Heiji direct

[False_Cast]

Some guys will find anything to whine about. Heiji's shipping is reliable, very fast to the US from Japan, and includes tracking. That alone is worth what they charge, not to mention the bargain they are in the big picture when you take in to account the bench stone-flat bevels, remarkable steel (semi or spicy, KU or migaki), and perfect handles. There's something for everyone out there, I suppose. I'll take my spines and choils rough.

 

[M1k3]

Wouldn't be surprised if insurance is included also.

 

[deskjockey]

Some guys will find anything to whine about. Heiji's shipping is reliable, very fast to the US from Japan, and includes tracking. That alone is worth what they charge, not to mention the bargain they are in the big picture when you take in to account the bench stone-flat bevels, remarkable steel (semi or spicy, KU or migaki), and perfect handles. There's something for everyone out there, I suppose. I'll take my spines and choils rough.

When shipping is ~1/3 of the cost of the item, it will impact sales whether insured from Japan overnight or shipping across town via 1st class US Mail. I have purchased Japanese knives for ~$100 that shipped for $10 and arrived in a few days and, no I cannot speak to the quality of the insurance because I never needed it! My Sugimoto cleaver was also shipped for ~$12 without issue.

I wanted to ship a $10 item to Austria in October but, the cheapest rate I could find was >$40 so it never happened. Call it "whining" if you want but, the high cost of shipping is an impediment to orders overseas for many.

I recently bought ~$80 of shaving stuff from the UK and it shipped for free and, my ~$260 order from Ireland was <$10 so, not Amazon "free" but cheap enough to not bother me enough to not order.

 

[Choppin]

you could use a forwarding company like Blackship and consolidate your Heiji with items from other vendors in Japan (Watanabe, TF…)

they offer cheaper shipping options starting at $20 or so but not as fast.

or just buy 2 knives from Heiji . I was thinking a small deba or Ajikiri but I’d probably never use that either lol

 

[BillHanna]

I guess that add it to the cost, since that’s what’s true. You don’t make your gross income, you make the net. The honesuki doesn’t cost 22000¥, it costs 28590¥. If it was 28500¥ with free shipping, would you feel the same?

 

[BillHanna]

you could use a forwarding company like Blackship and consolidate your Heiji with items from other vendors in Japan (Watanabe, TF…)

they offer cheaper shipping options starting at $20 or so but not as fast.

or just buy 2 knives from Heiji . I was thinking a small deba or Ajikiri but I’d probably never use that either lol

“Hey, can you send my order with your next shipment to JKI? Kaythanxbye”

 

[deskjockey]

Lots of thoughts on shipping costs here. With a $150~$200 knife, $50~$60 is a nearly 30% surcharge and makes other options a lot more cost competitive.

On a ~$600 knife, ~$60 shipping charge is a lot more reasonable at 10% and at a price point where consumers generally won't be as price sensitive.

 

[dehory]

With a $150~$200 knife, $50~$60 is a nearly 30% surcharge and makes other options a lot more cost competitive.

I have to respectfully disagree with you, and also think the protracted discussion about shipping fees for such a respected maker is starting to verge on crass, but here we go…

My 210 sujihiki was 22000 JPY ($160) and shipping fees were 6960 JPY ($50). I think paying $210 for a Heiji 210 suji with free shipping is absolutely reasonable — more than fair, really, considering how much other knife makers’ prices have gone up recently. Look at prices from a comparable direct seller like Watanabe.

Comparatively, my Shibata direct order had cheaper shipping fees, but the 180 bunka alone before any shipping fees was 26000 JPY ($190). I think that puts the cost of Heiji-san’s direct order knives into perspective (at least with the current exchange rate).

 

[Choppin]

I have to disagree with you, and also think the discussion about shipping fees for such a respected maker is starting to verge on crass, but here we go…

My 210 sujihiki was 22000 JPY ($160) and shipping fees were 6960 JPY ($50). I think paying $210 for a Heiji 210 suji with free shipping is absolutely reasonable — more than fair, really, considering how much other knife makers’ prices have gone up recently.

Comparatively, my Shibata order had cheaper shipping fees, but the 180 bunka alone before any fees was 26000 JPY ($190). I think that puts the cost of Heiji-san’s direct order knives into perspective (at least with the current exchange rate).

would love to see some pics and read your impressions on the 210 suji... that's on my buy list for sure

 

[Ochazuke]

Lastly, looking at the Japanese and English sides of his website, what are the main differences in the following:

• Puffer Fish knife
• Squid knife
• Ikasaki knife
• Petty knife
• short Sujihiki knife

Shipping costs suck - but it's a valuable service that needs to be paid for. Whether its rolled in to the cost of the product and labelled "free shipping" or left for the customer to pay is largely irrelevant to me. Given that their primary business model is not selling direct to overseas individuals I'm guessing that finding ways to getting overseas shipping costs down is not high on their priority list.

That being said to answer the above question because I have used most of these from Heiji:
- fugubiki (puffer fish knife) - basically thin yanagiba. Single bevel. Not recommended unless you regularly thinly slice pufferfish. Have used fugubiki, but not from Heiji.
- ikasaki (squid knife) - small single bevel. Basically single bevel petty. As one would guess it's commonly used in bulk squid processing. I like using one of these as an all-arounder in my home kitchen, but I cook mostly Japanese food and I like single bevels. Not great for most western petty uses.
- petty knife - one of my favorite petties! double bevel. I use this one almost every day at work. It's durable, sharp, and fun.
- Short sujihiki - longer version of the petty. Double bevel. Others on here use sujihiki more than me, so someone else can chime in here.

 

[dehory]

would love to see some pics and read your impressions on the 210 suji... that's on my buy list for sure

I just added a gyuto to the order and combined to save shipping, so about four months out from receiving the suji…

 

[BillHanna]

My 210 sujihiki was 22000 JPY ($160) and shipping fees were 6960 JPY ($50). I think paying $210 for a Heiji 210 suji with free shipping is absolutely reasonable — more than fair, really,

That sounds GREAT to me, and makes me want to save my pennies to order two or three knives. Even if I know a cleaver is a long shot.

 

[Chopper88]

Lots of thoughts on shipping costs here. With a $150~$200 knife, $50~$60 is a nearly 30% surcharge and makes other options a lot more cost competitive.

On a ~$600 knife, ~$60 shipping charge is a lot more reasonable at 10% and at a price point where consumers generally won't be as price sensitive.

To me, this doesn't make sense at all.

So you consider an added shipping service which is exactly the same for a more expensive knife more reasonable because the percentage of the total cost is lower?

So if 2 persons offer you a product, one with a low price and one with a high price, and they both ship it to you for the same price, it's suddenly more reasonable for the higher cost product?

If I take this to the extreme, you would even consider it a worse deal if for example Heji quoted you a lower cost for the same knife, because that increases the percentage of the shipping in the total cost?

 

[ahhactive]

this is available if you wanna get it fast. the fnf looks ok too actually

SOLD - Heiji swedish steel gyuto 219mm

hello all. You know how it is, this guy is impossible to get a hold of. Tried for years with no luck. Then a member added me to his order, nice. Anyways it’s just not my jam. Used for about a week in home kitchen hi-soft. Edge is perfect, slight Latina forming. 219/47/196grams...

www.kitchenknifeforums.com

 

[dehory]

SOLD - Heiji swedish steel gyuto 219mm

hello all. You know how it is, this guy is impossible to get a hold of. Tried for years with no luck. Then a member added me to his order, nice. Anyways it’s just not my jam. Used for about a week in home kitchen hi-soft. Edge is perfect, slight Latina forming. 219/47/196grams...

www.kitchenknifeforums.com

I only just realised the seller is the very person who started this 20 page thread! How fitting.

I still can’t stop cracking up about “slight Latina forming”. Maybe the best autocorrect humour I’ve ever seen…

 

[Miyamoto Musashi]

@Ethan

Both are best in class and excellent. On the harder chipper, easy to sharpen, and great edge taking side of things. They are both so great but the semi stainless is more unique I guess but I really like both so much, I guess the carbon because it has better edge taking but it really didn't matter to me because of his great both are. I've owned and used both steels.

Did you find that the carbon was more enjoyable on stones than the semi-stainless? I’ve read that the bevels on these knives come pretty damn good (minimal flat spots). Of course both of them are stainless clad though.

Anyways would love to hear from you about this, especially since you’ve owned both iterations.

 

[M1k3]

Did you find that the carbon was more enjoyable on stones than the semi-stainless? I’ve read that the bevels on these knives come pretty damn good (minimal flat spots). Of course both of them are stainless clad though.

Anyways would love to hear from you about this, especially since you’ve owned both iterations.

The carbon is iron clad.

 

[refcast]

@Ethan

Lol. Surprisingly I liked the semi stainless more on the stones. Different reasons though.

The stainless clad is easier to abrade for me than the iron clad on the carbon . The carbon got sharper but the semi stainless and cladding felt less abrasion resistant on the stones, tacky and smooth in a nice way.

I of course sold both but if I were to rebuy I would get the semi stainless for the lack of deep rusting. The bevels do come pretty much stone finished. I don't think it matters much which one you get. They are both more alike than not, when compared to other makers HT and stone feel

 

[myguidingmoonlight]

Did you find that the carbon was more enjoyable on stones than the semi-stainless? I’ve read that the bevels on these knives come pretty damn good (minimal flat spots). Of course both of them are stainless clad though.

Anyways would love to hear from you about this, especially since you’ve owned both iterations.

The semi-stainless is a joy to sharpen and produces the toothiest edge I have ever experienced in any knife I've tried.

 

[Choppin]

I just sharpened my SS petty on a Gesshin 6k and got a burr in no time. it also retains a lot of teeth relative to the grit fineness. the stone helps of course but it doesn’t feel worse that carbon.

 

[zizirex]

Receive it last week, just need a scale and bolster.

Also a nice polish.

 

[Choppin]

Receive it last week, just need a scale and bolster.

Also a nice polish.

View attachment 232833

damn I need a heiji western

petty? what size?

 

[labor of love]

Does heiji offer western handles to go with those western knives?

 

[zizirex]

damn I need a heiji western

petty? what size?

240 Gyuto with 51mm heights. Perfect

 

[MrHiggins]

Receive it last week, just need a scale and bolster.

Also a nice polish.

View attachment 232833

Dang, I didn't know he did westerns. I'm in love with the wa gyuto I just got from him (delivered last month), but I've been on the hunt for a yo handle and would have ordered one. Congrats on yours!

 

[tcmx3]

I got a carbon KU knife off BST a while ago, and frankly Im struggling with it a bit.

It wedges a lot more than my SS Gesshin one I used to own, and it's incredibly reactive. Like, Ive never seen that level of reactivity before reactive. Furthermore, the grind itself was (is) very sloppy and despite having now put loads of work into it, I've still got clear low spots and they're the really annoying kind that are oddly shaped and often in the middle of the bevel. Frankly, I am not impressed with this particular example.

 

[myguidingmoonlight]

I got a carbon KU knife off BST a while ago, and frankly Im struggling with it a bit.

It wedges a lot more than my SS Gesshin one I used to own, and it's incredibly reactive. Like, Ive never seen that level of reactivity before reactive. Furthermore, the grind itself was (is) very sloppy and despite having now put loads of work into it, I've still got clear low spots and they're the really annoying kind that are oddly shaped and often in the middle of the bevel. Frankly, I am not impressed with this particular example.

It might be that the edge is bent, hence the messy bevels you have whilst polishing. I am only guessing since I just sent the Heiji I received to a shop for bending issues too.

Gesshin Heiji's are incredibly clean for sure, Jon's work is impeccable. Before this I didn't know that Jon also eased the shoulders and fixed potential bending issues in the Heiji samples he received.

 

[M1k3]

I got a carbon KU knife off BST a while ago, and frankly Im struggling with it a bit.

It wedges a lot more than my SS Gesshin one I used to own, and it's incredibly reactive. Like, Ive never seen that level of reactivity before reactive. Furthermore, the grind itself was (is) very sloppy and despite having now put loads of work into it, I've still got clear low spots and they're the really annoying kind that are oddly shaped and often in the middle of the bevel. Frankly, I am not impressed with this particular example.

Comparing your old one to the new one, did the old one have higher bevels?

 

[tcmx3]

It might be that the edge is bent, hence the messy bevels you have whilst polishing. I am only guessing since I just sent the Heiji I received to a shop for bending issues too.

Gesshin Heiji's are incredibly clean for sure, Jon's work is impeccable. Before this I didn't know that Jon also eased the shoulders and fixed potential bending issues in the Heiji samples he received.

I corrected some of that. This example just has straight up low spots, and the worst one is diagonal so Im having to take down a lot of material. I also have spots that are even on one face and uneven on the other, where bending usually would show some mirrored effect on the opposite face IME

Comparing your old one to the new one, did the old one have higher bevels?

Nope.

 

[samjj234]

I feel exactly the same @MrHiggins! I am now 12 days in and absolutely in love with this thing! It feels great on the stones, takes and holds an amazing edge, and sails through everything I put in front of it! It also has been surprisingly non-reactive despite cutting pineapples, limes, onions, tomatoes, chicken, beef, etc.
View attachment 226933

I took a cue from you and ordered a non burnt handle on a 240 carbon.
Waiting patiently still for it to arrive. How long did you wait before you got shipping confirmation ?