# First Japanese Knife-Starting Strong



## Chips

I've been a silent admirer for a long time of fine Japanese blades, spending a great deal of time plotting and deciding what I'd like to add to my collection of kitchen knives. I have plenty of Forschner's and F.Dick knives for rough work and I picked up an all steel Global style Ko-Deba a few years back. 

I knew I wanted aesthetics and form fore-mostly, since the basic Gyuto design already established a solid foundation of it's function. So, I only wanted a mirror finished blade with a lot of edge work on the spine and choil, with gentle rounded curves. It obviously had to be very close to a 50/50 bevel with a handle that works for a left-handed user. I knew 240mm would be a perfect size and there were plenty of Gyuto's in this range. So I ended up with a Konosuke Honyaki Wa-Gyuto 240mm. I'm thrilled with it's F&F and it's natural balance in my hand. I only have one, very old, carbon steel carving knife that has a nice patina, but I'm unsure of what to do about the coating on the finish of this one, whether or not I should use some acetone and remove it, or leave it be?
































I love working with my hands and being creative. It wont be long till I buy a cheaper Yanagiba and do all the polishing and finishing work myself, then send it off for a nice custom handle. As far as this Konosuke goes, I just need to get a fine quality saya to go with it. I got a basic one, but would like a custom exotic wood saya soon. 

Thanks for looking. I love reading this forum and seeing everyone else's gear. I thought I'd finally jump in the water and share.


Tom


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## bieniek

beautiful knife, congrats.


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## DwarvenChef

Nice start


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## Crothcipt

Nice and welcome


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## sachem allison

welcome


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## Twistington

Welcome and thanks for sharing, way ballsy to jump in the game on the back of a honyaki... I like it!


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## Chips

Thank you all. Yes, it will be babied for a long time, no doubt. My finest EdgePro stone only goes to 5K, so I'll be gingerly caring for it until I order a few finer stones and strop this week.


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## K-Fed

One hell of a way to start and +1 for the lefties! Strength in numbers boys! I don't know how the edge pro grit ratings go, but 5k Is usually a pretty good place to stop for general purpose knives in the kitchen. Overly polished edges, while being fairly mind blowing for a short period of time tend to loose their bite pretty quickly making cutting foods with tougher skins a little more difficult.


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## Eamon Burke

Wow, that is a snazzy knife.


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## stevenStefano

I assume it's white steel yeah? Did Konosuke do the handle as well?


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## ThEoRy

Not THAT'S how you dive in head first!! Welcome aboard!!


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## bikehunter

Welcome to the forum!


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## Johnny.B.Good

Welcome to the forum.

Gorgeous knife.


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## cookinstuff

Nice knife, gotta love Koa, welcome.


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## chinacats

That's cool!


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## SpikeC

Welcome to the Knut House! It's all downhill from here!


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## Chips

Steven Stefano, yeah it's White #2, the handle was a custom addition done by request of the sellers, JKTG. 

Can anyone comment about removing the lacquer on the blade? I'm weighing my options and can't decide. I wouldn't want small scratches or areas of removed varnish to patina when the rest of the knife is still protected.


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## markenki

Welcome to the forum! Beautiful knife! Well done.

You can use acetone with a paper towel to remove the lacquer. It may take several wipes to get it all off. I like to use a fresh towel for each wipe.


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## pete84

Omg. that is nice. congrats!


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## Jim

Really pretty knife! Go ahead and take the lacquer off, it will wear away anyway and look like crap. Enjoy the nature of the steel and post up in this thread when you can.


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## Slypig5000

That is a beautiful knife, congrats.


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## TheDispossessed

acetone


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## EdipisReks

not what i would have bought as a first high end knife, but certainly a nice knife.


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## kinkoz

+1 beautiful


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## Chips

Thanks again everyone. After looking over the patina thread a few times in the past months, I figured I'd go ahead and give it a try. No pics to share just yet, I'm actually in the process of doing it now.


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## Bacon Bandit

Very nice!!!


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## mkriggen

I'm telling ya bro, just stick your head all the way in that hole, there's a big white rabbit down there. Close your eyes, you'll be able to see him better:evilgrin:

Be well,
Mikey


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## jbl

Gorgeous knife, welcome


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## jamaster14

Chips said:


> I've been a silent admirer for a long time of fine Japanese blades, spending a great deal of time plotting and deciding what I'd like to add to my collection of kitchen knives. I have plenty of Forschner's and F.Dick knives for rough work and I picked up an all steel Global style Ko-Deba a few years back.
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> I knew I wanted aesthetics and form fore-mostly, since the basic Gyuto design already established a solid foundation of it's function. So, I only wanted a mirror finished blade with a lot of edge work on the spine and choil, with gentle rounded curves. It obviously had to be very close to a 50/50 bevel with a handle that works for a left-handed user. I knew 240mm would be a perfect size and there were plenty of Gyuto's in this range. So I ended up with a Konosuke Honyaki Wa-Gyuto 240mm. I'm thrilled with it's F&F and it's natural balance in my hand. I only have one, very old, carbon steel carving knife that has a nice patina, but I'm unsure of what to do about the coating on the finish of this one, whether or not I should use some acetone and remove it, or leave it be?
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> I love working with my hands and being creative. It wont be long till I buy a cheaper Yanagiba and do all the polishing and finishing work myself, then send it off for a nice custom handle. As far as this Konosuke goes, I just need to get a fine quality saya to go with it. I got a basic one, but would like a custom exotic wood saya soon.
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> Thanks for looking. I love reading this forum and seeing everyone else's gear. I thought I'd finally jump in the water and share.
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> Tom



thats a fantastic knife


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## Chips

Funny to see someone bump this thread again with some praise. It's always nice to hear though. I'm actually trying to determine the best deal and best options for stroping and polishing the edge on this and my other knives, so that led me back here. I won't cross post, I'll start a thread in the sharpening section, but I was going to link this thread for reference.


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## BJE1

Thats an great knife for anybody let alone for you first. Well played sir.


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