There Are Pandas, and Then There Are Pandas.
And this isn't either of them! The Pandas we're talking about here, are watches, not bears. And what got me thinking about them (again) was a link posted this morning by @cm.rook who pointed a few of us to the very attractive (and not terribly priced) Yema "Rallygraph" Panda which, in it's most traditional arrangement, looks like the one on the left, but can also be had in the version on the right: The model on the left is a true Panda, while the model on the right is called a reverse Panda. The reason for that distinction is clear--Panda bears, only come in the first arrangement. Now at this point, everyone should be thinking about the most well-know Panda, The Rolex Panda, which is actually a Daytona, and among Rolex Daytonas, the most famous of which is the Paul Newman Daytona, which was famous first, because it was Paul's, and second because it sold at auction for $17.8 million (US Dollars). The story of that auction is well-known so I'll only...
Nov 8, 2019
When grinding, Yoshida first creates a long bevel which is a little concave. It is made on very big grinding wheels approx 1.2m radius. The intention is for both sides to have an easy, long concave shape so we can create a very thin edge at the end of the blade which will stay thin for a longer time than if we would have a flat edge. Very long, thin edge is very sharp and it can withstand a lot more sharpening session by not getting thick.
Sharpening:
The micro bevel on the end of the thin concave edge is asymmetrical to help with the cutting process. The knives are sharpened on the flat stone wheel 1500 grit, then the burr is removed on the leather buffing wheel. Osamu-san (head blacksmith of Yoshida Hamono smithery) also believes the micro bevel is better to be flat or slightly convex. The little convex micro bevel is created by working the knife a little bit longer on the buffing wheel after the stone sharpening.
As you are aware, most Japanese knives are not fully sharpened by blacksmiths so the final edge can be put on by the end user (as per their needs/liking). Majority of our customers are just getting familiar with Japanese knives, and thus they expect a super sharp knife out of the box, so we decided it is better than Yoshida already puts a final edge on the knife. This makes the J-knives rookies happy, but more advanced users can, of course, can put a different edge on it.
The edge that you have seen on my wife's old knife is bigger and longer because this knife was sharpened a lot of times and was never re-ground, so now is actually much thicker than when it was new, but in our case this works just fine because my wife is a heavier user. :) About the kuro-uchi finish - it is the most sensitive with the first or two washes, then it will not fade away much anymore. I would recommend to give another strong wash with a bit of kitchen soap and rub it with a sponge, clean it with a dry cloth and then should be ok. Glad to hear your feedback and first experience, looking forward to hearing more once you use it a bit more and when you will sharpen it for the first time. Have a nice holiday! Luka