Learn to love the scratches on your knife. I don't flip or trade knives, so I have come to terms with the fact that the aesthetics of my knives are not as important to me as the performance. That being said, if one wanted to spend the time and effort to polish out all the scratches on the bevels, it can be done. So, new sharpeners should take comfort that as their experience levels and equipment collection grows, so too does your ability to fix mistakes.
Gage, I really love this channel for things like this because I have been dreading thinning my Shiro Kamo since it is a super hollow grind. Thanks for all the knowledge you always provide.
Excellent, quick intro to thinning. Nicely done. I appreciate that you made a point to guard people against chasing perfection too much in the first thinning of a knife. In my experience, often times to get the bevels absolutely perfectly flat, you end up taking life off of the knife by apexing the edge too hard in places. And then you have to sharpen that nonsense out and you end up with a less tall knife. It's much better to stop when you think the edge is being compromised and wait for future sharpenings to raise the edge some more before proceeding. Even if that means leaving a few cosmetic imperfections in the new polish. This is particularly true with hand forged, hand ground artisan knives. Just a couple of minor corrections to what you said in case they might have confused anyone. That Debado MD stone is 200 grit, not 220. And it's a wonderful stone but in my opinion way too expensive for what it is. If you do a lot of thinning on that stone, you will quickly wear it away with the needed flattenings. You're better off buying some soft and inexpensive 200ish grit bricks where you can get 10x the amount of usesble stone for less money. Also, Japanese bevels ground on wheels from the factory are usually a tiny bit concave rather than convex. That's why the low spots usually appear in the center of the bevel rather than the edges.
Definitely one of the better how-to's on thinning knives. Thank you for that. And thanks for all the other content you folks produce. I appreciate the humour and humility - takes a lot of the anxiety out of knife ownership and maintenance. I enjoy the channel quite a bit and hope you are able to keep up the great work.
I actually thinned a few of my knifes so far. One even took me 3 sessions of about 5-6h but I still could really learn something here. Thank you very much
I dig that black background and new setup. Although I admittedly get all jittery seeing the mud on the bare wood. :)~ Good vid with excellent visuals and advice. Especially the bit about not chasing perfection.
Perfect timing on this video for me I just received my 220 shapton glass stone I plan on thinning my 210 moritaka gyuto this was a very informative and inspirational video...thank you
Thank you for your knife guide videos. I recently purchased my first Japanese knife and your explanations of the different styles made the process significantly less confusing.
I just got my first Japanese knife a couple months ago, and your videos have been extremely helpful for maintenance and sharpening. Thanks for the videos Gage, keep up the great work.
Great job on the knife tips, I think it is the most useful video out on UA-cam. I will continue to work with my Wa-Gyuto, in 5-10 years, I look forward to having a honeski.
I have been slowly building up my Asian knives and sharpening them has always been a problem. I have an electric sharpener but rarely use it since it does take away so much steel. I I did get a 6000 -8000 grit stone but no where near the size you have. I will see what you have at your store. I also have been looking at sharpening them in the wrong way. I was using the traditional knife way with the edge. Thank you for teaching me how to thin a knife and will look up your sharping knives now. I need good stones, holder and the flattening stone. Thank you for your tube.
Any comment. Love this video 👌🏻 I’ve been putting off sharpening for too long I’m going to have to dedicate an afternoon to get the kids to where They deserve to be!
Great explanation on why there are often low spots on hand made Japanese knives! I've found low spots on yanagiba and deba, really stumped me in the beginning when I didn't know they were finished on wheels! A good thinning session really transforms any knives with thick shoulders! My weapon of choice is the Shapton 120 which is a steel eating monster 🤣
I’ve been hesitant to start thinning my knives at home, but this video laid out super clearly what to do and how to do it. Lots of good, usable advice here!
Can't wait to get into thinning a Moritaka Bunka I bought from you guys last fall. Will certainly be sharing this and other sharpening videos with my cooks, thanks friends!
Tip#4 living with imperfection especially with the scratches after thinning. I underestimated how much work is involved with mirror polishing . Looking forward to your next video🤓
Aha! This is exactly what I've been wanting to learn about next. Seen a few other vids but none as good as this one! Top work guys! You're great teachers!🙏🙏🙌🙌... And incidentally next thing I wanted to learn about was polishing everything up, so really looking forward to the next one too! Top work fellas!😃🙌🙌
Thanks for the details! I’ve recently progressed from stainless to my first (old and abused) carbon nakiri, mainly to see the difference, spent hours restoring it from its many years of home sharpening. Ma-hoosive difference in workability. I couldn’t quite sharpen the edge the same at such a flat angle while removing so much material, the burr was huge. So this helped a bunch in terms of the right grit for the intended job, and the correct procedure. I got the nakiri to where it should be after this so now it’s time to replace my (cheap-ass stainless) petty knife and bunka with carbon steel versions. I do prefer the idea of a used knife mind you, call me soppy but it comes with both history and longevity
This was super helpful for me! Thanks! I've been contemplating thinning my 6 year old Mac chef knife that is more like a European knife in a lot of ways.
This was such an informative video! I've been thinking about thinning my beater I use for work, but I was anxious about starting. Your video helped me understand more about thinning and now I'll have to thin mine!
Love the content. I have been really wanting a santoku or bunka lately. I just tried thinning for the first time a couple weeks ago. I need some more practise for sure. I may have an opportunity to come to Hamilton for work. If I do I will definitely be coming in to your store. Fingers crossed.
The Japanese grinding wheel is CONVEX in shape (i.e., curved or rounded outward like a sphere) thus making the "Shape of the Bevel" CONCAVE (i.e., hollow and curved inward like the inside of a sphere).
Thanks for the great how-to on blade thinning! I've been making good use of all the sharpening videos, I think I'm just about due to have a go at this too.
Usually Im impatient and will use a belt grinder to thin and then I will tune it with my atoma 140 and king 300. Then I may or may not finish it up the grits depending on the knife.
wow its wonderfull i like your knife'S .real nice make them look brand .I am very excited to buy new knives. I have been working as a chef for 18 years. I have bought the knives that I am most satisfied with from you.
Learn to love the scratches on your knife. I don't flip or trade knives, so I have come to terms with the fact that the aesthetics of my knives are not as important to me as the performance. That being said, if one wanted to spend the time and effort to polish out all the scratches on the bevels, it can be done. So, new sharpeners should take comfort that as their experience levels and equipment collection grows, so too does your ability to fix mistakes.
Gage, I really love this channel for things like this because I have been dreading thinning my Shiro Kamo since it is a super hollow grind. Thanks for all the knowledge you always provide.
Every time I watch a sharpening video I want to sharpen my set again and again!
Still trying to wrap my head around thinning- been sharpening knives for a few years and this video was super helpful!
Thanks for the tutorial on the convex thinning! I almost never see it covered in thinning tutorials, but this will be super helpful in the future.
Excellent, quick intro to thinning. Nicely done. I appreciate that you made a point to guard people against chasing perfection too much in the first thinning of a knife. In my experience, often times to get the bevels absolutely perfectly flat, you end up taking life off of the knife by apexing the edge too hard in places. And then you have to sharpen that nonsense out and you end up with a less tall knife. It's much better to stop when you think the edge is being compromised and wait for future sharpenings to raise the edge some more before proceeding. Even if that means leaving a few cosmetic imperfections in the new polish. This is particularly true with hand forged, hand ground artisan knives.
Just a couple of minor corrections to what you said in case they might have confused anyone. That Debado MD stone is 200 grit, not 220. And it's a wonderful stone but in my opinion way too expensive for what it is. If you do a lot of thinning on that stone, you will quickly wear it away with the needed flattenings. You're better off buying some soft and inexpensive 200ish grit bricks where you can get 10x the amount of usesble stone for less money.
Also, Japanese bevels ground on wheels from the factory are usually a tiny bit concave rather than convex. That's why the low spots usually appear in the center of the bevel rather than the edges.
Definitely one of the better how-to's on thinning knives. Thank you for that. And thanks for all the other content you folks produce. I appreciate the humour and humility - takes a lot of the anxiety out of knife ownership and maintenance. I enjoy the channel quite a bit and hope you are able to keep up the great work.
I actually thinned a few of my knifes so far. One even took me 3 sessions of about 5-6h but I still could really learn something here.
Thank you very much
I have an high intrest in Japanese knife
Especially fond of their sharpness watching ur video everytime just relaxes my day without any fail ✌
So glad you did this video, a lot of things I've heard on other videos just clicked watching this one.
I knocked back the shoulders on an inexpensive ginsan nakiri that I bought from you and now it cuts wonderfully.
Enjoy the information that you give, being in the kitchen I look forward to this types of videos to understand where i can learn
Currently in culinary school and been doing a lot of research on different knives and sharpening techniques. Your channel has been super helpful!!
I've been thinking about getting a japanese knife for the longest time now, and this channel is very informative!
I dig that black background and new setup. Although I admittedly get all jittery seeing the mud on the bare wood. :)~ Good vid with excellent visuals and advice. Especially the bit about not chasing perfection.
Just bought my first knife, can’t wait to receive it.
Yay! Thank you so much! Let us know what you think about it!
Perfect timing on this video for me I just received my 220 shapton glass stone I plan on thinning my 210 moritaka gyuto this was a very informative and inspirational video...thank you
Thanks for the thorough explanation Gage, fantastic!
Never knew how to thin till now. Thanks for the instructions
This is a very good tutorial. Commentary on how the blade is coming along really helps clarify the process.
makes sense to switch hands to change the scratch pattern, I think I have to try it for myself, great video
Needed a refresher on thinning. Thanks.
not seen a thinning video before, quite interesting. knives look pretty cool as well, I love a bunka design
thanks for the opportunity and keep making those very helpful videos I did learn a couple things I've been doing worng thanks
I've never sharpened a knife before, and am a little nervous about doing it. Watching this video helps 👍
Thank you for the useful tips! Can't wait for the polishing video.
I also get all my socks gifted to me hahah the Damascus finish on the bunka looks so cool!!
I feel like everything that I know about knifes ive learnd from sharp, wish I lived in Canada so I could visit the shop in person.
Thank you for your knife guide videos. I recently purchased my first Japanese knife and your explanations of the different styles made the process significantly less confusing.
Good watch, thank you. Going to try coloring in the knife as you showed.
Great tutorial. Good information. Thank you. Would love one of those beautiful knives
It would be awesome to have these knives. Congratulations to whoever wins them.
Great video as always...!!! And oddly I think more people watch till the end that you think...
Solid no nonsense advice... thanks...
Love your content, been binging past and present content for the last week, fingers crossed I get selected for either knife, keep up the good work!
Trying to teach this to culinary students is very tricky. Great 👍🏼 video’s.
Thank you Gage for another helpful video. The sharpie tip is very helpful. Cheers.
That type of videos are really helpful and nice to see! Thanks for that
Really love the channel for all the Japanese knives tips and tricks. I’ve been obsessed with Japanese knives since I got my first one.
Thanks for the video on thinning. This is the next item on my to do list!
Great video, been working on sharpening but always been worried about thinning. Definitely feel more comfortable after seeing this
I had no idea this was really something that could be done. Its amazing to see this knife go from start to finish.
This video is really helpful, which is so rare nowadays. I don't give subs easily but you've earned it.
I just got my first Japanese knife a couple months ago, and your videos have been extremely helpful for maintenance and sharpening. Thanks for the videos Gage, keep up the great work.
Thank you, a very detailed but fun video. Been wanting to learn how to do this. Keep up the good work.
Great job on the knife tips, I think it is the most useful video out on UA-cam. I will continue to work with my Wa-Gyuto, in 5-10 years, I look forward to having a honeski.
Thank you for the tips. Going to apply these to some knives soon.
I discovered your channel yesterday and I already watch lots of your video. Really good job !
I’ve been really thinking about starting to do this on my knives, great video on how to do it!
Your videos are always fun to watch yet informative.
Have never won anything before.
Hope this breaks my unlucky streak.
this video is really gonna help make thinning my knives easier! THANKS
Great video! Something I always wanted to learn but was a little nervous to do. Now I'm not so worried about it!
Great video Gage. I need to take sharpening lessons to properly sharpen knives by hand.
Great video. Thinning with a 220 grit stone or lower is very important for your sanity.
I have been slowly building up my Asian knives and sharpening them has always been a problem. I have an electric sharpener but rarely use it since it does take away so much steel. I I did get a 6000 -8000 grit stone but no where near the size you have. I will see what you have at your store. I also have been looking at sharpening them in the wrong way. I was using the traditional knife way with the edge. Thank you for teaching me how to thin a knife and will look up your sharping knives now. I need good stones, holder and the flattening stone. Thank you for your tube.
Really appreciate the sharpening/thinning videos y’all put out. Makes me feel comfortable stepping up and taking care of my own knives!
Would love to learn how to properly thin my knives. thanks for the great tutorial!
In my three decades of life I've never bought my underwear or socks as well. Great thinning information too.
Gotta love the beautiful kasumi that develops on cladded knives ♥️
I just wanna say… nice thumbnail. I particularly liked the measuring tape around the “thin” word
It's surprisingly significant how much of a difference thinning makes.
I'm new into Japanese knifes and sharpening on whetstones but your videos are perfect for getting into the topic.
Your explanation of thinning was the best I've seen.
I really love these types of videos! I'm in culinary school and new to using Japanese knifes. the sharpening video has helped me tremendously!
Any comment.
Love this video 👌🏻 I’ve been putting off sharpening for too long I’m going to have to dedicate an afternoon to get the kids to where They deserve to be!
The sharpie is definetely a great help when thining!
Thanks for the video. Definitely helpful tips about where to app,y pressure.
I'm about to start sharpening my knives for the first time ever here and these videos couldn't have come out at a better time seriously
Great explanation on why there are often low spots on hand made Japanese knives! I've found low spots on yanagiba and deba, really stumped me in the beginning when I didn't know they were finished on wheels! A good thinning session really transforms any knives with thick shoulders! My weapon of choice is the Shapton 120 which is a steel eating monster 🤣
I’ve been hesitant to start thinning my knives at home, but this video laid out super clearly what to do and how to do it. Lots of good, usable advice here!
Can't wait to get into thinning a Moritaka Bunka I bought from you guys last fall. Will certainly be sharing this and other sharpening videos with my cooks, thanks friends!
Love the videos! I bought two knives from japan that were in bad shape and am trying to rehab them, so these videos are helpful
Tip#4 living with imperfection especially with the scratches after thinning. I underestimated how much work is involved with mirror polishing . Looking forward to your next video🤓
Very helpful for a newbie to hand sharpening.
Very nice video lesson. I will back to this video in the future. Now my knives are to new 😉
Aha! This is exactly what I've been wanting to learn about next. Seen a few other vids but none as good as this one! Top work guys! You're great teachers!🙏🙏🙌🙌... And incidentally next thing I wanted to learn about was polishing everything up, so really looking forward to the next one too! Top work fellas!😃🙌🙌
I’m sure gonna give this a go! Really informative and easy to follow video!
Great vid, I'm excited to visit the shop soon!
I Really appreciate all your videos, they are very helpful in beginning my journey into Japanese handmade knives
Thanks for the details! I’ve recently progressed from stainless to my first (old and abused) carbon nakiri, mainly to see the difference, spent hours restoring it from its many years of home sharpening. Ma-hoosive difference in workability. I couldn’t quite sharpen the edge the same at such a flat angle while removing so much material, the burr was huge. So this helped a bunch in terms of the right grit for the intended job, and the correct procedure. I got the nakiri to where it should be after this so now it’s time to replace my (cheap-ass stainless) petty knife and bunka with carbon steel versions. I do prefer the idea of a used knife mind you, call me soppy but it comes with both history and longevity
Those minor imperfections and low spots really make handmade knives so unique. Tanaka knives are really something.
This was super helpful for me! Thanks! I've been contemplating thinning my 6 year old Mac chef knife that is more like a European knife in a lot of ways.
Love these videos. Learn something new every time ty
I really appreciate these instructional videos. Keep it up.
This was such an informative video! I've been thinking about thinning my beater I use for work, but I was anxious about starting. Your video helped me understand more about thinning and now I'll have to thin mine!
Love the content. I have been really wanting a santoku or bunka lately. I just tried thinning for the first time a couple weeks ago. I need some more practise for sure. I may have an opportunity to come to Hamilton for work. If I do I will definitely be coming in to your store. Fingers crossed.
Very informative video guys, keep em coming!
The Japanese grinding wheel is CONVEX in shape (i.e., curved or rounded outward like a sphere) thus making the "Shape of the Bevel" CONCAVE (i.e., hollow and curved inward like the inside of a sphere).
Thanks for the great how-to on blade thinning! I've been making good use of all the sharpening videos, I think I'm just about due to have a go at this too.
Great video, looking forward to the next video!
Nice tips, i need to try the left hand.
I didn't know thinning knives was a thing. Very informative. Thanks guys!
Can’t wait for the follow up video!
Hey! I really enjoyed this! I'm discovering your channel since a few times and I love hoe you make things clear! Love those knives! ;)
Very entertaining and interesting, good work!
Learning many things from this vid 😊👍 keep up the good work
Usually Im impatient and will use a belt grinder to thin and then I will tune it with my atoma 140 and king 300. Then I may or may not finish it up the grits depending on the knife.
Yes please, my current set of kitchen knifes are commercial grade. I would love a Crown Jewel custom Japanese knife. Thank you.
Great video Gage! Super informative and entertaining content
wow its wonderfull i like your knife'S .real nice make them look brand .I am very excited to buy new knives. I have been working as a chef for 18 years. I have bought the knives that I am most satisfied with from you.
I've been thinning and sharpening ambidextrously for a year now and it does get easier with practice. Always room to improve though!