- Joined
- May 24, 2010
- Messages
- 536
After using a CCK 1303 almost exclusive to any other knives at work (and loving it), I found myself ready to look at getting my first custom kitchen knife. After much research I decided to ask Ashi Hamono to create a smaller and thinner chucka than what he normally produces based on my positive experience with the CCK's dimensions. I was pleasantly surprised to find my e-mail responded to by Mitsuaki-T, maker of the fantastic "paper knives" and my internet friend on Flickr 
. He was super helpful and patiently walked me through the process of making sure I received exactly what I wanted. 8 weeks later I opened up a very well-packaged box containing a truly amazing tool. Here's the specs:
"Ginga" Chinese Cleaver
-Carbon steel White#2
-Blade length: 200mm
-Blade height: 100mm
-Blade thickness: 2.1mm(above heel), 1.2mm(above tip)
-spine and choil areas rounded and polished
-Ebony handle
-Ebony edge guard w/ black cord
While the grind is not as thin as the CCK's, it has a sweet distal taper that ends up very thin towards the last 1/3 of the blade where I do most of my cutting. A bonus to this construction is that I never feel like the Ashi is going to bend or even flex at the point where the blade meets the handle (as is the case with my CCK
). Fit and finish are exquisite as expected and the edge guard made by Mitsuaki in particular is flawless and polished to a "piano" finish. After scrubbing off the protective lacquer on the steel, it took a beautiful patina. As to how it feels in hand...like a Cadillac, very smooth and powerful. Overall, I can't imagine being more pleased with the chucka and feel humbled by the craftsmanship of these two gentlemen. A tip-of-the-hat to both!
. He was super helpful and patiently walked me through the process of making sure I received exactly what I wanted. 8 weeks later I opened up a very well-packaged box containing a truly amazing tool. Here's the specs:"Ginga" Chinese Cleaver
-Carbon steel White#2
-Blade length: 200mm
-Blade height: 100mm
-Blade thickness: 2.1mm(above heel), 1.2mm(above tip)
-spine and choil areas rounded and polished
-Ebony handle
-Ebony edge guard w/ black cord
While the grind is not as thin as the CCK's, it has a sweet distal taper that ends up very thin towards the last 1/3 of the blade where I do most of my cutting. A bonus to this construction is that I never feel like the Ashi is going to bend or even flex at the point where the blade meets the handle (as is the case with my CCK
). Fit and finish are exquisite as expected and the edge guard made by Mitsuaki in particular is flawless and polished to a "piano" finish. After scrubbing off the protective lacquer on the steel, it took a beautiful patina. As to how it feels in hand...like a Cadillac, very smooth and powerful. Overall, I can't imagine being more pleased with the chucka and feel humbled by the craftsmanship of these two gentlemen. A tip-of-the-hat to both!
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