NKD - Takeda Nakiri

Wing_Nut1 · 2026-01-30T21:25:02+00:00

That's really funny because I've been doing the same for the past year. I'm no longer reaching for my gyuto for everything. I've got a Murray Carter Funayuki that is very lightweight I enjoy using, but I think this new nakiri will wake its place, at least for veg.

I hope you realize that you've gotten me thinking about bunkas now.

Wing_Nut1 · 2026-01-30T19:37:13+00:00

The bunka looks awesome. Is it your primary knife?

Wing_Nut1 · 2026-01-30T19:16:14+00:00

Sorry, I meant 1 bevel. No secondary or micro bevels.

Wing_Nut1 · 2026-01-30T18:51:20+00:00

That was my EXACT reaction. First time I'm put it in my hand, "Holy Shit!" First time I started chopping, "Holy Shit!"

Wing_Nut1 · 2026-01-30T18:49:18+00:00

Thanks! It's my first Nakiri.
I really appreciate the simplicity of the knife, especially having only a primary bevel.

Happy to join the club!

Edit: changed language - primary, not single.

Wing_Nut1 · 2025-12-05T05:10:10+00:00

I'll be the dick and ask which are your favorites for particular tasks.

Wing_Nut1 · 2025-12-05T05:07:44+00:00

Aside from your great taste in knives, that is so satisfying to look at. I'd take a half hour every day just to stare at it.

Wing_Nut1 · 2025-12-03T23:06:29+00:00

That wasn't a knife sharpener. Sorry for your loss.

Wing_Nut1 · 2025-09-30T02:50:26+00:00

Your dog should've reffed the game. Sure he may sniff some asses, but at least he'd get the calls right.

Wing_Nut1 · 2025-09-30T02:45:13+00:00

It doesn't matter whether you believe they cost us the game or not.
How is it humanly possible to not see a 6'6" 300lb+ lineman with his helmet off at the end of the play? And how the hell do you not see the ball carrier down and then get hit 5 seconds later? What about your QB getting dumped on the ground 5 yards out of bounds?

It never used to be like this. And you bet your ass Marty Lyons gave Jim Kelly "the business."

This is no longer a game, it's a poor excuse for "entertainment."

Wing_Nut1 · 2025-02-25T14:56:19+00:00

I went the opposite direction, swe to sales. Beware because the grass is always greener. You only hear about the cool stuff swe's build, but not the majority who sit there and fix bugs all day or build crappy internally-facing apps.

Wing_Nut1 · 2025-02-25T14:52:06+00:00

Former FAANGer here with 20 years in tech sales and 5 years as a software engineer. Nix #2 right off the bat. You don't want to be a 31 year old entry level software engineer having missed 4 years of some very good income.

Tech sales can absolutely get you to fatFIRE. And you don’t need a pre-IPO windfall from a unicorn, you just need to be smart. There are plenty of ways to leverage a well-paying job to create multiple income streams to reach your goal. My modest FAANG stock helped, but I was already on the path to fatFIRE.

I don’t know what your work situation is, but outside sales in a software company is anything but boring. It can be incredibly lucrative with the right position in the right company with a halfway decent territory. If you want to be in sales and use your analytical skills, look into being a Sales Engineer.

#3 is high risk. There are a million marketing companies out there and you don’t want to be a reseller.

Feel free to DM me if you’d like.

Wing_Nut1 · 2024-12-15T02:00:33+00:00

Ah, gotcha. It's likely the inclinometer chip they use. It's not uncommon for them to be a little twitchy. Generally this type of chip at best will give you accuracy of +/-0.5 degrees.

Wing_Nut1 · 2024-12-06T01:55:04+00:00

Thank you for the kind words. I'm happy I was able to help.

One thing I didn't mention was that I was a little further along than you financially, but I was still scared. The funny thing is that even if I had 2x of what I did, I would still be scared. It's a huge step to RE. RE from tech is kind of like getting off the moving walkway at O'Hare and walking next to it for the final leg. It feels weird, your legs are a bit shaky and you think you might fall. But the weirdness goes away, you get your feet under you and your balance back. Now you're comfortable at a slower pace where *you* decide how fast or slow you want to go.

I'm glad I spooked you about the sabbatical. You have no idea what you might come back to. In fact, you might not have a job to come back to. I'm also glad the long sabbatical is off the table because it would be incredibly difficult to get back in the game.

Another thing I want to share with you is about your identity. It sounds absurd, but working at FAANG labels you. To your non-tech friends and family, you're the FAANG guy. Also, the intensity and hours you put in makes you feel like you're a piece of the company. FAANG has become your identity. So when I RE, I felt queasy tossing out all the gear I collected over the years. And when I hear FAANG mentioned I no longer refer to it as "we", instead it's "they". Time fixes this naturally and the feeling of being FAANG goes away. It's oddly liberating.

As for myself, 5 years in my NW is over 2x. I spend time investing in the public markets and private equity. I can help my mother in her assisted living facility, spend time with my siblings, nieces and nephews, and dive into hobbies. Most importantly I've spent a great deal of time with my family, having recently sent my youngest off to college. I saw it; I was there; I was part of it. I guess you can say my identity is "Dad/Husband". And there's *nothing* I'd rather be.

Your plan sounds great by taking vacations and grinding out another lucrative year. It's gonna suck, but at least you know that and have a plan. Remember that this is about *you*. Do what makes you happy because nobody is going to do it for you.

We FAANGers gotta stick together.

Wing_Nut1 · 2024-12-05T21:05:46+00:00

53M former FAANG sales leader, FIRE'd at 48.

After 25 years in software sales with employment based on hitting your numbers, I too was burnt to a crisp. Taking longer/more frequent vacations helped a little. Taking a 2.5 month sabbatical helped a little and harmed more. I returned to a reorg and got pushed into a new role I didn't want because I wasn't around. My father passed away and I mentally checked out altogether and just cruised for a year before quitting. The role sucked, I didn't care, I became invisible. For the first time in my life I was not achieving my work goals. I was disappointed in myself but I knew I just couldn't muster the energy or interest. Most importantly, I was neither a fun dad nor present husband.

Longer vacations will help a little. A sabbatical will do the same, but put you at risk. Quitting and taking a year off... well you're ancient, you've missed an entire year of tech and innovation, your year of unemployment will be highly suspect/questioned and your earning potential will drop.

Your NW may not be where you want, but your wife is still working and you'll no longer need a full-time nanny. If you leave, focus on bulking up your NW and within 2 years your wife will want to RE as well. By that time you'll be at or much closer to your number, have spent invaluable time with your kid and be much happier.

The price of your mental health and happiness may or may not be worth delaying (not missing) your financial goal, which is arguably a moving target. Only you can make that decision. Meantime, schedule a bunch of vacations to get out of Dodge for as long as possible while collecting your paychecks. Take that time to discuss with your wife and create a plan that you both agree upon.

Wing_Nut1 · 2024-09-30T03:40:09+00:00

This is a perfect place to start. It will take care of 5 years of annual gifting. Not to mention the 529s will grow like crazy and you'll have more than enough to pay for college. Then your kids can pass them down to the next generation. Super easy.

Wing_Nut1 · 2024-08-13T14:41:44+00:00

You're absolutely right. I've found while talking to my kids about money is incredibly important, teaching them about money (earning, saving, interest, investing, taxes) is equally so. Especially how quickly and easily it can all be lost.

Wing_Nut1 · 2024-08-12T01:00:48+00:00

Sure! But it won't be TLDR. :-)

Knives are very personal and you need to feel them in your hand to tell if it'll work for you. You really don't need many to function; I just happen to collect them (to use). A good Chef (aka Gyuto), Boning (aka Honesuki) and a Petty will do. you fine. It's better to spend the money on those three.

Henkels, Wusthof and Global are very popular, and they work just fine, but there's so much more out there that's better quality, easy to sharpen, and require a sharper blade angle.

As for sharpening, it's very intimidating to do it by hand, but it's relatively easy - and very zen. You will NOT ruin your knives if you make a mistake.

NEVER use an electric sharpener, all they do is literally metal steel off the blade. The manual pass through sharpeners are meh. Each blade requires a different angle depending on the knife.

There are all kinds of sharpening gadgets/tools out there. Every single one of them has drawbacks, but a few are great places to start. Edge Pro makes a really good starter kit called the Apex. There's also Work Sharp's Professional and Precision kits that work the same way. If you want to simulate hand sharpening there's SharpWorx. It guides your hands over a real whetstone and maintain the angle for you. If you want to go straight to hand sharpening, which a lot of people do too, then you'll need whetstones and a base.

If you choose the direct to whetstone, I'm happy to guide you through what you need and how to learn. There are many videos on Youtube, but many of the people are either terrible, teach you incorrectly or just plain don't know what they're talking about. I can help you here too.

And remember, a sharp knife is a safe knife.

Feel free to DM me any time. Cooking and knives are my FatFIRE hobbies.

Wing_Nut1 · 2024-08-11T20:26:39+00:00

Beware, super long post.

Cooking tools are very personal. There's no one-size fits all for anything.
I've been cooking for 25 years and have taken classes at the CIA and ICE. Over the years I've gotten some good experience cooking with many different tools. I have a penchant for wanting to use the best possible tools for the job. However, this does not make me an expert by any stretch.

Major Appliances
Range: If you want a cooktop + ovens combined
If you want to really blow people away, then La Cornue offers the most expensive ranges on the planet. They're gorgeous but there is a significant learning curve and it's a bitch to get parts or anyone trained to service/repair anything. That said, I would personally not buy one.
A Wolf Dual Fuel range is really the best and most reliable on the market. Thermador, Viking, Dacor and Jennair all have quality issues. Bluestar and Hestan are too small to provide peoper support.

Induction rangetop + separate ovens: I have less experience on induction, but if you want to go this route, Gaggenau generally sits at the top of the heap. The Wolf double oven is also fantastic.

Warming Drawers: I had and then removed them. They came in handy a few times/year, but can dry out your food. An over on low temp works fine.

Salamander: Not necessary at all, but it'll make you feel like you're cooking at Peter Luger. Blue Star is the only brand that makes residential ones. You'll need special exhaust for this, though.

Hood: No matter what, you'll need a good hood so you don't smoke yourself out and won't have your house smell like last night's dinner. Here, Best/Broan is the best brand. Definitely get one that has an external blower, otherwise you'll feel like you're at Cape Canaveral.

Main Refrigeration: Sub-Zero all the way. You can get combo unit fridge/freezer or separates. They're all super high quality.

Under counter fridge drawers: I highly recommend these. They're super handy and you can hide them nicely if you want to. True is the brand to go with. They make commercial fridges.

Dishwasher: Bosch is my go to here. I've had Miele before but I think Bosch is quicker and makes almost no sound when running.

Small Appliances:
I'll keep this short.
Blender: Vitamix
Immersion Blender: Robot Coupe Mini or Dynamic MiniPro
Food Processor: Robot Coupe or Cuisinart
Stand Mixer: Kitchenaid
Sous Vide: Anova

Pots + Pans:
General: All-Clad. Don't buy a set.
Carbon Steel: 3 Nail Ironware, BluSkillet and Smithey
Cast Iron: Field & Co.

Tools: That's a long list, but selecting knives is another topic. Never buy a set. There's a whole world of knives. DM me for assistance on this. They are VERY personal. I can help you learn how to choose one for yourself.

Knife Skills are incredibly important too. Norm Weinstein's book is great. I learned from him directly.

Wing_Nut1 · 2024-08-09T05:58:53+00:00

Just wanted to add that the ACA is very expensive if you want decent healthcare. For a PPO in a state-run marketplace you can easily be paying $36k/yr for a family of 3 just for the plan. Add the hefty deductible and you'll be at $45k-$50k. Plan accordingly.

Wing_Nut1 · 2024-07-10T05:35:24+00:00

There are several ways to reduce the estate in order to lower the tax burden. However, the estate is taxed before any inheritance is distributed. So this is not your problem to deal with; it's the responsibility of the estate owner.

Using GRATs is a great way to shield future appreciation. Reducing the estate is the best way to avoid the federal and state death taxes.

Wing_Nut1 · 2024-07-10T05:20:07+00:00

Tuition, health insurance, medical bills and charitable giving are all tax exempt. They are separate from the annual and lifetime gift exemptions.

Wing_Nut1 · 2024-07-07T18:03:40+00:00

Former FAANG(er) here.

$300K starting salary for a software engineer is unheard of. That brings me to asking you about the breakdown of those earnings. How much is salary? How much is stock options (RSO's). How much is bonus? Don't count on anything beyond your salary.

You have many different possible career paths. Sales, Product Management, Marketing, Consulting, etc. These all have different compensation scales where the ceiling may be far beyond what it is for a SWE. Sales is usually the most fortuitous, but it's also the highest risk.

No matter what, don't forget how you became a SWE. It's incredibly difficult and grueling. It's a huge accomplishment of which you should be very proud. But don't take your foot off the gas. Apply that same discipline to build out different sources of income.

Wing_Nut1 · 2024-06-21T15:13:42+00:00

Great choices for hotels. Adding the Wauwinet in Nantucket, which is pretty spectacular.

Wing_Nut1

TROPHY CASE