# Jackson's Knife journey



## Gjackson98

Inspired by other KKF members, I decided to take a step and share my journey (ongoing) with everyone here. 

I was first introduced to Japanese knives on April 7th 2018, I received a set of Shun knives as birthday gift. 
As I have quick learned that there are even better knives out there, I dived right into the rabbit hole. 
On May 28th 2018 I joined KKF, my first carbon knife purchase was a shigefusa santoku and a 270mm masamoto gyuto. (don't make much sense I know  )

Within the past 15 month as a KKF member I have purchased about 50 to 70 knives here and there. 
My path started as user then quickly switched over to collector now guided back to user again. 
As this journey continues, I will share some photos and why at the time it was the "right" knife for me.


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## Gjackson98

My first wave of knives. 
From left to right you have:
Shige santoku 165mm, Masamoto gyuto 270mm, Doi gyuto 240mm, and konosuke HD gyuto 240mm. 

Basically I purchased the first knife it was too short, My second knife was too long, my third knife was too heavy, my fourth knife was not tall enough  

Yep I like to do things the hard way


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## Gjackson98

Few other gyuto knives I purchase right after, decided to stick around with Ikeda as it feel the best for me. 

Around the same time I got into handle making and stabilizing my own wood supply


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## Gjackson98

About August 2018 I started collecting single bevel knives, and that’s when The candy hit the fan
Shige kitaeji, yoshikazu ikeda, shiraki and keijiro Doi









View attachment 59818


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## WildBoar

Gjackson98 said:


> Within the past 15 month as a KKF member I have purchased about 50 to 70 knives here and there.


Congratulations, you are doing it right


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## Gjackson98

Genkai, more shige, more shiraki, the GOAT tatsuo ikeda, kato

And many more single bevels... its a long story


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## Gjackson98

WildBoar said:


> Congratulations, you are doing it right


Thank you man! Most of collection are sold already; Only purchasing knives for use now


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## Gjackson98

Keijiro Doi photo didn’t came out so here we go, to not bored you all, that’s all the single bevel I will post for now lol


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## Gjackson98

After the single bevel crave, I went on the Shigefusa / Kato hunt like everyone else


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## YG420

Gjackson98 said:


> View attachment 59866
> View attachment 59867
> View attachment 59868
> View attachment 59869
> 
> View attachment 59870
> 
> 
> After the single bevel crave, I went on the Shigefusa / Kato hunt like everyone else


Ah man, i miss that lil ol kato dammy sometimes! Great knife!


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## Gjackson98

My honyaki gig


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## Gjackson98




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## Gjackson98

Moving away from collecting. My current major focus is to find the best performance knife for my personal taste and making some handles for fun


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## Gjackson98

I have tried both new and old stock KS 240mm
Really not my cup of tea. 
At that point I start to understand I like heavier knives with thicker spine at neck


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## Gjackson98

Inspired by another thread, made my first Yo style conversion on my munetoshi honyaki gyuto


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## mc2442

That is quite the journey so far! Thanks for sharing!


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## Gjackson98

mc2442 said:


> That is quite the journey so far! Thanks for sharing!



Thank you man!


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## Zweber12

Gjackson98 said:


> After the single bevel crave, I went on the Shigefusa / Kato hunt like everyone else



huh, what do you mean? 

Great thread, btw!


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## Gjackson98

Zweber12 said:


> huh, what do you mean?
> 
> Great thread, btw!



Hahah thank you man!


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## Gjackson98

Kato takohiki sakimaru 300mm


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## Gjackson98

recently got into hunting, first hunting knife!


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## ma_sha1

What an amazing journey!

wjats your current fav. user knives & why?

thx


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## Gjackson98

ma_sha1 said:


> What an amazing journey!
> 
> wjats your current fav. user knives & why?
> 
> thx



Thank you man!

Regarding favorites, at this point I lean more towards favorite weight, geometry, length, heel height, steel, and things like that ... haven’t figure out about favorite HT yet. 

Few month back I actually tried to run a test with my eyes closed and use few of my “favorite knives”. At the end to be honest, they all feel pretty much the same lol .... 
I can tell the difference in style (laser vs. WH vs. STD), weight, heel height that’s about all.


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## Gjackson98

Making new handle for my Toyama gyuto


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## ma_sha1

My journey sucks compares to you, it’s interrupted as I am too slow, let me know if you have a Shig or Marko 210 that can help with my journey


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## rob

Cool journey.

Thanks for sharing.


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## Gjackson98

ma_sha1 said:


> My journey sucks compares to you, it’s interrupted as I am too slow, let me know if you have a Shig or Marko 210 that can help with my journey



Thank you Ma, you are too kind. And sure thing if I do I will let you know!


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## Gjackson98

ma_sha1 said:


> My journey sucks compares to you, it’s interrupted as I am too slow, let me know if you have a Shig or Marko 210 that can help with my journey



And now you mentioned, I should probably include my Tsourkan 220mm in my journey. It’s a very inspirational knife


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## ma_sha1

I am waiting patiently for you to get pass this part of your journey so I can buy it, I know it’s a bit too short for you


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## IsoJ

I am waiting to get a Tsourkan too. I don't usually like light coloured handles, but that handle in that Tsourkan, fits like a glove with the blade.


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## Gjackson98

IsoJ said:


> I am waiting to get a Tsourkan too. I don't usually like light coloured handles, but that handle in that Tsourkan, fits like a glove with the blade.


The way he made that handle was very inspiring. 
from the photo above you can tell the knife tang is through the handle (or it is a metal pin through the handle)
Based on the design it shifted the knife weight balance back.
Although this is a Workhorse profile knife, with the handle design it almost felt like a laser to me.

PS: You will feel little to no resistance cutting through all type of food.


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## Gjackson98

Munetoshi meat cleaver


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## Gjackson98

Kato hunting/ petty


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## Gjackson98

Kato dammy


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## Gjackson98

Shige petty western


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## Gjackson98

Kato KU Workhorse gyuto 240mm
Haven’t got to try it yet, but so far it feels amazing in hand. 
Heavier than my kasumi Workhorse 240mm, I will manage to get some measurements later.


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## ma_sha1

Let us know it’s a cut above the WH?

I’ve been wondering why the KU Shig is at bottom of the barrel while KU Kato is valued above normal? Is it performance or rarity driven?


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## Gjackson98

ma_sha1 said:


> Let us know it’s a cut above the WH?
> 
> I’ve been wondering why the KU Shig is at bottom of the barrel while KU Kato is vaulted above normal? Is it performance or rarity driven?



Based on my minimum knowledge. The standard work labor and cost in Japan goes KU < Kasumi < Damascus < honyaki 
So KU kato is so expensive I believe mostly due to rarity. I am sure if there is a KU shige gyuto it’s not gonna be cheap as well, assuming it’s also rare. 

Personally I love the profile of my KU kato, it’s perfect dimension to my liking around 245x53; the tip rises less than the kasumi workhorse, and the extra weight was awesome as well.


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## Gjackson98

Shige kasumi 240 gyuto, figure I give shige another try on the cutting board


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## thebradleycrew

Did you ever get around to measuring the specs on the "heavy" Kato Ku, or do you have them for the Kato dammy?


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## Gjackson98

thebradleycrew said:


> Did you ever get around to measuring the specs on the "heavy" Kato Ku, or do you have them for the Kato dammy?



I actually haven’t got a chance to do so, I left the knife at another house I only have one scale and it’s with me here. I should get some measurements next weekend


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## madelinez

mmm just saw the kato dammy 

My dream knife...


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## thebradleycrew

Gjackson98 said:


> I actually haven’t got a chance to do so, I left the knife at another house I only have one scale and it’s with me here. I should get some measurements next weekend


Awesome! I look forward to seeing the differences between the knives. Cheers.


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## LucienJ

What pretty knifes they are!


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## Gjackson98

LucienJ said:


> What pretty knifes they are!



Thank you!


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## LucienJ

Gjackson98 said:


> Thank you!


It’s my pleasure!


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## Gjackson98

thebradleycrew said:


> Awesome! I look forward to seeing the differences between the knives. Cheers.



Just did some quick measurements 
240 kato std 223g
240 kato WH kasumi 240g
240 kato KU WH 252g 
All stock handles


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## Gjackson98

Figure I tried something new, hopefully it doesn’t end in the ugly handle thread


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## Gjackson98

Kato 210 WH KU


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## Gjackson98

Shige handle final products, figure I never got to post the final photos.


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## Corradobrit1

Gjackson98 said:


> Kato 210 WH KU


Loving mine. The 'scratches' give the blades an individual character.


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