What is the thinnest (quality) laser you know of?

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Hamso k

Hamso k

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I love my Kiwi's but a piece of paper holds an edge longer than them. I have a Takayuki TUS that I love and it's spine is 1.8mm at the widest. It's in need of replacing and I'll most likely just get another one but before doing so I thought I'd see about alternatives. Do you know of any knives that might interest me? I'm mainly concerned about toughness and extreme thinness. This will be my go-to knife at work so I don't want anything that's going to shatter like glass if it gets dropped on the ground. I plan on using this knife for a long time and my Takayuki hasn't let me down in over 5 years. That all being said if you know of any high carbon knives that are extremely thin I'm still curious. Maybe down the road I'll get one for home use.

Also if you have owned both a Takayuki TUS and a Tojiro DP I'd be curious to hear your opinion about how they compare.

Thanks!
 
Extreme thinness that can hold up, definitely shibata R2. Takamura is also thin but more conservative grind and not as nicely finished.
 
M1k3 said:
Tosa Nakiri. Takamura. Sakai Yusuke (don't believe these are made anymore). Ashi extra thin.
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Ah yes the Ashi Ginga. A little out of my price range I think but I have heard great things. Which Tosa Nakiri. I'm searching for dimensions but
superworrier said:
IDK what steel the TUS is.
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I doubt anybody does save for the maker himself. The Takayuki Grand Chef is a similar line of knife and made with N685 so maybe it's similar? Then again TUS could just be VG10 for all I know.
 
M390 custom from Xinguo.
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blokey said:
M390 custom from Xinguo.
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👀 what. That’s wild.

I second shibata’s koketsu, if you’re down with that kind of shape. Note that bunka profiles tend to have lower tips, taking that thinness to a new level. It’s kinda gross how thin some of them are.
 
Pie said:
👀 what. That’s wild.

I second shibata’s koketsu, if you’re down with that kind of shape. Note that bunka profiles tend to have lower tips, taking that thinness to a new level. It’s kinda gross how thin some of them are.
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I'm usually not a laser guy but I'm keeping this one, great cutter and surprisingly ok release for some reason. He's a young smith from China, kind looking forward to order a cleaver from him.
 
Hamso k said:
Ah yes the Ashi Ginga. A little out of my price range I think but I have heard great things. Which Tosa Nakiri. I'm searching for dimensions but


I doubt anybody does save for the maker himself. The Takayuki Grand Chef is a similar line of knife and made with N685 so maybe it's similar? Then again TUS could just be VG10 for all I know.
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No clue. Thin 🤷‍♂️ I haven't taken measurements but feels as thin as my old Takamura.
 
blokey said:
I'm usually not a laser guy but I'm keeping this one, great cutter and surprisingly ok release for some reason. He's a young smith from China, kind looking forward to order a cleaver from him.
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Crazy. It’s a keeper no doubt, curious about that release tho.

Nice one!
 
blokey said:
I'm usually not a laser guy but I'm keeping this one, great cutter and surprisingly ok release for some reason. He's a young smith from China, kind looking forward to order a cleaver from him.
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This is the guy who sells on taobao and need to know someone from china to get a knife right? Would love to do a custom order, wish it was easier to browse his work/place an order.
 
Oh, and forgot if you want thin everywhere....carter master smith is 2mm at the spine and also disappears to nothing:

Also, I agree with people that are saying get AEBL if you want thin. Not much out there that will do thinner better and still be tough. Made for razors.
mastersmith2.jpg

mastersmith.jpg
 
I can’t think of any of the knives I’ve bought can withstand a drop w/o consequences. I’ll skip the nicer more expensive options mentioned above. Lots of good ones in that ~$300usd range.

at just above the TUS price pt ($150-180) are the numerous tsunehisa offerings (often rebadged Kohetsu or other in-house brands). The hammered AUS10 is nice and they have AS options. I’ve bought a few of them as gifts or to demo and you get a lot for the money. Thin spines, Light and decent grinds that are thin but not crazy fragile. They used to come with crummy handles and now it’s a decent mono octagonal. Another brand is Kanehide with AEBLish steel called ps60.
 
It's not just about spine thickness/thinness, it's about thinness behind the edge.
If you really want the thinnest while spending as litttle as possible I think Takamura is the best, but they are quite delicate. Possibly too delicate for all-round pro use - though I don't speak from experience.
 
jedy617 said:
Oh, and forgot if you want thin everywhere....carter master smith is 2mm at the spine and also disappears to nothing:

Also, I agree with people that are saying get AEBL if you want thin. Not much out there that will do thinner better and still be tough. Made for razors.
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blokey said:
M390 custom from Xinguo.View attachment 207651
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More_Gyutos said:
Shibata is super laser, but OP is looking for carbon. Did Shibata do AS?
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More_Gyutos said:
Shibata is super laser, but OP is looking for carbon. Did Shibata do AS
blokey said:
M390 custom from Xinguo.View attachment 207651
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That has to be one of the best choil shots I've ever seen
 
superworrier said:
They said "high carbon" not carbon. The knife they mentioned is stainless.
It sounds like they want a cheap laser. I guess the question is do they mean laser or thin BTE.
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You're absolutely right but also when it comes to knives I feel like price is a bit of a weird one. I asked a very similar question a few years ago but gave up and have been using my takayuki since. The Ashi and the shibata were the main knives recommended to me. I'd love to own one but part of me doesn't want to risk spending almost four times the price on something that is almost certainly more fragile. Maybe I'm wrong, but I just don't want my three hundred dollar knife getting destroyed within the first week. If any of you work in a western kitchen you'll understand. There's a reason a robot coupe costs twenty times more than your average Cuisinart.
 
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