# Opinion on Fujiwara FKH



## batagor (Mar 31, 2013)

Hi all,
I am sorry if this question might be asked so many times so here I am. 

I recently get into carbon knife and liked is so much (Hiromoto AS) but I have a problem with Carbon knife with clad since I tend to sharpen my knife one sided. 

My question would be, is how far Fujiwara FKH compare to Hiromoto AS?
I have heard good thing about Fujiwara, but I am not sure about the performance since it uses SK-4 material.
CAn someone give me some opinion about this. Thank you.


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## Lefty (Mar 31, 2013)

Never used the Hiromoto AS, but the FKH is worth at least 150% of the asking price. They're great knives, other than the reactive steel (though I haven't experienced it, since the ones I used were well used). Honestly, if you don't like it, you can likely dump it for 80% of the price in a day.


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## franzb69 (Mar 31, 2013)

SK-4 is obiously not as good as AS but for the price, FKH is worth trying. FKH and FKM afaik is identical aside from the use of stainless steel on FKM. so like lefty says, go for it. won't lose too much if you end up not liking it.

FKH is pretty good stuff.


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## Benuser (Mar 31, 2013)

Like them a lot. Basic design, good F&F, takes a crazy aggressive edge once you got rid of the weak factory edge and removed some steel. 
What's exactly your problem with the AS? You may keep it strongly asymmetric but will have to remove some clad on the left face as well - see it as thinning behind the edge.


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## stereo.pete (Mar 31, 2013)

My first J-Knife was a 210mm FKH and I still use it almost every day! I love it although it doesn't cut like some of the higher priced top performers. I would say it is probably the best budget carbon knife in its' price range.


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## batagor (Mar 31, 2013)

Thank you all for the reply. 
Does FKH get sharp and has a good edge retention? Do I have to put micro bevel on it?

I don't have any problem with AS but I would prefer a knife without a clad for my work. I usually sharpen my knife like a single bavel knives.


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## Squilliam (Mar 31, 2013)

Is it an issue for you to sharpen 70/30? It's really not so hard.


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## Keith Sinclair (Mar 31, 2013)

The Fujiwara is asymmetric,so if you gradually wt. each sharpening take it more to a single bevel,you can,instead of trying to convert it all at once.The Geometry is a strong point wt the Fuji's has a nice Taper toward thinner edge = good cutting performance,is a tad thinner & lighter than your Hiromoto AS.


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## jazzybadger (Mar 31, 2013)

How do they handle their knives for lefties? They just put a 50/50 bevel on it, or do they reverse the 70/30?


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## batagor (Apr 1, 2013)

Thanks all, I am going to order fujiwara fkh tonight! I think I am going for 270 this time to get more blade to cut. 

Squilliam,
I can sharpen it 70/30 but for some reason I tend to scratch the first half of the blade on left side and I end up taking me more time to sand it off again. I don't really like a knife that all scratch up.


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## Benuser (Apr 1, 2013)

Do you switch sides over and over??


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## Benuser (Apr 1, 2013)

I'm really wondering how you do to scratch the left face. With Japanese double bevelled blades it's flat except for the tiny bevel which has quite a steep angle, at 15-20degree. Even if you convex it there will be plenty distance to the stone.
Scratching will sooner occur on the right face, which is convexed, and where you start at a very low angle above the edge.


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## batagor (Apr 1, 2013)

I am not sure if my way of sharpening is right actually. I usually put a ver low angel on left side, may be 5 or less and do it about 10 stroke from right sided. Every once in a while I tend to push the blade too strong resulting the whole left blade rubbing agains the stone making the left side all scratch up.


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## Benuser (Apr 1, 2013)

A few suggestions if you don't mind. If you're fine with the existing geometry, there's no reason to count strokes. Start on one side with your coarse stone at a low angle. Look where you're abrading steel, the scratch pattern should tell you, it will be a few millimeters above the very edge. Go on and rise your spine little by little, and so your going down to the very edge. Go on and raise a burr. Switch the side, and do the same, starting above the edge. 
For the final very edge, typical values with a gyuto are some 10 to 12 degree on the right side, and 15 degree or more left. 
Repeat the same operation with finer stones. Deburr in between. Don't apply any pressure, the gyuto weight is all you need. 

Have a look at Dave's introduction of this thread:
http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/showthread.php/5656-Asymmetry--The-REAL-DEAL


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## maxdgad (Apr 10, 2013)

I've been using the 270 Suji for several months now as a sushi chef working around 50-70 hours a week. The factory edge is closer to a 90/10 and it took a while of use and sharpening before I was able to get an edge that would hold throughout a 14 hour shift. As far as edge retention goes, it will get scary sharp for a while but can maintain usable/slightly dull for about a week or too (also highly dependent on your cutting technique.) For the price, it's an excellent knife. If you want to use it heavily, you will want to round out the spine and the choil as well as the edges around the bolster or else you'll wind up with callouses and blisters after a busy week. Overall I'd say I'm very impressed for the money I spent on it and I use it a lot to extend the lifespan of my more expensive knives.

It also takes well to forced patinas:


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## batagor (Apr 11, 2013)

Thanks Max for the info. I actually bought FKH 270 gyuto the knife a week ago. 
I found this knife very reactive and have a strong smell. beside that I love this knife.

I forced the patina twice, put baking soda for 8 hours, after that i sand it until close to mirror finish. Now I love this knife!!! 

It's not reactive. I used is in 10 hour shift for cutting some vegie and fish, so far have I only has a very light patina. 
Its really easy to sharpened and after thinning, the edge retention is fairly good. 
I definitely agree with you about rounding the spine and the choil!


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## Benuser (Apr 12, 2013)

maxdgad said:


> I've been using the 270 Suji for several months now as a sushi chef working around 50-70 hours a week. The factory edge is closer to a 90/10 and it took a while of use and sharpening before I was able to get an edge that would hold throughout a 14 hour shift. As far as edge retention goes, it will get scary sharp for a while but can maintain usable/slightly dull for about a week or too (also highly dependent on your cutting technique.) For the price, it's an excellent knife. If you want to use it heavily, you will want to round out the spine and the choil as well as the edges around the bolster or else you'll wind up with callouses and blisters after a busy week. Overall I'd say I'm very impressed for the money I spent on it and I use it a lot to extend the lifespan of my more expensive knives.
> 
> It also takes well to forced patinas:



Glad to hear about that amazing edge retention. How do you sharpen it? Do you apply a single microbevel or so? Any maintenance between sharpenings?
By the way: a spectacular patina!


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## Dreezzzzz (Apr 12, 2013)

Benuser said:


> Glad to hear about that amazing edge retention. How do you sharpen it? Do you apply a single microbevel or so? Any maintenance between sharpenings?
> By the way: a spectacular patina!



These are excatly the questions I am wondering aswell. Did you change the factory bevel from 90/10 to 70/30 ?
Did you thin a lot?


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## Mitbud (Apr 12, 2013)

batagor I have both a Hiromoto AS and a FKH and early on the Hiro was a more goto knife. Now that the FKH has a good patina it gets plenty of work.


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## jazzybadger (Apr 13, 2013)

Well I bought a FKH 240mm and got it in the mail today. Going to clean it down with a baking soda paste because apparently some people complain about an issue with a smell. Looking forward to walking down the road of carbon steel.


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## kalaeb (Apr 13, 2013)

jazzybadger said:


> Well I bought a FKH 240mm and got it in the mail today. Going to clean it down with a baking soda paste because apparently some people complain about an issue with a smell. Looking forward to walking down the road of carbon steel.



The smell will not last long, just build a nice natural patina and enjoy.


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## batagor (Apr 13, 2013)

I have only used the FKH for a week, but so far this knife is actually the first knife I usually grab. I like the extra length on on the 270 compare to hiro (240)
At first I really have some problem with FKH since it really has a strong smell and when I was cutting salmon, it left black color on my hand (even after I forced patina once)
Now is way more stable, I just missed the patina... It only has a really LIGHT patina.


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## maxdgad (Apr 15, 2013)

Dreezzzzz said:


> These are excatly the questions I am wondering aswell. Did you change the factory bevel from 90/10 to 70/30 ?
> Did you thin a lot?



Right now I have it closer to 60/40 because I use it with a lot of board contact from day to day. It's a little tougher though I'm considering adding a microbevel.


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## Benuser (Apr 15, 2013)

You might consider a single microbevel à la Jon Broida. It allows you to use very low angles for the edge.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?hl=en&client=mv-google&gl=NL&v=xwnFrjiAA_8&p=EBF55079F53216AB


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## Jakkonoise (Feb 9, 2017)

maxdgad said:


> I've been using the 270 Suji for several months now as a sushi chef working around 50-70 hours a week. The factory edge is closer to a 90/10 and it took a while of use and sharpening before I was able to get an edge that would hold throughout a 14 hour shift. As far as edge retention goes, it will get scary sharp for a while but can maintain usable/slightly dull for about a week or too (also highly dependent on your cutting technique.) For the price, it's an excellent knife. If you want to use it heavily, you will want to round out the spine and the choil as well as the edges around the bolster or else you'll wind up with callouses and blisters after a busy week. Overall I'd say I'm very impressed for the money I spent on it and I use it a lot to extend the lifespan of my more expensive knives.
> 
> It also takes well to forced patinas:



How did you make that patina???


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## Benuser (Feb 23, 2017)

An update: just got a 270mm gyuto. F&F have improved a lot, it arrived even with a decent edge. Haven't noticed any sulphur smell this time. Still very reactive, but it calms down once the first patina has been set. A very pleasant, very affordable knife.


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## supersayan3 (Feb 23, 2017)

I will repeat myself, with my limited knowledge, and tell you to forget FK and go masahiro virgin carbon. Better steel, only one side sharpening, exactly for you. Less hard than my Hiromotos last batches, but becomes wicked sharp, very fine grained.

I like this angle on top of the tip on the sujihiki of the photo


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## Benuser (Feb 23, 2017)

Sure, but a different price point.


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## Jovidah (Feb 24, 2017)

Having recently received Benusers old 270 sujihiki I can definitly say these are a great bang for the buck. In its price range really the only contender is the Tojiro DP - but that comes with its own list of pros and cons. But if you:

-want to see if carbon is for you
-want to acquire / try a specific knife that doesn't see a lot of use, for example a sujihiki for home use
-want to try different knife shapes / lengths
-while on a budget

It's just awesome. Are there better knives? Sure. But at its price it's still great. Sure, you can get a Misono or Carbonext sujihiki 'relatively' cheap as well... but they're still twice as expensive. Good luck getting a half-decent 270mm gyuto anywhere else for just 90 dollars. And at least to me they don't feel cheap in any way.


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## Benuser (Feb 24, 2017)

Thanks again for your kind words, but the FKH have got even better in f&f since, and the old sulphur smell problem seems to have been resolved.


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## soigne_west (Feb 25, 2017)

I had a 270 gyuto. Super easy to sharpen, super tough, stable petina, but boy she was the stickiest thing I have ever owned.


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## Benuser (Feb 25, 2017)

soigne_west said:


> I had a 270 gyuto. Super easy to sharpen, super tough, stable petina, but boy she was the stickiest thing I have ever owned.



Strange, the heavy asymmetry should contribute to food release, I would say. And keeping the patina smooth is simple. Have you altered its geometry?


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## soigne_west (Feb 27, 2017)

Benuser said:


> Strange, the heavy asymmetry should contribute to food release, I would say. And keeping the patina smooth is simple. Have you altered its geometry?



This was my second j knife. Long gone. And no I did not. I really did love that knife. Took a beautiful stable patina that didn't stink. But for potatoes and so on it was useless. Anyone else expiereince this?


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## K813zra (Feb 27, 2017)

soigne_west said:


> This was my second j knife. Long gone. And no I did not. I really did love that knife. Took a beautiful stable patina that didn't stink. But for potatoes and so on it was useless. Anyone else expiereince this?



I had that issue with my FKM, FKH and Suisin Western. The potatoes did not get stuck, they were welded to the blade. I have or have had other thin knives that did not exhibit the same issue, or rather not to the same extent.


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## Benuser (Feb 27, 2017)

Second thought: I realise I had to adapt my technique a bit two years ago after having developped arthritis in my right thumb. I now pull where I pushed before and haven't seen that sticking since. Just tried the old way with hard potatoes from the fridge, and indeed noticed the sticking you're referring to.


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## Benuser (Feb 27, 2017)

Much less sticking if you really convex and polish the right bevel; remove any shoulder and have it smooth.


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## Sharp-Hamono (Mar 11, 2017)

I had one of these and eventually gave it to a friend, but I was really impressed with the fit and finish for the price, considering that for a similar price, Tojiro can never seem to fit their handle scales properly.


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