Hello again TCK!

It’s the first of the month yet again which means a new rotation in the kitchen. This time I went with my trio of stainless clad knives.

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Rule 5:

Tinker Aogami Super/Stainless Saber Tooth 210 (Shibata x Ikeda)

Baba Hamono Kagekiyo Aogami #1/Stainless Damascus Gyuto 240 (Tanaka x Nishida) 

Sakai Kikumori Yugiri Aogami #1/Stainless Kiritsuke Gyuto 225 (Tanaka x Myojin) 

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Ramblings:

I have a soft spot for stainless cladding. Seeing the core steel darken against the stainless cladding leads to a great aesthetic look & it’s just less to think about. Plus, when you get wild clad lines like the Yugiri & B1DSS, it only accentuates everything in the best ways. 

(I wrote about the knives right-to-left by accident; not sure how that happened lol) 

For the theme, the Yugiri stayed on the rack & I’d be happy if this never left lol. It’s beyond outstanding; arguably the pinnacle of what one great chef knife should be. It’s thin but inspires confidence. The Aogami #1 by Tanaka Uchihamono takes a crazy edge & lasts an eternity. The 53mm of height & 215mm of length is a sweet spot for size & it’s just so perfectly balanced in all ways. It’s damn near flawless. 

Speaking of flawless, the Kagekiyo B1DSS is a masterpiece. 233mm long, 52mm tall & 179g despite the feather-light urushi handle; it’s everything I want in a chef knife. Throw in the “special” stainless damascus cladding by Tanaka Uchihamono & a killer wide bevel grind by Nishida-san & you have a heavenly piece of kitchen cutting.

Lastly is the knife with the most emotional investment; my Saber Tooth 210 (which is actually the longest knife here at 233mm lol). This is a tribute to my late father who was a butcher. It has his date of birth engraved on it instead of the date of manufacture; a special touch I’ll always be thankful to Knife Gallery for 🙇 I love this knife. 

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Knife Details:

Tinker Aogami Super Stainless Steel Clad Saber Tooth 210mm (T. Ikeda x T. Shibata)

• Basic dimensions
  • 233mm long, 36.8mm tall & 154g
• Spine-to-tip taper (tang, heel, halfway, 1cm before tip)
  • 4.2mm / 3.7mm / 2.6mm / 1.1mm
• Blacksmith details: Takumi Ikeda
• Sharpener details: Takayuki Shibata
• Steel: Aogami Super with stainless cladding
• Handle: Custom Ironwood Burl + Marbled Horn

Baba Hamono Kagekiyo Aogami #1 Stainless Damascus Gyuto 240

• Basic dimensions
  • 233mm long, 51.9mm tall & 179g
• Spine-to-tip taper (tang, heel, halfway, 1cm before tip)
  • 3.6mm / 3.2mm / 2.1mm / 0.9mm
• Blacksmith: Tanaka Uchihamono (Yoshikazu Tanaka, Yoshihisa Tanaka & Okugami Yusuke)
• Sharpener: Sho Nishida
• Steel: Aogami #1 + Stainless Damascus Cladding
• Handle: Original "Hirame" Urushi Ho Wood Monohandle by Master Momose Juntetsu

Sakai Kikumori Yugiri Aogami #1/Stainless Kiritsuke Gyuto 225

• Basic Dimensions
  • 215mm long, 52.9mm tall & 200g
• Spine-To-Tip Taper (tang, heel, halfway, 1cm before tip)
  • 2.4mm / 2.1mm / 2.1mm / 0.8mm
• Blacksmith: Tanaka Uchihamono (Yoshikazu Tanaka, Yoshihisa Tanaka & Okugami Yusuke)
• Sharpener: Naohito Myojin
• Steel: Aogami #1 + Stainless Cladding
• Handle: Custom Siamese Rosewood + Cream Horn Handle

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Thanks for reading, stay safe out there and I will be back with more stone content soon!

-Teej

I’ve had these for a while, but couldn’t find time to photograph the new pieces.

Gyuto Aogami #2 220mm
Nakiri Aogami #2 170mm
Funayuki Aogami #2 168mm

I’m planning to rehandle the Gyuto and Nakiri.

These three join the two I already own.

Enjin Togatta Gyuto SRK8 250mm
Bunka Aogami #2 175mm

Definitely feeling the lack of a Sukimaru to round out my Shindo’s.

Making a few more of these in September/October.

Details on my website, link in profile. Thanks for looking.

235mm stainless gyuto in SF100 ( British equivalent to Aeb-l) at 62 Rockwell.

Blade finish - 500 grit satin ( tear drop texture available as an option) polished spine & choil

Handle - octagonal, wenge & faux ivory

Blade 235mm x 54mm

385mm overall length

Spine 3mm / 1.90mm / 0.50mm

Edge midway 0.75mm / 0.40mm / 0.13mm

Weight c. 200g

This thing makes every other knife I’ve ever used feel like a butter knife to be honest, it’s quite unbelievable

Here's my main knives, bought in the last 6 months.

- Masashi Blue 1 Guyto 210mm : really like the grind and blade height, really versatile knife. My favorite, really aggressive feel, cutting everythong with zero effort and good food release.

- Hatsukokoro Ginrei Gisan Gyuto 210mm : my first "real" knife. Real laser feel, easy to sharpen and low maintenance. Slighty belly blade profile, I like to use it for uncooked meat like preparing chicken breast or thighs.

- Hatsukokoro Hikari SLD Nakiri 160mm : Kind of in between laser and workorse. Pretty thin at the spine, but not too much behind the edge. Can be rough with it without worring of twisting the blade. Aggressive and tough feeling overall.

- Matsubara Petty/Ko-Santoku VG1 135mm : have it for quite sometime, I bought it with a Matsubara Nakiri (that I have to my mom). I was not using it much before but I really love it now for small task and not worrying about rust and leaving it wet on the cutting board.

That's it. I'm eventually looking for a Shirogami 1 or 2 Bunka, for ultimate sharpeness. I know I don't need it, I'm covering pretty much everything with what I have, but still, a lot of you guys can relate😂

Rule # 5

From left to right

Nigara AS K-tip Petty 150mm

Kyohei Shindo  Aogami# 2 Santoku 180mm

Koshino Itto Santoku 180mm

Sakai Kikumori X Ashi Swedish Steel Gyuto 240mm

Tetsujin Aogami #2 Gyuto 240mm

Tetsujin Ginsan K-tip Gyuto 240mm

Sukenari HAP40 K-tip Gyuto 240mm

Kisuke X Xinguo Aogami #1 Sujihiki 270mm

Naoki Mazaki Shirogami #2 Gyuto 240mm

Tadafusa SLD Gyuto 240mm

Yoshikazu Tanaka Shirogami #1 Gyuto 240mm

Yoshikane SLD  Gyuto 210mm

Kisuke X Xinguo Aogami #1 Gyuto 210mm

Yoshikane SKD Gyuto 210mm

Yoshida Hamono ZDP 189 Gyuto 210mm

Togatta Gyuto 210mm

Mac MTH-80 200mm

Misono Molybdenum Sujihiki 270mm

Shun Bread Knife 220mm

Mercer Fillet Knife 215mm

Victorinox Fibrox Fillet Knife 200mm

Metzger SS Boning Knife 180mm

Misono Molybdenum Petty Knife 130mm

Tramontina paring knife 4"

Victorinox Turning Knife 60mm

Thanks to this group, for introducing me to Japanese Knives. Just started buying/collecting/using Jap knives this April and I don't regret splurging on them. My favorite knife to use from the collection is the Tetsujin Ginsan. Show me your favorite knife from your collection. 👀

Junichi Ide was low on Gyuto profiles, but He showed me two Migaki Gyuto’s he had in stock. A 275mm Shirogami #2, and a 240mm Aogami #2.

The 275 was 15,400¥ and came with the Ebony handle with horn, and the 240 was 15,800¥ and came with the Poplar handle with pakka wood. I didn’t change their handles, but did pay 400¥ ea for their boxes.

Tariffs were 18% via DHL.

Spine is 2mm at the handle on both and there isn’t much of a distal taper until the last quarter of the blade.

The cladding is iron, and there are definitely flaws in the Migaki finish, but at under $100 each I’m not put off by the finish at all. I like the character, and look forward to using them.

Time for some Sanjo style cooking!

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Rule #5

Shigefusa Kitaeji Gyuto 210mm
Steel: Swedish Carbon (26c3)
Weight 178g
Edge length: 217mm
Heel height: 46,6mm
Width at handle: 5,2mm
Width at heel: 3,8mm
Width at middle: 2,1mm
Width 1cm from tip: 1,4mm

Blacksmith and sharpeners: Iizuka family

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Japan has a lot of regions that have some local tendencies. In Sakai you’ll often see Blacksmiths and sharpeners work separately, groups of people pouring their expertise into perfecting a single aspect of production. This is a longstanding tradition with roots since before the sword ban, something you can read a little bit more about here.

Outside of Sakai, that is not always the case. You’ll often see makers handle the entire process themselves. From shaping and heat treating, to sharpening and polishing steel. You’ll see makers like Shigefusa, Shuji Toyama, Yasuaki Taira, Kiyoshi Kato and many more still handle the entire production in house (not to mention western makers like Xerxes, Heldqvist, TheNine and many many more). 

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This is the only damascus clad knife that I own and I feel like I can confidently say that the Kitaeji pattern appears to have a bit more flow than others I’ve seen. There’s a lack of geometrical, repeating movements and the lines streaking across the knife have an appearance that I more closely connect with the artform of suminagashi, not necessarily the damascus patterns we see elsewhere that use the same moniker. Looking at this knife takes me back to my visit to Toyama and their Suiboku Museum in December of last year.

Looking down, the entirety of the edge is treated with a contrasting polish that is almost like a mirror (before patina landed there anyway). 

The kanji of the blade is stamped in, with the duo of “Sanjo Made” kanji sitting above the iconic Shigefusa markings.

Shigefusa knives comes with a very traditional D-shaped magnolia handle. It's very simple and refined. Lefties beware though, they're mounted for right handed users.

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Using this knife has been a very interesting journey for myself, as mentioned prior, this is my first venture into Sanjo knives. There’s generally a lack of distal taper in most japanese knives when compared towards westerners, Shigefusa is not immune to this. That being said, it’s not necessarily a weakness, it just takes a different approach to get the most out of this tool compared to others.

This Shigefusa Kitaeji has subtle layers of blended convexity with a pronounced hamaguri(clamshell/convex) grind behind the edge, an impressive feat given it’s barely noticeable, at least to a novice like me. The result? An aggressive and well performing first slice that leads to good food release, especially when compared to a lot of the Sakai made thin lasers. 

It’s definitively not a perfect knife though. My first cooking session with this knife was a little bit disappointing given the high expectations I had built up in my head. It performed excellent on most produce but especially on bisecting carrots and sweet potatoes, I didn’t really get anywhere. There was some wedging and some stickage that I simply didn’t expect.

My second cook however went a lot better with identical ingredients. In short, there’s a combination of utilizing the full edge of the blade to my advantage as well as being OK with applying a little bit more force when cutting through denser items that I was a bit of a chicken with prior. Call it “new-knife dainty hands” or something, I was probably just babying the knife too much in the first meal.

At the end Sweet potatoes were not a “home run” win for the Shigefusa, specifically on bisecting it but after adjusting my own technique, it went A LOT smoother. Using the full edge with a hint of more pressure meant I could slice through with more ease, resulting in significantly less wedging. Batonnetes and medium dice ended up not being an issue as long as I added in some horizontal motion in my cuts and didn’t expect a simple vertical movement to take care of several layers of sweet potatoes.

On carrots it was effectively a non issue. There’s a tiny bit of “cracking” happening but I think, especially for spaces where we’re accustomed to thinner lasers, hearing a tiny bit of noice ends up weighing too much into the overall score. To me, hearing the carrot a tiny bit didn’t matter when the cut ended up being very clean. Making batonnets, juliennes, medium and small dice of carrots ended up working nicely.

Starchy, regular potatoes were a non issue across the board.

I tossed this knife into the mix when I made a salsa last week and for tomatoes, jalapenos, habaneros, and red onions, I never had an issue. It’s one of the toothiest edges I’ve worked with, performing exceptionally well on the skin of these vegetables. On Garlic cloves, I started to feel like the knife was a little bit chonkier than I’d like for fine, precision work, but it still did a very good job making a mince after I went over it a couple of times.

On proteins like chicken breast, thighs and pork tenderloin, it’s one of my most well performing knives that I’ve used. The edge was very sharp and made clean cuts in the tenderloin as well as both cuts of chicken. 

In summary; I’m not sure if it’s ever “worth it” to get a Shigefusa Kitaeji from a “cost x performance” standpoint. If you’re really following that formula, you’d probably be better off looking into Yoshikane, Wakui or Nihei if you want something Sanjo inspired. That being said, criticizing Shigefusa for anything outside of the price, a result of the thoughtful, expertly trained and completely in-house production, feels borderline unwarranted. 

I'm ecstatic to have been given the opportunity to not only use this knife but also to own it. It’s given me a newfound appreciation for a different style, a feeling I hope I get to experience again soon.

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Thanks for reading! 

The last time I made a purchase directly from the blacksmith was in the early 2000’s with Takeda and Watanabe. It was nice to have that opportunity again with Junichi Ide. He showed me what he had available and I selected the handles I wanted. The Prices were between 5,000-6,600¥ I paid another 2,500¥ ea for the Walnut handles. Tariffs added another 18%.

Spine is 2mm at the handle and there isn’t much of a distal taper until the last quarter of the blade.

The cladding is iron, and very rustic with hammer marks and rough scale.

My first impression is that I’m going to like them.

Petty 150mm
Kiritsuke/Bunka 163mm
Nakiri 168mm

Can’t decide, it’s ruining me.

Looking for a flat-profile laser to fill a space between my 165mm curvy Bunka and a 240mm Ashi Gyuto. I’m just not sure if I’ll prefer the tall boss blade or the nimble battleship.

What can the tall blade benefit that the battleship will miss out on, and vice versa, in what instances can the battleship provide better service than the boss?

Thanks for sharing your experiences, opinions and advice!

Hi all, just received this knife last week. I decided on this make and model based on feedback from this sub, and I’m so happy I did. It was my first Japanese knife and I was just blown away with how smoothly and effortlessly it glides through food. Just unreal and such a joy to use. I’m also glad that I got the 240 mm. It doesn’t feel cumbersome or too long to me and I really appreciate the length when cutting up a cabbage or a watermelon or something like that.

I’ve been babying the knife - washing and drying it after every use, but I’m seeing some dark circle shaped spots on the blade. I was wondering if this patina or the beginning of rust? I have been storing it in a cheap knife guard that is sort of a felt / fabric. Wasn’t sure if wood would be better or if I need to oil the blade. You can also see in the last picture where I nicked the blade on something and put a little ding in it! It’s been a rough first week! I’m hoping that will smooth out on a sharpening stone.

I’ve also noticed the wooden handle looking dry already. Are people using mineral oil / etc on their wood handles?

Thanks so much!

In my opinion, the knives from the Masutani Hamono forge are probably among the most impressive in terms of quality, performance, and value. In fact, I wrote a post about one of their knives a few months ago.

So I was delighted to see this Santoku/Gyuto pair arrive at our Stay Sharp sharpening station, ready to give them some TLC. After sharpening with 500-, 1,000-, and 2,000-grit stones and honing on a leather strop, they were sent back to their happy owner.

ABOUT KUNIO MASUTANI:

Masutani-san works in a small workshop located behind his house in the famous knife-making village of Takefu. He works mainly alone, but is assisted by his two grandsons on weekends and by his son-in-law. As a master sharpener, he takes great pride in ensuring that every knife that leaves his workshop is razor-sharp. He crafts beautiful knives at affordable prices that we highly recommend to home cooks looking for a high-performance, affordable, and easy-to-maintain tool.

Source: Sharp Knife Shop

Bought this when I didn’t know anything about knives.. sharpened it down way too much and wondered why it wasn’t working well… now that I’ve been more interested in refreshing knives and thinning, I pulled it out of the drawer and gave it some love. Thinned on 300 then did some work on my 400 naniwa.. it’s very pretty but going yo try to get rid of the scratch from 400-1k-3k-jnat…
Tips welcome, but thought I would show and get opinions!

-tsubaya double bevel honesuki
-tosa whale knife

I just got back from my Japan trip and made two expeditions to Kappabashi Street! At first, nothing really spoke to me for use at work, and I felt disappointed, so I resigned myself to just ordering a knife I really wanted and leaving with the Tosa whale knife I got at Tsubaya. But after looking through Tsubaya’s website, I decided to come back and got myself a double-bevel honesuki, since I’ve been interested in learning to butcher chickens myself. I figured a double-bevel one would see more use personally, and I’d be able to learn to sharpen it more easily.

Hi people, new on reddit but in need of some assistance.

the other day, my best friend of 10+ years, used every working days for almost everything, my Glestain gyuto, snapped clean soooooo

I'm in need of another workhorse. i was looking at fujiwara, hatsukokoro and sakai takayuki as best candidates, but i don't know anything about high end japanese knives, i mostly own misono sujihiki, utility and boning, global for petty/paring and some victorinox.

any recomendations ? i would prefer a gyuto, but i could be open to a kiritsuke or maybe a bunka, preferably 240 because that's the lenght i'm used to and i never used a wa handle, but again, not close minded. budget is not an issue

thanks in advance

After getting into Japanese knives and using them for the past few months, my Wife has grown interested in the culture too. She would make comments on what she liked about the knives I’ve gotten so far, what she didn’t like as well as being interested in a WA handle over western handle.

So I kept my research to myself and made comparisons and had it all under wraps until she saw the shipped email notification. I gotta say the WA handle does feel natural in the hand, I may have to get one for myself.

First time using this and I figured I'd put it to work on the main task it was intended for, prepping pork belly for bacon. Absolutely melted through each slab just below the skin with a slight upward angle using all 240mm and both sections came off clean and in half the time it took w/ my 6" fibrox boning knife. Couldn't be happier with it and I'll find uses for it whenever I can. Did an obligatory skin wrap for that pork patina as well.

Anyone able to identify the origins/maker of this knife? Bought this 180mm blue #2 steel Bunka from Kamata Knives in Tokyo!

A recent build for a local chef 👨‍🍳

Proceeded to slice my knuckle off right after I was done.

- Green Brick of Joy

- Nigara SG2 Kurouchi Tsuchime Gyuto

- Masashi VS1 kaijin Gyuto

- Hatsukokoro Kurokaze Shirogami #1 Petty

This knife has caught my eye for a while now...

https://www.cleancut.eu/butik/knifetype/nakiri/masashi-yamamoto-nakiri-detail

I'm looking for a 165mm nakiri, not laser, with a KU nashiji finish, in shirogami #2 steel, made in Sanjo. It would be my first knife with this type of steel, so I'm very curious to test it.

Compared to other Sanjo smiths, does Masashi make thinner blades? If we compare it to knives produced by Wakui or Hinoura, is it less of a workhorse with also a lower distal tape?

I also considered Mazaki which makes beautiful rustic knives but I'm worried that it might be too unbalanced forward, not having tried it I see it as a bit risky

Help me finish the puzzle for the final choice :)

Hello! I’m trying to do a kasumi finish for the first time on synthetic stones and I was wondering if I can receive some advice. In the photo, I think there’s a pretty big low spot near the heel so should I spend more effort focusing on that area? Thank you so much for the help and I’m using a naniwa chocera pro 1k

Im going to Tosa in mid November and I was wondering if anyone has any recommendations or suggestions for while im there? Im going to go to the Sunday market but just wondering if there's any specific makers or places I should check out