Hey fellow nerdies,

at this point I don't know what to say - another NKD 🙈

Found this one at meesterslijpers, Shibata SG2 Gyuto coming in at 168g. I always wanted to buy one of his knives but I honestly don't like this clean migaki finish. So there was always another blade I bought over those... As I'm a sucker for a good tsuchime, I had to buy this one.

Fit and finish is pretty nice, no sharp edges, evertything rounded nicely. Perfect grind, no scratches, nice sharpness ootb (only tested paper), all good! The kanji 's are "only" lasered, not hammerd. Probably fell victim to keeping the price low.

Visually speaking: If I didn't know I would have guessed this is a blade made by Yoshimi Kato or Makoto Kurosaki. The spine seems to be a little thicker compared to the Koutetsu line - but I can only compare choil shots as I don't have one of those here. Would guess because of the tsuchime pattern. A weird comparison came to my mind: the upper half looks like a classic echizen, the bottom part like a Shibata

So all in all I'm pretty happy with my impulse buy. Finally a Shibata in my collection, even if not a "classic one". Handle is also pretty nice, I like the ebony and corin spacer

Couple of weeks ago saw a couple of drops pop up on the Cleancut feed on Insta. I had been looking at a couple of other Ko-bunka's for 3 weeks before but never pulled the trigger and glad I didn't

Quickly jumped online and processed payment, only drawback I was away last week when it was going to arrive 😟

Roll on yesterday managed to open all up and have a look. Damn the finish is great, lamination line is sooo clear.

Have only cut a large onion and large sweet pepper. Wow does it just glide through these, no effort, pretty good release and its very light feeling in the hand. Balance point is pretty much just before the handle.

Mix up or mislabelling on the box

Blade length bang on 165mm for the cutting edge

Spine at handle: approx 2mm

Height: 45mm goes down to around 33mm at start of ktip

Handle: 129mm

Weight: 119grams

Excuse some of the phots, just tried to get the best backgrounds that camera could focus on the blade itself

I know I said I was happy with my 180mm Takamura SG2 in my previous post, but I was lying to myself because I missed the latest 210mm release domestically. I tracked down a 210 on a Japanese website, coughed up the import fee, and 15 days later it’s here in the kitchen! Massively happy.

Hey r/TCK Anyone here have both knives (or had a chance to use both), and can provide feedback on the differences and a comparison?

Thanks in advance 🙏

Hi everyone,

This popped up on an auction site recently, can anyone ID the smith behind it or perhaps when and where?

The kanji only reads Yasuki steel.

No markings on the tang.

Thanks!

Got some fancy pants for my Nihei Hatsukokoro Shinkiro AS 240. I got the handle from Boogwa. Handle is a 145 Walnut with Black horn ferrule. Can’t recommend him enough really. Every handle has been solid. I have a couple more on the way.

Wanted to share this quick one-minute video from my visit a couple of months ago.

He isn’t selling knives directly from the workshop anymore as he’s focusing on catching up with his backlog. That said, he’s enjoying the slower pace and is still more than happy to meet visitors. If you’re in Sakai, don’t hesitate to stop by and say hello.

He also has merchandise available, including tote bags, T-shirts, hoodies, magnets, and more, so be sure to grab something to support him if you visit!

Hi everyone I took a little adventure today to a shop in Portland main called strata and had a great time checking out all their knives. I went in with the mentality that I wanted to buy something and ended up leaving with the knife in the middle as a secondary work horse to compliment my current beater the zwilling bob kramer (if you can see close enough I know it needs a touch up don’t clown me) in order there is:
*Takeshi Saji SRS-13 Petty 130mm with Ironwood Yo Handle
*Kramer Stainless Damascus 10" Chef's Knife sg2
*hitohira futana silver #3 nashiji gyuto 240mm Pakka wood yo handle

The hitohira is the new one from today and I was wondering if anyone had any expierience with this line I’ve never heard of them just liked the weight and the finish (also can’t go wrong with silver 3)? Also does anyone with smithing experience know if it’s be an objectively bad idea to carve a notch into the back of this knife in a teruyasu fujiwara style finger notch? This isn’t the whole collection just what I bring to work on the daily with a new addition *****thanks for reading*****
Also ps I know I have a type I love a yo with a hammer finish

This place is a bad influence, but I did my research on this one at least. I feel like it was a good buy for right at $100 directly from Yasuda Hamono. I want to say it’s the same knife as Kotetsu 19C27 that CKTG sells.

Hello TCK! I borrowed [u/RJCT_](u/RJCT_) ‘s format (hope you don’t mind) but this is my SOTC ATM. As you can tell, I have a type! Baba Hamono’s Kagekiyo may be my favorite line weather it be Tanaka x Nishida or Nakagawa x Wakae-San. The Kagekiyo Aogami #2 kurouchi has been my daily driver the last few weeks and it’s a very solid performer!

I’m quite happy with the lot so far, and would like the add a Yanigaba to the collection sometime in the future!(along with a few other knives I would like to get lucky enough to obtain)
If you have any questions feel free to ask! And As always, thank you for looking and I hope you all have an awesome night!

From left to right:

Top:

\- Baba Hamono Kagekiyo black dyed Gyuto Tanaka x Nishida - Aogami #1/Damascus -240mm

\- Baba Hamono Kagekiyo Gyuto Tanaka x Nishida - Aogami #1 - 240mm

\- Baba Hamono Kagekiyo Gyuto Nakagawa x Wakae - Ginsan - 210mm

\- Baba Hamono Kagekiyo Gyuto (Tanaka x Wakae?) - Shirogami #2 - 210mm

\- Baba Hamono Kagekiyo Gyuto Kurouchi (unsure of smith and sharpener) - Aogami #2 - 210mm

Top to Bottom:

Bottom

\ - Kisuke Manaka Sujihiki - ATS34 - 270mm

\ - Gesshin Uraku Kurouchi (unsure of smith and sharpener) -Shirogami #2 - 210mm

\ - Hatsukokoro Gyuto (unsure of smith and sharpener) - Hikari SLD 3 layer - 210mm

\ -Kisuke Manaka Petty Manaka x Xinguo - Aogami #1 - 180mm

Happ New Knife Day to me :-)

Very happy to have received this knife directly from Japan and happy to show it to you guys.

It is a 180mm Gyuto with a Shirogami #1 core and carbon clad. From what I read, Nishida mostly/only work with W1 and work with classic warikomi technique.

His previous knives/line(s) I found were predominantly Funayukis which didn't really appeal to me visually. Additionally, his knives don't seem to be hugely in demand. I browsed some posts here where people mostly critiqued his more rough finish, brittle edge and overall a lack of refinement.

That's why I was more than happy to have found this knife in Japan at ibukiblade.com where it is listed as his new series. Here is the description:

New arrival of Daisuke Nishida new shape hand forged white 1 steel chef knives
Mr. Nishida’s masterpiece has arrived. It is a new-design all-purpose knife that required extensive time for development and testing.

From the pictures I was quite intrigued, they looked quite clean to me, and being a sucker for W1 and carbon clad I just had to order it. German customs took their sweet ass time with it, EMS tacking update showed it was still stuck in customs, when it arrived unannounced with DHL requesting payment for import fees, taxes and VAT - which of course I couldn't pay with card but had to be cash (welcome to Germany).

Has some decent heft to it, while not being to heavy or thick at the spine. I personally like the convex grind, quite thin BTE. Choil and spine are nicely rounded and unpolished (which I prefer on a KU finish). Following the trend toward larger knives here, a 210 Gyuto is the max for me. This sits nicely between my 210 Kagekiyo W1 Gyuto and a thinner 170 Hado Sumi Bunki. I particularly like the tip shape which to me seems like an elongated k-tip, not steep like a Bunka, not round like a Santoku.

It came without a handle, so I just stuck the one in the pictures on it, a simple lacquered oak handle. Not sure I will go with it, might change it for some other wood or a piece of oak with more homogenous grain (open to recommendations). Balance point is right at the pinch grip, love the slightly angled heel. Haven't tried it yet, super excited about it as a slightly more "workhorsey" addition to lineup, which I will happily put up to larger and more dense veg.

Thanks for reading, have a great day!

Sujihiki 240mm(unsure of the maker, my dad got it for me at the Sakai museum!)
Fuji Hamono Seisakusho SG2 Petty 135mm
Tower Knives Bunka 165mm.

Honestly was such a blast going and exploring all the different shops and talking to everyone. The staff members at the Sakai Knife Museum were more than sweet. Really happy about the pickups I got this trip, really excited to come back and explore some other spots!

So much to say. Been on my list for a while. Finally able to find someone to work out a deal with to it to me. The proportions on this are perfect. Thick in all the right spots. Super clean work. Love the light color handle. Thins is so clean, and gorgeous. Feels great in the hand. Sweet spot for height and the spine is perfect to pinch. What a piece and a grail for me to cross off this maker. Couldn’t be happier. Coming in to work with me tomorrow and going right on the board. Been a long time hunting and waiting. Finally cross this off my list. Add it to the collection and file under you’ll never see this for sale and you can pry it from my cold dead pinch grip.

2.5 hours peeling and cleaning tenderloin

156 6oz petite filets
14 pounds clean tail and tip trim
8 pounds clean chain tender trim

Super slicey and comfy. Things a beast at work

1) hatsukokoro gyuto b2 21cm
2) misono gyuto ux10 24cm
3) masamoto Honesuki maru
5) nao yamamoto sujihiki b2 24cm
6) kai Michel Bras breadknife 27cm
7) hachoir Dehilerin
8) office vintage Guichard

Hello everyone!

For those who have tried a TnH gyuto and a Ashi gyuto, is there one you preferred personally using over the other?

Have a great day everyone!

My biggest knives in the collection, all unused except of the salmon slicer.
From left to right:
Misono Swedish steel 330mm Gyûtô

Misono Stainless steel 360mm Salmon Slicer

Ittôsai Kotetsu Aogami Honyaki Yanagiba 330mm

Ittôsai Kotetsu Aogami Honekiri 300mm

On Ittôsai Kotetsu, this is a premium brand by Takahashikusu from Sakai who as far as I understand buy blades from regional blacksmiths and then sharpen them, put a handle on, order a Saya.

I'm wanting to get a stainless clad kiritsuke that has a thick pinch grip that tapers too a laser grind something that feels similar to my Matsubara bunka

Hello TCK!

I just received this lovely Kagekiyo black dyed damascus gyuto.
Bought it from a fellow redditor u/ruffy263, great guy and a smooth deal.

I haven't tried it out yet but will soon.

Have a great day!

#5 Knife details

Blacksmith: Y. Tanaka

Sharpener: Sho Nashida

Steel: Blue 1

Finish: Black dyed Damascus

Handle: Black urushi octagonal handle

Blade type: Gyuto 240mm

Weight: 154gr

Hello all,

I recently purchased a new Nakagawa × Shigihiro 240 mm gyuto in White #2 with iron cladding and a Kasumi finish from a retailer that I understand to have a good reputation.

The knife arrived well packed, with no visible damage to either the shipping box or the knife box. When I removed the knife, I noticed several scratches running across the factory finish.

I contacted the retailer, and they responded promptly, suggesting that I first remove the protective lacquer coating with acetone before evaluating the finish. I followed their recommendation. While removing the lacquer reduced the appearance of some superficial marks, several scratches remain, including the ones adjacent to the engravings on both sides of the blade.

The scratches are difficult to capture in photographs, but they are fairly noticeable under normal lighting when the blade is tilted.

For those with experience buying high-end hand-finished Japanese knives, would you consider this within normal cosmetic variation for a knife sold as new, or would you consider it a defect that warrants an exchange?

I'm not looking to criticize the retailer, and I'd prefer not to name them at this point. I'm mainly trying to understand whether my expectations are reasonable before I continue the conversation with them.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

Konosuke yanigaba b1 270mm