Tell me about Japanese Knives

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The Hyabusa was the last "worlds fastest street bike" IIRC. At the high of the Japanese speed wars the Hyabusa reigned supreme until the manufacturers, facing legislation, agreed to limit the top end speed & power of bikes. It was named after a type of hawk known for it's screaming speed in a dive (seems like it can hit 185 mph!).


Reading this now brought back memories. My BF died on one 2 yrs ago. He loved that bike. Heck he gave me a ride on it and the speed was INSANE.
 
I'm sorry to hear that! But that's one of the reason the makers capped the speed- they're just too dangerous to drive. Few people can handle one at speed but too many people try.
 
I'm sorry to hear that! But that's one of the reason the makers capped the speed- they're just too dangerous to drive. Few people can handle one at speed but too many people try.

Trust me my friend could handle the bike. He had it since it first came out. He would get on the sunshine skyway with 50+ bikes behind him. He was killed in a 4 way stop by a drunk driver. The irony is he was never scared of the busa.

I myself built an 11 second Evolution and he woul leave me like I was standing still at high speed. I did some stupid things in my younger days and thank god I am even still here today. I drove like an idiot at times. I learned my lesson quickly.

Now back to the subject. I went to personally look at shuns and the henckels pro s today. The shuns are scary sharp out of the box.
 
Shun knives are about as sharp as you will generally see OOTB on a consistent basis. Still, that's not very sharp compared to how sharp you can get an edge.;)
 
BTW, what's an Evolution? Drunk drivers are a menace, for sure. An old boss of mine was severely injured when she was rear ended at a red light by some drunk dimwit going 50 mph- in town!:mad:
 
Shun knives are about as sharp as you will generally see OOTB on a consistent basis. Still, that's not very sharp compared to how sharp you can get an edge.;)


Man for real. How can you get sharper than that? Can the shun knives be sharpened with the edge pro?

The Evolution is a Mitsubishi on Steroids :). Vishnu Performance Systems

That was a pretty good superbowl..


Rob I noticed you are in the knifeforums :)... So what stones do you use for the EP? I was thinking of going with the shaptons, but don't know which ones to buy.
 
Honestly, you can't compare the OOTB edge of a Shun to a well-sharpened hand applied edge, via Edge Pro or skilled freehand sharpening. For my EP I have a lot of stones. I have the OEM (original from EP) 120, 220, 320, 600, 800 (no longer offered) & 1000. I also have glass tape blanks with a variety of tapes and PSA films from 3M. I've got a couple of DMT DiaSharp diamond plates in 2x6", an XC and a C, that I attached to stone blanks myself. Then I've got Shapton Pro's in 320, 1k, 2k, 5k, 8k & 15k, as well as Naniwa Chocera's in 400, 800, 1k, 2k, 5k & 10k (with a 3k on the way). Lastly I've got a synthetic Aoto cut & mounted to an EP blank. And I've got a couple more "suprises" coming from the guy who's supplying the stones to Jende & CKtG.
 
How can you get sharper than that? Can the shun knives be sharpened with the edge pro?

Sure, I've done lots of Shuns on my EP. I get them waaay sharper than factory, it ain't even close. Ditto for Hattori's. I also do some repair work (chips, broken tips, etc).


Rob I noticed you are in the knifeforums :)... So what stones do you use for the EP? I was thinking of going with the shaptons, but don't know which ones to buy.

The Shaptons are great stones for the EP. I use diamond stones or a belt grinder for really coarse work, so I never use a stone coarser than the 320 Shapton (for now...). One pretty practical approach is to go with the stock EP stones to save a few bucks, then get Shaptons in grits higher than you can get stock. That would mean getting the Shaptons in 5k, 8k &15k. To be honest, going over 8k is mostly just for showing off, or if you need extreme polish. I find all the Shapton stones are very good. I prefer the Choceras by a slight margin, but either would serve you very well.
 
I love my Japanese knife . I got mine in the Taiwanese morning market from some Japanese guy who makes knives and distributes knives made in Japan. It has cut better and stayed sharper than any of my German knives. Well, if you are ever in Taiwan just find some old guy selling knives in the young an market. He sells them for about 50 USD a piece with bargaining.
 
Sure, I've done lots of Shuns on my EP. I get them waaay sharper than factory, it ain't even close. Ditto for Hattori's. I also do some repair work (chips, broken tips, etc).




The Shaptons are great stones for the EP. I use diamond stones or a belt grinder for really coarse work, so I never use a stone coarser than the 320 Shapton (for now...). One pretty practical approach is to go with the stock EP stones to save a few bucks, then get Shaptons in grits higher than you can get stock. That would mean getting the Shaptons in 5k, 8k &15k. To be honest, going over 8k is mostly just for showing off, or if you need extreme polish. I find all the Shapton stones are very good. I prefer the Choceras by a slight margin, but either would serve you very well.


So I should buy the shapton 5k,8k, and 15k for sharpening a Shun then?

What stones will I need to sharpen the shun sharper than ootb?
 
So I should buy the shapton 5k,8k, and 15k for sharpening a Shun then?

What stones will I need to sharpen the shun sharper than ootb?

Do you use an Edge Pro? To be honest, you can get a Shun sharper than new with the stones included by EP. If you're matching the angle (or going more acute) and minimizing the burr or properly deburring, and using good technique you should be doing better than new without any special stones. Using all Shaptons I find when doing Shuns they're sharper than OOTB when they come off the 5k...and to be honest, a 1k followed by stropping will get you pretty close.
 
Do you use an Edge Pro? To be honest, you can get a Shun sharper than new with the stones included by EP. If you're matching the angle (or going more acute) and minimizing the burr or properly deburring, and using good technique you should be doing better than new without any special stones. Using all Shaptons I find when doing Shuns they're sharper than OOTB when they come off the 5k...and to be honest, a 1k followed by stropping will get you pretty close.


Yes I have an Edge Pro. I bought it to sharpen my personal knives and my dads. I am looking for knives for the both of us. Do you have pics of your sharpening setup you can share?
 
I could take some, I guess, but my Apex looks like yours!:ROFLMAO: Actually, I have the EP Pro model on order, and when it gets here my Dad is getting my Apex. I use a variety of tools depending on what I'm doing- freehand on stones and/or DMT Diasharps, Edge Pro, belt grinder (mostly repairs, chips or really, really dull knives)...Some cheapo knives that don't merit soaking the waterstones I just touch up on a set of Edgemaker Pro sharpeners.

Later this evening I'm going to sharpen a few knives for a couple of my coworkers. If I don't forget by then I'll snap a few pics!:LOL:
 
I could take some, I guess, but my Apex looks like yours!:ROFLMAO: Actually, I have the EP Pro model on order, and when it gets here my Dad is getting my Apex. I use a variety of tools depending on what I'm doing- freehand on stones and/or DMT Diasharps, Edge Pro, belt grinder (mostly repairs, chips or really, really dull knives)...Some cheapo knives that don't merit soaking the waterstones I just touch up on a set of Edgemaker Pro sharpeners.

Later this evening I'm going to sharpen a few knives for a couple of my coworkers. If I don't forget by then I'll snap a few pics!:LOL:

Ahh ok that would be awesome...
 
Oooops! Even after all that I almost forgot the pics!:LOL: Here's a pic of my custom cut EP stones:

Left to right: Choceras in 10k, 5k, 2k, 1k, 800, 400. Shaptons in 320, 1k, 2k, 5k, 8k & 15k. In front are extra Chocera 400 & 1k plus the synthetic aoto.
customstones1.jpg



EP Apex, HA Ceramic Hone, several types of rock-hard felt, mounted DMT XC Diasharp Diamond Plate, 10x Belomo Jewelers Loupe, & assorted stones.
epfelt1.jpg
 
Not shown are my bench stones, waterstones and grinder, along with some stuff for flattening. That stuff is currently piled up on a table in the basement.
 
Not shown are my bench stones, waterstones and grinder, along with some stuff for flattening. That stuff is currently piled up on a table in the basement.


Thanks for the pics. I just got my Edge Pro from the UPS guy. It is an awesome setup, except one minor thing. The 1000 grit stone came shipped from shipping i would suppose. I already emailed Ben and he is taking care of me. I figured i might as well order spare stones If he is going to reship me a stone.


I watched his video 3x..lol
 
Thanks for the pics. I just got my Edge Pro from the UPS guy. It is an awesome setup, except one minor thing. The 1000 grit stone came shipped from shipping i would suppose. I already emailed Ben and he is taking care of me. I figured i might as well order spare stones If he is going to reship me a stone.


I watched his video 3x..lol

I'm sure Ben will fix you right up. He's good people!:mrgreen: In the meantime you can get a good edge with just the 120/220/320/600, too. Did you get any polishing tapes with it? When you get it set up, start with a "beater" knife, but don't do too many bad ones...they'll just frustrate you. Don't worry about making a mistake- there's very little that you'll do with your EP that you won't be able to fix down the road. Try to stay loose; that's really one of the hardest things to do, but it's important. At first you'll want to hold the knife in a white-knuckle death-grip, but that's unnecessary, even counterproductive. Hold the knife with just enough force to keep it in place. And the same goes for the hand you're running the stone with. You don't need a lot of pressure. Use smooth, light strokes, especially while you're learning. Let the stone do the work for you. As Ben shows in the video, get yourself a Sharpie to color the edge, then you can easily tell what you're doing. Better still would be a sharpie & a 10X loupe. I waited a lot longer than I should have, now I wish I'd have bought it right when I got my EP! These 40 year old eyes really benefit from the ten power magnification.

Good luck with your EP! Let us know if you have any questions or problems once you've used it a few times.
 
BTW, using a cookie sheet or baking dish as I show in the pic makes cleanup a lot easier.:) A heavier one would be nice, I'll probably dig one up when my Pro gets here.
 
BTW, using a cookie sheet or baking dish as I show in the pic makes cleanup a lot easier.:) A heavier one would be nice, I'll probably dig one up when my Pro gets here.


No cookie sheet is needed. This thing grips the table like a french whore :LOL:. Wow this Edge pro is amazing!!! I just got done sharpening 2 knives and holly cow at 320 they slice paper.. What is hte water bottle for? Also how do oyu clean the stones? My 220 truned dark gray after 2 knives.
 
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