of clashing, but for the price I’m not complaining and my wife loves it so what do I know anyway.


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## Jeff (Sep 23, 2021)

WiriWiri said:


> Steady on chap, I’m British and more restrained than shouty. But yes, I can indeed praise their decent and professional service on this particular occasion. Nice one butcher folks
> 
> Sadly I’m not quite convinced that the ’unique‘ nature of their blades, particularly re. handle choices, is always overwhelmingly a posItIve thing here. If you do have a route or special way to get through to the proprietor, please pass on my apologies for being somewhat rude, but I found some of those eye-blindindly vulgar., Please also assure him that I very much bought in spite of the handle choice, not because of it. Thanks very much and toodle pip!
> 
> ...




Van’t argue with you about some of the handles. Not for me either. But look at what’s “sold/out of stock” … most of the traditional handles are first to go. … My purchase was a traditional WA handle.

O was referring to he blades and smiths. 

I’m a pretty pretty straight forward handle guy. Nothing like a nice burl maple or walnut etc.


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## Delat (Sep 23, 2021)

Just sharpened mine up. After looking at the almost invisible bevel - seriously that thing was tiny - I decided to go ahead and put my own edge on. So I did SG1k and SG4k. I only own one other R2 knife (Shiro Kamo) and can’t say that I noticed it took much longer to raise an initial bevel but I’m a very inexperienced sharpener and the Kamo is both larger (210mm) and thicker so those are all factors. 

There was a little bit of weirdness right at the very very end of the heel that I’ve noticed with some other OOTB edges. The factory bevel sometimes ends a tiny fraction of a mm before the very end. Every time I get a new knife I swear I’m going to check for that before sharpening and I always forget, and it results in me wondering why I’m getting a burr starting ~2” from the heel but not all the way. It’s because that little tiny unsharpened bump raises up the heel a tiny tiny fraction. 

Aside from that it was pretty much business as usual and now I’m ready to apply some acetone.

BTW my wife asked what the steel was and I told her the core was R2 and the cladding was… and she immediately popped out with “D2?” So she’s now calling the Myojin “R2D2”, which suits the colors at least.


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## josemartinlopez (Sep 23, 2021)

How is the fit and finish compared with Kurosaki and other mid-range R2 knives?


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## M1k3 (Sep 23, 2021)

Delat said:


> Just sharpened mine up. After looking at the almost invisible bevel - seriously that thing was tiny - I decided to go ahead and put my own edge on. So I did SG1k and SG4k. I only own one other R2 knife (Shiro Kamo) and can’t say that I noticed it took much longer to raise an initial bevel but I’m a very inexperienced sharpener and the Kamo is both larger (210mm) and thicker so those are all factors.
> 
> There was a little bit of weirdness right at the very very end of the heel that I’ve noticed with some other OOTB edges. The factory bevel sometimes ends a tiny fraction of a mm before the very end. Every time I get a new knife I swear I’m going to check for that before sharpening and I always forget, and it results in me wondering why I’m getting a burr starting ~2” from the heel but not all the way. It’s because that little tiny unsharpened bump raises up the heel a tiny tiny fraction.
> 
> ...


Probably ever so slight overgrind at the heel. I've seen quite a few knives like that. Nothing to worry about.


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## TSF415 (Sep 23, 2021)




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## JDC (Sep 23, 2021)

TSF415 said:


> View attachment 143853
> View attachment 143854
> View attachment 143855


Looks like a well matched handle!


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## madmotts (Sep 24, 2021)

Jo at sugicutlery has them up…


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## Delat (Sep 24, 2021)

My very first cuts with my 180mm Myojin today. Gotta say I love it. It feels well-balanced and solid in hand and on the board, and yet has smooth laserish performance similar to my Yoshi and Kurosaki. For reference, I sharpen with a conservative 15dps edge. This is my first 180mm and I think it’s a keeper.


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## JDC (Sep 24, 2021)

Delat said:


> My very first cuts with my 180mm Myojin today. Gotta say I love it. It feels well-balanced and solid in hand and on the board, and yet has smooth laserish performance similar to my Yoshi and Kurosaki. For reference, I sharpen with a conservative 15dps edge. This is my first 180mm and I think it’s a keeper.




That's some great movements on the board! 
Yeah 15 is conservative. I normally do 8-12 degrees per side with carbon steel, and I think the FM white 1 I had was also in that range ootb.

By the way was there any knife lacquer on yours?


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## Delat (Sep 24, 2021)

JDC said:


> By the way was there any knife lacquer on yours?



Not that I could tell. I gave it a rub with some acetone anyway based on your experience, but didn’t see anything.


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## JDC (Sep 24, 2021)

Delat said:


> Not that I could tell. I gave it a rub with some acetone anyway based on your experience, but didn’t see anything.


That's great! Hope no one else would need to go through such an unnecessary pain again...


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## Hz_zzzzzz (Sep 26, 2021)

I sharpened mine yesterday on Chosera 3000. This knife does feel super stiff, dense and glassy on the stone. For knife this thin it almost feels weird for how stiff it is when I applied the pressure on the edge on the stone. The Kono FMs which have similar geometry don’t feel as stiff. The cutting feeling is quite similar to FM as expected. Food release could be improved though. The surface of the myojin is very polished and it can suck thinner slice sometimes IME. The edge retention is good but after about 20 minutes mine can no longer cut paper towel cleanly, nonetheless the edge is still toothy. I’ll work on my sharpening to see if I can improve it.


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## JDC (Sep 26, 2021)

Just updated the original post again


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## daniel_il (Oct 10, 2021)

ok so i reached out first time for the myojin.

first thing i tried to wipe the blade with acetone, but i didn't noticed any lacquer on it. next i sharpened it with SP1K and Chosera 3K. sharpening took maybe an extra pass or too then i usual do but nothing crazy. not fun to deburr as carbon but its understandable.

i only test cut on very limited ingredients, but its very well made and have a high end feel similar to kono FM.
its feel like a good cutter but food sticking is on the annoying side, need to test it more..


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## tostadas (Nov 5, 2021)

JDC said:


> So the grind is great just as expected. However, the knife came with a hard coat of knife lacquer, which made everything stuck. I had to wait until it wears down before testing seriously (even acetone was not very effective in removing that, please let me know if anyone has a better solution...).



I found that acetone would loosen up the lacquer, but if you didnt wipe it clean off, then it would just move it around to another part of the blade. My most effective solution was to use acetone, but do each successive pass with a clean part of your rag. That way you dont put any removed lacquer from the rag back onto the blade.


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## sansho (Nov 5, 2021)

just got mine from K&S AU. it had the lacquer. i removed it with alcohol and paper towels (alternating between solvent and dry towel). it took several rounds of wiping and drying with fresh paper towel each time.


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## sansho (Nov 5, 2021)

does anyone else's have tiny scratches right along the edge? mine are only on the left side (stamped SGII). hrm


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## JDC (Nov 5, 2021)

tostadas said:


> I found that acetone would loosen up the lacquer, but if you didnt wipe it clean off, then it would just move it around to another part of the blade. My most effective solution was to use acetone, but do each successive pass with a clean part of your rag. That way you dont put any removed lacquer from the rag back onto the blade.


Thanks for sharing. I did observe the spreading effect. And some very thin spreads took a lot of rounds to wipe up.


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## JDC (Nov 5, 2021)

sansho said:


> does anyone else's have tiny scratches right along the edge? mine are only on the left side (stamped SGII). hrm
> 
> View attachment 150510
> 
> ...


Mine didn’t have this.


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## sansho (Nov 5, 2021)

Oh well. Guessing it's just a minor cosmetic issue...


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## JDC (Nov 5, 2021)

sansho said:


> Oh well. Guessing it's just a minor cosmetic issue...


Probably, the edge looks pretty small so the grind should be good.


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## Bico Doce (Nov 5, 2021)

I just stumbled on this thread and missed the Myojin train but all I can say is that those are some SEXY handles

But then again I live in San Antonio not too far from the HomeButcher, must be something in the water..


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## Bear (Nov 6, 2021)

Can anyone tell me where the balance point on these is running.


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## sansho (Nov 6, 2021)

Bear said:


> Can anyone tell me where the balance point on these is running.



with the K&S heart handle:


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## Bear (Nov 6, 2021)

sansho said:


> with the K&S heart handle:
> 
> View attachment 150605


Looks good thank you


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## sansho (Nov 8, 2021)

sansho said:


> does anyone else's have tiny scratches right along the edge? mine are only on the left side (stamped SGII).



reply from K&S:



K&S said:


> Those vertical micro scratches seem to be trace of sharpening on water stone wheel. They should goes away soon after you start sharpening the knife.


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## daniel_il (Nov 8, 2021)

i have the same scratches pattern...assumed it was from the sharpening


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## hukdizzle (Nov 10, 2021)

Got a KnS 240 earlier this week and used it yesterday for the first time. Considering how bad the packaging was and that the actual knife box was nearly broken in half when I got it... The knife itself was in good shape with no damage fortunately.

I was blown away by its cutting performance last night on some Yukon potatoes, it's a great knife!


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## sansho (Nov 10, 2021)

lol. yeah my knife's inner box's seams were split. the outer packaging was just folded over and taped up cardboard (not a real outer box). knife was fine though.


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## daniel_il (Nov 10, 2021)

The tip of this knife is my favorite part, really outstanding. Also like the blade stiffness. The food release is the only main weakness for me, it’s kind of improved after I used it more.

overall it’s probably one of best choices for stainless gyuto.


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## MowgFace (Nov 10, 2021)

Bear said:


> Can anyone tell me where the balance point on these is running.



Mine has a Ho wood handle is closer to the middle Kanji. PERFECT balance for me. Im a blade-forward kind of guy though.


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## JDC (Nov 10, 2021)

daniel_il said:


> The tip of this knife is my favorite part, really outstanding. Also like the blade stiffness. The food release is the only main weakness for me, it’s kind of improved after I used it more.
> 
> overall it’s probably one of best choices for stainless gyuto.


My only knife that beats it is a hisamoto tf mab I reground. Even more laser like cutting and better food release. But it feels unfair because the mab has a zero grind and the edge holding is far worse than the Myojin.


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## daniel_il (Nov 10, 2021)

Make sense, also TF white 1 gets sharper. I have maboroshi as well, but the myojin grinds is far superior ( if i compare to the usual TF grind…which vary a lot)


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## MowgFace (Nov 10, 2021)

Here we go:


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## Bear (Nov 10, 2021)

MowgFace said:


> Here we go:
> 
> View attachment 151389


That looks perfect, just a touch blade heavy on a light blade.


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## hukdizzle (Nov 22, 2021)

Did anyone else who ordered the KnS Myojin that dropped recently receive their knife without the advertised wenge saya? I received my knife a couple of weeks ago but was so busy at the time I didn't even think about the saya until a couple of days ago. My knife did not come with a saya although it was advertised. The odd thing though is that there were pictures of the saya on the aussie site but on the US site where I ordered there were no pictures yet it was in the description.


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## tostadas (Nov 22, 2021)

hukdizzle said:


> Did anyone else who ordered the KnS Myojin that dropped recently receive their knife without the advertised wenge saya? I received my knife a couple of weeks ago but was so busy at the time I didn't even think about the saya until a couple of days ago. My knife did not come with a saya although it was advertised. The odd thing though is that there were pictures of the saya on the aussie site but on the US site where I ordered there were no pictures yet it was in the description.


I'd shoot a quick question to KnS. They're usually pretty responsive on this type of stuff.


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## hukdizzle (Nov 22, 2021)

tostadas said:


> I'd shoot a quick question to KnS. They're usually pretty responsive on this type of stuff.



I did last week, haven't heard back yet. Was curious if anyone else had a similar experience.


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## sansho (Nov 22, 2021)

i got it from AU KnS. came with saya as advertised.


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## hukdizzle (Nov 23, 2021)

sansho said:


> i got it from AU KnS. came with saya as advertised.



Ah, lucky you! KnS got back with me and advised that unfortunately the saya is out of stock at this moment. But they did offer me a small partial refund for the lack of saya being included with the order. As usual, great customer service from the crew over there.


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## Delat (Jan 14, 2022)

Just wanted to share that the man himself commented on an Instagram post I made on my 180mm. I noticed on his page some pics of damascus blades that aren’t available in the US. It would be cool to see him making a wider variety of styles with different steels.





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## madmotts (Jan 14, 2022)

Delat said:


> Just wanted to share that the man himself commented on an Instagram post I made on my 180mm.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Dope! Regret not picking up a 240 during the holiday discounts.


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## Hz_zzzzzz (Jan 14, 2022)

madmotts said:


> Dope! Regret not picking up a 240 during the holiday discounts.


Homebutcher has new discount again. $412 for a 240.


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