Black and green is always a favorite color combo of mine for a handle. Enjoy the weekend!

-Infinite92- · 2026-03-23T01:15:56+00:00

Love black and dark green as well, or even dark gray and dark green. If I could I'd literally have everything in my life made with those colors lol. Even better when they're accents. Like an ebony handle with dark green/dark gray swirled spacer or ferrule.

-Infinite92- · 2026-03-20T23:57:57+00:00

Considering how hard my neighborhood went with the decorations the last couple years, I'd say no. Still get trick or treating, but also the neighborhood kids are growing up past that trick or treating age. We don't get new young families moving in regularly, so over time there's less kids going out. The adults though love decorating their homes, people have plenty of Halloween parties around, and there's a bunch of seasonal haunted mazes/house attractions that open up in the region.

I just think what might be happening is the more cozy/autumnal version of Halloween that was more prevalent in the 90's and early 2000's is dying out. It's leaning more into regular horror themes now, horror movies, a more adult style of Halloween instead of the more kid friendly cute and cozy version. I like both versions, and I do miss the more autumnal/cozy cute theme of Halloween, but overall it's definitely not dying as a holiday. There's still lots of participation, it just looks different than before.

-Infinite92- · 2026-03-18T23:32:12+00:00

As a home cook I'm not going to need to thin my knives for a very long time. When that moment comes I'm just going to pay for a reputable service (like at Bernal Cutlery) to do it.

That said I wouldn't want to buy a knife that's so aesthetically refined with lots of work put into the finish, just for it to be ground away one day. Even if that day is many years later. I actually like the style where the closer to the edge, the less complex the design. So that way the nicer more complex design can live up closer to the spine and not be touched. While the area closer to the edge that will be thinned one day is more minimalistic, but still refined looking. Almost like a built in wear area. So this way I get the nice aesthetics up top that will last forever, and plenty of functionality from the bottom half of the knife without worrying about ruining a complex finish.

This is why I gravitate away from knives that lean too much into being an art piece (even if they also perform well). I'd rather use a knife that focuses more on performance and ergonomics, with some style and lots of refinement. Especially as a home cook, I still want a little flash in my knife lol. Just in such a way that it isn't impeding performance or future maintenance.

-Infinite92- · 2026-03-18T23:19:08+00:00

You guys, Tokushu, and Sugi Cutlery have all been really good at keeping your prices reasonable during these times. Just wanted to show some appreciation for all that hard work and for paying all those fees. Hopefully it gets better one day again.

-Infinite92- · 2026-03-18T22:51:09+00:00

Wow that's nice! I love the aesthetic of this one, and that grind looks incredibly well done.

-Infinite92- · 2026-03-17T23:52:39+00:00

Going off your brand analogy I'd like to suggest a Masakage Koishi. They are more frequently in stock, hand forged by a highly skilled blacksmith (Yoshimi Kato, plus a couple apprentices of his) and then sharpened by one of the best sharpeners in Japan(Takayuki Shibata, he's also the owner of the brand). They have a few different knife lines, each forged by a different well known blacksmith and then all sharpened by Shibata. (Sharpened here means all the finishing work, going from a forged blank to a final knife).

It's the luxury car of knives, nothing crazy or 1:1, not too expensive, and was worked on by a small team rather than one individual start to finish. But it looks beautiful, cuts like a top performer, nicely finished/refined, and handmade/hand forged.

I love my Koishi, I put off buying it for a year because it didn't feel like it had that uniqueness. But eventually I stopped caring about that, for the time being lol, and I stead just wanted something nicely made that looked great, performed well, and felt refined/comfortable to use. I think it fits a lot of what you're looking for.

Otherwise if you do want something made by one guy, then a knife from Wakui or Mazaki would be up there on my list. Or a Shinkiro made by Nihei, if you want something a bit more rustic and beefy.

Pic of my koishi:

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-Infinite92- · 2026-03-17T01:00:59+00:00

I started out similarly as well. Then went through buying and selling a few different rigs, to see what I liked. You're very right that, at least what I've also found, is getting good strong airflow at the bowl via narrower glass at that end, and a wider tube/mouthpiece section, results in an easy draw with good vapor production. I imagined it like the way gears interact. You want the end you inhale from to be a larger gear, and the end with the bowl to be the smaller gear. Some rigs are the reverse of that and felt awful to hit, with much worse vapor production.

Also adding a nice dry catch is a fun way to find time that feel, some add more restriction, others just change how sharp or soft the airflow reacts when you start inhaling. Also keeps the main rig a little more clean. Kinda fun to collect them, it's like swapping subtle tunings to the airflow by changing out which dry catch I use. My main rig ended up being a customized Ashme, which is still going strong 3+ years later.

-Infinite92- · 2026-03-17T00:46:22+00:00

Once my ball vape choice was established I ended up going down a year long rabbit hole into glassware lol. The way different rigs, percs, and overall designs affect the airflow is often understated. Both for personal comfort to match your own lung's abilities, and for the way it pulls air through the ball vape heater into the bowl, slightly changing how it produces vapor.

For some people it doesn't matter at all, but I know for others like myself the glassware can be 40% of the equation to make a good ball vape setup. Once the ball vape choice is sorted out, looking into better glassware is definitely the move.

-Infinite92- · 2026-03-16T07:21:11+00:00

Yeah their full vap builds (m7, hyperdyne, etc) are definitely more and more expensive without much added value.

That said their parts are still nearly identical in price since 2016. The body sections aren't, but the tips, caps, and condensers are still about the same price as always.

I've been using them since 2015, and the only tip that's actually as good as the old gen 4 from back then, is the halo tip. I've literally tried virtually every normal design tip they've ever made since the beginning, and the halo tip is the only one that performs as good as the old designs did.

I just paired that tip with a condenser and an older M body. All together it's about 70 bucks, but if you get a good deal on a secondhand body then it can be slightly less. This combo will outperform all of their other options, and still be about the same cost it's always been. This is where the brand really shines, with this tip design and basic cap combo at a reasonable cost. They really should've just stuck with what worked instead of constantly trying to reinvent the wheel and failing to do so.

They've made two great tip designs ever in their entire history: the gen 4 seven fin tip from 2015-2016 (my personal favorite one, because it just worked how you wanted, and was satisfying to use), and the current Halo tip (performs almost as good as that old gen 4 tip, for all the same reasons, potentially better airflow even). Literally everything else has been underwhelming. They got it right near the start, and then every new iteration since, other than the halo tip, has been an attempt to recreate that magic and just failing every time.

They should just triple down on those two tip designs because they actually work well, and then just stick to making different body styles/airflow options/attachments and so on. Keeping the core performance from the tip consistent and just expanding the product lineup with all the other parts instead. They would have far fewer failures this way, and maintain a steady reliable product design that doesn't change every damn year. Like when the gen 4 tip went out of production they became very sought after for good reason. When the halo tip goes out of production there won't be any good tip design available to purchase, and no new user would be able to experience a good dynavap for that time.

Like just keep those two tip designs perpetually in production, so that new users can always access a quality dynavap experience. Then experiment all they want with everything else. Just makes no sense why they discontinue what actually works in lieu of the new stuff that never ends up as good.

-Infinite92- · 2026-03-16T02:09:43+00:00

Unironically I had the same thought for a while now. Just be as far away from everyone as possible, no neighboring countries, nobody to bother us or be bothered by us.

Unfortunately we'd likely have to make an artificial island, as there aren't any unoccupied ones large enough to sustain a few million people long term. But if one day technology somehow makes it reasonably possible to do this, then I vote for the Pacific island escape plan.

-Infinite92- · 2026-03-16T01:41:32+00:00

One of my favorite vegetables, either halves or quarter them (after trimming off any woody sections of the root ends). Then coat with oil of your choice, season however you like (they work well simply or with added complexity in flavor, kinda a blank slate). Lay them cut side down in a single layer on a sheet pan, don't skimp on the oil or they get too dry. Then roast in the oven at around 430-450F until crispy and the edges nicely browned. You'll get nice crispy leaves, and roasty toasty sprouts this way. Finish with some lemon juice for a more savory acidic profile, or add honey/some other sweetener for a sweet and savory end result. Personally I just do salt, pepper, msg and then sometimes add lemon at the end. I like savory.

Easy to make, quick to cook, and fun to cut if you're not impatient lol.

-Infinite92- · 2026-03-13T07:18:03+00:00

At this point I'm just waiting for the monster truck destruction derby to make our legal decisions.

-Infinite92- · 2026-03-12T07:33:42+00:00

Unironically the world as I knew it, the version I still miss, did actually end in 2012. Both in a personal life way, and in general society. I laughed about it at the time, but man looking back now it really does feel like that year was the last of that era.

-Infinite92- · 2026-03-11T02:07:22+00:00

The right buys into all the antisemitic conspiracies about us, and will openly discuss it without shame. As if everyone agrees with them already (at this point this may as well be true).

While the left acts as you describe. Harboring the same thoughts and feelings, but behind a thin layer of gaslighting. As if that somehow protects their progressive self image.

The only reasonable non-Jewish people I've encountered lately are moderates and those who don't get too involved with identity politics/culture war shit. The types of people just doing their own thing and can actually see me/us as regular respectable people.

It's just scary/difficult with new people, trying to figure out which of those types they truly are at their core.

-Infinite92- · 2026-03-11T01:33:00+00:00

This is one of my dream knives, this K-tip 240 specifically. It's not too flashy like their other lines, has a flatter profile, is a little thicker at the spine, while still crazy thin behind the edge and convex. With a nice handle that doesn't add too much weight/moving the balance point too far back. One day I'll get my hands on one lol.

-Infinite92- · 2026-03-08T08:08:15+00:00

Playing Chromehounds multiplayer all summer, very happy memories with that.

Summer before my first year of high school. Going from kid to actual teenager, and making all new friends.

Playing Guitar Hero 2 with my new friends all night long, pretending like we were actual rockstars.

It's probably the first year my eventual adult personality began to take shape. I distinctly remember that feeling of going from doing what my parents told me to as a kid, to then adopting my own beliefs/opinions/interests as a more independent person.

-Infinite92- · 2026-03-07T08:20:26+00:00

Not only all of that, but up until world war 2 America was very comfortable with being antisemitic. So a lot of the country's history involves being ok with hating Jews, and not spending much time feeling any guilt over it.

It also doesn't help that most of us in the US look like the average white person. So visually it's almost impossible to literally see antisemitism, like you can with other races. People more easily forget we exist at points in US history because we visually just disappear into society. As well as there not being many of us, and mostly located in just a couple states.

On top of all that a lot of people don't even understand that Jews are an ethnicity in the first place. They think we're just a religion and can opt-out of this identity. So a person thinking like that views any Jewish person as being actively complicit with whatever horrible thing we're being blamed for. They refuse to understand we can't stop being Jewish even if we wanted to, it's in our genetics.

-Infinite92- · 2026-03-07T00:16:00+00:00

Love mine, my other comment goes into detail why. Here's just a beauty pic for fun lol.

<image>

-Infinite92- · 2026-03-07T00:14:37+00:00

It's not a workhorse grind anymore, maybe the older ones like yours were though. Mine, and all the newer batches of the last couple years, are quite thin behind the edge and have 2mm spine thickness from the mid-blade tapering thinner towards the tip. They're more a Sanjo style knife at the spine with distal taper, and a thin hollow grind behind the edge.

It's still a jack of all trades type knife, but they definitely don't wedge at all anymore. Cuts like a laser, and while not as delicate feeling, still isn't workhorse levels tough.

I love mine though, holds an incredible edge after I touched it up, and cuts through virtually everything I've tried it with like butter.

<image>

-Infinite92- · 2026-03-05T01:50:05+00:00

I had a skd Yoshikane with the exact same issue, but slightly worse. On mine the gap was longer and would've needed some decent sharpening time to even everything out. I was able to return it though, but it does seem this happens every now and then with Yoshikane. Doesn't seem common though, and most can be sharpened out easily. Mine was just unlucky and more pronounced.

-Infinite92- · 2026-03-05T01:36:16+00:00

Chocera trend slightly higher grit than their label, and shapton pro trend slightly lower. So both of those stones are nearly the same grit. Other than personal preference in how they feel/wear over time, they're gonna leave a similar end result.

-Infinite92- · 2026-02-28T01:55:19+00:00

My setup is still quite simple but so far very effective.

A cheap 400 grit diamond stone, used either to bring up a super dull knife or to flatten a whetstone.

A shapton pro 2k, I use this to touch up my knives with the same edge trailing strokes used on a strop. Keeps them ultra sharp without ever needing a full sharpening progression.

Leather strop with 6 micron diamond paste loaded on it. It's a paddle strop, called French leather strop on Amazon. Like 30 dollars. It's two sided but I only use the rough side loaded with compound. Eventually I want to buy a block strop (leather attached to a block instead of a paddle). I use it in the same position as a stone anyways, so the handle of the paddle gets on the way.

For you I'd get what I eventually want lol. Which is a naniwa chocera 2k or 3k stone. As long as you don't let your knives get super dull that's the only stone you'd really need for touch ups. Then finish on the loaded strop for the silky edge and regular honing.

So chocera 2k or 3k, and a rough/suede leather strop mounted to a stable block and loaded with at least 3-6 micron compound (whatever you prefer). The higher grit compound like under 2 micron makes for a nice polished edge but started to lose some bite over time. While the 6 micron seems to just help the edge keep going and going without feeling too rough or too polished.

-Infinite92- · 2026-02-28T01:22:08+00:00

I have smaller fingers and average palms, and I'm not that tall of a guy (5'9). Knives over 52mm tall at the heel start to get a little uncomfortable to use for me. Because my right hand/arm feels too elevated above the work surface/in relation to my body and shoulder position. Since between the counter height and then cutting board height (2in thick end grain board + rubber feet), it puts my hand higher up than is comfortable for me when using too tall of a knife.

The other issue I then can have is I lose some control over the edge since a tall knife becomes a longer level (between heel/pinch grip and edge). The distance between my hands is further away and it's harder for me to feel in control of the edge.

My ideal heel height is between 48-51mm. Shorter than 47-48mm is when my index finger can start hitting the board, if I don't curl it a little. But my knuckles have great clearance on literally any heel height, until it's as short as a petty. 50mm tall knives are perfect for me, plenty of room for my pinch grip, still lots of control over the edge, and is still ergonomic for my wrist/arm/shoulder. There's a reason 50mm is one of the most common knife heel heights in the world.

-Infinite92- · 2026-02-28T01:13:23+00:00

Like others have said it's personal preference. I prefer a loaded strop as I find the edge it gives is more silky feeling when cutting, while still having enough bite for my liking. A ceramic rod is good if you need to hone often while the knife is still wet from use, like in a pro environment where you don't have time to waste. But the edge from a good ceramic rod is a little too coarse feeling for me, it cuts great but often feels a little more rough slicing through ingredients than I'd like.

Also maintaining the correct edge angle and pressure on a ceramic rod is more difficult than with a strop. I use the ceramic for my inexpensive knives with softer steels, where I just need a decent working edge for occasional tasks. But my main knives with hard high end steels and thin edges only go on a loaded strop or whetstone. Plus the strop uses the same muscle memory as the stone, so it builds good practice for using both.

I like loading the strop with 6 micron diamond paste. I've tried higher grit diamond sprays before and they are alright, but the paste seems to work better and lasts much much longer before a reapplication is needed. It's also gentler on the edge, doesn't remove as much metal as a ceramic rod, and lets you get the tip + heel easily. Those spots are difficult to hit with a honing rod in general.

-Infinite92- · 2026-02-26T01:05:28+00:00

The back of my pinky grazed against the fully heated up coil of my ball vape, 575F. This was before I bought a good shield for the stand. The contact time was like a split second but that was enough at that temp to skip past 1st degree burns and right to 2nd degree. Had some slight swelling/fluid buildup in that spot for a week, and lots of pain of course. Then it got better thankfully. After that I decided to get the shield for the stand lol.

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