Knives and such.

martyleach said:

You can check out Japanese Knife Imports. The have a lot of variety in what they are importing and Jon is quite knowledgeable on his products. I bought one from him and am thinking about a knife for wide fish filets...

http://www.japaneseknifeimports.com/

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Thanks Marty, I now have it bookmarked and will give it a look.
Dave

buccaneer said:

The only reason I haven't been posting advice is because I am not sure of what you are looking for Mo Dave.
What will the knife be used for, what jobs will it do?
Budget?
Do you ant people to gasp and go"ooooh wow" when they see it?
I'm not kidding, that is very important for a lot of knife buyers, don't be shy about what you want!
Do you want a mix of beauty and efficiency or would you rather a dedicated design that is purely functional?
Rounded handle or rectangular, any preference?
All things are possible.
I have two excellent high carbon knives I bought for TFO, under 9 bucks with plastic handles( I bought them over the counter in Japan) and they are remarkably good.
Same itch penguin and kiwi brands, good disposable choices.
Just let me know and I'll try to be helpful

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Bucc I already bought the 7 1/2 Satsuma knife-tosagata. It is a white steel base knife but I do not know of what quality. It is a cheap knife at 37.00 so I am not really expecting high quality, and as much as I would love to someday own a beautiful high end knife it is just not in the cards at this time. Just looking for an all around utility, at this time. This should give me an idea if I like this type of knives and if I mite order more of a higher quality sometime. I also ordered the stone you posted about a few day ago, and now am looking for recommendations for a sharpening steel. Here is the site I got the knife from.
http://www.japanwoodworker.com/dept.asp?s=JapanWoodworker&dept_id=13198


On a different note, this should make some get a snicker. I went totally redneck by taking an old Lansky sharpening set and turned it into a makeshift Wicked Edge. Mounted the clamping jaws up right to a block of wood, with the angle guides on either side, this is attached to a stand tall enough for the rods to move up and down without hitting the base.

I used this last night on a couple knives, I only have one set of stones so I can only do one side at a time and that is fine, then I finished them with a leather strop on a belt sander, with polishing past,and damn they are cutting hair with no problem. They are so sharp that when I cut into something like a tomato or grapefruit the blade wants to stick to the board which in this case is bamboo. If I can muster up some courage I may post a pic but I don't want to be a bad influence on others.
Dave

landarc said:

When I first looked at this post, I thought who on earth makes this kind of purchase of knives blind, then I looked again that the I.D. and realized, oh, I know who. :doh:

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As I just posted the purchase of a knife on line, I hate doing that, but out here in the boonies, we don't have any place to go check things out, another reason I went cheap. It sucks to not be able to check them out first hand, but sometimes you just got to go with the flow. I envy those that have that capability available to them.
Dave

landarc said:

I was talking more to DMP there, he bought some pricey knives. I think you will like that Tosagata knife. I have always liked them. I consider them to be one of the best values in knives out there, far better than those Kiwi knives, which I dislike a lot. That Hitachi white steel is great stuff, takes an amazing edge and holds it. You will not be disappointed. The Tojiro knives that DMP bought are knives I have sorta kinda lusted after for a while now.

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Yes it was not my intention to take away from your post to DMP, just wanted to air my frustration when it comes to not being able to hold something like this in my hand.

I have a large end grain board I really like, but my wife does not like it because is is very heavy, and takes up a lot of real estate on the counter, the bamboo was out so that is what I used.

I will see about the pics of my improvised Wicked Lansky but a cautionary warning, it ant going to be perty. :twitch:
Dave

Here is the Ugly Wicked Lansky, or UWL in forum speak. It does work but got to guess the original is a little better, hey pore people have pore ways., as my mom always liked to say. The heel on this knife needs work but I just wanted to show you it did happen.

I never cared for the Lansky in its original state, it just wobbled to much, this one is stable. Notice the can of practice knives in the background. I need a serrated knife file, as well as a good sharpening steel.
Dave

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=75166&stc=1&d=1359683968

Other devices I use now and then.
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=75168&stc=1&d=1359685028

buccaneer said:

Congratulations, job done!
As I said, that steel is really good steel and I think you will be pleased.
Hopefully the handle and feel will suit you and we have a winner.
I think it is a far better choice than the first knife you posted a link to!:clap2:

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The handle and ferrule construction is a little worrisome. Wont know about hand fit until it comes. I have never had a ceramic steel sharpener, do you think it would be suitable for this kind of knife, or should I be looking at steels?
Dave

buccaneer said:

I'd get a steel.
Drop the ceramic and there goes your money, and a idahone fine steel would be my choice if I went that way.
Want to point out that with the stone you have ordered, you don't need a steel if you don't want to outlay more bucks.
Don't use the belt sander on good steel.
The heat will do damage.

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I have a 3 step pulley and belt on the motor, so I can get the speed very low, plus I reversed the motor to run backward, also keep a coffee can of water with it. It does not get used much these days, kind of why I wanted to simplify things with the stone. The stone and strop can stay upstairs, and all the other stuff in the basement of course.

I wandered if the stone would be all I needed, and I do have a leather strop mounted on a slab of wood. I am a little worried that I wont be able to hold a good angle so I also bought one of those knife guides, hopping my hand will learn the motion, and position without it eventually, a training tool if you will.
Dave