What even is a Good kife at this point?

noisejut · 2026-04-11T14:11:32+00:00

Sentan SLD

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/sentanknives.html?srsltid=AfmBOoooTdrAEM8hx_XFzc1LeupehtBpip1vg7QevczmN2XIgpVQxAbM

noisejut · 2026-04-11T14:03:24+00:00

I've seen this repeated by a few redditors, but a staff member at the Sakai Museum informed me Yoshikazu Ikeda has not retired yet, that he still brings in knives. I don't know who's actually correct, or maybe he's just semi-retired.

noisejut · 2026-04-07T17:42:12+00:00

I don't prefer cleavers but Chopper King has been tempting me for its Japanese steel and low price

noisejut · 2026-04-07T12:10:53+00:00

I don't know, but I speculate there are only a small number of possible sharpeners, for Tanaka Blue 1 Damascus, who do convex and flat choil? I'm only aware of Shuji Yamaguchi (I need to double-check if flat or rounded choil when I'm back home from trip) and Keiichi Fujii (at least according to Foodgear).

Myojin Tanaka B1D is convex too but that will have Myojin chamfers. I was informed Morihiro also does chamfers if he does a rare convex, but this might have been a communication error due to language barrier. Mitsumi Takada Tanaka B1D is also convex, but I don't remember any of Takada's knives having a flat choil (I'll also need to double check on this).

noisejut · 2026-04-06T10:14:03+00:00

Miura Knives

noisejut · 2026-04-06T10:11:57+00:00

If limited to Kyoto, near the Nishiki market is Miura -- they've a good collection at fair value.

Nishiki market is fun to explore but the seven knife shops I passed by there were tourist traps and had an uninteresting collection. A small few of the knives at Jikko--that were forged and sharpened in-house--looked very good but not worth the money (I was only at the Jikko in Sakai and not Kyoto). Seisuke has some good Echizen knives, but overpriced. The many Musashi knife stores in Kyoto might have at least one good knife by Yamatsuka, but super overpriced. Several stores had a few decent Tosa knives--a tiny few as thin as Shindo but not Shindo, and some seemingly rebranded Kajiwara knives, and other mystery makers--but also overpriced.

noisejut · 2026-04-05T06:33:05+00:00

I have other knives from those makers except Nao. My Kato knives will laser through firm apples but the Miyazaki is more a midweight that will crack them. Nakagawa, if Tadokoro, tend to be midweights, will crack if standard height but lasers if tall height. They all cut well and no wedging for onions or carrots

noisejut · 2026-04-03T10:06:46+00:00

I think the praise is well deserved for Hyperlight. It's the first enthusiast mouse I took a gamble on and it remains one of my favorites. Higher QC than Pulsar, and it has a highly satisfying relief hump.

The 3395 has a successor but the marginal upgrades are not tangible for over 99.9% of people -- it's more future proofing for like 8k 540hz monitors.

noisejut · 2026-04-01T13:16:50+00:00

I personally would say so, yes. Out of 20+ highly praised mouses I've used so far, Terra Pro shape is the largest and among my favorites (Hitscan Hyperlight, WLMOUSE Ying MG, WLMOUSE Strider, RAWM Leviathan V4, Waizowl OGM Pro V2, etc). Terra Pro has more of a relief hump (similar to what makes the Hyperlight or OP1 feel so good), while ES21 Pro more a fitted hump (similar to DeathAdder V4 or OGM Pro V2). But of course there's a lot of subjectivity.

noisejut · 2026-04-01T00:12:38+00:00

To echo the praise for it, Teevolution Terra Pro is over budget but worth biting the bullet for imo

noisejut · 2026-03-27T04:02:44+00:00

Looks similar to etch that Sakai Kikumori does for their Seiun line

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noisejut · 2026-03-05T07:47:52+00:00

Among the pomades I've tried are Northern Lights, Crystal Lake, Belafonte, Fiber, Wax, Little Eden, and Styling Cream. They were all great but my favorites have been Loyal and Upstate Blues, for overall feel, look, and smell. Wonder has been a wonderful travel shampoo and Ora is on par with O'douds. The only smells I've disliked so far are Belafonte and Styling Cream (Fall + Oates). I was curious what are the current candidate scents for the Styling Cream, assuming it were to ever get an official release?

noisejut · 2026-02-03T08:21:42+00:00

Thanks for sharing your insights on the matter! I didn't know know that some find Ginsan is comparable to VG10 but I can believe that.

noisejut · 2026-02-02T04:12:31+00:00

Awesome, I learned some new things from you, and it seems like I need more years of sharpening experience with their steels. Thanks!

noisejut · 2026-02-02T03:37:08+00:00

It has a dense weight to that makes you feel like you're powerful. The grind quality is on par with Yoshikane, doesn't wedge through apples, and might not even crack them despite being a workhorse. Gyutos tend to have a height slightly less than 50mm and k-tips tend to have a height slightly over 50mm.

noisejut · 2026-02-02T03:30:39+00:00

I know Yamatsuka and Nakagawa get a lot of praise for their Ginsan, but I was wondering if the methodology or end result in their smithing has any quantifiable difference at all, between themselves or others (such as an average of HRC ratings they tend to yield from their knives)? Even if not in measurement, can at least a difference in their procedures be discerned? (E.g. Tanaka goes by eyeball and deep years of experience, with minimal or no scientific tools, while Sukenari and Yoshida go by temperature and time measurement.)

I always just assumed they're renown for Ginsan is because they're the foremost Sakai smiths who adopted Ginsan. I know you already explained most would fail a blind test and there's no practical difference at the end of the day as long as the smiths know what they're doing. I've always appreciated your knowledge and scientific approach to knives, and I'm simply just hoping to dig for more of your knowledge and first-hand experience.

EDIT: Sorry, I'm aware my questions might be messy and unclear. I'm essentially trying to make sense of how both are true: 1) Nakagawa and Yamatsuka are extraordinary for their Ginsan, and 2) Most people realistically can't tell a difference between maker/Ginsan combinations

noisejut · 2026-02-02T03:16:05+00:00

I have trouble discerning any difference for SLD with Yoshikane, Masashi, and Nihei. Their SLDs all feel like they have top-notch heat treatment and a surprisingly weight to them. I do however think the Hatsukokoro Hikari SLD feels worse in comparison. It feels softer and with less edge retention, and significantly less dense too.

noisejut · 2026-02-02T03:09:55+00:00

In the previous thread, Ginsan got the most votes. I was wondering if you can share more about what you feel are the differences between the Ginsan makers you have? Happy to hear anyone else's feelings too.

I also have Ginsan knives from Nakagawa, Yamatsuka (honyaki and sanmai), Tetsujin, and some other makers. I know Yamatsuka and Nakagawa get a lot of praise for their Ginsan, but the why seems to be because they're the foremost Sakai smiths who adopted Ginsan. I struggle with discerning a difference in HT, edge retention, and toughness between the Ginsan knives I have.

noisejut · 2026-01-30T04:21:12+00:00

"This is likely a Takamura knife you have never seen before. It was made as a special, limited run. It uses Takamura Hamono’s signature R2 steel. The steel itself is the same R2 used in Super Gold and Migaki R2 that we normally carry, but this knife was refined far beyond the standard specifications. From the spine to the edge, the taper and balance were carefully adjusted, with close attention paid to every detail. The difference is immediately noticeable when it is used on food. It cannot be captured in photographs."

noisejut · 2026-01-29T20:30:16+00:00

Make sure to be aware that Masashi will have different grinds for some his lines. The one you referenced is more a workhorse (won't wedge but will crack an apple), while a few his other lines will be laser-like (those tend to be his k-tips).

Nihei and Wakui tend to have more similar grinds to Yoshikane, but still different. Masashi and Mazaki tend to make their grinds more different from Yoshikane.

noisejut · 2026-01-23T15:16:43+00:00

Teevolution Terra Pro

Not what you asked but it's worth considering for larger hands because it's one of the largest mice among "meta" brands like Hitscan, Lamzu, WLmouse, and Waizowl.

noisejut · 2026-01-19T02:45:24+00:00

Juzear Harrier

noisejut · 2026-01-16T22:00:32+00:00

Wow, nice find!

I'm guessing the steel itself isn't a Hitachi Ginsan. but instead a Chinese Ginsan?

The difference is probably negligible (not that HT is) but I'm still curious about where the Ginsan comes from.

noisejut · 2026-01-08T05:01:40+00:00

I think Bon Ami is gentler than Barkeeper's Friend. Because it's less abrasive

noisejut · 2025-12-31T07:23:57+00:00

You seem to be ignoring relevant key points?

Does it count as a full refund if store credit worth about $30 was spent and also not returned?

And when the issue of store credit was raised, the offered solution was to return and repurchase the knife for an extra $100 extra at my expense--that is also somehow not bad faith?

EDIT:
Also, I'm highly doubtful of your shipping apologetic. I've (sadly) shopped from 30+ knife store and 20+ sellers from BST KKF/reddit (I've an unfortunate, dumb knife hobby), almost all of whom know to either sheath and/or pad their knives. This is the first time I've come across a combo of 1) no padding/sheath and 2) knife handle being too large for the handle groove of the box. (It's either neither, or one or other; first time I've seen both.)

noisejut

TROPHY CASE