Robert's 185mm W2 Ko-Gyuto

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It really is outstandingly beautiful.
And my god that is thin!

 

Such a FRICKIN' STUNNING KNIFE!!! My goodness.....

 

For. Sure.

Good golly miss molly!

 

Beautiful knife and great pics:cool1

 

Definitely NSFW!

 

As most folks know it's easiest to pick up the white habuchi with a light grey edge by using an absorber ("black reflector"), and when taken in brighter light with white reflecting surfaces, the habuchi and hardened edge will appear darker. The former is generally considered "proper", but I enjoy both.

 

Those are stunning, absolutely stunning photographs Robert...I can't thank you enough for taking them!!

For the record guys, when Robert and I began this project last year, we went back and forth from a general purpose knife to a 'kitchen scalpel' as he put it . We had many, many discussions on pretty much every kind of knife possible. Over time, and our conversations...the impression stuck with me that cutting performance was his primary goal with this knife. Grinding a blade as thin as this is NOT a simple task at all, particularly not while maintaining any amount of stiffness. Now, that said...this is most definitely the most flexible blade I've ever made, in particular the last inch or so of the tip...but having cut with it myself, I can say that it doesn't steer through the cut (even with tip cuts) or on the board on draw cuts. Decent technique is important with this knife, but such is the case with most lasers. I found this out myself in cutting with it (to steal Robert's phrase, 'my technique can be likened to that of a drunken toddler' lol...but I can tell when I make a good cut and a bad easily enough). When cutting with authority and commitment the thing works like a light saber, even on things like sweet potato. With hesitation or any lack of surety, the minimal mass, and the tallish kireba (blade road) will slow the knife down.

For me, in my kitchen...as a home cook, this kind of knife is an absolute JOY to use. Every time it slides effortlessly through whatever I'm cutting, I get a little giggly feeling inside, lol. I don't prep massive amounts of vegetables at a time, so any added force applied in the cut due to the lack of weight isn't something I notice. This is definitely, DEFINITELY a knife that you pay very close attention to where your off hand fingers are when you're cutting lol.

Anyway, thank you again to Robert for the beautiful pictures, and for the opportunity to put this knife in his hands. I thoroughly enjoyed the process, and the end result has proven far beyond even my expectations!

 

Stunning photographs, Robert! Could you elaborate a bit on how you get the habuchi to look white or the habuchi and the hamon look dark? I guess I don't understand your explanation fully. Where do you put the black reflector? And where do you put the light(s)?

 

I'm not going to speak for Robert, but I can explain a few things.

First, the goal of the reflectors/absorbers is to trick the camera into capturing what you see with your naked eye. The habuchi IS white, and it IS dark. You're basically manipulating light (all colors we see in an object are simply reflected light) in such a way that the camera picks up the aspects you're wanting to illustrate. A black absorber placed in such a way as to reflect off the blade into the camera lense will make the highly polished hira reflect black, and the hazy edge reflect dark grey, which makes the habuchi stand out stark white. A white reflector on the other hand makes the steel appear in lighter and more natural shades of silver, making the habuchi appear darker in contrast.

A lot of it has to do with angles, again...as a way to manipulate light.

Take a recent petty I did for example:



I did nothing but change the blade's position in relation to my shop lights, and the net effect is completely different. In the first picture the darkened shop ceiling acts as an absorber. In the second, the light colored sheetrock wall acts as a reflector.

 

To expound a little on Cris's explanation, the different structures of steel have different degrees of reflectivity or light scatter when etched and polished. In a typical honyaki blade finished with natural stones or an etch and cleanup, you'll generally see the back as shiny, the edge as a little less shiny, and the habuchi as the least shiny. When the reflected surface is dark (i.e. how we normally prefer to look at reflective objects to reduce glare), the shiny softer steel will reflect the dark surface most honestly, while the habuchi will be lighter because it scatters light.

Consider partially etched/frosted piece of glass. Put a black piece of paper under it and the polished glass will look dark while the etched side will look lighter. Then replace the black piece of paper with a white one, and you'll see the opposite.

As for light positioning...that's up to the individual for the needs of the photo. If you want dramatic shadows, you'll obviously need different light placement than if you're looking for a diffused soft look. Mostly just consider how spread/diffused the main light source is, and what direction the shadows will be cast. Secondary or tertiary lights make that a bit more complicated but still choose a dominant light source.

 

This specifically is why most photographers struggle to capture hamon (myself included until recently!). You're trying to capture the crystalline structures in the steel, which as Robert stated is much like capturing a picture etched on frosted glass with varying levels of strength. In some light and at some angles, the picture is crystal clear, in others, its completely illegible. What make hamon infinitely more interesting, is that there is no picture...it's what's actually in the steel that you are trying to see, and that picture changes in almost infinite ways depending on the angle and lighting applied. I've spent a ridiculous amount of time just holding Robert's knife (along with every other knife I've made lol), turning it in the light, catching the various snippets of its personality (and all knives with hamon have personality...that's why EVERY knife I've ever made has one). Change the hamon, and it all starts over again lol.

 

Thanks guys, that clarifies it a bit. What you write is also my experience, Chrs. I'm spending a lot of time moving and turning the blade in the light trying to see what happens to the reflections. There's little method in my madness . Robert, can you tell what an absorber ("black reflector") is and how to use it to lessen reflections or to make the blade look darker?

 

@mark76 it's just any dark surface that you can use just as you would a reflector. Everything you photograph is a reflection, an emission, or a shadow. If you are not familiar with basics of light modifiers, look up any of the many many tutorials that detail their use much more adequately than I can in this thread.

 

Thanks Robert, I am familiar with reflectors. (I use a silver one and a white one.) Just not with black ones . I thought a black reflector was a bit of an oxymoron, but apparently it still does reflect some light?

 

If you can see it, it probably reflects something. However, it is not intended to diffuse light from another source as reflectors are used. It's called an absorber because it absorbs light to enhance shadows or produce a darker reflective surface.

http://www.tamron.eu/fi/ajankohtaista/blog/moody-food-555/

Other than the effects there, absorbers are used to reduce the reflections off glossy objects. If you take a photo of a piece of polished or oiled wood and want to see the figuring, for example, a white reflected surface in the background will produce a white reflection on the glossy wood and will cause the colors and figure to be washed out. If the reflected background is black, there will be little to no visible reflection off the surface of the wood and the grain and color will be clearer.

 

That IS a beatiful knife... But what are you going cut with it?
Considering the beauty and the "thickness" i wouldn't really dare to use it much, just put it in a glass cabinet and admire it.

 

Apologies for the rough example (no scene prep, light changes, or dust control, or anything), but just wanted to show the difference between a white background and a black background (both out of frame):

The sides of the block are exposed similarly but the shiny surfaces on the top of the wood and the table reflect very differently. Even with levels or curves adjustment or different exposure, you cannot get the wood in the top pic to look like it does in the bottom pic. It can be mitigated with a polarizing filter here, but that would not work with metal surfaces.

I'd pick a different background or otherwise adjust modifiers/light sources to deal with the nasty glossy tabletop texture, but hopefully with the wood you can get an idea what I'm talking about.

 

If the knife fails at this thickness, it'll either be due to my misuse or Cris's heat treat. It should hold up just fine, but will be oriented toward tasks where the thinness is an advantage (greens, onions, peppers, tomatoes, etc.). It's not going to replace my Kato for everything, but it's a nice specialized piece, and Cris and I might work out a companion knife that'll be more robust and authoritative.

 

Thanks again, Robert! That's a very clear article. And two nice and illustrative photographs.