Show your chuka-bocho, show your cleaver

Hi TaJ - Okay, you got me to join the new forum.

Really, more and more I've been preferring chukabocho over gyuto. But I just have 1 at present, this Yoshikane from JNS.

Just a quick mobile phone photo, sorry - wife has the camera on a trip - but luckily I'd done a quick polish on it recently.



I think when Maxim first got these in he sold them with his normal Sanjo handles, which I love but don't think are designed for chukabocho of course. When I researched it, seemed that people liked the blades on these but wished for better handles. Well, I think with mine this has made the difference. Shorter, fatter and probably heavier handle here. (I think this one 'went to Sweden'.) As far as I know, this was only 1 of 2 that Maxim commissioned like this; his 2 final Yoshikane chukabocho, I guess.

When I first got it at some point last year I wasn't used to chukabocho. Felt way too heavy, though it's a thin one and only 450g or so. Now it's just right. Took me a while to get it sharp like I like, with 2 or 3 heavy duty sessions on low grits. Never seemed quite right after, and then eventually got it and sharpens easily. Not sure why, but 1 minus was that these weren't hand finished. The shinogi was a straight line I found and didn't follow the contours of the edge - done more quickly by grinder I imagine. Well, now it's hand finished par moi and a great performer. My go-to even ahead of my Kato, I guess.

I plan on getting a Sugimoto OMS 6 next. Will have to sell another stone or two, then will be fun to compare.

 

Nice Chuka, Kev.

 

Heh, thought about that briefly but without an 80-grit belt sander, the refinishing would take forever. I thought I'd take it to my new JNS 300 stone to see if it'd respond well to thinning....gave up after dishing the hell out of the stone. Went to 240-grit sandpaper and still too slow. There are some pretty major grind marks still in this thing, and I suspect I'll have to take it below 100-grit to get them out.

I suspect there are some better Chinese knives out there, but they're not easy to track down.

 

Welcome Kev! :cool1

I was looking at these chuka-bocho on JNS as well, they were out of stock. Nice job on the new grind. I would have never been able to recognize the subtle detail of a straight Shinogi in the pictures, good to know on what to look out for.

What do you think of the length of the blade and how is the steel (sharpening, edge holding, chipping)?

XooMG, well then i guess it's the Chuka -bocho which fill the void of high end chinese cleavers.

 

Welcome Kev!
I'd be really curious to hear your thoughts on how the sugimoto #6 compares to the Yoshikane. I am also looking to get a chuka bocho but still don;t know which one I should get

 

Hey Taj, Maxim does not stock Yoshikane chuka, or any newer Yoshikane brand anymore. Your best bet for a chuka there is for an Itonomon to be back in stock. But AFAIK, it is a little bit more beastly.

 

Ah, that's why they are all sold out.

I was wondering about the Itonomon Chuka and proposed to make it an option for the Itonomon group buy by Maksim (which he started in his sub-forum here). It did not make it in the short list for the poll though.

 

The steel I think is White 2 or V2. I forget, so yes easy to sharpen and stays sharp pretty well but can chip, though being thickish as a chukabocho is it doesn't chip that easily. However, yes, I also think Mx has said he's discontinued Yoshikane and there are only a couple things still up on the site.

If you wanted one, you might try putting up a 'want to buy' message. I've seen 1 or 2 of these on BST before, though with the other normal handles. I just have the 1 , but think it's a keeper with a shorter, thicker, stubbier handle, so you'd have to go the custom-route. You could probably even send it to Mx and his guy in Sweden too, etc.

 

I see, i don't seem to see V2 that often. So as you say it is a valid steel for a Chuka-Bocho. A WTB, good idea but not yet. I first want to make up my mind what i really want.

 

I think V2 is considered to be pretty pure and similar to White 2.

 

V2 (Takefu) sits somewhere between Hitachi white #2 and blue #2.

As always though, it means very little. The skill of the smith is infinitely more important than the steel type.

 

Does anyone own a Takeda cleaver or has had any experience?