Kagekiyo, is it worth the money?

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Barry's Knives

Barry's Knives

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Laquer aside (I'm already a fan) in terms of actual cutting performance, grind and sharpenability does anyone have any feedback. I'm about to pull the trigger on a 240 b1 gyuto but need to know if theres anything I should know...or if i should be looking at tsubaya or tanaka/kyuzo instead?
 
I had a 240 kagekiyo in white, fit and finish was superb, I had zero complaints. Great performer and easy to sharpen but it was in white. I’ve also had a Tsubaya Tanaka in 240 & 270. They were both in blue and they were fantastic, the KU finish wore on the 270 fast and they acknowledged a problem that has since been fixed. The gentleman that bought the 240 ranks it as his best blade and he’s had a few to compare to. Personally I don’t think Kagekiyo gets the love that line deserves. I sold it because I had an opportunity at some Konosuke wide bevels but I really did enjoy that knife!
 
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I have the 210mm k tip gyuto, I like it, it sharpens really easily and the fit and finish is top notch. The reactivity of the cladding isn't too bad either. In terms of cutting performance it's typical of a good wide bevel, it fairly thin so glides through anything soft but carrots stick a bit too much for my liking and sweet potatoes were too hard work and I pulled out a bigger knife. I recently picked up a 240mm Tanaka b#1 gyuto from JNS and I prefer the more traditional grind on that ( but the handle is nowhere near as nice).

I like the fancy handle I worry about damaging it.. a big chunk of the price is probably for the fancy laquerwork which is a thing of beauty

I suspect you can get equal performance with slightly less bling from some of the Hitohira offerings for less money, especially the ones forged but Yoshikazu Tanaka. This is pure speculation but the Kagekiyo b#1 line seems to be very similar to some Hitohira / Tanaka / Konosuke

I also have a white #2 Kagekiyo petty while this was a lot cheaper it's still a nice knife with good fit and finish however the handle is much more basic.

All in all I'd recommend the Kagekiyo line as long as you're a fan of the wide bevel grind
 
I have the (Gesshin) Kagekiyo 240 in blue #1, I concur with the remarks above- Easy to sharpen, great cutter, patinas easily and isn't reactive after that. Yes, the lacquered handle and saya are probably costing $$ that aren't going into performance, so if you don't care about the lacquer you might look at other options, but the fit, finish and grind are outstanding too so you can't go too far wrong.
 
As far as I can remember, Tanaka does the blue 1. Morihiro used to do the grinding on the top-level gyutos. That's as far as people have told me.
 
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Yes they are worth it. Wish I had taken that plunge sooner! As regards Kagekiyo vs Hitohira Tanaka, I have a thread in the last month where I compare my impressions between the two, both 240mm Blue 1 gyutos. They are very close and yet noticeably different; I’m letting the Hitohira go mainly because of how it fits into all the other knives I have. If I had a different kit of knives it might have gone the other way.
 
Has anyone tried the stainless Kagekiyo (not the Ginsan ones) sold by JKI? What do you guys think of those?
 
Bought mine from Jon when they were released some 5-6 years ago? Have (Gesshin) Kagekiyo 240 in blue #1 Gyuto. Even it was a bit pricier(4-500$) it has definitely paid of. One of my all time favorite knives, come back to it all the time.
 
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