# Hiromoto AS sharpening



## Citizen Snips (Mar 27, 2011)

this was my first real j-knife and was donated to my wife who is also a professional chef because i was trying to shine some light on her wusthof riddled knife bag. i have moved on to wa-handles and higher carbon content but feel this is the absolute best knife to bridge the gap for someone who wants to really get into japanese cutlery.

after i got a set of takayuki gc knives i started learning about the different kinds of sharpening techniques. i went from traditional 50/50 to 70/30 asymmetric to 99/1 hamaguri convex and microbevels. i really felt like the knives i had were great but i also felt like i could experiment with the aeb-l steel better than the hd, white 2 and blue 2 knives that were on the way.

i still sharpen that hiromoto as with the curtis method which has done wonders for it for the time me and my wife have used it. i found the curtis method to be really great for teaching me how to sharpen and feel the burr and find the edges i was looking for.

my question is will the hiromoto's cladding hold up to any of those sharpening methods mentioned above. i want to keep thinning behind the edge like i would with a thinner wa-gyuto and convex grind it on one side. im willing to try it but i was hoping i could get some insight or tips from anyone who has tried different methods on this knife.

im hoping she likes the new method and will continue to grow as i have with the help of all you fine people who keep aiding me in feeding my addiction :cool2:


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## Rottman (Mar 27, 2011)

I thinned some Hiromoto AS knives and the cladding is a PITA. It's soft, really SOFT and on most stones keeps a dull grey haze. I got rid of this dull finish only with stropping the whole blade flat 90° on fine wet/dry paper on a backing with a little give (a few layers paper towels or a mousepad) basically refinishing the whole blade. At first you can go back and forth, on the finishing grits it is better to strop in one direction only to avoid hooks.


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## Citizen Snips (Mar 28, 2011)

ya, im not really looking to thin it out, just thinking about the future when the knife starts wearing from the sharpening of 1 side. 

thanks for the tip on buffing the cladding though rottman


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## Cadillac J (Mar 28, 2011)

I've since sold mine, but I thinned about 1/3 up the blade face and it improved cutting performance significantly for my cutting style.

+1 on the gummy-feeling cladding throughout the process. At one point early on I regretted starting the thinning process, but after a few sessions and cutting for the first time, I realized it was worth it for me.


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## kalaeb (Mar 29, 2011)

I have not had any issues with mine, but it has not been thinned much. I could be dreaming, but if I recall Dave had some issues with thinning during some of his group buy/re-handle efforts. Or maybe it was the thinning/etching that was the issue. Anyone remember reading that? I looked for the thread at the other place, but alas, lots of useful information is gone.


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## Citizen Snips (Mar 29, 2011)

ya i tried looking for some info over at the old place and couldn't find anything useful. 

im not really looking to thin behind the edge all at once. i really am more interested in thinning a little bit every time i sharpen so that it creates an even bevel that doesn't need like 3 hours of work at once.


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## Dave Martell (Mar 29, 2011)

The problems I had were with the cladding with both finishing and etching. The cladding is really crappy to deal on many levels with but it can be moved easily.


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## Cadillac J (Mar 29, 2011)

Citizen Snips said:


> i really am more interested in thinning a little bit every time i sharpen



You should be doing that anyways with every knife, so the Hiromoto will be the same in this sense. Just go about it as normal and you will be fine.


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## Citizen Snips (Mar 30, 2011)

ya that is what i was worried about. i do it on all my knives and was just worried that over time something might jack up the cladding and how to deal with it


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