I've looked at few websites and their prices are now around 150$ 
Where can you find Tosa knives?
Cheap new knives test and recommend thread
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Both are well received knives from TosaI've looked at few websites and their prices are now around 150$
Where can you find Tosa knives?
Zakuri | Knife Japan
Hand-forged Japanese knives from Zakuri and Knife Japan. Quality steels, great cutting feel. Click through for details.
knifejapan.com
Shindo Kyouhei進藤恭平
You can also find Ikenami stuff there, tho not from Tosa they are also good bang for the money. Buy from knife Japan will save you alot of headache tho, Michael is really nice.
For some reason, Rakuten japan doesn't deliver to France. I can find every neighbouring countries but not france
There’s some mail forward service like Jauce, usually they are cheaper than direct. Tho like I said before, KnifeJapan would save a lot of headaches, they ship with DHL and all shipping fee are included in the price
I do not know. I remember having mist all the gensin Tanaka knives. They were relay cheap then not available. The R2 was quit expensive.
Those two Kyoheis look like they've got the distal taper and really thin grind (nakiri here):Both are well received knives from Tosa
Zakuri | Knife Japan
Hand-forged Japanese knives from Zakuri and Knife Japan. Quality steels, great cutting feel. Click through for details.You can also find them on Rakuten for very cheapShindo Kyouhei進藤恭平
miuraknives.com
Might need a little bit of time with a straightening stick to get the edge in line, but pretty hard to argue with the value on these, IMO.
Those Ikenami bannous are also really great, even if very different from what Kyohei is doing. Probably won't need the straightening stick for those, I think they're a great candidate to convert from their wheel ground concave bevels into a full convex, but there's plenty of fun to be had with them as they come.
Dongsun Kyokuto just arrived with bunch of stuffs from China. I bought it directly on Taobao where it is slightly cheaper. All of Dongsun’s knife are called Kyokuto series, not just the Damascus ones, but I bought the top of the line ones to see how it works.
To my surprise, they are pretty good, one of the only contestant so far to past the Vic test, they are actually thin behind the edge with good geometry, the handle is not the most comfortable but it works, for the price it can’t be beat, Masutani is better but they don’t have knife this length. This is pretty close or even better than some of Seki factory knives.
To my surprise, they are pretty good, one of the only contestant so far to past the Vic test, they are actually thin behind the edge with good geometry, the handle is not the most comfortable but it works, for the price it can’t be beat, Masutani is better but they don’t have knife this length. This is pretty close or even better than some of Seki factory knives.
After more testing I think this is a great knife, can’t say anything about steel yet so I will do more test. Tho one thing holds me from using it is the balance, due to the handle design the blade is really handle heavy for a 240, especially compare to one of my favorite western handle balance. That said for $70 or $50 for the kasumi version it is pretty hard to beat, maybe the cheaper Shun Sora or OEM VG10s can be compared and they usually have better balance, but other Chinese Yangjiang knives and German stuff are a step below. I will keep this knife as a stand point for cheap knife testing for now. Tho it can’t beat actual artisan knives it is pretty good.
I have to say I’m not a fan of VG10 and actually prefer Aus-8/8Cr13MoV to it, but that’s mostly for higher end stuff, for the price can’t complain.
I’m using the AliExpress price because the shipping with all my other **** is over $200.
For a better profile and balance I’d recommend JCK original Kagayaki ES in VG1. Similar thin grind with no taper.
I just bought the AUS-10 version for further testing, from AliExpress this time, because in the reddit post their grind seems different.
If you can get them, while you can get them, the Takeo Murata Buho line performs, sharpens, and holds edge way past the very modest price. Tosa, Aogami 1, decidedly not hefty (with wa handle), and mostly 170mm and below. Consistently excellent cutters, although with some food stick. I have three.
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Another day and another el cheapo, here's something most people would be more familiar here, Shun Sora 8inch, rather than laminate all the way it attached a laminated VG10 to a soft back, kind like chopper king or Shibazi but with more precision and a beautiful wavy pattern. (Which they call a hamon in marketing, huh) This thing is a pleasant surprise, it looks much nicer than the classic shun in person, and the profile is much better, the grind is actually really good, nail flexing thin behind edge without being too factory flat, it cuts slightly better than the Dongsun in carrots, tho the lack of weight might not be the best for larger produce. The balance is equally not as pleasant as Dongsun, both around bolster, Shun is even more slightly back due to the shorter and narrower blade, if they have a 240mm version I imagine it would be better. VG10 is VG10, and Shun's ht is pretty controversial, but I would need more testing for that.
All in all, this is a very good blade for the current price of $79, the fit and finish is better than Dongsun with a mirror surface, the grind is also good. I still don't like thin stocked blades, but same as Dongsun, for the price I can't complain, if you don't have the money for a Takamura this would be a good choice. The limited amount of VG10 might be a problem in the long run for professionals, but for home cooks shouldn't be a problem. I will keep this one and test it out further. Tho honestly if Shun currently have the same quality in all their lines and better steel it should make some Takefu makers very nervous.
Discussion on the Shun composite stuff.
www.kitchenknifeforums.com
All in all, this is a very good blade for the current price of $79, the fit and finish is better than Dongsun with a mirror surface, the grind is also good. I still don't like thin stocked blades, but same as Dongsun, for the price I can't complain, if you don't have the money for a Takamura this would be a good choice. The limited amount of VG10 might be a problem in the long run for professionals, but for home cooks shouldn't be a problem. I will keep this one and test it out further. Tho honestly if Shun currently have the same quality in all their lines and better steel it should make some Takefu makers very nervous.
Discussion on the Shun composite stuff.
Shun composite blade technology
Just received an email from Shun about their "new" blade technology. I thought some here might find it interesting: Learn About Shun's Proprietary Composite Blade Technology |Shun Cutlery
www.kitchenknifeforums.com
Test cut, pardon my sausage hand and hung over cutting skill, it's pretty smooth, tho you can see some sticking due to the thin blade and mirror surface. It will require some strength as it is a very small knife and the balance is not helping.
I looked into these knives but they were not up to par with Japanese knives and they were more expensive due to payments to the Chinese company having to be in USD. The NZD - USD exchange is not in my favour.
DitmasPork
Senior Member
Good thread!
TBH, I’ve been very interested in exploring J-style knives produced in China—as a low cost alternative to knives produced in Japan. Production quality in China is improving. A friend of mine got a 300mm yanagiba off Aliexpress, he’s quite happy with it for the price, think he paid about a hundred bucks.
There’s certainly a niche for inexpensive, good enough, cool looking knives for non-knife nerd, home cooks. MISEN an example of a Chinese made knife that’s doing well.
FWIW, much of the stuff in my house and kitchen is Chinese made, why not the occasional J-knife?
drrayeye
Well-Known Member
Great comments!
I find it fun to try knives around the world, be it China, Japan, Switzerland or US. Tho I have to say a lot of stuff like the Xinzuo and Tuo test here is kind waste of money, I’m happy if anyone else want to contribute. Personally I still find these factory knives kind boring, be it made in Seki, Yangjiang or Solingen, but people buy them by the thousands so there got to be some interesting stuff out there.
I have to agree the Hezhen in particular is not that good.
drrayeye
Well-Known Member
Starting about 4 years ago, together with a Japanese collaborator, I've reviewed 5 Chinese knives from 3 different brands: Shan Zu, Shibazi, and Xinzuo. I soon will be receiving a Hezhen 110 layer dual core nakiri for my birthday--making the total 6. All were evaluated for the home cook, with comparisons to Japanese or Western knives. All of them performed surprisingly well, and several of them have become part of my home batterie knives that I use regularly.
Some interesting find, they are not as cheap as others, but for what you get it seems like a great budget knife. Anyone have tried it?
Hatsukokoro Blue 2 Damascus Gyuto 210/240 mm with Kurouchi Finish and Teak Wood Handle
We all LOVE Shigeki Tanaka’s knife, light, nimble, not a laser but glides through potatoes effortlessly, with minimal stiction. Problem is, we can never get enough of them. One of the most difficult products to get is the Kurouchi line, the lead time was significant. So a few years ago, I...
knivesandstones.us
Some interesting find, they are not as cheap as others, but for what you get it seems like a great budget knife. Anyone have tried it?
Hatsukokoro Blue 2 Damascus Gyuto 210/240 mm with Kurouchi Finish and Teak Wood Handle
We all LOVE Shigeki Tanaka’s knife, light, nimble, not a laser but glides through potatoes effortlessly, with minimal stiction. Problem is, we can never get enough of them. One of the most difficult products to get is the Kurouchi line, the lead time was significant. So a few years ago, I...knivesandstones.us
It looks like those are also know as the Kumokage line (based on the markings)
One of the knives I always wanted to test, the JCK original Kagayaki basic, probably too basic for most people so there’s not a lot of reviews out there. This is the 270mm version, cost around $150, while not cheap, it is certainly a bargain with this length since many budget options simply don’t do it. I choose the ES option for free. The steel is VG1, basically Takefu version of Abe-h/19c27, very close to AUS10.
This knife is a pleasant surprise, on first look it is like your average mass produce Japanese gyuto with highly asymmetrical bevels, but it is really well down, the edge is properly thing and flex under a nail tho not too much. While it looks flat, the right bevel is actually convex, adding to the geometry. It have no distal taper but the tip comes out very thin. All in all, great knife. I run out of ingredients to test today so I will update later.
This knife is a pleasant surprise, on first look it is like your average mass produce Japanese gyuto with highly asymmetrical bevels, but it is really well down, the edge is properly thing and flex under a nail tho not too much. While it looks flat, the right bevel is actually convex, adding to the geometry. It have no distal taper but the tip comes out very thin. All in all, great knife. I run out of ingredients to test today so I will update later.
The balance is also nice, tho I’m sure about the shorter version, tho likely they will have smaller handles so balance might be similar?
A fat carrot cutting comparison test with some of the good one in this thread plus one Matsutani, surprisingly despite not look as thin as the others the Kagayaki is the smoothest cutter, almost no resistance as you can hear, the acute edge geometry definitely helps, Matsutani comes second, Dongsun third tho only by a small bit and the Shun due to its short length and narrow blade a last.
After more testing I’m seriously impressed, the Kagayaki ES not only out cut all other cheaper options, it actually out cut some of the much more expensive knives. (Limited to carrots) there’s very little stiction, it just want to go through things, the balance is much more natural even if it is only a few mm of difference, unlike the Shun and Dongsun it doesn’t actively pushes it self around while thin slicing stuff, a common problem of thinner but convex knives, it went straight through with no steering. the food release is also exceptional, I actually even like the feel of it a bit more than Ginga. ( Tho the Ginga have better f&f)
If anyone need something cheerful to try out or need a beater I can recommend trying the Kagayaki Basic, dealing with Koki is also very pleasant as usual.
If anyone need something cheerful to try out or need a beater I can recommend trying the Kagayaki Basic, dealing with Koki is also very pleasant as usual.
