one side bevel

A

avigdor

Joined
Oct 6, 2009
Messages
25
hi guys
have a question
i am planing a sushi knife and thought on one side bevel
is ther somthing i need to know on this befor i start ?

thanks

avi
 
If the user is right handed, bevel on the right side. (left/left)
You'll find that cutting with it, it has the tendency to steer off a bit to the non-beveled side.
 
Unless you are going to be cutting up rice with the knife ,I suspect you mean a sashimi knife (actually a yanagiba, or yanagi masamoto)

The flat side ( hira -zukuri) goes against the rest hand, and the beveled side ( shinogi-zukuri) goes on the knife hand side. The handle should be someehat long for balance and control.

If you want a traditional look (hidden tang), use an ebony collar and a light colored wood handle. Stabilized holly works very well. An all black handle looks good on a full tang. Typically an 8" blade has a 5" handle, a 10" blade has a 6" handle. An 8" blade is a good choice for your first yanagi.

The handle should taper from the butt forward slightly, such that it aesthetically matches the blade taper ( hard to describe). If using a hidden tang, the top of the handle should be even with or only slightly higher than the spine. If doing a full tang, the handle obviously will be even with the spine. If you are new to this, I suggest a full tang, using three Corby rivets to attach the scales.

As far as steel choice goes, anything will work, but the prime characteristic looked for is the ability to take a keen edge. 1095 is an excellent carbon steel choice, CPM154 is a good stainless choice.
 
does anyone worry about decarb on the flat side, which will form the edge?
 
thanks stacy
you are always very helpfull
what with the bevel angale and the thikness of the knife ?
and will it be a problem to sharppen this knife ?

avi
 
Japanese knives are sharpened just like you would a chisel or plane blade. First clean up the flat side by flat lapping it on a fine stone. Then do the bevel . The angles and thickness vary ,depending on the use of the blade, but for a yanagi blade, about 1/8" to 3/16" at the spine is normal. Edge angle is a function of the height of the bevel. The higher the bevel, the lower the angle. You don't need to think about it that much, it is what it is. The shinogi (top of bevel) should be from 1/2 to 2/3 up the side.
 
There is no such thing as yanagi masamoto. Masamoto is a company name. Yanagi describes the shape of the knife, which looks like a willow leaf. The "ba" part is sometimes omitted, but means edge, so a yanagiba would be a willow leaf shaped edge. There are several other styles and shapes, such as fugubiki, usuhiki, takohiki which sometimes have kensaki or sakimaru tip shapes, all of which are meant for sushi and sashimi. And if you've ever had maki sushi, I'm sure you've had your sushi rice cut for you before. The backside, or the ura is not hirazukuri, and it is not flat. It is hollow ground on a 3-4 foot wheel, which creates a hollow known as urasuki. Traditional materials are buffalo horn for the ferrule, and common wood such as yellow poplar or the slightly more exotic Port Ordford cedar are related to the woods used in Japan for handles. Ebony, chestnut, and rosewood re also frequently used. An 8" blade while easier, is also a bad length for a yanagi, because it is quite short. The taper is generally equivalent to 1-3mm. The handle is almost always higher than the spine, and sashimi blades almost always have a machi such as those found on swords. Sushi knives are also sharpened by sharpening the front bevel, which is not always flat, and frequently is convexed, making the edge angle not dependent on the thickness and height of the grind. Then they are deburred by laying the hollow flat on the stone. Yanagi with a grind 2/3 the way up only that way due to lots of sharpening. The grind usually goes no farther up than where the heel starts dropping down.
 
Sorry, Didn't mean to ruffle any feathers.

It has already been called to my attention that the company name Masamoto is not accurate. I was under the impression that is not uncommonly used to describe the shape...similar to using the name Loveless in, "drop point loveless". Yanagi masamoto meaning, " masamoto style yanagiba". Actually, the reason I used the term was that I had some blade shapes stored in a file under that name. I opened the file to check some measurements, and typed the blade shape name the same as the file I opened.
For anyone who wants to see some classic style Japanese cutlery: http://korin.com/Brands/Masamoto

The reference to cutting rice was meant as humor.

The use of sword terms hira-zukuri and shinogi-zukuri were merely to reference which side the bevel is on. Agreed, they may not be the right technical terms.

My answer was probably to simplified, but the OP was asking for basic information on making his own knife, and would not have a factory with four foot water stones.

The dimensions were given to someone who is obviously not familiar with construction or use of such blades. A longer knife may be more useful to a professional chef, but I find 8" to be a quite useful size for novices.

An 8" blade, made from simple carbon steel,flat backed and with a 50% bevel on the other side ( which usually ends up being slightly convex) would be a good first project. Such a project would be easier for a newer smith to do with a full tang, and thus the spine would be even with the handle.


Just for the heck of it, I just googled yanagiba and masamoto and found this:
http://www.buy4asianlife.com/eshop/ids_cate_step2.asp/Kitchen/Cutlery/id/AK0050_NO.6000

Again, sorry to confuse anyone.
Stacy
 
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