# Rounding the spine/choil on a Takeda?



## sashae (May 4, 2011)

Is there anything special that should be taken into account when rounding the spine/choil of a takeda? I recently picked up a 240mm gyuto secondhand (with very nice Stefan handle) and would like to give it a bit of a touchup, as I tend to choke up on the blade a great deal and the spine/choil are not smoothed at all.

I'm obviously going to remove some of the kuroichi finish -- is there anything that should be done afterwards to protect the knife? Is this a bad idea?


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## SpikeC (May 4, 2011)

I did it to mine with no problems and you can only see it if you know what to look for.


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## rancho (May 4, 2011)

why remove the finish? iron (i assume takeda uses iron jigane?) will yellow/rust pretty easily, i'd leave it alone.


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## Miles (May 5, 2011)

It depends to some extent on what approach you take. If you're doing it by hand with files, stones, or sandpaper, the process is fairly slow, so the likelihood of marring the finish isn't that great. If you're using a sander, you'll need to exercise far more care. Either way, go right ahead. Any drawbacks will be more than made up for in increased comfort.


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## Lefty (May 5, 2011)

I would think the shoeshine approach with some fine wet/dry will be gentle enough to make it basically undetectable to anything but your hands.


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## NO ChoP! (May 5, 2011)

Lefty said:


> I would think the shoeshine approach with some fine wet/dry will be gentle enough to make it basically undetectable to anything but your hands.


 
+1...I've done this on many a knife; start with lower grit, and progress up...you wont need to scratch the side of the blades at all this way...


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## ecchef (May 8, 2011)

Tape up the sides of the blade to avoid any errant scratches.


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