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sc_fd
48
May 17, 2017
Don't know about the steel handled Pro-S line, but the Pro-M line which has a pakkawood handle but otherwise I think is made to the same spec I've found to be a respectable entry level Japanese knife - ground to decently thin behind the edge, steel somewhat forgiving - a little on the softer and tougher side
teebles
15
May 19, 2017
sc_fdI think it's the same AUS-8. I personally own a Pro-M Gyuto... one of my favourite knives. I actually bought a Pro-S Santoku for my cousin also. I've heard no complaints from him about it.
Only problem I have with these knives is that convex blade profile. It's not something you can easily sharpen on say a whetstone. Your options from what I read up is a mousepad and wet-sandpaper. It's why I have not yet sharpened my knife, and it's been like 5 years. I don't use it daily, but used it enough. It's still relatively sharp as I hone it each time I cut anything. Pretty sure it can't push cut paper anymore, but I'm worried about messing up the blade trying to sharpen it.
Regardless, I think they are great knives. I missed out on the Saiun deal which I'll probably wait for, but am still tempted with this!
sc_fd
48
May 19, 2017
teeblesAre you referring to the grind or the primary bevel, as opposed to the profile? These knives are thin enough and the primary bevels small enough that a little time on a medium grit whetstone can easily generate a burr and you've got a flat bevel (or as flat as freehanding gives!). I pretty much only touch up and sharpen knives on waterstones, and on a time interval of weeks to months, not years (sharpness geek!) Don't be afraid to work on that edge! You'll get so much better performance out of it :)
teebles
15
May 20, 2017
sc_fdYou know what, I think you're right, it's the profile that's convex... Curious though, what angle are you at when you're using the waterstones? I think I might take some time to sharpen my Pro-M this weekend!
sc_fd
48
May 20, 2017
teeblesI don't know what size gyuto you have, but with the smaller one I've handled, the convex was subtle anyways...full flat grind on a kitchen knife is no fun. I just put it in a conservative range that makes sense for the grind and steel. Mine was gifted out to a friend that comes back regularly for sharpenings, so since I'm not the end user, somewhere between 15-20 degrees per side, or a touch under 15 then a high angle one sided microbevel. At some point I'll start thinning it behind the edge when my primary bevel gets too big. I tend to like a bit thinned behind the edge coupled with slightly higher angles for the primary bevel Go for it!
Kavik
5531
Mar 30, 2018
sc_fdI know this post is ancient by internet standards, but maybe someone can chime in?
The "full flat grind is no fun" got me curious....after multiple sharpenings, as the blade height changes and you're getting into thicker steel, how does one thin behind the edge on a convex grind? On a flat grind this is easy enough to accomplish with a little time on the stones
sc_fd
48
Mar 30, 2018
KavikThis is how I was thinking of it - if the grind of the knife is really essentially flat until the V primary edge bevel, I would have to cut in some in-between angle between the 2 for any behind the edge work. Hard to hold a consistent-ish angle as there is no existing area of the blade face which has an in-between angle. Fast coarse stone a necessity to cut in quickly, as when freehanding it's somewhat easy to drop the angle too much and smear a flat blade face or basically raise into the edge bevel's angle.. On a blade face that has some convex going into the edge bevel, I have a some mm height of blade face above the edge that I can mash into without it being the entirety of the blade face (as in full flat), thin that area, then restore some of the convex as needed by blending.
Kavik
5531
Mar 30, 2018
sc_fdI see, thanks I've only thinned a couple times myself, but in both cases on flat grinds. I used a medium stone and just laid the whole thing down but put finger pressure closer to the edge when grinding (then a finer stone and or wet/dry paper to refinish the surface)