Shindo I bought from JKS in Brisbane. Free handle options and I went with the golden sandalwood and blond horn. The handle is extremely well made and I think really complements the knife well. Smooth join with the horn ferrule and I can’t even tell where the wood ends and horn begins. Superb quality. Knife is okay I guess ;) Definitely wonky at the back.
The SK was a surprise find. Nice that it was blue #1 steel by Tanaka Uchihamono. Not sure who the sharpener is (SK do not like to disclose) but the grind looks amazing. Like holy wow. Look at that choil. Handle seems a bit short and the knife is very blade heavy. I checked it against my other knives and it’s a 210 handle on a 240 blade so I’ll probably swap it out to balance it a bit more. Spine and choil both polished so overall F&F was very good.