Konosuke Laser W2 240

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Chefspence
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Konosuke Laser W2 240

Post by Chefspence »

This is the review from the "low count passaround" Mark was generous enough to do. I almost missed out on it, then not only did he put me in the rotation, he put me first. What a guy! Thanks Mark. This gave me the opportunity to not only try a Kono laser, but also try out the cktg sharpening service from Alton. Let's cover the sharpening first.
Altons sharpening job was phenomenal! I don't remember the progression, but I'm pretty sure he finished on a kitayama 8k, then some balsa. There were no scuffs of any kind on the blade face, which you might expect, but I know how easy it is to fudge on the stones so this always impresses me. The edge was so smooth and refined it almost felt like it wasn't sharp, sounds stupid, but does anyone know what I'm talking about? I shaved my arm hair no probs, straight through a paper towel, then bent a piece of paper stood it upright and sliced downward. It almost hit the board before I could stop. I was not expecting that. It also came with a card that was filled out so you knew the progression used when sharpening.

The knife. I will begin by saying that I had used one laser previous to this one. It was a GS, the original one, which I found too flimsy, though it did cut like a laser. The W2 version is totally different. It has a much more robust feel. A little thicker of a knife, stiffer, more confident, and definitely more pointy. The grinds, just looking at the choil were obviously better executed, probably from being a tad thicker. At any rate,back to the W2. The F&f are incredible. Smooth spine all the way down and all along the choil. This version had the blonde ferrule and ho wood handle. It's not as contrasting as the black ferrule, but still a nice look with some interesting marbling. The profile was a bit different than anything I've tried. It has a great profile though it comes to a serious point at the tip. We all know about the performance of Kono lasers so I'll just say it was striking! I did have to get a little patina going first for it to not be a little sticky. Idk if this is normal, but it was my first try at a monosteel W2. I first started on an onion to see what it's like to get patina going. It did sort of act a little sticky and when I tried to wipe the blade, my towel also stuck to the blade slightly. My first cut into the onion yielded some pretty gross looking liquid. It's like the onion juice changed from white to an ugly milky brown, and was a little off-putting. That's one of the worst food colors along with pink, gray, and puke green. So after doing this and moving on to a bunch of other veggies. The blade really shined. Man it is like a race horse! I was skinning an upright Idaho potato and it was goin so fast I had to slow down to make the inward turn to finish each cut. It certainly is a laser. After cutting multiple veggies in different shapes, I concluded that the release was actually very good. In fact the only thing that really stuck was matchsticks of rutabaga and turnip. If anything else did stick, a quick flick of the knife or brush with a finger knocked it off. I was expecting far worse and was pleasantly surprised. I had fun with zucchini cutting some half moons. First, the knife flies through the horizontal slice form stem to butt like nothing. Then making slices with the tip section of the knife was therapeutic. I pulled the tip through the zucchini half and there's no resistance of course, but the knife would move each slice backward slightly and deposit every consecutive slice right next to the other lining them up so perfectly it looked whole again. May be hard to picture but it was cool to watch. The only section of the knife I found less good at release was the middle section of the knife. Don't know why, and it wasn't bad, just a little different. It is a very good all around knife. Slicing, dicing, mincing, rocking herbs, slicing steak, etc... Super impressed. It did take a little bit for me to not think I was gonna stab myself with that pointy tip, but after using just a little bit this knife is easy to get used to. It's very versatile, and not dainty at all like an inexperienced user might think. Only thing I didn't like was the screened kanji. It really would benefit from an embossing. Lastly I will say that I sliced some steaks side by side with he Gihei 240 and will say, although the Kono slices with ease, the Gihei does have the ability to fall through the steak without effort. All you have to do is pull on the Gihei and it hits the board cutting the steak for you. Just thought I'd say.
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Kit Craft
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Re: Konosuke Laser W2 240

Post by Kit Craft »

The thing you mention about patina on Mono carbon, it will always in my experience stick to the towel. Carbon steel feels "sticky" to the touch and it is a property that I rather enjoy. It is but one reason why I like mono steel. I don't think people follow when I talk about this or they ignore it or I explain it poorly but I know what you mean. It will, however, as you stated get slicker through product, which is a good thing.

I agree, that many of these lasers including Kono have surprisingly good food release for what they are. I believe you and I discussed this a few times in the past. I find one of the better ones to be the Tadatsuna as it has a slightly more robust grind than other lasers and I do mean slightly.

I also agree about the Kono having a slightly more stiff feel than some other lasers. I hear the HD2 will feel even more solid, can't wait to test that for myself!

I am one that loves, loves, loves the pointy profile of this knife!

Anyway, thanks for the write up, Spence. It was a fun read.
caerolle
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Re: Konosuke Laser W2 240

Post by caerolle »

Isn't the GS san-mai? In my limited experience, monosteel knives (which I quite like in laser format) tend to be stiffer than I would expect based on the thickness.

It's funny about food release. As I have written about in a couple of other threads, I got a used Shibata 210 on Friday, and had a little cutting session with it yesterday. I used a couple of my other knives, neither of which are lasers, and one of which has a nashiji finish and the other of which has a hammered finish and a kasumi (I am sure I spelled that wrong, lol) blade road. I cut some white potatoes and some cukes, and expected the Shibata to have a lot of stuff sticking to to it. It *was* a little worse on cuke slices, but actually was better on potato cubes than the hammered-finish knife, by a good bit. Very surprising!

Thanks for the write-up, I love reading other people's experiences with stuff! :)
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