Interesting way to crown choil area on kitchen knives

REK Knives

REK Knives

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Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
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Apr 3, 2011
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16:40 in this video... Seems unsafe but you can tell it's really low speed


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that vid showed up on my yt feed a couple weeks ago, I watched the whole way through- fascinating stuff.
surfin' the algorhythm bro!
 
I do the same thing on some shaping tasks. Slack belt, low speed double knit cotton gloves. Notice the box of extra glove fingertips sitting at that grinder. The tips wear out fast.
 
That is the most high-tech low-tech factory I've seen. It looks like they're running a thermostatic coal forge in a small, windowless room with drywall. That's gotta be a powerful fume extractor. That "kaiten toishi" belt sander is a thing of beauty.
 
I too saw it a few weeks ago.

Did anyone else notice what appeared to be a huge gap between the ricasso shoulder and the end of the handle when the handle was at its “final” position during glue up? Really puzzled me. time 22:20. Everything else was so perfect.

Yeah, crazy clean shop!
 
C_Claycomb said:
I too saw it a few weeks ago.

Did anyone else notice what appeared to be a huge gap between the ricasso shoulder and the end of the handle when the handle was at its “final” position during glue up? Really puzzled me. time 22:20. Everything else was so perfect.

Yeah, crazy clean shop!
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Yes, I noticed that and thought it was weird as well.
 
C_Claycomb said:
I too saw it a few weeks ago.

Did anyone else notice what appeared to be a huge gap between the ricasso shoulder and the end of the handle when the handle was at its “final” position during glue up? Really puzzled me. time 22:20. Everything else was so perfect.

Yeah, crazy clean shop!
Click to expand...
That's very common in traditional wa-handle knives. Probably a stylistic choice in this case.
 
SirSpice said:
That's very common in traditional wa-handle knives. Probably a stylistic choice in this case.
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I hadn't noticed it before, but just went and looked, and you are right, quite a few I found did have gaps there. I wonder if it is to do with an expectation that the handle will loosen over time, and the gap allows it to be tapped on a bit more to tighten it up. Something traditional from the days before epoxy. Can't think of any other reason, and still seems strange in today's world with epoxy and drills able to drill and pin a tang so everything stays tight. Would think those shoulders close to the handle would be hard to keep clean.
 
the algorhythm has been feeding me a lot of Japanese knife manufacturing, from tamahagane to pure carbide, one man smithy to full on factory.
such a wide range of approaches in that part of the world, and a lot of different historical eras continuing to co exist.
much more inspiring subject matter than the bullshit the algorithms jam down my brain
 
C_Claycomb said:
I too saw it a few weeks ago.

Did anyone else notice what appeared to be a huge gap between the ricasso shoulder and the end of the handle when the handle was at its “final” position during glue up? Really puzzled me. time 22:20. Everything else was so perfect.

Yeah, crazy clean shop!
Click to expand...
The “Machi” gap on some Wa handles is traditional and largely regional in Japan with different makers preferring different aesthetics. Outside of appearances the practical purpose is for adjusting potential balance on the knife for user preference, ease of removing and refitting the handle (yanagiba for example are often sharpened without the handle on the blade so one may take the handle on and off) the predominantly wooden handles also get sanded down regularly to keep them appearing clean (cultural difference in regular knife care) so the handles will often wear out before the blade and be replaced by the end user. It can also be adjusted for comfort based off the users hand size so your hand rests correctly on the gap. I’m personally not a huge fan but can see some of the reasoning based off different day to day use and maintenance.
 
I’ll often use 1/2” belts to round coils in a very similar fashion and it gives a lot of control and quite easy/quick to get a really smooth and high polished finish. Generally I’ll run my grinder at about 20% speed so fairly slow and use 320 grit j flex belts with the grinder setup without my platen on. Following that with a felt belt and white rouge gives a very high polish on the choil and spine.
 
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