Itinomonn - Maksim please tells us more :)

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Matus

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Hello Maksim,

I keep watching with interest your growing offer of Itinomonn knives - could you tell us more about them in general? Also about the maker. I have browsed around but did not ring a name.

It would be interesting to know how do the carbon and stainless-clad knives (in particular gyutos) compare in terms of blade profile.

thank you in advance :)
 
Hi, Matus
Sorry, i am not Maksim, of course, so can not explain you what is this Itinomonn " young generation", but: i personally use a lot of different knives, from stainless steel, and Sanmai ( clad) to full carbon knives and even Honyaki .
The main visible difference is - the rust ( and the care) . The stainless clad ( with hard carbon core) gives you more flexibility , the full carbon ( the core and the clad) needs all your attention, you leave it for 3-4 min - et voilà, you'll get some pretty rust flakes on it! Why to have full carbons?? The feeling... It feels finer somehow while cutting. I've bought the Sujihiki from last JNS delivery, SS clad with carbon core- nice, really nice, i like it. The Gyutos should be the same. At least all my Gyutos in SS clad ( from 210 to 270 mm, different finishes) show the same character. The carbons need oiling etc. they are finer, but the question is : whether one needs the 20% extra feeling for 80% extra inconvenience or not :). I seem to need it, at least i think i need :).
And one more remark- the SS clad in Itinomonn seems to be much more interesting , then their Kurouchi or Nashiji. It's finer, thinner, with nicer finish.
Anyhow : is strictly my personal opinion.
 
Andrey your answer is very much appreciated. I am indeed eyeballing the SS clad Itinomonns, although I am not sure yet what sort if knife. I have read elsewhere on KFF about the rather good food release, great edge as well as F&F. I am just trying to collect more information about these knives.

I already have the Itinomonn Ku Butcher - indestructible knife indeed (It could pry-open a coconut without any issue at all), but given its blade design it is hard to interpolate how a nakiri, gyuto or santoku would look like. I would actually even be interested in custom Itinomonn, but I am not sure whether that is possible because of the demand.
 
I have both the KU and Stainless clad Itinomonn gyutos in 240mm, the ku is thinner, lighter and a tiny bit taller and not very reactive, but more so than the stainless clad. If I had to choose I would go for the KU, but they are both great and up there with my kato and shig, and they are much cheaper.
 
Andrey your answer is very much appreciated. I am indeed eyeballing the SS clad Itinomonns, although I am not sure yet what sort if knife. I have read elsewhere on KFF about the rather good food release, great edge as well as F&F. I am just trying to collect more information about these knives.

I already have the Itinomonn Ku Butcher - indestructible knife indeed (It could pry-open a coconut without any issue at all), but given its blade design it is hard to interpolate how a nakiri, gyuto or santoku would look like. I would actually even be interested in custom Itinomonn, but I am not sure whether that is possible because of the demand.
Hi, Matus
My latest Suji 270 mm is MUCH thinner then the Itinomonn butcher, still good to hold and very nice. I have all those other knives( from Shige Kitaeji to Kato and Singatirin etc etc), so i can compare with other knives. I will be at JNS gathering soon, will check all the Maksim's knives as well. The Butcher indeed seems to be really indestructible, but rather a heavy task knife, then a precise fillet cutter. Yes, Itinomonn is cheeper, the difference is to see/ feel. But , in general, the knives are very good.
And this Sujihiki allows me to slice sashimi slices almost as good as a good Yanagiba. And it has a huge advantage - a stainless clad! But same as you i will ask about those Itinomonn young generation while gathering at JNS.
 
Hi, Matus
My latest Suji 270 mm is MUCH thinner then the Itinomonn butcher, still good to hold and very nice. I have all those other knives( from Shige Kitaeji to Kato and Singatirin etc etc), so i can compare with other knives. I will be at JNS gathering soon, will check all the Maksim's knives as well. The Butcher indeed seems to be really indestructible, but rather a heavy task knife, then a precise fillet cutter. Yes, Itinomonn is cheeper, the difference is to see/ feel. But , in general, the knives are very good.
And this Sujihiki allows me to slice sashimi slices almost as good as a good Yanagiba. And it has a huge advantage - a stainless clad! But same as you i will ask about those Itinomonn young generation while gathering at JNS.

Hi Andrey,

I'm really interested in the Itinomonn suji. Any idea how it compares with a misono swedish suji? :)
 
Hi Matus

I think users have explained better then i did :D Also you can read reviews on website there is plenty of them now there

More on the maker: Sorry i can not say much more :( But also it is irrelevant as i have worked a lot on this knives my self to my specs. They are nothing like his standard knives, so it will only confuse people.


Hello Maksim,

I keep watching with interest your growing offer of Itinomonn knives - could you tell us more about them in general? Also about the maker. I have browsed around but did not ring a name.

It would be interesting to know how do the carbon and stainless-clad knives (in particular gyutos) compare in terms of blade profile.

thank you in advance :)
 
I would actually even be interested in custom Itinomonn, but I am not sure whether that is possible because of the demand.

About custom knives orders :p
Please dont take it wrong.

But many of people "THINKS" know what they want, but in the end they dont . That lead to confusion both on makers and costumers and product it self.
Maker choose the shape and type of knives because they are most confident with that type of making. So if we change that to much it will lead to a bad product !

When i change stuff with makers. It is with them selfs where we have dialog and TESTS many tests. Thats why i can not only order 1 knife but many to test them out.
Thats why after some thinking i have refused to take any custom orders anymore.

I hope you guys understand :)
 
I've been looking at the nakiri, but now that there's a stainless-clad nakiri I'm not so sure. Stainless-clad is bigger in all dimensions and doesn't have quite the same geometry that the KU model does from the pics. Knowing the cutting characteristics of the two blades next to each other (e.g. stainless is more acute and goes through cabbage easier, KU has better food release but might wedge in carrots, or something like that) would make deciding a lot easier. Without knowing much about them, I'm always almost ready to order, but never quite follow through.
 
I will try to make some vids for you guys :D
 
Thank you Maksim for your explanations. I agree - there are many possible problems one can run into when having a custom knife made. And adding a long distance and possibly problem in communication will not help to get knife done one is after.

And I am looking for more videos and of course more Itinomonn knives :)

But I would be curios to know how the performance and handling of the stainless-clad Itinomonn knives compares to KU-finished ones.
 
Maxim, any particular reason there are major difference (geometry, profile & weight) between Itinomonn western and wa?
 
[video=youtube;lPmKlLACP9E]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPmKlLACP9E&feature=youtu.be[/video]
 
Final product from potatoes in video :)

1966953_414363695333102_469290436_n.jpg
 
maxim's videos never disappoint. Great stuff. Do you do the engraving on the itinomonns?
 
Hi Andrey,

I'm really interested in the Itinomonn suji. Any idea how it compares with a misono swedish suji? :)

Itinomonn is definitely better! I was looking already for some time for a good fine Suji, and the one i've not managed to buy was a big one Teryasu Fujiwara Nashiji ( in Japan), with a Shirogami as a core. Itinomonn is very good, after all, it has a carbon heart, so easy to resharpen, with a good retention etc. and the stainless steel clad helps to prevent the knife from rust- also a big advantage! And the finish is nice- i will even keep the original finish, it is so nice in the sun light! The price is also affordable, what's important. IMHO Itinomonn is much more hand made and better to handle. Less commercial , i would say. :)
 
Thank you Maksim - that is very helpful. It would seem that the Ku has somewhat better food release than the SS clad ones. I think I am going to re-think my gyuto (I did not expect that to happen ... so soon).
 
No it is actually same on all 3 gyutos i think :) If you watch video closely you will see, at some point all of them dont stik.
Biggest difference i will say is the staidness and feel. Western is definitely most steady and powerful. Where KU is bit like laser. And the other one is the middle of those 2
 
[video=youtube;lPmKlLACP9E]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPmKlLACP9E&feature=youtu.be[/video]
I just got my 210mm KU...thanks Maksim!

P.S. looking with a careful eye at the KU patterning, my knife seems very very similar. Did I get the knife from the video? That'd be pretty cool.
 
Maksim - I have just seen the Itinomonn bunka - you must be reading my mind :) I am seriously considering knife of that kind (I have a smaller ko-bunka from Masakage). What I would like to know whether the blade has large enough flat spot that would allow to use it a bit like a nakiri.

Now all you need to add is a nice honesuki from Itinomonn. If I may have a wish: western handle, 35mm at the heel and slight belly over the whole edge. Stainless clad :D
 
Maksim - I have just seen the Itinomonn bunka - you must be reading my mind :) I am seriously considering knife of that kind (I have a smaller ko-bunka from Masakage). What I would like to know whether the blade has large enough flat spot that would allow to use it a bit like a nakiri.

Now all you need to add is a nice honesuki from Itinomonn. If I may have a wish: western handle, 35mm at the heel and slight belly over the whole edge. Stainless clad :D
Hi, Matus
Next week i'll visit Maksim and will try out this Bunka. I'll post it for sure. Normally it's like a wide Nakiri but more versatile because of it's pointed tip. We will see!
 

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