Any experts on Yoshikazu Tanaka's history?

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LostHighway

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I'm aware of the Konosuke Fujiyama knives and the more recent offerings through Hitohira and JNS but there must be a number of other knives out there that can be attributed to shop. Does anyone know of other specific marques that were his work? I realize that this auteurist view of smiths (and sometimes sharpeners) is somewhat at odds with the more traditional anonymous craftsman perspective but even the Japanese seem to starting accept the marketing value. Whether or not that is a positive change I leave to those more knowledgeable.
 
White #2 OUL knives at Bernal are Tanaka forged
 
Miura has a line of w#2 knives by him.
I think he may have produced/maybe still produces some of the Kagekiyos and some of the Choyos as well.
 
name of the forger is known in recent years, he maybe has made more knives for a bunch of Sakai Wholesalers like Kikumori, OUL, Kaneshige (Konosuke), etc. the problem is not every wholesaler will tell you the blacksmith or the sharpener of the knife, since it's a trade secret.
 
Let's see, JNS, Konosuke Fujiyama, Takada no Hamono, Sakai Kikumori, Miura Itadaki, OUL, Hitohira... I don't know what else.
 
I've been using the white #2 gyutos of the miura itadaki series for a long time. I absolutely adore them. They work so great, and are sold at such great prices that I don't really care for getting any konosuke fujiyamas, takada no hamonos, or the stuff from JNS. I recently got a white #1 from miuraknives OUL sakai series, but the performance was more or less similar to the white #2 knives that I have.
 
My favorite is easily the Sakai Kikumori Gokujyo line that’s sold at Razorsharp. I think that really comes down to whoever finished the blade though, it’s a bit thicker at the top end end but still super thin at the edge. Looks like a fuji clone but for the beefier vibe. I think I’ve had about ~8 Y Tanaka at this point (conjecture aside of course for unverified lines) and it’s all about that sweet heat treatment.
 
shinyunggyun said:
Does anybody know how old yoshikazu tanaka is?
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I was told at CKC a year and a half ago that he wasn't too old. You can see in pictures he's not a spring chicken, but I get the impression within the industry that the expectation is he'll be producing for some time more.
 
shinyunggyun said:
I've been using the white #2 gyutos of the miura itadaki series for a long time. I absolutely adore them. They work so great, and are sold at such great prices that I don't really care for getting any konosuke fujiyamas, takada no hamonos, or the stuff from JNS. I recently got a white #1 from miuraknives OUL sakai series, but the performance was more or less similar to the white #2 knives that I have.
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Well, based on your thread, you "influenced" me to pick one up since they are such a good price so I can test the waters with a Yoshikazu Tanaka.
 
shinyunggyun said:
What will you use your knives for?
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I picked up a 240mm Gyuto, because well... I'm a Gyuto whore. I'll be using it for 95% of meal prep tasks needing a knife. Can't wait to see how the knife performs!
 
Alwayzbakin said:
Miura has a line of w#2 knives by him.
I think he may have produced/maybe still produces some of the Kagekiyos and some of the Choyos as well.
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nwshull said:
Think a few kagekiyo are his too.
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B1 for Kagekiyo and Choyo are done by Yoshikazu Tanaka.

W2 for the Choyo is also done by Yoshikazu Tanaka while the W2 Kagekiyo is done by Nakagawa of Shiraki Hamono.

Also for those interested Morihiro sharpens the Choyos. This information was based off Bernal Cutlery's Instagram post back in September 2020.
 
choyo are such cool knives and arent spoken about enough. I'd love to use one. the fit finish and craftsmen are all at the absolute highest level.
 
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Just received this from Miura knives a few days ago. The bevel leading to the Shinogi is incredibly subtle so I think it might just be sandblasted, but I could be wrong. The choil is eased, but the spine is square. The blade glides through onions and potatoes, but good release was a struggle with the potato.

For $300usd shipped it’s not bad knowing it came from Yoshikazu, time will tell with how things go when it needs to be sharpened.
 
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stereo.pete said:
Just received this from Miura knives a few days ago. The bevel leading to the Shinogi is incredibly subtle so I think it might just be sandblasted, but I could be wrong. The choil is eased, but the spine is square. The blade glides through onions and potatoes, but good release was a struggle with the potato.

For $200usd it’s not bad knowing it came from Yoshikazu, time will tell with how things go when it needs to be sharpened.
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Interesting, mine doesn't appear to have the same bevel, I wonder if Miura potentially used different sharpeners for different batches
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I have a feeling they just order knives in a few sizes, and sometimes get this finish, and sometimes the other.

I emailed them a several days ago about the 240 gyuto without shinogi on their website, and got a reply they had received some with a shinogi. These weren't event listed at that time, only the single bevel gyuto had a shinogi.

It's just a guess though...
 
So this landed via ebay. Miura Itadaki Kiritsuke 195mm W2.

Yoshikazu Tanaka. It's super flat. about half way theres a gentle curve that raises the tip 10mm. I

49.5 tall and 157.5g

Spine is 3.7 handle 3.3 heel, 2.2 midpt, 0.7 ~1cm from tip.

Notes: While it has the Konosuke Fujiyama blacksmith, it doesn't feel like my fujiyama. Very clinical with no much "soul". Has some sharpness out of the box probably 5/10 whatever that means. Clearly would benefit from stone progression. Rounded choil and eased spine. the K-tip (downward angle) is almost sharp, so makes tip alignment very precise. Silly sandblasted shinogi line. What's odd is that as i run my fingers about 3mm above the fake shinogi, i feel kind of soft shoulder or something. Handle is rosewood nothing special. The picture makes it look nicer than it is. Doing a quick cutting demo on an apple, carrot and tamago- it's really sticky. I'd expect this to ease up a bit after a bit of use. It'll be interesting to see how i feel about this knife a few months from now.

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So the Suiboku is claimed on carbonknifeco to be done by him, but Evan from Strata says he’s not sure. He’s supposed to get Blue 1’s in and expects them to be Y Tanaka. If they are done by him it will def be my next knife buy.

he does those beautiful Sakai Kikumori Blue 1 Damascus correct? That’s what I’m between getting if they are in fact Tanaka’s work.

what do you guys think of his work with Blue 1? Some people say it’s the best non honyaki treat of the steel out there!
 
Okay so I got some info today...

those beautiful Suiboku knives ARE NOT forged by Yoshikazu Tanaka but are Shiraki Hamono, UNLESS you get it from Carbonknifeco who has them specially ordered to be forged by Y Tanaka.

Also the Migaki Hitohira Tanaka Kyuzo are practically clones of the Konosuke FM Fujiyama (with the only true difference being the sharpener).

If none of this is new information; sorry for wasting your time
 
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