Shigehiro Knives

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Would also love to hear more. Just reading about Yoshikazu Ikeda and Shigehiro Kasahara have been very interesting. Most interesting fact is that Yoshikazu Ikeda has been the chairman of the association of dentoukougeishi since 2001!
 
Ah! This is my sub, now I can talk a bit about these. There are only a few dozen of these knives out in the world, and all of them were sold before I was a vendor here. So, I don't actually know if any of them ended up in the hands of anyone on KKF. I'm happy to give any information you're interested in.

Ikeda-san and Kasahara-san are my dream team. Their businesses are separate but they're friends in real life. Ikeda-san's treatment of white #2 is far beyond anything I've seen for that steel and his blues are great. The blades have a lower than average reactivity, take a crazy edge and hold it beyond what I could've expected, and they feel awesome on the stones. Kasahara-san's grinds are unassuming behind the kasumi, but they're extremely high-performing. Good food release, awesome cutters, and strong at the edge. They're something of a workhorse grind without any of the heavy-ness. Fit and finish are real solid and entirely comfortable. The choil and spine are eased and polished, not a full-round like Konosuke. The handles are simple and solid. They're oriented towards pros and they're effective, but not drawer queen handles.

I have no intention of hyping or pushing these knives. I just happen to love them. They're the knives I wish I had when I was chefing, and they're the knives I reach for most often at home. They're far from the blingiest (that's a word, right?) knives out there, but they're my favorite all-around performers I've used.

Again, if you guys have any specific questions I will always be happy to answer them openly. I just restocked the 240mm white #2 gyuto and 150mm white #2 petty, added a 270mm white #2 suji and a sweet little 90mm petty. There will more suminagashi knives coming soon, and a range of single-bevels coming in January or February. For the sake of simplicity, I haven't yet brought in the full line of blue #2. Are you guys interested in that?
 
I just checked these out, I sent the gf an email saying I know what I want for Christmas :D super sexy, love the white buffalo horn.
 
Godslayer said:
I just checked these out, I sent the gf an email saying I know what I want for Christmas :D super sexy, love the white buffalo horn.
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Haha I do the same with my gf i give her a list (she hates it). These look really nice they are now on the list :thumbsup:
 
Godslayer said:
I just checked these out, I sent the gf an email saying I know what I want for Christmas :D super sexy, love the white buffalo horn.
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Cheeks1989 said:
Haha I do the same with my gf i give her a list (she hates it). These look really nice they are now on the list :thumbsup:
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That's certainly efficient! I, too, love the white/marble buffalo. Not blingy, but classy as hell. Just so I'm not bearing the burden of ruining anyone's Christmas, I need to say that supply is likely to be tight over the next two months.


toddnmd said:
For the sake of simplicity: YES!
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Heard. I'm working on it. :)
 
Godslayer said:
I just checked these out, I sent the gf an email saying I know what I want for Christmas :D super sexy, love the white buffalo horn.
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The white horn....!!! I don't know why not more people go for it! I have it on my Ashi Ginga. Looks so sleek and makes even a simple Ho-Handle shine [emoji12]
 
alterwisser said:
That's what I heard. What about something in between, like a light brownish color? I've seen that somewhere and it looked incredible. Seems to be rather rare though as well...
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The Shigehiro ferules will always be somewhere in the white to marble to brown spectrum. The light brown definitely looks great against dark or light wood and it's been popping up more often recently. The primary issue is actually an overall handle shortage from a diminishing pool of handle craftsmen. To a fairly serious degree. Makers are having to pay significantly higher prices for any handle and that price goes up when they have specific needs. Additionally, handle orders have, I've been told, been taking up to six months for delivery to the maker. This obviously varies and there are still handles available but things are tight. I mean, I'm working now with a group wanting to import my handles to Japan that will likely end up on knives in other shops besides my own.
 
Went through 20lbs. of potatoes with the Shigehiro 240mms Kasumi gyuto and it is a great knife. Review to follow larger this week. Quick impressions;
Fit and finish really good, on par with Shigefusa- but different.
Knife is 52mm tall so it feels nimble in hand.
The tip is usable, not stubby like some
Doesn't seen reactive at all.

I really like this knife.
 
Interesting. One of the details that has kept me from picking one up is that it's listed at 48mm tall at the heel, which is bit too short for my taste. However, 52mm height is a whole different ball park, and one that I can see myself playing.

Sam, could you share some more info on this? Or did Mr Pesky just score a lucky one?
 
Gotcha. A little crestfallen, but I'm still very much interested to hear your thoughts on this knife. Thanks for the initial impressions thus far!
 
You shouldn't be. This knife feels more like a Masamoto KS in the hand. The balance is superb, a little in front of the choil. It lacks that slabby feel you can get with a new tall Shige. The best knives I've used are always broken in, including Shiges. They've gone through some shapenings and hopefully thinnings. Other than a new handle, that's what this feels like to me.
 
Thanks for the feedback, El Pescador. I'm glad to hear that you like it so far. You're having a lot of the same reactions that I've had to the Shigehiro knives. There's definitely a "broken in" feeling about them, something like your favorite jeans or boots that after months or years fit you like a glove; but these knives have already taken those steps. Like I've said, I think these knives are something special.

Marc, Kasahara-san is extremely consistent and I've yet to see any knife to knife variation beyond 2mm. They're not tall knives but, in my experience, they've never felt short.
 
buttermilk said:
Thanks for the feedback, El Pescador. I'm glad to hear that you like it so far. You're having a lot of the same reactions that I've had to the Shigehiro knives. There's definitely a "broken in" feeling about them, something like your favorite jeans or boots that after months or years fit you like a glove; but these knives have already taken those steps. Like I've said, I think these knives are something special.

Marc, Kasahara-san is extremely consistent and I've yet to see any knife to knife variation beyond 2mm. They're not tall knives but, in my experience, they've never felt short.
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Might be worth ordering a few knives slightly taller for those of us who like them like that, like marc I would take a 53/55 mm tall knife over a 48/50 mm knife any day of the week, could be a kkf special, I have seen japanesechefknives do that before on other forums with their hd line
 
Godslayer said:
Might be worth ordering a few knives slightly taller for those of us who like them like that, like marc I would take a 53/55 mm tall knife over a 48/50 mm knife any day of the week, could be a kkf special, I have seen japanesechefknives do that before on other forums with their hd line
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I will keep this in mind. I respect your preference for taller knives, but I am extremely reluctant to work on modified versions of the Shigehiro knives. I would consider tall versions from any of my other makers, but I'm not interested in messing with what Kasahara-san and Ikeda-san are doing.
 
I'd also prefer something a little higher/taller, but completely understand that you'd be reluctant to try and tinker with a design supplied by an emminent pair of craftsmen. Who knows, they might feel they know what's what at any rate and not take requests to change either.

As for all the praise for the light/marble ferrules, isn't it something like only 1 in 10 end up light? They look good, sure, but I also think darker/black ones look better over time. The blonde/light marble ones seem to discolour over time and if any slight gaps open around the horn, then you see them more easily.
 
I came close to buying a 240 again, after my recent sell on BST. Looked today and saw they're sold out, again. The only reason why I hesitate is the heel height, but I gotta say I'm really curious about this knife. I'd love to hear more about how it performs.

Sam, there's a good chance I'll be in Chicago a day or 2 for work come soon. I'd love to meet up and chat about this line. And if you just happen to have one laying around, I'd love to check it out.
 
marc4pt0 said:
I came close to buying a 240 again, after my recent sell on BST. Looked today and saw they're sold out, again. The only reason why I hesitate is the heel height, but I gotta say I'm really curious about this knife. I'd love to hear more about how it performs.

Sam, there's a good chance I'll be in Chicago a day or 2 for work come soon. I'd love to meet up and chat about this line. And if you just happen to have one laying around, I'd love to check it out.
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It's already been tough keeping a lot of the Shigehiro knives in stock for long. The good news is that more should be coming hopefully within three weeks. I'd be happy to have you in. I'll likely have a few Shigehiro knives on hand. Get in touch when you're headed this way and we'll find a time.
 
And I just decided to pick up a 240. Curiosity really got the better of me on this one...
 
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