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Re: Hosted Makoto Sakura SG2 Gyuto 240mm passaround

Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2018 9:34 pm
by cwillett
Bensbites wrote: Wed Jun 13, 2018 4:40 pm

Ok, I will give it a full progression just to be sure.
It probably just needs a higher grit stone and some strops rather than a fresh edge. The cutting performance with the honed edge is pretty impressive.

Re: Hosted Makoto Sakura SG2 Gyuto 240mm passaround

Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2018 9:38 pm
by Bensbites
cwillett wrote: Wed Jun 13, 2018 9:34 pm
Bensbites wrote: Wed Jun 13, 2018 4:40 pm

Ok, I will give it a full progression just to be sure.
It probably just needs a higher grit stone and some strops rather than a fresh edge. The cutting performance with the honed edge is pretty impressive.
The sharpening session before the Apple test used a sharpie to ensure I had the correct angle. The sharpie marks were removed on a aizu then mother’s metal polish on cardboard. Currently if I hold a single paper towel pinched in my left hand, I can clean cut about six inches down.

Re: Hosted Makoto Sakura SG2 Gyuto 240mm passaround

Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2018 10:16 am
by Bensbites
Image



Slight adjustment in my technique, BAM, see through apple. I didn’t not resharpen the knife since my previous testing.

Re: Hosted Makoto Sakura SG2 Gyuto 240mm passaround

Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2018 10:23 am
by Bensbites
Current list. FYI Grandma is in the hospital again, I will pack up this knife today and send it off to Keith. Things might be fine, but I want to get the show on the road and avoid the chance of this falling too far down the priority list.


Keith Marder
jbart
J david
GeorgeK
bbuth
gastro gnome
OgerBash
Altadan
nakneker
easilver
slobound
CacahuateSommelier
Cutuu

Re: Hosted Makoto Sakura SG2 Gyuto 240mm passaround

Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2018 1:30 pm
by matchplay18
Passaround great idea. Excuse my ignorance but how long do you keep the knife to try it out.

Re: Hosted Makoto Sakura SG2 Gyuto 240mm passaround

Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2018 1:56 pm
by Bensbites
matchplay18 wrote: Thu Jun 14, 2018 1:30 pm Passaround great idea. Excuse my ignorance but how long do you keep the knife to try it out.
Generally the knife visits for about seven days. This gives most people workday food prep and weekend food prep. Those terms are used loosely with a crowd that doesn’t nessesarily work 9-5.

Re: Hosted Makoto Sakura SG2 Gyuto 240mm passaround

Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2018 12:49 pm
by matchplay18
Thanks for the reply great idea a passaround. I certainly would have made a few different choices

Re: Hosted Makoto Sakura SG2 Gyuto 240mm passaround

Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2018 4:56 am
by keithmarder
The knife is supposed to get to me on Monday.

Re: Hosted Makoto Sakura SG2 Gyuto 240mm passaround

Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2018 6:34 am
by Bensbites
keithmarder wrote: Sat Jun 16, 2018 4:56 am The knife is supposed to get to me on Monday.
Woo hoo. Let’s see if you like it as much as I did!

Re: Hosted Makoto Sakura SG2 Gyuto 240mm passaround

Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2018 5:54 pm
by keithmarder
Hi all,'

The knife arrived today and I had a quick sesh this evening. I like this knife a lot. It is one smooth operator. It felt great in the hand and cut through all my vegetable prep in a flash.

Re: Hosted Makoto Sakura SG2 Gyuto 240mm passaround

Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2018 6:42 pm
by keithmarder
I am loving this knife. This is my first try with this steel and a 240mm. Loving how laser-like it is and it has handled every task with ease. Today it destroyed some cabbage for cole slaw. It is definitely one that would fit in many collections.

Re: Hosted Makoto Sakura SG2 Gyuto 240mm passaround

Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2018 12:08 pm
by Bbuth7575
This is what I wanted to hear. When I get it I'll be comparing it alongside my Kurosaki R2 hammered 210 and my Kamo R2 240. They absolutely slay product. It'd be nice to add another killer to the work rotation.

Re: Hosted Makoto Sakura SG2 Gyuto 240mm passaround

Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2018 9:23 pm
by jbart65
Knife Is now in my possession.

Re: Hosted Makoto Sakura SG2 Gyuto 240mm passaround

Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2018 9:52 am
by jbart65
The first thing I did when I got the Makoto was cut an onion. Ouch. An attempt to flick thru resulted in some crushing. First time I experienced that with a J knife.

I checked the edge on paper. Cut seemingly fine. But on food it struggled. Gave it the Carter finger test and it did seem ... off.

I find that pm steels respond best to synthetics. Pulled out my Kohetsu 2000 and Cerax 6000. I didn’t want to remove much metal and tried not to raise a burr.

A few minutes on each stone and now the knife performs much like any J knife. The tip is not quite where I want it and I know I am leaving some performance on the table. But it cuts quite thin. See the photo of the radishes.

Image

Afterward I did my usual tests. Onions, carrots, peppers, tatas , radishes, apples (peeling out of hand, slicing and chopping).

The Makoto aced the apple test, confirming my view that is a precise knife. It handles easily and is well suited for delicate tasks. Did well on everything else except carrots. It struggled to cut large, whole carrots lengthwise, a not uncommon problem with many knives. The nice polish on the blade also caused some stickage.

I find that Takefu Village knives often have an issue with tall carrots because of how the grind can thicken suddenly at mid blade. My Koishi also hit slight resistance, but the dang thing is so sharp and such a high level performer that it blew right thru.

I turned to my flag bearer, a Tanaka Sekiso, as well as the Yahiko Ice and a Shibata AS. Lengthwise carrots were no contest.

The Makoto profile, by the way, is classic Masakage or Takefu. It’s thinner than the Koishi coming out of the spine, but the profile is almost a replica. I would not be surprised if Mr Kurosaki helped on that line at some point.

Look at my trace. The inner lines that deviate slightly are the Makoto. These two knives curve almost exactly the same.

Image


Here’s the Makoto, top, Koishi, middle, and Kanehiro ginsan.

Image

All in all, it’s a very nice knife. Not the easiest pm steel i’ve sharpened, but not hard. The Makoto is nicely balanced and thin, but retains some solidity. It’s got a nice stock handle, though it will get dirty easy. The profile is pure pusher. About 1.5 inches of true flat spot in the back. It will accordion cut without some adjustment in chopping motion. A very smooth pusher and decent rocker, on the other hand.

I am admittedly not a big fan of pm steels because of their tinny feel on a board. Some of them are fantastic. The Kurosaki and Kamo are at the top of the list. The Makoto is not quite at that level, but it’s an excellent value at $220 for the 240. A good choice for pros who want stainless and edge retention as well as home cooks who want the same without breaking the budget.

Re: Hosted Makoto Sakura SG2 Gyuto 240mm passaround

Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2018 12:44 pm
by Jeff B
jbart65 wrote: Fri Jun 29, 2018 9:52 am ...The Makoto profile, by the way, is classic Masakage or Takefu. It’s thinner than the Koishi coming out of the spine, but the profile is almost a replica. I would not be surprised if Mr Kurosaki helped on that line at some point...
Both Makoto and Yu apprenticed under Hiroshi Kato. I have no doubts that Makoto worked on the Koishi. If you lay a Makoto W#2 over a Yu Kurosaki AS the profiles are nearly Identical except the Makoto has more of that Kato-esc backswept choil at the heel like on the Koishi. Something I'm sure he picked up from Kato-san. And Yu made the Shimo line for Masakage of course.

Re: Hosted Makoto Sakura SG2 Gyuto 240mm passaround

Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2018 9:48 am
by jbart65
This one is going out today or Friday morn to J David. More to follow.

Re: Hosted Makoto Sakura SG2 Gyuto 240mm passaround

Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2018 9:55 am
by J david
I'll be looking for it.

Re: Hosted Makoto Sakura SG2 Gyuto 240mm passaround

Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2018 10:49 am
by salemj
Jeff B wrote: Fri Jun 29, 2018 12:44 pm
jbart65 wrote: Fri Jun 29, 2018 9:52 am ...The Makoto profile, by the way, is classic Masakage or Takefu. It’s thinner than the Koishi coming out of the spine, but the profile is almost a replica. I would not be surprised if Mr Kurosaki helped on that line at some point...
Both Makoto and Yu apprenticed under Hiroshi Kato. I have no doubts that Makoto worked on the Koishi. If you lay a Makoto W#2 over a Yu Kurosaki AS the profiles are nearly Identical except the Makoto has more of that Kato-esc backswept choil at the heel like on the Koishi. Something I'm sure he picked up from Kato-san. And Yu made the Shimo line for Masakage of course.
All good points I agree with, but it may be more simple: they probably just shared a stamp, no? As Mark is fond of saying, the stamps for patterns are widely used and expensive, so it makes sense that any group would want to share them (and the investment) whenever possible.

Re: Hosted Makoto Sakura SG2 Gyuto 240mm passaround

Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2018 11:05 am
by Jeff B
salemj wrote: Thu Jul 05, 2018 10:49 am
Jeff B wrote: Fri Jun 29, 2018 12:44 pm
jbart65 wrote: Fri Jun 29, 2018 9:52 am ...The Makoto profile, by the way, is classic Masakage or Takefu. It’s thinner than the Koishi coming out of the spine, but the profile is almost a replica. I would not be surprised if Mr Kurosaki helped on that line at some point...
Both Makoto and Yu apprenticed under Hiroshi Kato. I have no doubts that Makoto worked on the Koishi. If you lay a Makoto W#2 over a Yu Kurosaki AS the profiles are nearly Identical except the Makoto has more of that Kato-esc backswept choil at the heel like on the Koishi. Something I'm sure he picked up from Kato-san. And Yu made the Shimo line for Masakage of course.
All good points I agree with, but it may be more simple: they probably just shared a stamp, no? As Mark is fond of saying, the stamps for patterns are widely used and expensive, so it makes sense that any group would want to share them (and the investment) whenever possible.
I'm sure that's very possible Joe.

Re: Hosted Makoto Sakura SG2 Gyuto 240mm passaround

Posted: Mon Jul 09, 2018 5:07 pm
by J david
Makoto is safely in my posession.