The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details:
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
Price is $300 $250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.
That's been my experience too. I don't see any way around it, unless you lay the flat side of the blade (or primary bevel in the case of an Emerson, I would imagine) completely flat on the stone, which would be way too much work. I end up with sort of a micro bevel on the "unsharpened" side. Not a big deal for me, though.Sharpening in theory is easier, but for me I have trouble removing the burr without creating at least a semi-v edge.
I say with my experience, it's easier to sharpen but loses it's edge faster, not sure though that's just my personal experience
Yes the right handed yanagi has slight concave bevel to prevent meat from sticking to the steel.
its a very wide bevel, you can imagine how sharp it is.
Sujihiki is a very fine knife, I use mine for all prepwork, though some prefer gyuto, I like the suji because it is a quick performer with its slimmer
at first I sharpened it flat, much sharper but I find that convexing the bevel stayed sharper longer (though not as sharp as flat grind).
Sharpening a yanagi can be easy since the bevel is so large, you simply lay it flat against stone, however ive seen many chefs find it difficult to sharpen the tip and youll see the tip point downwards.
I can always tell a persons sharpening skill by examining the tip.
the steel on yanagi is white steel by yoshihiro, carbon steel.
im saving for honyaki grade steel on my next yanagi.
They swing at a purified block of carbon steel for a month to bubble out impurities, a 12" yanagi can cost $1000-50,000 depending on detail and bladesmith. Usually the guys making the pure steel knives have had knowledge since the samurai days.
They explained that when steel gets to be very pure the molecules start arranging and offer the smoothest cuts imaginable.
my kasumi (low grade) cuts super smooth but honyaki is amazing!!! No resistance at all.
the reason for extreme sharpness is that dull knives damage cell walls and unable to transmit flavor to tastebuds, while a sharp knife cuts cells releasing flavor.
It depends on what you want the knife for.
For utility, a chisel ground knife can be a detriment, as cutting with one (say, cardboard or a brick of cheddar) will have a directional bias. Meaning that the blade will want to angle and curve away from the direction you intend. Combine this with the unfortunate fact that the vast majority of chisel ground knives (including Emersons) are ground on the wrong side for 90% of the population (right-handed people) to be controllable in that regard. For utility, go with a typical V grind, or if you must have a chisel ground knife, find one that's ground on the proper side.
For self defense, it really doesn't matter.
Sharpening a chisel ground knife is typically easier, because you're not worried about keeping things symmetrical. Sharpen mainly one the ground side, and then do a couple light passes on the flat side, and you're good to go. Sharpness is merely a matter of acuteness of angle, and though the angle looks off-kilter on a chisel ground blade, the actual angle should be the same as a V ground blade.
If you've never tried using a chisel ground blade to cut cardboard, you should. Believe me you'll soon understand. Because it is flat on one side, and angled on the other, they tend to cut in an arc rather than a straight line. To compound the situation, in order to control it better, for right handers the ground side needs to be on the opposite side of the blade. Most all chisel ground, and serrated knifes for that matter, they are better suited for left handers as currently provided. The natural tendency of our wrist to impart motion on the knife counters the arc tendency if the ground side is correctly oriented. It's why I currently have no chisel ground blades, period.
That chisel edge is why I stopped carrying my Emersons and haven't bought another in years. V grind with chisel edge strikes me as sheer laziness on the part of a maker. Full chisel grind on a sushi knife I can see, but other than that, no thanks. BTDT, no need to go back.
In my opinion and experience, the negative is that they cut like garbage for most tasks. The positive is on the side of the maker because he only has to grind one side of the blade. I've never ever understood why one would grind both sides of a blade and then leave a chisel edge.
Pro: you will finally understand why some folks who own Emersons never use them
Pro: useful if you need an actual chisel
Pro: only need to halfway learn how to sharpen
Pro: cutting in a straight line is so mainstream, you can show your individuality
Con: everything else
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Pro: you will finally understand why some folks who own Emersons never use them
Pro: useful if you need an actual chisel
Pro: only need to halfway learn how to sharpen
Pro: cutting in a straight line is so mainstream, you can show your individuality
Con: everything else
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