# Takagi love/hate: when will it be thin enough?



## Phip (Feb 5, 2012)

I have a 240 MM Takagi honyaki gyuto from Japanese Wood Worker. I've posted elsewhere about my love for this knife. Now I'll post about my frustration with it. Here's where I stand. 

I bought it used on FF w/ "considerable work already done on it." I've put in about nine hours thinning on a 400 grit stone. The knife is sharp, yes. But cutting an apple or potato, well, I might as well use a splitting maul because this thing mostly wedges. 

So I'm wondering, how much do I need to thin this knife to get it to cut, not wedge? I don't expect a laser when it's done, but I do expect it to cut and not wedge. 

From the edge up, these are the measurements, averaged from measures taken at heel, mid-blade and 2" from tip:

1/8" up from edge: .040"
1/4" up from edge: .060"
1/2" up from edge: .075"
Spine from handle to 2.5" from tip: .080"

I'm tired of wandering thru the wilderness and look to find a road out soon. What are reasonable goals, expectations, and processes to consider here. FWIW: I'm not going to buy a sander, but might send it out to be sanded thin if that's the best option.


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## memorael (Feb 5, 2012)

seems like that knife is pretty hefty... The spine seems ok but the other measurements are just bleh... I would recommend not taking it to a sander and to keep working on it with a lower grit stone until it cuts to your preference. DMTs would be a good option here... like xxc dmt.


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## tk59 (Feb 5, 2012)

Yup. Pretty thick still. Post some pictures.


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## Phip (Feb 5, 2012)

I would love to post pictures, but my 4 year old camera died yesterday. Did you know that $400 digital cameras are disposable and have an expected life of less than 5 years?  Who'da thunk?


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## Phip (Feb 5, 2012)

Anyway, do you guys have some rough guidelines for what I'm shooting for in terms of thinness (and where I should measure that)?


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## RRLOVER (Feb 5, 2012)

I must have been lucky because mine was not thick at all,just UGLY.With a little clean up and fine tuning on the belt grinder and she is a great knife.


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## zitangy (Feb 5, 2012)

your issues discussed here... http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/s...res-Reviews-Etc/page13?highlight=convex+grind

rgds

d


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## jannend (Feb 5, 2012)

Phip,

That's far from being done...
Mine has about 60 hours on stone....

The measurment of what you have provided on mimne is as follows

1/8 inch 0.020
1/4 inch 0.027
1/2 inch 0.042

here's the photo of it...


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## RRLOVER (Feb 5, 2012)

jannend said:


> Phip,
> 
> That's far from being done...
> Mine has about 60 hours on stone....
> ...






60 hours.......YIKES!!!! Phip I would send it to dave for a tune up and you will love the blade when he is done.


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## Phip (Feb 5, 2012)

Well, I just sent off for a DMT XXC, so I guess I'm in for the long haul. Besides, I shudder to think what 60 hours of Dave's time would cost. Much cheaper to get a Masamoto honyaki. I do have a handle on order from Stefan for this knife, though, so I'm motivated to make it work!


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## Phip (Feb 5, 2012)

jannend said:


> Phip,
> 
> That's far from being done...
> Mine has about 60 hours on stone....
> ...



RRLover, excuse my lapse in manners in my last post and failure to thank you for the detail you provided. I'm quite grateful for your specific information and the picture. Gives me a much better idea of where I need to head.


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## jannend (Feb 5, 2012)

Phip,

I did all that by hand and stone...

Cut the bevel on Beston 500/700 don't try it on naniwa omura, it's like the knife is flattening the stone... I used up one on this and not much was done...

Then on to 3k--8k--15k for finishing it...

I only thin the knife when I am sharpening it, so it took me almost 2 years to this stage.

It's a slight convex grind on the blade.

By the way, it's going to get some new shoes in 2 weeks time...

I am done on thinning this, maybe more polishing on it.

On the other hand, it will be like a 30 minutes job on a belt sander...

I just like to do manual work.

if you search the forum, you will see the takagi from rrolver was done about 1/2 an hour.


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## RRLOVER (Feb 5, 2012)

My specific information was to send it to a Pro.The blade has great potential but I feel burning up stones removing stock would cost more then having a Pro tune it up right.Just my opinion.


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## Lefty (Feb 5, 2012)

I love a good project, but I'm not sure about these. 
Way to go on gettin it done, etc, but it's an insane amount of work to get a good knife out of this.


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## Andrew H (Feb 5, 2012)

Lefty said:


> I love a good project, but I'm not sure about these.
> Way to go on gettin it done, etc, but it's an insane amount of work to get a good knife out of this.



I agree. Unless I was very comfortable with a grinder I wouldn't want to try and fix it that way either. 
Sending it to a pro is how I would go about fixing it.


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## Lefty (Feb 5, 2012)

I'm a bigger fan of getting a piece of steel and seeing what can be done with it


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## Andrew H (Feb 5, 2012)

Lefty said:


> I'm a bigger fan of getting a piece of steel and seeing what can be done with it



Touché.


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## Phip (Feb 5, 2012)

To me, there's a lot to learn thru repetition--even if it's hours and hours. As an apprentice potter, I learned that few things taught so much about form and efficient movement than having to throw a couple hundred of the "exact" same thing. Those were lessons that couldn't be learned vicariously; it was tactile and intuitive, so it required doing it to learn it. I take that attitude into this knife project. And one thing is for sure, this knife is so stubborn hard that I don't think I'm going to hurt it. If and when I tire of the project, I can turn it over or send it to a pro.


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## Lefty (Feb 5, 2012)

Phip, you're definitely right. Keep at it and show us the final product!


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## Phip (Feb 5, 2012)

Thank you all for the advice and encouragement. By the time I get the Takagi worked up I should have a new camera and the ability to share pictures of my success.


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## tk59 (Feb 8, 2012)

Phip said:


> To me, there's a lot to learn thru repetition--even if it's hours and hours. As an apprentice potter, I learned that few things taught so much about form and efficient movement than having to throw a couple hundred of the "exact" same thing. Those were lessons that couldn't be learned vicariously; it was tactile and intuitive, so it required doing it to learn it. I take that attitude into this knife project. And one thing is for sure, this knife is so stubborn hard that I don't think I'm going to hurt it. If and when I tire of the project, I can turn it over or send it to a pro.


+1 My skill on stones improved dramatically working an A-type into shape a couple of years ago.


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