So at the request of a few forum members I am going to write a little bit about my experiences with Japanese knives, how I got into them, and what the end result of years of collecting, sharpening and using them is.
We shall travel back to 2004/2005 so Ill say early 2005 if I remember correctly. I was looking for a "slicer". You know those special knives that come out during the holidays usually accompanied by a matching fork lol. Yeah well anyway, that is how it started. I was so close, ever so close to pulling the trigger on a Wustfoh carving set, but somehow I stumbled upon a forum. That forum was the legendary FoodieForums.com, and it has a sub-forum dedicated to knives. Cant remember the exact name of the sub forum right now but Im sure someone reading this will let me know.
So that is where I was first introduced to J knives. If I recall correctly at the time the Hattori HD was basically the recommended knife line out at the time, with Tojiro also being mentioned for those who didnt want to fork over what the Hattori HD cost. However THE KNIFE at the time was the NENOX Karin line or simply Nenox S-1. They had the steel, the handles, the geometry everything; they were certainly all the rage. There were a few rare knives floating around at the time including the Ichimonji Mitsuhide gyuto (made from SRS-15 PM) that I ended up buying off someone (had dog in the name if I recall correctly). That Ichimonji is now labeled as Ikeda / Akifusa / Artisan, but still made by Ichimonji Mitsuhide (I believe). Then there was the mythical Hattori KD if you dont know, you probably never will at this point. Outside of the Nenox that was a knife everyone wanted but the price made it out of reach for many, which is why I out the Nenox ahead in terms of popularity at the time. People at least knew they could actually get a Nenox at some point.
With that being said my first J knife was a Hattori 240MM HD, from JCK to which I was directed by members on FF IT FRIGGIN RULED!!!! After that I was hooked. I got a 150MM Petty, a Honesuki and a Sujihiki, all Hattori HD. I have only the petty left. Right around that time I was learning about single bevels. I wanted a Yanagi not that I had any idea what I was getting myself into but yeah I WANTED ONE BAD!!!! So I bought one but Ill be dammed if I can remember which one. I am pretty sure it was a Suisin Inox but it may have been a Watanabe Kintaro-ame (never used it too nice) I also had at one point a Suisin Usubiki (which is a yanagi but thinner) and I had the Suisin Inox Fuguhiki. Good knives if you need a stainless Yanagi but you dont need a stainless yanagi. I bought an Ittosai Suminigashi from Korin (which was a stunning knife) but had to return it because it was scratched on the back. Then I ordered a 330MM Hayate (still have that one) the certificate says 011 and there is no number stamped into the back of the blade (old school). Then I bought the Hayate Sakimaru Takohiki off a forum member, which I just sold last week. I also bought a 240mm Hattori KD and a 150mm Hattori KD Petty. U used the KD a few times; the cladding seems to make it a little less than smooth running through food. I sold it off, but eventually ended up with another one and the other Perry which was 135mm. After those knives it kind of gets hazy I do know I had a 270mm Hattori KD as well got it from Japan Wood Worker and sold it at a profit about a year or so later.
Somewhere along the line maybe late 06 early 07 Shigefusa came into the picture (obviously he was around way before that but getting a knife in the states was pretty difficult that is where Japan Woodworker came in. Pretty sure I got a 240 kasumi Gyuto and a 270 and 300 kasumi Yanagi from them as well as a Kurouchi Nakiri and Santoku. The rest of the Shigs I had were a 210 kasumi gyuto a 240 kitaeji gyuto, a 300 kitaeji fuguhiki, a 165 kitaeji Nakiri, a 180 kitaeji Usuba, and a 240mm yanagi. The only one of them that got any real use was the 240 yanagi which sharpened up real nice and cut even nicer it is worth the money for the kasumi line no doubt, well it was back then. Somewhere in between those knives I think I purchased two custom Mizuno Tanrenjo Fuguhikis a 270 and a 300 from JCK.
Then I found AFRAMESTOKYO yeah that was just what I needed. Bought a vintage Masamoto Honyaki, and a Nenohi Mizu Honyaki. Those blades got me hooked on honyaki which would be a really good name for a j knives website or at least make a good knife geek T-shirt but I digress. Around this time I also managed to purchase an Ittosai 300MM Honyaki gyuto, which was absolutely spectacular (I also purchased a used on along the way and actually used it but not before cutting a huge chuck of my nail-bed out white sharpening it) It cut very well but it was a beast to wield around a small kitchen and it was plenty reactive. I made my first trip to Korin around this time ordered another 300mm Ittosai Gyuto but without the special coating they put on the blade. While I was there I picked up an Ittosai Mizu Honyaki 330 Yanagiba and a Suisin Mizu Honyaki Sakimaru Takohiki. The sales people were shocked when I knew what Mizu Honyaki meant kinda felt like they knew I knew what the deal was then. On the next trip down there they knew me by name which was kind of surprising. I only bought a Masamoto 270mm KK Takohiki but Master Sugai (the knife sharpener there) came out and showed me and my wife a rather cool looking knife. He let me hold it and it was basically a yanagi but the backside was flat. He said it was made by a master swordsmith (I assume now it was Tamahagane but I could be wrong). I asked the price 10K. LOL This guy just handed me a 10k knife like it was nothing I handed it back very carefully and thanked him. Yeah I know cool story bro but its true.
Eventually my order for the Ittosai Honyaki gyuto came in and I took delivery it was just as nice as the other one I had. During this time a new maker came onto the scene Itou. I bought them I bought a lot of them, 240 gyuto, 150 petty and 270 gyuto all with abalone handles (which lead to me being banned on knifeforums Ill get to that in a bit). I was reaching a point now where I had a ton of drawer queens oh crap I forgot about Murray Carter I know I had at least 6 Carters, a 270 sujihiki, a few Wa-Bochos the length of I cannot remember but they were from the high grade series. I had at least one HG Funayuki and a Fukugo-zai Funayuki and well as a petty(ish) kind of knife.
Anyway somewhere back in time (this is all random stuff I remembered while writing this) there was another knife from Suisin which was like a single bevel funayuki. It had a special name but I cant remember what the hell it was right now. Cool little knife but it was beyond my skill level to use it correctly. I also owned Phil Wilson CPM30V Chefs knife hardest thing to sharpen EVER . I had a small Kikuichi Honyaki Yangiba as well as a Cleaver of some sort from JCK, I had the JCK Forum 240 Gyuto and 150 petty didnt like them too much flex. I also went through 2 Sanetu zdp-189 santokus which I wish I still had DAMN IT!!!!! Had two Hiromoto AS gyutos liked them but not overly thrilled.. they did get wicked sharp though. I ordered two at the same time but ended up with two different version one had a stamped kanji and one had a printed kanji. The one with the stamped kanji had a lot of flex the one with the printed kanji had NONE both from JCK weird. Also owned 2 suisin Ginsan-KO Suminigashi knives a Yanagiba and a Takohiki Had a Nakiri and a Santoku by a very old maker whose name I forget both were kurouchi both were cool little blades. Had a 311mm Takeda yeah that one everyone owned that one at some point. Also had a Takeda Ajikiri awesome little AS knife got stupid sharp. Had a Hiromoto solid white steel #2 gyuto which was also cool, but reactive very very reactive. Still have a Watanabe 240 MM Takohiki White steel wicked sharp knife but has issues with moving. Still own a Masamoto 240mm KK Yangiba still the best yanagi I have used. Have a 270mm Shigeki Tanaka blue #2 Yanagiba gets crazy sharp, and cuts like a dream great deal in a yanagi if you get a good one. Had a Masamoto KK Nakiri which I never got used to cutting with. Still have 3 Hayates a 330 Yanagi. A 330 Takohiki and a 420 Yanagiba.
After those last Hayates came in (the Takohiki was the last one I believe) I found myself with a bunch of drawer queens (note I did not own all the knives listed above at the same time there was constant buying and selling) and not many users. I was basically cutting up everything with a Blazen petty and a TKC Gyuto (the original ichimonji version). That is if course until I found Ikeda. I was on the phone with EE and wanted another blazen cause I liked the petty so damn much. I was told about the Ikeda (Akifusa) and I figured what the hell well that was pretty much it for me once I got that knife I never felt the need for anything else. Yeah there were more and more pretty knives coming out, damascus, and fancy handles and whatnot but at that point I had had my fair share of expensive knives. I found that in reality you can have customs from very famous makers but sometimes it is the plain jane that you fall for. That being said there are some new mid-line (hell Ill even say cheap) knives out there that are of interest to me. Like the HAP40 Gyuto and the Migaki R2 stuff. Who knows maybe there is something better than the Ikeda but I havent found it yet.
About those Itou abalone handles . Yeah well the story goes like this. I was a member of Knifeforums (for a little while well actually quite a while but hey ). I got into an argument with Fish yeah that Fish about the Itou handles. He was trying to tell me they were fake abalone and I was telling him the were real it escalated to me getting a pin heating it and sticking it to the handle of my $500 Itou gyuto (it did not penetrate or leave a mark . Still didnt believe me and the rest of those clowns piled on. If someone thinks Im going to go along with the crowd just because they all adore a certain member on a forum they have another thing coming he was wrong I was right but that didnt matter. I know I was the new guy relatively speaking but it was mob mentality at its worst ALL OVER A HANDLE ON A FRIGGIM GYUTO. Im sure there are a few members here who were there, in fact a few may have even been in the mob. Long story short I was the first to tell Knife Forums and whoever the **** was admin at the time to go **** themselves, and I see quite a few others followed suit in the years since. And yes I know Fish is dead what can I say the story is an integral part of my J knives / forum experience and if someone doesnt like it TS.
I like this forum though Ive only been active here and there it still isnt FF nothing will ever be FF because that was a different time, with different people and a different vibe. It was, like I said before a legendary forum which I wish an archive of could be posted online if only to read KCMAs posts, though I think he has a lot of posts on knife forums as well. That guy was the real deal, straight shooter no BS a true forum legend no question about it. Wish he was still around.
**** I know this is an overwhelming amount of knives, if you have any questions about a particular one feel free to ask, I simply cannot go into detail in this one post about every knife I have owned. Don't let the KF story fool you, I'm actually pretty nice... most of the time. :wink:
We shall travel back to 2004/2005 so Ill say early 2005 if I remember correctly. I was looking for a "slicer". You know those special knives that come out during the holidays usually accompanied by a matching fork lol. Yeah well anyway, that is how it started. I was so close, ever so close to pulling the trigger on a Wustfoh carving set, but somehow I stumbled upon a forum. That forum was the legendary FoodieForums.com, and it has a sub-forum dedicated to knives. Cant remember the exact name of the sub forum right now but Im sure someone reading this will let me know.
So that is where I was first introduced to J knives. If I recall correctly at the time the Hattori HD was basically the recommended knife line out at the time, with Tojiro also being mentioned for those who didnt want to fork over what the Hattori HD cost. However THE KNIFE at the time was the NENOX Karin line or simply Nenox S-1. They had the steel, the handles, the geometry everything; they were certainly all the rage. There were a few rare knives floating around at the time including the Ichimonji Mitsuhide gyuto (made from SRS-15 PM) that I ended up buying off someone (had dog in the name if I recall correctly). That Ichimonji is now labeled as Ikeda / Akifusa / Artisan, but still made by Ichimonji Mitsuhide (I believe). Then there was the mythical Hattori KD if you dont know, you probably never will at this point. Outside of the Nenox that was a knife everyone wanted but the price made it out of reach for many, which is why I out the Nenox ahead in terms of popularity at the time. People at least knew they could actually get a Nenox at some point.
With that being said my first J knife was a Hattori 240MM HD, from JCK to which I was directed by members on FF IT FRIGGIN RULED!!!! After that I was hooked. I got a 150MM Petty, a Honesuki and a Sujihiki, all Hattori HD. I have only the petty left. Right around that time I was learning about single bevels. I wanted a Yanagi not that I had any idea what I was getting myself into but yeah I WANTED ONE BAD!!!! So I bought one but Ill be dammed if I can remember which one. I am pretty sure it was a Suisin Inox but it may have been a Watanabe Kintaro-ame (never used it too nice) I also had at one point a Suisin Usubiki (which is a yanagi but thinner) and I had the Suisin Inox Fuguhiki. Good knives if you need a stainless Yanagi but you dont need a stainless yanagi. I bought an Ittosai Suminigashi from Korin (which was a stunning knife) but had to return it because it was scratched on the back. Then I ordered a 330MM Hayate (still have that one) the certificate says 011 and there is no number stamped into the back of the blade (old school). Then I bought the Hayate Sakimaru Takohiki off a forum member, which I just sold last week. I also bought a 240mm Hattori KD and a 150mm Hattori KD Petty. U used the KD a few times; the cladding seems to make it a little less than smooth running through food. I sold it off, but eventually ended up with another one and the other Perry which was 135mm. After those knives it kind of gets hazy I do know I had a 270mm Hattori KD as well got it from Japan Wood Worker and sold it at a profit about a year or so later.
Somewhere along the line maybe late 06 early 07 Shigefusa came into the picture (obviously he was around way before that but getting a knife in the states was pretty difficult that is where Japan Woodworker came in. Pretty sure I got a 240 kasumi Gyuto and a 270 and 300 kasumi Yanagi from them as well as a Kurouchi Nakiri and Santoku. The rest of the Shigs I had were a 210 kasumi gyuto a 240 kitaeji gyuto, a 300 kitaeji fuguhiki, a 165 kitaeji Nakiri, a 180 kitaeji Usuba, and a 240mm yanagi. The only one of them that got any real use was the 240 yanagi which sharpened up real nice and cut even nicer it is worth the money for the kasumi line no doubt, well it was back then. Somewhere in between those knives I think I purchased two custom Mizuno Tanrenjo Fuguhikis a 270 and a 300 from JCK.
Then I found AFRAMESTOKYO yeah that was just what I needed. Bought a vintage Masamoto Honyaki, and a Nenohi Mizu Honyaki. Those blades got me hooked on honyaki which would be a really good name for a j knives website or at least make a good knife geek T-shirt but I digress. Around this time I also managed to purchase an Ittosai 300MM Honyaki gyuto, which was absolutely spectacular (I also purchased a used on along the way and actually used it but not before cutting a huge chuck of my nail-bed out white sharpening it) It cut very well but it was a beast to wield around a small kitchen and it was plenty reactive. I made my first trip to Korin around this time ordered another 300mm Ittosai Gyuto but without the special coating they put on the blade. While I was there I picked up an Ittosai Mizu Honyaki 330 Yanagiba and a Suisin Mizu Honyaki Sakimaru Takohiki. The sales people were shocked when I knew what Mizu Honyaki meant kinda felt like they knew I knew what the deal was then. On the next trip down there they knew me by name which was kind of surprising. I only bought a Masamoto 270mm KK Takohiki but Master Sugai (the knife sharpener there) came out and showed me and my wife a rather cool looking knife. He let me hold it and it was basically a yanagi but the backside was flat. He said it was made by a master swordsmith (I assume now it was Tamahagane but I could be wrong). I asked the price 10K. LOL This guy just handed me a 10k knife like it was nothing I handed it back very carefully and thanked him. Yeah I know cool story bro but its true.
Eventually my order for the Ittosai Honyaki gyuto came in and I took delivery it was just as nice as the other one I had. During this time a new maker came onto the scene Itou. I bought them I bought a lot of them, 240 gyuto, 150 petty and 270 gyuto all with abalone handles (which lead to me being banned on knifeforums Ill get to that in a bit). I was reaching a point now where I had a ton of drawer queens oh crap I forgot about Murray Carter I know I had at least 6 Carters, a 270 sujihiki, a few Wa-Bochos the length of I cannot remember but they were from the high grade series. I had at least one HG Funayuki and a Fukugo-zai Funayuki and well as a petty(ish) kind of knife.
Anyway somewhere back in time (this is all random stuff I remembered while writing this) there was another knife from Suisin which was like a single bevel funayuki. It had a special name but I cant remember what the hell it was right now. Cool little knife but it was beyond my skill level to use it correctly. I also owned Phil Wilson CPM30V Chefs knife hardest thing to sharpen EVER . I had a small Kikuichi Honyaki Yangiba as well as a Cleaver of some sort from JCK, I had the JCK Forum 240 Gyuto and 150 petty didnt like them too much flex. I also went through 2 Sanetu zdp-189 santokus which I wish I still had DAMN IT!!!!! Had two Hiromoto AS gyutos liked them but not overly thrilled.. they did get wicked sharp though. I ordered two at the same time but ended up with two different version one had a stamped kanji and one had a printed kanji. The one with the stamped kanji had a lot of flex the one with the printed kanji had NONE both from JCK weird. Also owned 2 suisin Ginsan-KO Suminigashi knives a Yanagiba and a Takohiki Had a Nakiri and a Santoku by a very old maker whose name I forget both were kurouchi both were cool little blades. Had a 311mm Takeda yeah that one everyone owned that one at some point. Also had a Takeda Ajikiri awesome little AS knife got stupid sharp. Had a Hiromoto solid white steel #2 gyuto which was also cool, but reactive very very reactive. Still have a Watanabe 240 MM Takohiki White steel wicked sharp knife but has issues with moving. Still own a Masamoto 240mm KK Yangiba still the best yanagi I have used. Have a 270mm Shigeki Tanaka blue #2 Yanagiba gets crazy sharp, and cuts like a dream great deal in a yanagi if you get a good one. Had a Masamoto KK Nakiri which I never got used to cutting with. Still have 3 Hayates a 330 Yanagi. A 330 Takohiki and a 420 Yanagiba.
After those last Hayates came in (the Takohiki was the last one I believe) I found myself with a bunch of drawer queens (note I did not own all the knives listed above at the same time there was constant buying and selling) and not many users. I was basically cutting up everything with a Blazen petty and a TKC Gyuto (the original ichimonji version). That is if course until I found Ikeda. I was on the phone with EE and wanted another blazen cause I liked the petty so damn much. I was told about the Ikeda (Akifusa) and I figured what the hell well that was pretty much it for me once I got that knife I never felt the need for anything else. Yeah there were more and more pretty knives coming out, damascus, and fancy handles and whatnot but at that point I had had my fair share of expensive knives. I found that in reality you can have customs from very famous makers but sometimes it is the plain jane that you fall for. That being said there are some new mid-line (hell Ill even say cheap) knives out there that are of interest to me. Like the HAP40 Gyuto and the Migaki R2 stuff. Who knows maybe there is something better than the Ikeda but I havent found it yet.
About those Itou abalone handles . Yeah well the story goes like this. I was a member of Knifeforums (for a little while well actually quite a while but hey ). I got into an argument with Fish yeah that Fish about the Itou handles. He was trying to tell me they were fake abalone and I was telling him the were real it escalated to me getting a pin heating it and sticking it to the handle of my $500 Itou gyuto (it did not penetrate or leave a mark . Still didnt believe me and the rest of those clowns piled on. If someone thinks Im going to go along with the crowd just because they all adore a certain member on a forum they have another thing coming he was wrong I was right but that didnt matter. I know I was the new guy relatively speaking but it was mob mentality at its worst ALL OVER A HANDLE ON A FRIGGIM GYUTO. Im sure there are a few members here who were there, in fact a few may have even been in the mob. Long story short I was the first to tell Knife Forums and whoever the **** was admin at the time to go **** themselves, and I see quite a few others followed suit in the years since. And yes I know Fish is dead what can I say the story is an integral part of my J knives / forum experience and if someone doesnt like it TS.
I like this forum though Ive only been active here and there it still isnt FF nothing will ever be FF because that was a different time, with different people and a different vibe. It was, like I said before a legendary forum which I wish an archive of could be posted online if only to read KCMAs posts, though I think he has a lot of posts on knife forums as well. That guy was the real deal, straight shooter no BS a true forum legend no question about it. Wish he was still around.
**** I know this is an overwhelming amount of knives, if you have any questions about a particular one feel free to ask, I simply cannot go into detail in this one post about every knife I have owned. Don't let the KF story fool you, I'm actually pretty nice... most of the time. :wink:
I don't care if it is just on the edge and the rest of the knife is stainless... :sad0: you keep the carbon over there <----- and I'll stay way over here ----------> with my SRS-15 :bliss:
