Notable experiences that I have been very grateful for

In my experience with Japanese knives there are two events that have happened to me that will stay with me forever. The first is being involved in a collaborative project between Japanese Chefs Knife.com and a committee of knife forum members for the purpose of designing and implementing a brand new line of high-end chef’s knives that would ultimately be produced by Mr. Ichiro Hattori. The project started in 2005 and took almost two years to come to fruition and the first set of knives coming available for sale. I served as main liaison and mediator between JCK and the committee. The whole experience was incredible and I learned a lot about what it takes to get a line of knives designed and produced. You can see these knives for sale at JCK's Hattori FH page.

The second and most influential event that happened to me was in 2008 when I attended Master Blade smith Murray Carter's 3 day knife forging course in which I forged and completed my own International Pro Chef's Knife. In this course I learned how to forge my own knife using traditional Japanese techniques as well as more recent techniques. Below are a few pics from the weekend as well as the final result of my work with Murray.

The finished knife was made from White #1 carbon steel core clad with SUS40 stainless steel. Handle material is Desert Ironwood with brass bolster. HRC64-65


Beginning of forging my bar of steel to thickness



After desired thickness was obtained, I cut down the thinned bar to remove excess and get closer to my desired knife pattern.



Where I started and where it ended up.



Tested the hardness of the steel after quenching



The handle is glued and clamped on the knife for drying



Murray and myself with the finished blade



Some pictures I took of the knife when I got home

Knives I have owned

I used to own a couple Henckels knives for years that served their purpose but I started looking into Japanese knives when I bought my wife a sushi making kit for her birthday in 2004. I bought a Ginsanko Yanagiba from Korin.com then I bought a shun Santoku shortly after that. Then I started to do some REAL research and quickly discovered that Shun is an okay knife but there was so much more out there in the way was chef knives and styles. I became a fanatic and bought many many many Japanese knives and I used and sharpened every one of them. Below are pics of 90% of the Japanese knives I've owned. I'm still sad about having to let go of two knives I worked hard to get (Hattori KD ande Ichimonji Honyaki). A family of four with one wage earner in this economy took a toll at our house so I had to sell a few knives to survive. There will be another day. Anyway, hope you enjoy the pics.


Watanabe 300mm Yanagiba made with Blue Steel #2



Watanbe Kuro-uchi Santoku



Watanabe 240mm Gyuto with Dragon engraving with Zogan eyes. Made from White steel #2

With custom handle made from Macassar Ebony, Green Massur Birch Burl ferrule with brass spacers and Fossilized Mammoth Tool end cap.

Tosagata Ajikiri

Tojiro Powdered Steel Gyuto 240mm

Takeda Gytuo 255mm

Takeda Sujiki (double-beveled Yanagiba) 311mm

Takeda Nakiri

Suisin Yanagiba 270mm

Shigefusa Nakiri - Carbon Steel

Nenox Sujihiki 285mm

Misono Carbon Steel Gyuto 270mm

Korin Ginsanko Deba 165mm

Korin Ginsanko Yanagiba 240mm

Kikuichi-Monji Honyaki Gyuto made from White #1 steel with Stag Horn handle 270mm

Kikuichi-Monji Damascus Nakiri 165mm

Kikuichi Elite Carbon Steel Gyuto 240mm

Kikuichi Stainless Gyuto 240mm

Ittosai Honyaki Gyuto made from White #2 Carbon Steel 270mm

Hiromoto Carbon Steel Gyuto 270mm

Hiromoto Ltd Edition Damascus Santoku 165mm

Hiromoto AS Gyuto 240mm - Aogomi Super Carbon Steel core clad with Stainless Steel.

Hiro Itou Damascus Petty 150mm made with R2 Powdered Steel

Hattori KD Damascus Gyuto 270mm made from Cowry-X core clad with a Nickel Stainless damascus.

Hattori HD Series Damascus Gyuto 240mm with VG10 core

Hattori FH Series Petty 150mm made with VG10

Dojo Blue Steel Paring 135mm

Chan Chi Kee Carbon Steel Vegetable Cleaver

Murray Carter Funayki/Petty 150mm made with White Steel clad in stainless

Murray Carter Fukugozai Funayuki 220mm made with Aogomi Super clad with stainless

Ryusen Blazen Honesuki (Boning) 150mm

Al Mar Petty made with VG10

Knife Sharpening Service inaugural post

Greetings to everyone who came here on purpose or simply by accident. My name is Bob and I live in San Diego. This blog is my very first attempt at such and is mainly for the purpose of bringing to the public's attention my new venture as a professional knife sharpener.

I have been sharpening chef knives now for over 6 years by hand using a variety of Japanese Whetstones aka water stones. Brands I've used and mostly still own include Naniwa Chosera, Naniwa Super Stone, Shapton Pro, Beston, DMT DiaSharp and DuoSharp and Norton.

I am a Japanese knife nut so my area of expertise is with Japanese chef knives. Although I have owned and sharpened traditional Japanese knives, I'd prefer to focus my business on sharpening standard double bevel Japanese knives. Why? Simply because my western cooking style never had much need for using traditional knives so sharpening them has never been fully developed. Double beveled Japanese knives such as Gyuto, Sujihiki, Petty, Nakiri, etc. is where my expertise exists. I can sharpen traditional knives but I don't feel comfortable actually charging for the service as the end result couldn't be guaranteed.

I can sharpen and repair most any double beveled chef knife whether it be European or Japanese or Chinese. All Japanese knives will be sharpened to 5,000 grit stone and is near mirror polish. Prices are on a case by case basis for repairs but charges for standard sharpening will be as follows:

Japanese Double-bevel (Gyuto, Petty, Sujihiki) - $20

Non-Japanese Kitchen Knives:
Under 2 inches - $5
2 to 5 inches - $7
5 to 7 inches - $9
7 to 9 inches - $11
9 to 12 inches - $13

Vegetable Cleaver - $13
Meat Cleaver - $15


Other services:
Refresh/Re-etch damascus chef knives - $40 (see below for example)
Repairs major nicks in the edge - case by case
Broken tip - starting at $15

Hattori KD Before etching service



Hattori KD after etching service



Close up Before



Close up After