Knife Japan: What's notable, worth buying, etc.?

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Danejah said:
It appears that the Minomo165 Bannou and Nakiri have been re stocked. I’ve had my eye in these for a while, the price is right and I love the video of the family they seem like really great people with very well loved knives.

Anyone have these and willing to share some thoughts and maybe some pics?
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I was waiting for those to re-stock too. But, Michael contacted me about something else I've been waiting on more so the Minomo will need to wait a bit.

I have a small nakiri from them (no longer listed) and it is executed very well. A full size would've been my next purchase.

Doesn't help much but I'm with ya. :)
 
HumbleHomeCook said:
I was waiting for those to re-stock too. But, Michael contacted me about something else I've been waiting on more so the Minomo will need to wait a bit.

I have a small nakiri from them (no longer listed) and it is executed very well. A full size would've been my next purchase.

Doesn't help much but I'm with ya. :)
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They seem like well made knives with a rich history.....what are you holding out for??? :)
 
Danejah said:
They seem like well made knives with a rich history.....what are you holding out for??? :)
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I got my Homi nakiri several months back and as soon as I used it I emailed Michael that he should bug Homi to make a 180 version. He said he would but I didn't hear any more on it. Well, he emailed me recently that he thinks Homi is going to do it. It sounded like there will be multiple samples but I'm not sure on that. hopefully will know more in a few weeks.

But, if I didn't have that waiting in the wings, I would've already bought a Minomo nakiri.
 
DitmasPork said:
Recently I've noticed a few members chatting about Knife Japan— @HumbleHomeCook, et al. Admittedly, I've not heard of them, and obviously never purchased anything from KJ.

Finally cruised around the KJ website, first impressions were lots of lefty single-bevel options, and reasonably priced, utilitarian, knives from large number of makers I'm unfamiliar with.

My questions are—who're some of the makers at KJ worth a second look, buying, etc. Are there one or two makers that stand out as major talents? Outta sheer laziness, I've not had a chance to read descriptions of all the makers, dunno where to start, ...guess I'm looking for 'Cliff Notes' on the makers available via Knife Japan.
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I own an Hayashi 240mm gyuto and I love it. When I first got it I felt the handle was somewhat clunky/boxy but it feels great in hand. A small touch up on my coticule stone and that was all it needed. Definitely rustic, workhorse type blade but it is effortless to use.
 
Danejah said:
It appears that the Minomo165 Bannou and Nakiri have been re stocked. I’ve had my eye in these for a while, the price is right and I love the video of the family they seem like really great people with very well loved knives.

Anyone have these and willing to share some thoughts and maybe some pics?
Click to expand...

Do you a link to the video? I can't find it.
 
HumbleHomeCook said:
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Danejah said:
Here is a different video…


Minomo
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Thanks!

Looking into it more, I found their website here, which has a lot more knife types advertised than what KnifeJapan actually offers: 人吉市 相良藩表鍛冶『蓑毛㊀鍛冶屋』｜料理包丁・草刈鎌・アウトドアナイフなどの製造販売

They do hunting knives and a crazy camping gyuto with a rope handle or something. Check it out:



They've got a youtube channel too here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKU3jVC1X0UISG9Sfk3hctw

I like this cutting video:
 
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yoyoma said:
Thanks!

Looking into it more, I found their website here, which has a lot more knife types advertised than what KnifeJapan actually offers: 人吉市 相良藩表鍛冶『蓑毛㊀鍛冶屋』｜料理包丁・草刈鎌・アウトドアナイフなどの製造販売

They do hunting knives and a crazy camping gyuto with a rope handle or something. Check it out:



They've got a youtube channel too here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKU3jVC1X0UISG9Sfk3hctw

I like this cutting video:
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That camping gyuto 😍
 
Ok, this one has caught my eye and Michael ginned up the mystique when he was writing the description for it: Kuwahara Kaji Kobo・Ippon Bannou-bocho 155mm

Has anyone gotten anything from Kuwahara Kaji Kobo (I just realized I probably shouldn't do the acronym of this place, sticking with the full name)?

I am already eyeing something else and I haven't gotten my first anything from there yet (Okubo is coming).
 
pitted_soul said:
Ok, this one has caught my eye and Michael ginned up the mystique when he was writing the description for it: Kuwahara Kaji Kobo・Ippon Bannou-bocho 155mm

Has anyone gotten anything from Kuwahara Kaji Kobo (I just realized I probably shouldn't do the acronym of this place, sticking with the full name)?

I am already eyeing something else and I haven't gotten my first anything from there yet (Okubo is coming).
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@Infrared Has a Gyuto listed in his tier list from them, he spoke quite highly of it.
 
pitted_soul said:
That's why I didn't catch it in the search, he spelled it 'Kuwabara'. He also notes that it is White 2 and all of Kuwahara says Yasugihagane steel, is that the same?
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I hope Michael Shaw won’t mind me quoting him. When I asked him about the composition of Kuwahara knives last April, Michael’s reply was rich, but left some mystery. He said:

“My understanding is that Kuwahara san forges his knives from shirogami#2 steel, but that's not written anywhere and Kuwahara san is reluctant to say (I think I remember him confirming it for me though). He's an idiosyncratic fellow in some respects and places emphasis on the role of the craftsman over any preconceptions about a particular steel, so our listing as 'yasugihagane' is in deference to that preference of his.

In some ways I can see his point of view, it's natural for someone like me without much technical knowledge to perceive shirogami#2 as second grade and shirogami#1 as first grade, by product name alone. Kuwahara san speaks about the ductility ('nebari') of his blades and always answers 'yasugihagane' when asked what steel he uses.

Yasugihagane is the generic term for steel produced by Hitachi Metals' Yasugi Specialty Steels in Shimane prefecture, so that's the range across aogami, shirogami, gingami, high speed steels and so on. It's not very helpful but a lot of sellers of knives in Japan will describe a blade steel as yasugihagane and leave it at that, being sufficient explanation for the ordinary Japanese end user to understand that it's of a certain level of quality and can be trusted to stay sharp.

Nantetsu is soft iron. A nantetsu/yasugihagane (or equally a nantetsu/shirogami#2 blade) will be either sanmai three-layer steel that's sourced in billets from Yasugi Specialty Steels (or rather a wholesaler) or it will be a traditional 'warikomi' forge-welded blade with the hagane core inserted into the nantetsu soft iron by the smith.”
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Excellent information, thank you. Ha, I had just emailed Michael just before I saw your response, let's see if there is any development of that response. Glad to see I wasn't the only one seeking enlightenment. White 2 seems to be a medium that allows great smiths to do some interesting stuff.
 
Stevem627 said:
I don’t believe that Kuwabara and Kuwahara are the same maker. I have a Kuwabara 120 petty from CKTG and it is a great tall petty.
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Kuwabara:
1700160515681.png


Kuwahara:
1700160675629.png


Same logo, both from Nagasaki.
 
deltaplex said:
Kuwabara:
View attachment 282556

Kuwahara:
View attachment 282557

Same logo, both from Nagasaki.
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Interesting note on that mark, from KnifeJapan:

"One point of historical interest - the ㊉ mark on Kuwahara san's blades is the crest of the powerful Shimazu clan, feudal lords of the lands of Satsuma. Satsuma officials granted Kuwahara san's grandfather use of the crest on his blades, allowing it to be used in perpetuity as a mark of excellence and trust."

kagoshima-samurai-1024x575.jpg
 
These guys figure out how to make a 240
x120 slicer yet? I saw a random post by Bill, but maybe that was just misinformation?
 
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