I’ve been talking to this blacksmith...

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wphill
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Re: I’ve been talking to this blacksmith...

Post by wphill »

Shevitz,
You may have earlier explained but what was your stone progression? Recently, I thought that my shapton glass 4k would be an improvement. I was wrong.

To refrain, I am now convinced that I am in the camp that prefers a beefy handle. Has a lot to do as to why my hand gravitates to it as the go to for some tasks, though far from something like a horizontal cut on an onion yet great for dicing celery.

While I need to replenish my supply of acetone I would still go with a sanding and butter board treatment. 80 grit knocked it down with ease, followed by a medium sponge grit. Just a personal preference of what’s available. Most labor, by far, went into the blade road.
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shevitz
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Re: I’ve been talking to this blacksmith...

Post by shevitz »

This knife is a great cutter and I wanted to keep it rustic. On the handle, mine looks like yours. I didn't change the shape, I just took out the saw cuts. I did acetone + 80 + 150 + 220 + something unknown and finer + mineral oil. I may use board butter but I'm OK for now. I actually like the aesthetics and feel of the handle quite a bit.

Almost all my work on the blade was on the blade road like you. I spent 2 hours at 80 grit and then went up to 220 but with a finer progression. For my edge I wanted a sharp but toothy all purpose edge so I just did two stones, 400 and 1K Chosera + horse shell strop. It it certainly a sharp knife stopping there. I agree with the large amounts of discussion lately that higher grit stones don't necessarily make a knife sharper, just less toothy. I really, really like my horse shell barber strops. My 1K edge is not a mirror, but it's incredibly sticky.
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Re: I’ve been talking to this blacksmith...

Post by ChefKnivesToGo »

We just got the cleaver in.

Also, the second round of the other knives now come without the lacquer.
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Cutuu
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Re: I’ve been talking to this blacksmith...

Post by Cutuu »

ChefKnivesToGo wrote: Thu May 31, 2018 12:01 pm We just got the cleaver in.

Also, the second round of the other knives now come without the lacquer.
It says the edge is closer to 210 mm. Is that true mark. I like that, if that's the case. Anyways, I ordered one. Would of been better if these would of popped up after the blade show lol.
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Re: I’ve been talking to this blacksmith...

Post by jobone »

After reading all the cleaver posts, I just had to try this one out. Note to self, watch thumb when drinking.
Cutuu
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Re: I’ve been talking to this blacksmith...

Post by Cutuu »

Everyone seemed to think they were great cutters, so I'm quite curious about them.
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Re: I’ve been talking to this blacksmith...

Post by Seattle_Ben »

Glad I'm catching this round.
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Re: I’ve been talking to this blacksmith...

Post by ChefKnivesToGo »

Cutuu wrote: Thu May 31, 2018 1:14 pm
ChefKnivesToGo wrote: Thu May 31, 2018 12:01 pm We just got the cleaver in.

Also, the second round of the other knives now come without the lacquer.
It says the edge is closer to 210 mm. Is that true mark. I like that, if that's the case. Anyways, I ordered one. Would of been better if these would of popped up after the blade show lol.
Yes they’re larger than I asked for. The couple I grabbed were both over 200mm long.
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Cutuu
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Re: I’ve been talking to this blacksmith...

Post by Cutuu »

ChefKnivesToGo wrote: Thu May 31, 2018 4:56 pm
Cutuu wrote: Thu May 31, 2018 1:14 pm
ChefKnivesToGo wrote: Thu May 31, 2018 12:01 pm We just got the cleaver in.

Also, the second round of the other knives now come without the lacquer.
It says the edge is closer to 210 mm. Is that true mark. I like that, if that's the case. Anyways, I ordered one. Would of been better if these would of popped up after the blade show lol.
Yes they’re larger than I asked for. The couple I grabbed were both over 200mm long.
Sweeet! I bought one. I put a note on there to pick me out a biggie :)
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Re: I’ve been talking to this blacksmith...

Post by Jeff B »

ChefKnivesToGo wrote: Thu May 31, 2018 12:01 pm We just got the cleaver in.

Also, the second round of the other knives now come without the lacquer.
I was very surprised at how nice the handle actually was after taking the finish off and sanding out the rough spots.
If God wanted me to be a vegetarian he wouldn't have made animals taste so good.
Seattle_Ben
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Re: I’ve been talking to this blacksmith...

Post by Seattle_Ben »

Cutuu wrote: Thu May 31, 2018 5:00 pm
ChefKnivesToGo wrote: Thu May 31, 2018 4:56 pm
Cutuu wrote: Thu May 31, 2018 1:14 pm

It says the edge is closer to 210 mm. Is that true mark. I like that, if that's the case. Anyways, I ordered one. Would of been better if these would of popped up after the blade show lol.
Yes they’re larger than I asked for. The couple I grabbed were both over 200mm long.
Sweeet! I bought one. I put a note on there to pick me out a biggie :)
I'll be totally happy to take a larger one as well. I'll email too.
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Re: I’ve been talking to this blacksmith...

Post by Barashka »

Whoa, that new vegetable cleaver looks pretty sizeable!
Looks real curvy / rocky though, any chance we'll see something flatter in the future?
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Re: I’ve been talking to this blacksmith...

Post by Quantim0 »

Got my bunka in today, is definitely rough around the edges. I'm not sure the otb edge would have cut anything, but a quick sharpening really made the edge excellent. I used a sg 500, pro 2k and then stropped on balsa w/ 1 micron and bare cow leather.

I stopped at 2k because I am not sure if its worth going higher. I'm going to prep dinner with it tonight and I'm excited to see how it performs. It gives my knife rack a rustic feel.
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ghost1234
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Re: I’ve been talking to this blacksmith...

Post by ghost1234 »

So I got the nakiri version of the knife a few days ago, had a little uneven grind on the edge so I had to resharpen and thinned it a little bit.
Out of the box edge was not good but it cut a lot of onions without much force so that was good, had to scrub the blade to remove some of the black part? felt very shiny and smooth and would stick to my knuckle. The front side of the knife was actually sharpened a little but so I had to dull it out to prevent from cutting myself accidently.
The feel and weight of the knife is nice, not too heavy not too light and the height is nice for scooping up ingredients. I sharpened it on a 1k chosera, 6k suehiro rika, and a 10k naniwa super stone. Got it to shave some hairs and cut paper smoothly and nicely to see my progress on my sharpening skills. Edge retention is okay not the best but I just stop on some leather with compound that I have. Do you happen to know if the knife is made of carbon steel?
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Re: I’ve been talking to this blacksmith...

Post by STPepper9 »

I believe it is. There seemed to be some lacquer or something on it that I left on for a while but it eventually came off and I wound up finding some rust beginning to form in the scratches on the blade road. It was easily removed with baking soda and a cork.
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Re: I’ve been talking to this blacksmith...

Post by Drewski »

Any thoughts or info (besides what's on the site) on the latest offering, "leaf spring tall petty"?
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Re: I’ve been talking to this blacksmith...

Post by ChefKnivesToGo »

Yes I had him make these and just put them on the website.

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/dalesptape.html
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keithmarder
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Re: I’ve been talking to this blacksmith...

Post by keithmarder »

ChefKnivesToGo wrote: Wed Jul 11, 2018 5:58 am Yes I had him make these and just put them on the website.

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/dalesptape.html
That is a cool-looking knife
BigRedNole
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Re: I’ve been talking to this blacksmith...

Post by BigRedNole »

Completely new here and completely new to kitchen knives. The only "good" knife I ever owned and liked I bought at Costco. I cannot remember the name, but it was a big cleaver/chef knife hybrid. My wife lost it in our move. Since then, I had a cheap knife from a store. I was offered a free ceramic set from Dalstrong for a review on Amazon. I do like those knives though but gentle on their use.

With all of that background, I was looking for a new knife. Saw mention of these Dao Vua knives from somewhere and came here to learn about them. I was set on buying some random $300 knife from William Sonoma at 50% off from a friend's employee discount. No clue what I would have gotten for $150, but it is from a local mall store. I read through all 16 pages, watched the videos, and was intrigued. Other than not fully knowing what type of knife I want/need, I just ordered 2. I bought the Petty and Bunka simply because I liked how they looked. I could almost buy the entire set for what one knife from my friend cost.

I don't live in the kitchen, but when I get new toys, I tend to play with them much more. I look forward to sharpening and cleaning up the handles. My feedback will be nowhere near the professional levels most people have. I will just enjoy seeing how nice they look and whether they do what I need without making my hand/wrist sore.
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Re: I’ve been talking to this blacksmith...

Post by Bmoze »

Like you, I’m new to Japanese kitchen knives, but have managed to acquire 4 quality knives and sharpening supplies from this site over the past couple of months. I bought the Dao Vua petty as a sharpening practice knife and really dig it. It oozes character and cuts great. It will be interesting to see how reactive it is. Now I hope I don’t screw it up as I learn to sharpen.
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