# Masamoto KS



## jgraeff

Masamoto KS

I was given the opportunity to try this knife out from a member on here. I have to say this forum is great and has lot of nice, and knowledgeable members. Here is my review of the knife. 







First impressions-
The patina is very dull nothing pretty about it at all. Definitely a work knife. The handle is perfect size for my hand. It's a D handle nicely sanded but has grip. Ferrule on this one is white and it complements the knife but nothing too fancy. For the price range of the knife however I'd expect a little better handle overall. The profile is very flat a lot flatter in person than pics. There is curvature from midpoint to tip however it is very slight. The spine is nicely rounded and feels better than any other knife I have held in my hands in terms of weight and balance. The grind is asymmetric with the back side flat. Bevels appear to be the same on both sides though and 50/50. Not very convex just a nice taper. 

Sharpening-
It had a decent edge when it arrived however I wanted to put my own edge on to do a comparison to my HD. 

I took it down to a 1k and roughly 18 degrees per side. 1k,6k, takashima, and stropping on felt with 1 micron PDP in between each stone as well as debarring with cork. Everyone talks about how easy this steel is to sharpen however I found it was quite a bit harder to raise a burr on this compared to my kono HD and the latest Marko knife I had. Although it wasn't difficult to sharpen it is tough steel. It takes a great edge overall. I also believe the KS has greater wear resistance than the HD. I do have to mention for whatever reason this knife touches up very easily though. 











First use-
I cut a few onions, tomatoes, cucumbers at first. Cuts very easily although if only using the tip I noticed that more pressure is needed and it won't just fall through. It helped to raise the heel slightly and works great for tip work. This is probably my favorite profile so far that I have used. I was worried at first that it may be too flat. However rock chopping and slicing works perfectly As well as push cutting. The tip is thin but very sturdy and I don't worry about pushing this knife hard at all. 
I haven't noticed much reactiveness with this steel although it came with a pretty strong patina. Also have yet to have much sticking problems will evaluate more later on. 






Compared to Konosuke 
I find I prefer the profile of the KS and the edge it takes over the HD. Although I like how care free the konosuke is. I feel I have to be pretty adamant about keeping it dry( maybe because it's not my knife) all the time. I also prefer the weight of the KS and the pointier tip. The konosuke sharpens and touches up much easier and that is a huge benefit if you are using it daily. I would say they cut equally as well on most things but I feel as the KS is better overall when you switch to cutting something like a squash or root veggie. Although the HD has far less sticking issues. 

[video=youtube;vOpvP3T-tYs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOpvP3T-tYs[/video]

Summary-
It is a great knife with amazing profile. It could use a bit of convexing. The geometry is pretty good but it could be improved. Overall the knife cuts amazingly, haven't had any issues. Edge retention is nothing spectacular maybe two-3 shifts before needing a touch up however edge degrades pretty quickly. Although it touches up so easily I wouldn't mind doing it every day. Also didn't notice much improvement with diamond spray, edge comes back much better with stones. The steel isn't very reactive which is good and takes on a fast patina. It is a rustic feeling knife but very nimble. Feels way better in my hand than my kono HD. 

I wanted to test it so I used it to filet a salmon. Also portion it into steaks. Cut through the bone like it was butter. No microchiping at all with no micro bevel. Cuts well in every environment. I strongly believe if the overall grind was better it'd be one of the best cutters around.

If i were to pick one up i would definitely spend some time thinning it behind the edge. I think it would greatly improve the cutting ability and help with sticking problems.


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## jgraeff

can someone explain why the photos aren't working? i have them on flickr and so the public can see them?


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## Eamon Burke

Because Flikr sucks and won't give you the image url. The url you used is the url of the PAGE the image is on, not the image itself.

I can't figure it out either. That site makes me feel like I am on a Mac, and that annoys the crap out of me.


Good review though. Those things get sharp, and cut well, esp the tip.


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## Andrew H

I don't know but your video is on private also. Maybe some privacy settings somewhere?


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## GlassEye

jgraeff said:


> can someone explain why the photos aren't working? i have them on flickr and so the public can see them?



If I right-click on the boxes and open in a new window it takes me to flickr where I can view the photos. You should try photobucket, I have never had issues with it. The video is private.

Nice review otherwise.


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## JohnnyChance

I fixed the photos for you. I followed the links to the flickr page, clicked on them to zoom in, right clicked and selected a medium size photo, then was able to right click on that photo and copy the image url. Simple!


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## Marko Tsourkan

Nice review. 

M


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## Johnny.B.Good

I can see all of the pictures now, but the video is still private.

Thanks for the review. I have always loved the profile of the KS.

I have a KS gyuto and petty that have been traveling the country (Texas and New York), but that should be home soon.


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## jgraeff

Will fix the video for you guys tonight. Thanks for getting the photos to work.


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## jgraeff

Video is Public now


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## jgraeff

Basic cutting just shows how the KS has some sticking problems


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## Crothcipt

nice review, not a bad knife at all. I wouldn't mind having one myself.:noway::butbutbut:


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## SameGuy

jgraeff said:


> Basic cutting just shows how the KS has some sticking problems



I find that myself. Maybe needs to be polished, à la Salty?


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## stereo.pete

Thanks for taking the time to write a quality review.


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## jgraeff

Your welcome glad you guys enjoyed it. 

And I really think its the grind over finish personally it really could be thinner behind the edge and have better taper from spine to edge overall. Never the less still one hell of a cutting machine.


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## Marko Tsourkan

Sticking has more to do with the grind than polish in this case - KS has a machine finish, not polish.

The knife is flat ground, with little convexing toward the edge. I tweaked one recently, thinning and convexing to improve cutting and food release, and it did perform better, but one is limited the existing geometry. 

I have heard that Chromium Oxide strop works better than diamond. 

M


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## JMac

Nice Review


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## SameGuy

Marko, mine has sticking problems like (I imagine) many do, but I just checked and it appears to be convex-ground from spine to bevel. It's slight, but it's there; it's not a very thick knife to begin with so I can't imagine it could be any more convex without being... thicker.


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## Salty dog

SameGuy said:


> Marko, mine has sticking problems like (I imagine) many do, but I just checked and it appears to be convex-ground from spine to bevel. It's slight, but it's there; it's not a very thick knife to begin with so I can't imagine it could be any more convex without being... thicker.



Pretty much sums it up.


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## SameGuy

So should I polish mine up like you did? Start with 500 and work my way up? I have 3M paper up to 3000 and a variety of (commercial) Meguiar's polishes of ascending grits.


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## jgraeff

If polishing really helps sticking let me know if be really curious. 

Even a video would be better


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## SameGuy

Did you try to take it lower than 18° a side? The steel is hard enough to go way lower (though I have yet to do more than touch up at 15 on the big side and 12 on the small).


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## jgraeff

i could have no doubt, however like i said its not my knife and the owner did not want it thinned at all. 

If it were my knife i would have thinned and taken the front side down to about 11 and left the back side at about 15. I think that would help cutting performance as well as sticking issues. 

Im curious where salty has his KS bevels at.


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