Kuwabara Group Buy Passaround

See what's happening with current or completed "Pass Arounds". Forum members occasionally send knives or sharpening stones around to a hand selected group of participants for short term use and feedback/reviews.
keithmarder
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Re: Kuwabara Group Buy Passaround

Post by keithmarder »

Paid up
Lepus
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Re: Kuwabara Group Buy Passaround

Post by Lepus »

We're all good to go. Here follows the order:

JBart
keithmarder
NMiller
Bob Z
easilver
Igalor

I'll PM you all the next address in the chain.

I've been using the knife a little more and I want to thin it out so badly. The weight, length, profile, and height are sweethearts for me and it has a stiff, authoritative feel. I still haven't gotten the cladding to react, even though as you can see the core is starting to take on a little color.
keithmarder
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Re: Kuwabara Group Buy Passaround

Post by keithmarder »

Batting second like Aaron Judge
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jbart65
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Re: Kuwabara Group Buy Passaround

Post by jbart65 »

This knife is now in my possession.
Jeffry B
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Re: Kuwabara Group Buy Passaround

Post by jbart65 »

I can see why Rob wants to thin this one. Edge gets quite sharp, but resistance builds higher up.

This is an interesting knife. A bit thick in the midruff, no doubt, but that's what gives it such prowess at ... separation. I think the separation on the Kuwabara is the best I've encountered after Takeda. Carrots simply won't stick unless I try to cut them wafer thin. Perhaps the roughest Kurouchi I've seen also aids in separation.

Other things I like: It's nicely balanced. And it has a good profile that skews toward pushing and rocking. The thickness of the knife above the edge means the Kuwabara will wedge on just about any carrot or other thick ingredient. It's really only suited to chop low and soft ingredients.

The tip is somewhat problematic. The knife can cut quite thinly, but it's almost like I have to aim. I have to steady my hand and be very precise. A Koishi or Shibata, on the other hand, shave like a new Mach 3 razor without no effort at all.

Here's the big question: Would separation suffer if the knife were thinned? Yes, it would cut better and wedge less, but what's the tradeoff?

If I could have the similar separation and better cutting ability with a thinned-down knife, this would be a heckuva gyuto.
Jeffry B
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Re: Kuwabara Group Buy Passaround

Post by jbart65 »

This is going out to keithmarder today.
Jeffry B
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Re: Kuwabara Group Buy Passaround

Post by keithmarder »

I am ready
Lepus
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Re: Kuwabara Group Buy Passaround

Post by Lepus »

So circling back around to this, I did have a few further thoughts and I have time to get them to paper.

One, balance. I mentioned I liked it and that I think many people will. Jeffry mentioned some about the weight and profile that I agree with. This knife feels a lot like a 240mm in hand. It isn't that remarkably heavy, but it is tip heavy because the tip just has a lot of material left on it and that much weight so far forward pulls balance up. It would take a full regrind to get that tip into flying through onions status.

Two, the craftsmanship and related character. The knife's fit and finish is rough, but not actually too sloppy. You can see it in the pictures, you can feel it in hand. The choil in particular is incredibly rough, but interestingly enough Mr Kuwabara was kind enough not to cut my fingers with a ninety degree angle and ground the choil in on both sides, Fujiyama style, using something exponentially coarser than what the Fujiyama sharpener used. All of it is definitely done by someone who has some things figured out and made a knife efficiently. It actually reminds me of a Munetoshi in that regard, though my Munetoshis have all come with much thinner edges and grinds, so in that regard the Kuwabara would be kind of like an Ikea desk: some assembly required. I don't know if the Kuwabara has any actual flaws except for the thickness of the grind, just things done in an expedient way. I do have to wonder if the smith has any higher cost lines that get a little more work. I don't think I'd actually like them much more if at all because the knife's rustic form and what I can see it doing once tuned up are what I like most about it right now, but I would think that someone who has done something so tidily would also have the ability to go well beyond this knife.

Finally, my initial thoughts have been a bit curt because I didn't know how to describe part of the knife without getting weirdly existential. I still don't, but I can't really discuss the knife without it, so here's the weirdest, most existential thing I've written about a knife since I compared an Anryu and a Kurosaki. The Kuwabara is perceptibly restrained and serious, to the point of being dreary. If this knife was a person it would be an actuary who organizes their work ties as a "hobby". They read Lovecraft, not ironically. They have grey drapes, sheets, and floors. They eat underseasoned oatmeal for breakfast, a ham sandwich for work (never lunching out, that would be inefficient and expensive), and dry, unsauced baked salmon with new potatoes and green beans for dinner. They prefer straight lines and an even number of chairs at every table. But. The Kuwabara has the underpinnings of a really cool knife just like Kuwabara the Actuary has the underpinnings of a really cool person. They have a sharp dry wit that sometimes slips out. They have great reflexes and nimble hands. They have a keen eye for patterns in fashion and great hair. They need to move to California for a job with a start up, open up to a life coach, and go on a three month Hunter S. Thompson style trip through Mexico while only one step ahead of the policía. I actually had to put the knife down sometimes because using it was as depressing as meeting the person in my analogy. And thankfully, I or whoever buys this knife have the option of forcefully signing the thing up for Tinder and pushing it out of an airplane in its underwear. If that knife comes back to me I'm going to thin it out and polish it into something incredible because the roots are there, it just needs to wake up.
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Altadan
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Re: Kuwabara Group Buy Passaround

Post by Altadan »

:shock:
“If we conquer our passions it is more from their weakness than from our strength.”
― François de La Rochefoucauld
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jbart65
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Re: Kuwabara Group Buy Passaround

Post by jbart65 »

I think I get what Rob is saying. The knife has a sense of authenticity and the separation alone made it worth trying, but it did feel like a chore using it. It was not exactly pleasant. Try cutting a carrot lengthwise.

I’d stay away from California, though. Don’t want the knifemaker going too crazy!
Jeffry B
keithmarder
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Re: Kuwabara Group Buy Passaround

Post by keithmarder »

The knife made it to NYC is fine fashion. But I do not know how I can follow the act above. I never cut with an actuary
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Re: Kuwabara Group Buy Passaround

Post by Nmiller21k »

Wait for mine
Coincise and brief lol
keithmarder
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Re: Kuwabara Group Buy Passaround

Post by keithmarder »

Nmiller21k wrote: Wed May 09, 2018 3:26 pm Wait for mine
Coincise and brief lol
Could you message me your address. I am sending the knife to you next week and don't have your address.
Lepus
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Re: Kuwabara Group Buy Passaround

Post by Lepus »

Mea culpa, mea culpa. I wanted to message you all the addresses as you were getting the knives so you didn't have to worry about keeping track of things, but apparently I sometimes think I've sent messages I have not sent. I'll send them all out now.

With regard to my thoughts, brevity is the soul of wit, so I'm not very happy with them, but I can't crunch them tighter. I will say, proudly, that I wrote the shortest knife review ever written and that I felt witty indeed posting it. Anything you think about the Kuwabara is probably valid. You can't really be wrong here.
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Re: Kuwabara Group Buy Passaround

Post by Nmiller21k »

Do what I do

I send a printed list with forum name and addresses
Lepus
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Re: Kuwabara Group Buy Passaround

Post by Lepus »

With respect, I will not do that. I am attentive to the delicate nature of an online identity and anonymity. I will never share someone's personal information with a third party, even a third party in a passaround, except as necessary for the passaround. I would rather follow up with people losing the addresses a dozen times.

I am sure many of you consider that overkill. I don't care.
keithmarder
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Re: Kuwabara Group Buy Passaround

Post by keithmarder »

I have been using the knife for a few days. What it does well, it does really well. It is so different from my other knifes (Yuki gyuto, the big Takeda Bunka and a Kanehiro Bunka) in that iy's much thicker and really, really stiff (That's what she said). This is a Mack Truck. It plows through soft product and, I don't know if the it is the OOTB edge, but it is quite sharp. The handle felt really good. I feel like this would be a great first J-knife for a home cook. I did not buy one of the Vietnamese group buy knives, but the way they are described the fit and finish of this seem like a very refined version of it. The profile of this is excellent as well and it is a better rocker than what I have. It's heft was great for smashing garlic and the rocking made mincing a dream.
Cutuu
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Re: Kuwabara Group Buy Passaround

Post by Cutuu »

Lepus wrote: Tue May 08, 2018 8:47 pm So circling back around to this, I did have a few further thoughts and I have time to get them to paper.

One, balance. I mentioned I liked it and that I think many people will. Jeffry mentioned some about the weight and profile that I agree with. This knife feels a lot like a 240mm in hand. It isn't that remarkably heavy, but it is tip heavy because the tip just has a lot of material left on it and that much weight so far forward pulls balance up. It would take a full regrind to get that tip into flying through onions status.

Two, the craftsmanship and related character. The knife's fit and finish is rough, but not actually too sloppy. You can see it in the pictures, you can feel it in hand. The choil in particular is incredibly rough, but interestingly enough Mr Kuwabara was kind enough not to cut my fingers with a ninety degree angle and ground the choil in on both sides, Fujiyama style, using something exponentially coarser than what the Fujiyama sharpener used. All of it is definitely done by someone who has some things figured out and made a knife efficiently. It actually reminds me of a Munetoshi in that regard, though my Munetoshis have all come with much thinner edges and grinds, so in that regard the Kuwabara would be kind of like an Ikea desk: some assembly required. I don't know if the Kuwabara has any actual flaws except for the thickness of the grind, just things done in an expedient way. I do have to wonder if the smith has any higher cost lines that get a little more work. I don't think I'd actually like them much more if at all because the knife's rustic form and what I can see it doing once tuned up are what I like most about it right now, but I would think that someone who has done something so tidily would also have the ability to go well beyond this knife.

Finally, my initial thoughts have been a bit curt because I didn't know how to describe part of the knife without getting weirdly existential. I still don't, but I can't really discuss the knife without it, so here's the weirdest, most existential thing I've written about a knife since I compared an Anryu and a Kurosaki. The Kuwabara is perceptibly restrained and serious, to the point of being dreary. If this knife was a person it would be an actuary who organizes their work ties as a "hobby". They read Lovecraft, not ironically. They have grey drapes, sheets, and floors. They eat underseasoned oatmeal for breakfast, a ham sandwich for work (never lunching out, that would be inefficient and expensive), and dry, unsauced baked salmon with new potatoes and green beans for dinner. They prefer straight lines and an even number of chairs at every table. But. The Kuwabara has the underpinnings of a really cool knife just like Kuwabara the Actuary has the underpinnings of a really cool person. They have a sharp dry wit that sometimes slips out. They have great reflexes and nimble hands. They have a keen eye for patterns in fashion and great hair. They need to move to California for a job with a start up, open up to a life coach, and go on a three month Hunter S. Thompson style trip through Mexico while only one step ahead of the policía. I actually had to put the knife down sometimes because using it was as depressing as meeting the person in my analogy. And thankfully, I or whoever buys this knife have the option of forcefully signing the thing up for Tinder and pushing it out of an airplane in its underwear. If that knife comes back to me I'm going to thin it out and polish it into something incredible because the roots are there, it just needs to wake up.
I'm picturing Roman J Israel.
keithmarder
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Re: Kuwabara Group Buy Passaround

Post by keithmarder »

The knife is on to the next
Nmiller21k
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Re: Kuwabara Group Buy Passaround

Post by Nmiller21k »

Arrived
Giving it a fast touch up
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