# Josh's kit



## JKerr

The is more of less my full collection. Missing are a 27cm carbonext and a Sabatier oyster knife, along some Global, Tojiro and Shun pieces from my early days.

Starting from top left is: 30cm Takeshi Saji gin-3 yanagiba, 21cm Tadatsuna white 2 usuba, 21cm white 2 mizuno usuba with ebony handle, cheap bone chopper, CCK 1301, Hattori KF Cleaver, Sugimoto #6
From the bottom left is: 16.5cm Kanetsune Deba, 27cm Hattori KF suji, vintage Sab 12in slicer, Misono parer, 20cm Sabatier slicer, 12cm Sabatier Boning knife, 14cm Sugimoto Hankotsu
Gyuto/chefs in the middle: First two are 10in vintage sabs, 27cm Takeshi Saji gyuto VG10, 27cm Sugimoto CM wa-gyuto and finally 10in Sab chefs knife.

The work kit is pretty much limited to the Misono parer, hattori suji, the sugimoto/hattori cleavers and the sugimoto hankotsu.

Hope you all like and sorry for the crap pic...taken with my phone.

Cheers,
Josh


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## Johnny.B.Good

Impressive.

Any particular favorites?

Thanks for sharing!


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## JKerr

The sugimoto #6 would probably be my fav at the moment, with the Hattori cleaver not far behind. It's fairly new so I'm still getting use to it. Other than the cleavers I'm particularly fond of the Takeshi Saji gyuto, flat profile, comfy handle, very nimble, stupidly thin (by my standards), still got some weight to it (250g I think) and while I don't normally care much about damascus, I can't help be a little captivated by it. Originally it had a lot more contrast but had a very rough texture between the lairs so it didn't cut as smoothly as it could. I polished it down with micro mesh pads and it works much better now.


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## Johnny.B.Good

Very cool.

What do you have coming from A-Frames?


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## JKerr

An Azuma minamoto gyuto in "special alloy steel" and a 30cm yanagiba in blue 1, Just placed the order today so hopefully they'll be here before Xmas. Here's the links: http://yhst-27988581933240.stores.y...-no-masahisa-yanagiba-300mm-blue-i-st300.html, http://yhst-27988581933240.stores.yahoo.net/azuma-minamoto-no-masahisa-wagyuto-240mm-yasugi240.html


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## mhenry

Dang! nice set. You got to give us a reveiw of that Minamoto gyuto, with lots of pics.


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## malacara

Very nice cleaver collection! I see you finally got the Hattori as the stainless cleaver you were looking for. Sure it is amazing. I am hoping to buy the Sugimoto soon :spiteful:

Hope your newest purchase gets to you soon and meets your expectations completely.

Thanks for sharing


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## mattrud

very nice set sir, thanks for posting


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## Eamon Burke

Wow these are really cool.


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## Johnny.B.Good

I hope you will come back and post reviews of your new gyuto and yanagiba too Josh. I don't think I've ever read anything about the maker, but they look and sound sweet. Hope they make it down under by Christmas!


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## mr drinky

I like the looks of that lay out. Bravo.

How do you like that 27cm Takeshi Saji gyuto VG10? Is that the one with the bone handle? I need me at least one vintage sab. Thanks for reminding me. 

k.


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## add

Thanks for posting your stuff!

Liking that Sab boning knife...

Vintage?


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## JKerr

Cheers, glad to hear you all like the set up.



> How do you like that 27cm Takeshi Saji gyuto VG10? Is that the one with the bone handle? I need me at least one vintage sab. Thanks for reminding me.


I love it, as mentioned before, the pics on JCK don't do it justice. I spoke to Koki before ordering it and he mentioned that he had one in stock that was a little thinner/lighter so this one weighs in at 2.2mm on the spine and about 250g instead of 2.4mm and I think 350g like the rest of them. I reckon saji's VG10 behaves like Hattoris FH models too.



> Liking that Sab boning knife...
> 
> Vintage?


Nah, just a regular K sab. Just the slicer and the first two chefs knives are vintage. I am fond of my sabs but just a word of warning to anyone ordering a vintage. I recently purchased a "vintage carbon chefs knife" direct from the K sab website. I don't know how "vintage" it is, but the finish and profile/geometry has a lot more in common with my modern sabs; very thick at the tip, almost no taper, finish and grind was surprisingly even. I can deal with all those things but the biggest hang up was it's not carbon. No sign of a patina after 2 weeks constant use in a commercial kitchen and intentionally being left in acid foodstuffs, and takes a crap edge and barely holds it at that. I emailed K sab several times and got no reply, so pretty unhappy with that experience. Just a word of warning.


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## Johnny.B.Good

JKerr said:


> An Azuma minamoto gyuto in "special alloy steel" and a 30cm yanagiba in blue 1, Just placed the order today so hopefully they'll be here before Xmas. Here's the links: http://yhst-27988581933240.stores.y...-no-masahisa-yanagiba-300mm-blue-i-st300.html, http://yhst-27988581933240.stores.yahoo.net/azuma-minamoto-no-masahisa-wagyuto-240mm-yasugi240.html



Well? Are they here? Pictures! Review!


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## ecchef

That Azuma has an unusual profie. Or is it just photo distortion?


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## JKerr

Unfortunately I'm still waiting on them. Was hoping they'd arrive today so I'd have a chance to use them at work before we close over New Years, but oh well. Hopefully I'll have them by Monday or Tuesday and I'll get some pics up.


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## JKerr

Ok, new knives arrived on Thursday so I've only used them a few times for home meals. I'll post more informed thoughts once I've used them at work for a while; the gyuto anyway, it's unlikely I'll use the yanagi at work, it was more of a toy for myself.

Initial impressions on the gyuto: Very sharp out of the box, can easily shave. The actual edge looks to have been finished on a fairly high grit, doesn't feel 'toothy' at all, higher up there are a few deeper scratches, presumably from grinding. Profile is very flat, it's actually very close to my takeshi saji gyuto but with a bit less height. Spine is slightly rounded and choil is very well finished, most comfortable of all my knives to hold so far. Feels very nimble in the hand, this could be due to the weight though. I've been using my hattori fh cleaver of late which weight 508g and my 2 gyutos are 27cm and are both around the 250g mark. The azuma weighs 167g and although listed as 24cm it's actually about 26cm from ferrule to tip. My only complaint so far (and it's minor to me) is the handle which is somewhat twisted, but it doesn't look to be stuck on with epoxy or anything so depending how much I grow to like the knife I make knock it off and replace it with something nicer. I'll try to get some pics up soon.

Yanagi: Again, very sharp out of the box, saya fits nicely. I don't really know a great deal about yanagi, my only previous experience is with my takeshi saji gin-3 and some crappy KAI thing. Ura looks evenly finished, nice hazy kasumi finish on the front, spine is nicely rounded and polished. Handle is well fitted on this one, again, it looks to have just been hammered/burnt on. Weight is around 240g. So far i've only used it to slice some salmon and skin some snapper which it went through effortlessly. 

I can't really comment on the steels as of yet. The factory edge on the gyuto is good enough for now and I'm curous how it'll hold up so I'll put my own edge on it once it's started to dull. Aframes listed it at 64hrc and it's definitely completely stainless so I'll be interested to see if it's a brute to sharpen or not. The yanagi will likely stay as is for a while, until I get some experience sharpening my cheap-o yanagis. Never used a blue steel knife before either so looking forward to the experience.

I'll try to post some pics and measurements soon.

Cheers,
Josh


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## Johnny.B.Good

Sweet Josh. Thanks for the update. Looking forward to some pictures. Have fun with them!


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## JKerr

Got some pics I was gonna post, but it seems I can't post attachments anymore. Any suggestions? Hope I haven't violated rules or anything :sad0:


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## Johnny.B.Good

JKerr said:


> Got some pics I was gonna post, but it seems I can't post attachments anymore. Any suggestions? Hope I haven't violated rules or anything :sad0:



Don't know. Might send a message to one of the moderators. I want to see the pics!


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## JKerr

Ok, here's a few better shots of some of the kit. Sorry the quality is pretty sh*t, they're all taken from my phone.


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## JKerr

The single bevels:









top to bottom in first pic: Azuma Minamoto 30cm blue 1 yanagiba, Shigefusa 24cm kasumi usuba, Tadatsuna 21cm usuba, 21cm mizuno hon kasumi kamagata usuba, Kanetsune 16cm deba white 2.


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## JKerr

Close up on the Shigefusa's choil, unbelievably comfy.


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## JKerr

Some of the gyutos:




Sugimoto 27cm CM gyuto top, Azuma minamoto 24cm gyuto middle, takeshi saji vg10 27cm gyuto bottom.





Choil shots: Azuma left, sugimoto middle, saji right





Spines top to bottom: Azuma, Saji, Carbonext 27cm, Sugimoto


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## JKerr




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## JKerr

The Azumas:


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## schanop

That's a nice collection Josh. Close up choil shot of Sugimoto #6 makes it feel heftier than mine. Love my Shigefusa choil too, very comfy.


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## malacara

Very nice collection and thanks for the pics! 
Looking at the pic the Sugimoto #6 seems thicker than I expected.

Regards


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## JKerr

It tapers a lot towards the front, but yeah, it is still pretty thick behind the edge. Keep meaning to try thinning it. It's not my first choice for dicing onions or most hard root veg (The hattori is much better for this IMO) but it's great for soft veg/fruit and meat. I view it as an all-rounder, pretty good for everything, but doesn't particularly excel at anything either. Having said all that, it's probably my favorite knife and pretty comfy for long prep sessions.


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## Johnny.B.Good

How are you liking the Azuma gyuto Josh?


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## JKerr

Pretty chuffed so far. Gets sharp and holds the edge pretty well, pretty comfy handle/choil/spine. The profile is kinda weird; it's quite flat (which I like) but it's very narrow, almost like a gyuto/suji which is growing on me, although it takes a bit of readjusting if I've been using the Sugimoto gyuto or cleavers for a while. If you were dead set on using a pinch grip, you'd probably find it pretty awkward. I haven't pushing the steel as far as I think it could go, so when I have time set aside I'd like to try thinning it a bit as well. With the high HRC and decent durability/wear resistance I reckon it could probably take it.


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## JKerr

Latest addition: Shigefusa Kasumi 21cm Mioroshi Deba.


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## JKerr

Hopefully I'll have another addition arriving tomorrow morning :knife:


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## schanop

That's a nice glad Josh. I love mine. Is your 21 cutting edge length or heel to tip?


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## JKerr

Don't have a tape handy, but I'm pretty sure it's 21cm ferrule to tip, or about 20cm heel to tip.


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## schanop

Ah yes. Same size. So, is this the one now? Or are you still getting a hon-deba?


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## Johnny.B.Good

Nice new addition Josh.

Where did you pick it up?


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## JKerr

Dunno, I may still pick up a regular deba. I kinda of expected the mioroshi to be a bit bigger, though it'll still be fine for the fish I do at work. To be honest, I just stumbled across it and bought it without really thinking  I've got another gyuto and some stones on the way too, so I think I'll need to lay off for a bit; think I'm up to 5 new knives this year....planning to sell some stuff, so maybe after that.....

As for where I acquired it? I picked up from rakuten through this guy: http://global.rakuten.com/en/search?pf=&tl=0&pt=&f=0&fs=0&vm=2&sm=0&sid=nzshinkai&sp.st=&k=shigefusa, He's still got some good stock on hand, maybe a touch expensive, though I think the yanagi are still reasonable. Service was great too, prompt contact after sale to confirm shipping and then 4days to receive the goods. It's got me browsing rakuten a lot more now :knife:


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## schanop

Ah yes, that rakuten señor. Haven't pulled a trigger there yet. 

Per Dr.Naka. Shigefusa uses tip to ferule for length measurement (for knife with machi) even for a deba where typically it does not have a machi. So this 210mm mioroshi is more or less a 195mm deba when compared with other makers.


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## JKerr

Picked this guy up yesterday, haven't had the chance to use it yet though it'll probably hit the stones tonight and come to work with me tomorrow.


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## JKerr

Cheers,
Josh


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## knyfeknerd

Measurements, specs, etc. plz


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## JKerr

TC Blades 24cm wa-gyuto. Rosewood and ebony handle w/ copper space, 01 steel (pretty sure it's mono-steel), acacia wood saya which fits pretty much perfectly, supplied with a nifty silk bag too. Don't have anything on hand to measure with so I'm just guessing here; 3mm spine at the heel, next to no taper, about 45mm (?) height from heel to spine, 243g. Probably about the best I can do at the moment.

Some brief thoughts on sharpening. Ootb, the edge looked decent, just a little patchy in place so I thought I could probably get away with a few passes on my kitayama, but that seemed to do f' all. Started again with a shapton GS 500, 1k, 4k then kitayama. Actually raised a burr faster than expected, steel polishes up not too bad either, however the burr is an absolute brute to remove. I've never used 01 before so it could just be about getting my head around the steel, but I found it significantly harder than any carbon or stainless steel I've used so far (white 2, blue 1, VG-10, global crap, misono swedish, sab carbon, etc..). It's hard to tell, but I think there's still a little bit of a burr in places on it. 

Profile and geometry:
Profile is awesome, feels somewhat similar to my sabs. Nice gentle curve, with plenty of flats (hope that makes sense). Geometry...well, I'm a little confused by that at the moment. It's thick as hell behind the edge, but cut some potatoes nicely though it was possibly the worst knife I've ever used to dice an onion. Slicing tomatoes was pathetic, but it push-cut through them effortlessly, easily push cuts paper, not shaving hair on my arm at all. I was gonna take it into work tomorrow to put it through it's paces, but I think I'll keep it at home for a bit longer. I reckon I'll probably have to invest in some time in tinkering with it before I find what works best. 

Overall opinion for now:
I'm happy with it and think it's worth what I paid for it. Profile is great, handle is very comfortable and well fitted, saya is beautiful, spine and choil ain't too bad. I reckon it'll always be sh*t on root veg, but should fair well on fish, meat and soft veg. Should make for an interested project over the next few weeks until I'd get it where I want it. Plus, it looks pretty!

I'll post relevant thoughts further down the line.

Cheers,
Josh


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## JKerr

Pierre Mid tech cleaver:
View attachment 10711

tips:
View attachment 10712

Choil:
View attachment 10713

Spine:
View attachment 10714

View attachment 10715


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## JKerr

Try that again...


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## JKerr

Sorry they're not the best pics.

In the spine and choil shots it goes from left to right: Sugimoto #6, Pierre, Mizuno stainless. As you can see, the mid tech is obscenely thin, even making the Mizuno look pretty fat, which is really something.

Size wise, it's a little shorter and narrower than a normal #6 cleaver (the sugimoto has been sharpened to the point it's now about 5mm narrower than a new one), balance feels similar to the mizuno in hand. Handle is well finished and comfortable, although i would prefer something a touch fatter and shorter, but that's personal preference. Choil and spine are nicely rounded too.

I think it's CPM154 (?), felt pretty resistant on the stones, but has taken a nice edge, fell through most food stuffs tonight and food release was decent too.

Very flat profile, awesome for push cutting, maybe not great for rocking, but I rarely do that with cleavers anyway.

I'll post more thoughts after using at work for a week or so. At the moment I'm chuffed though. If B&B get more mid tech in stock, I'd strongly recommend picking them up if the price stays the same (still worth it even if it was a bit more IMO), but for a very well finished, (almost) full size cleaver that's stupidly thin, in a good stainless....$250 is a total bargain. 

Oh, this won't bother the majority here, but I should add that the edge was practically non-existent out of the box. 

Cheers,
Josh


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## JKerr

Cleaver time ( plus a masamoto ks)


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## kalaeb

From the pics it would appear as if the sugi and the suien get the most usage, but I will ask any way, which do you use the most?


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## JKerr

At the moment it's the Sugimoto 7 and the Konosuke #6 (not suein :biggrin: ), I had been using the Mizuno stainless a lot as well but it needs a little thinning behind the edge, still preforms admirably though.

Cheers,
Josh


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