Hattori KD now available

[Josh]

For those that didn't see this - Hocho-Knife has posted KD's

So... at those prices, who's buying?

 

[inferno]

wow its so cheap!! only 4200 for a santoku. i sense good flipping potential with these..

 

[danemonji]

The 240 gyuto is sold out at 5300$. This should put prices into perspective regarding collectible knives.

 

[inferno]

jck only charged 2 grand https://japanesechefsknife.com/coll...owry-x-damascus-santoku-180mm-7-inch-san-kd-3

 

[Corradobrit1]

And they say Kato's and Shig's are overpriced.

 

[danemonji]

I think kato and shig are still much too cheap for their potential. Hattori is factory setup and yet it's getting sold out for 5.3k - 5.8k . Kind of makes you wonder what collectors can afford.

 

[captaincaed]

Nope

 

[Echotraveler]

wow

 

[HRC_64]

Is

Hattori is factory setup ...

OG smith is either dead or long retired...hence the KD unobtainium/hype pricing

 

[danemonji]

According to japanesechefknives.com he is very much alive and not retired at all :
https://japanesechefsknife.com/collections/hattori

He just celebrated his 80th birthday by milking this kd line, 5000 usd a pop...not to mention the miriade of hunting knives he just released on various sites with simillarly obscene prices.
Oh and smith being retired or dead does not mean knives have to be more expensive. I mean keijiro doi was said to be the best single bevel knife maker of his time and he is gone (R.i.p.) and his knives don't even come close to 1500$.
One last thing...looking at this kd factory line and at takamura hana i see no difference other than the better handle on hana and the +4500usd for the kd.
But what do i know...i'm no collector.

 

[valgard]

Is

OG smith is either dead or long retired...hence the KD unobtainium/hype pricing

Interesting statement considering I have seen recent pictures of people with him in knife shows and purchasing knives from him. Doesn't say for sure that he made them but is sure looks like he's alive and still involved in knife making.

 

[valgard]

According to japanesechefknives.com he is very much alive and not retired at all :
https://japanesechefsknife.com/collections/hattori

He just celebrated his 80th birthday by milking this kd line, 5000 usd a pop...not to mention the miriade of hunting knives he just released on various sites with simillarly obscene prices.
Oh and smith being retired or dead does not mean knives have to be more expensive. I mean keijiro doi was said to be the best single bevel knife maker of his time and he is gone (R.i.p.) and his knives don't even come close to 1500$.
One last thing...looking at this kd factory line and at takamura hana i see no difference other than the better handle on hana and the +4500usd for the kd.
But what do i know...i'm no collector.

KD and Hanna/Uchigumo look quite different in many aspects including the pattern, different steels, different handles, even profiles and grinds look different. FWIW, I find the Takamura Uchigumo more appealing, but that's not what price of collectible pieces is about, and definitely personal taste comes into play.
Also, the prices of the KD at JCK were closer to 2K for a 240 gyuto IIRC.

 

[aboynamedsuita]

According to japanesechefknives.com he is very much alive and not retired at all :
https://japanesechefsknife.com/collections/hattori

He just celebrated his 80th birthday by milking this kd line, 5000 usd a pop...not to mention the miriade of hunting knives he just released on various sites with simillarly obscene prices.
Oh and smith being retired or dead does not mean knives have to be more expensive. I mean keijiro doi was said to be the best single bevel knife maker of his time and he is gone (R.i.p.) and his knives don't even come close to 1500$.
One last thing...looking at this kd factory line and at takamura hana i see no difference other than the better handle on hana and the +4500usd for the kd.
But what do i know...i'm no collector.

KD and Hanna/Uchigumo look quite different in many aspects including the pattern, different steels, different handles, even profiles and grinds look different. FWIW, I find the Takamura Uchigumo more appealing, but that's not what price of collectible pieces is about, and definitely personal taste comes into play.
Also, the prices of the KD at JCK were closer to 2K for a 240 gyuto IIRC.

I have both hattori KD and Takamura Uchigumo. Don’t have a true Hana anymore, but for the purpose of this comparison they’re the same as the Uchigumo except for the handle.

Unchgumo has welded “integral” bolster and KD has the soldered/pinned bolster version (similar to the red handle Takamura). Spine is less sharp on Takamura than KD, and KD doesn’t appear to have forged distal taper. The stock KD handle is nicer as it’s the coke bottle western made of linen micarta, Takamura is not fancy coke bottle contour and made of resin impregnated wood. Core steel and cladding are obviously different too

At the current prices (the petty I got now appears to be selling at about 3.5x what I paid less than 2 months ago from a different source) the Uchigumo is by far a better value, but the KD has the rare coveted status.

 

[HRC_64]

Interesting statement considering I have seen recent pictures of people with him in knife shows and purchasing knives from him. Doesn't say for sure that he made them but is sure looks like he's alive and still involved in knife making.

KD line was out of production for over a decade and the steel IIRC was likewise unobtainable. To wit...

Not to long ago the Hattori KD was considered the paragon of high end kitchen cutlery. The smith (Mr. Ichiro Hattori) is very well respected and in his 70s. He rarely makes knives these days and spends most of his efforts teaching his knife making and techniques to young craftsmen. The steel itself was one of the many "super steels", the fact it is also no longer in production adds to it allure. Its a simple case of supply and demand

So if there is NOS or a "new batch" maybe try shedding some light on the facts about the new batch...

Original comment was new KD was a factory knife, not made by the old man...IS this true?
Also, are thew new ones the same steel/damascus and where did it come from?

If those aren't true, then are the new ones really the same thing and worth the same or more money?
These are just basic questions, nothing specific to me or my views on this...

just things would expect people to answer.

 

[HRC_64]

previous discussion: Hattori KD...why all the hype?

https://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/threads/hattori-kd-why-all-the-hype.27572/

The other part of the rarity, is that few people will part with one of these as they know that they are un-replaceable, pretty much at any cost. So no one is willing to sell....

...oops

 

[Luke_G]

KD line was out of production for over a decade and the steel IIRC was likewise unobtainable. To wit...




So if there is NOS or a "new batch" maybe try shedding some light on the facts about the new batch...

Original comment was new KD was a factory knife, not made by the old man...IS this true?
Also, are thew new ones the same steel/damascus and where did it come from?

If those aren't true, then are the new ones really the same thing and worth the same or more money?
These are just basic questions, nothing specific to me or my views on this...

just things would expect people to answer.

Maybe I can comment a bit.

I have been buying KDs over the last 9.5 years and I am lucky to have a few... afaik they were never out of production... it seems that it was more of a myth
In the last few years a very small batch was released every year close before Christmas.

Regarding the steel/damascus: it seems to be the same (did not carry out a chemical analysis).Rumour is that Hattori bought all the existing stock of cowry. He is mainly doing hunters and as mentioned sporadically kitchen knives.

Regarding factory knives: the FH line definitely is a factory line knife and the Nenox G1 series looks very similar to them. The KD looks and feels way different to them.

Regarding the difference to the old ones: the only differences that I could see is that the Kanji is now the “black label” San version, because of his 80th birthday, hence limited. Secondly the linen micarta handle seems to have a slightly different pattern.
Everything else is the same, even the elegant tapering of the tang, that someone would expect in a high end yo-handled knife.

I am attaching a side by side pic of the new and old 240mm.