How to sharpen a brand new yanagiba(and Kitaoka Yanagiba bule #2 270mm over view)Part 1

How to sharpen brand new yanagiba?
How sharp (or dull) the brand new yanagi right out of the box?
I set my 2nd camera for sharpening sequence, and while I was filming and sharpening, I bumped into the camera (which was set for manual focus).
So, after that, all the footage was out of focus.
I had to change the plan (of this video).
In part 2, I'll explain more in detail, practical way to sharpen Yanagiba.

[@AndyinMokum]

Greetings from Amsterdam. Thank you so much for your advice. I was already aware that most Japanese knives come with a very generic edge. The smiths make the knives. The users maintain and sharpen their knives. It makes sense. I wasn't sure about stropping my 27 cm shirogami #2 carbon steel yanagiba. I sharpen it with 1000 grit and 8000 grit Naniwa Super Stones. The edge is amazing. I tried your stropping technique. Wow, the edge is now incredible. I think it's possible to split atoms with my yanagiba. Thanks again for the great advice. 😀

[@MonsterS4R996]

Thanks for the nice comment. The newspaper strip is, something I learned from Murry Carter(from himself, NOT from his KZbin video), back in 2005 or so. Back then, he had no apprentice, did everything by himself. And, the coolest thing about Murry (back then) was that he used only the very primitive sharpening equipment (King #1000, 6000, and newspaper, that's it ) and produced the sharpest edge I've ever seen.

[@AndyinMokum]

@@MonsterS4R996 I like to make my own gravlax. (Nordic cured salmon). Standard western salmon slicing knives work just fine. I felt slicing could be improved though. This is why I bought my yanagiba. I was right. A freshly sharpened yanagiba outperforms a freshly sharpened western salmon slicing knife. It also retains its edge much longer. I know your stropping technique, will be the cherry on top of the cake. I have my eyes on a 21 cm (8 inch) Hatsukokoro Shirasagi Single Bevel Gyuto. It's forged from Shirogami #2 white paper steel, hardened to 63 Rockwell. This has been laminated between two layers of softer low carbon steel. The finish is raw and it'll patina beautifully. The handle is very traditional, being made from wenge wood with a buffalo horn crop. It's a gorgeous knife. My main obstacle, is my wife. I think I'll have to wait until tax return time in April 2022. 🤣

[@mozgvision]

Hello from United Kingdom! Many thanks for making good knife sharpening videos. I’ve watched Murray’s videos on the knife sharpening some years ago when i was learning how to hand sharpen. Very helpful indeed. I’ve been using a few double bevel Japanese knives, but only recently decided to splash out on a nice single bevel yanagiba. Got a beautiful Toyama yanagiba Dama very recently and I have to say that it’s one of the most beautiful knives that i have seen. From what I know Watanabe closely works with Toyama and his knives are pretty similar. I also have a few Watanabe knives and got some stones from him too. What a great guy with plenty of information at hand. Anyway, getting back to the yanagiba. How do i check if the Uraoshi has been done or not? I can see a very thin line (around 1mm in width) around the edge of the back of the knife. Are there any tests to check if it has been set? Thanks!

[@MonsterS4R996]

Hi. Yes, there's a way to check it. I just made a video today, to answer this question. kzbin.info/www/bejne/jmTHl4yZrbKVba8 It is most likely only partially done. (Unless you ask the blade smith / retailer to hand sharpen the edge prior to shipping, brand new knives don't come with real edge & ura-oshi.)

[@mozgvision]

@@MonsterS4R996 Thank you, I have watched the video and will try your method. I have a 1K stone and some diamond plates to make it straight.

[@gabagool7542]

My yanagiba I believe came with a micro bevel as it is hard for me to form a burr. Should I work on it with a 500 until I form a nice burr to get rid of the factory microbevel?

[@MonsterS4R996]

That depends. First, you will not see huge burr with Hitachi blue, white (and yellow, SK) steel knives. 2nd, yes, it's not uncommon to see micro bevel on brand new yanagiba. Partly because of the potential problem (damage to the edge while being transported). 3rd, I am planning to make dedicated video about this subject, but, ... you need to know that "kiriha" (front bevel plane) is NOT straight & flat. It is twisted. In other words, if you lay down the knife(kiriha) flat on the stone, you will not form a burr all the way across the edge. SO, be careful while doing it. Using 500 is fine, as long as you know what you are doing. (Just, check & observe frequently.)

[@gabagool7542]

@@MonsterS4R996 I feel the smallest burr now after the 500 and after removing on a 4000 on the ura, my knife is still not shaving hair sharp. Can cut paper easily but that doesent mean much to me. The steel is blue #2. Should I just keep repeating this process? Thanks for your reply

[@MonsterS4R996]

Don't sharpen URA too much. (In fact, after establishing URA-OSHI, you only use fine grit finishing stone on Ura. Repeatedly sharpen URA on something like #1000 is pretty common (but serious) mistake.) Without actually watching the knife, it's difficult to tell, but if I were in your place... I assume your edge (Apex) is not narrow enough. In other word, when you sharpen front side (KIRIHA), the actual edge (Apex) is not quite touching the stone. The best way to confirm this is to use sharpie and finishing stone. Paint the edge are with sharpie, then sharpen on the finest grit# stone you have. Don't use medium grit stone, as they are more "deceiving" when doing this kind of test. (They will show you more scratch mark, fooling you to think the edge is touching the stone.)

[@gabagool7542]

@@MonsterS4R996 thanks man!

[@meggenayoc5362]

A beautiful knife, thanks for the lesson.

[@MonsterS4R996]

Thanks. I'm planning to do more Yanagiba sharpening video. (Something practical, real world stuff. NOT for showing-off on KZbin.)

[@Crazyknives]

So all Yanagiba have to be sharped out of the box?

[@MonsterS4R996]

Pretty much, "Yes". Some of them might cut a little better than this example. But, they never come as fully sharpened. Unless, you are directly buying from the blade smith, and ask him to do so. Then, you will get fully sharpened knife, with some extra charge. (Don't expect people to work for free.) For example, Shinichi Watanabe offers "Togidashi" finish, which is basically an option you can choose when placing the order. I don't remember how much he charges for this, but the knife will come as sharp as it can ever be. So, as long as you are buying off-the -shelf item, the answer is, "Yes, you'll have to sharpen prior to use".