Knife findings

[ynot1985]

I completely agree, and had actually contacted Kosuke about this specific case regarding this dealer. His response seemed to indicate that he was well aware of the issue, so today's post by Konosuke might be a way to take control back? Let's wait and see.

who is this dealer?

 

[ScharferMax]

Thanks for the info, I was about to do the same. They actually also have insanely overpriced Hashimotos. They cost easily +$1k. It's really annyoing that an official dealer puts a much higher price on rarer pieces. I always thought there is some kind of recommended retail price.

That's also what I thought, but I discovered through this conversation that it wasn't necessarily the case, and we can see it through the huge differences observed between different vendors/distributors. A FM was recently sold by one of Konosuke's 'historic' distributors for a reasonable price (in my opinion), while others - like the case you're referring to - make a nice profit margin.

 

[ScharferMax]

who is this dealer?

I think @SWF is referring to the Kaiju offered for $2.5K by Foodgear last November. He'll correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[SWF]

I think @SWF is referring to the Kaiju offered for $2.5K by Foodgear last November. He'll correct me if I'm wrong.

That's correct.

 

[enrico]

Given all the factors, especially if they start to make a few more. I think Kaiju’s should be at $1500

 

[ethompson]

I think the stone work on a kaiju could be fairly valued at $1k alone

 

[NickMinton]

Can anyone clarify why Konosuke has such a production / selling shortage of FM’s and Kaiju’s?

By basic economics, I’m frustrated but not surprised at $2.5k on a well regarded knife that’s impossible to get unless you fly to Japan to personally buy at their store

Seems Konosuke could fix this problem by releasing more to the public market

 

[ethompson]

Can anyone clarify why Konosuke has such a production / selling shortage of FM’s and Kaiju’s?

Not sure about FM, but for the kaiju there is only one finishing sharpener, Ivan, and he's a rather busy guy with a super long backlog. I've heard he's got a 3-6 year wait on new projects fwiw...

 

[NickMinton]

Not sure about FM, but for the kaiju there is only one finishing sharpener, Ivan, and he's a rather busy guy with a super long backlog. I've heard he's got a 3-6 year wait on new projects fwiw...

That makes sense for Kaiju.

I guess what I’m also gently saying is that it’s almost economically impossible to have any well loved item that takes significant time to make by hand, by experts (and only one sharpener) but also not have that item be sold at astronomical prices / circumstances

 

[SWF]

Given all the factors, especially if they start to make a few more. I think Kaiju’s should be at $1500

It's currently being sold for a bit less at Konosuke's store as far as I know.

 

[OkayMode]

It's currently being sold for a bit less at Konosuke's store as far as I know.

So instead of buying it at Foodgear, it would be cheaper to fly out to Sakai and get one at the store?

That’s all the justification I need.

 

[SWF]

So instead of buying it at Foodgear, it would be cheaper to fly out to Sakai and get one at the store?

Well ... probably yes and you could visit Takada the same day

 

[ScharferMax]

Can anyone clarify why Konosuke has such a production / selling shortage of FM’s and Kaiju’s?

By basic economics, I’m frustrated but not surprised at $2.5k on a well regarded knife that’s impossible to get unless you fly to Japan to personally buy at their store

Seems Konosuke could fix this problem by releasing more to the public market

AFAIK Myojin is still the only official sharpener for standard Fuji FM knives, but he also has his own brand Tetsujin and works for others as well. Regarding the Kaiju, the problem, to my understanding, stems from the very nature of a natural stone finish. Even for someone like Ivan Fonseca, this work must take several days (?). A video of him recently posted illustrates well the amount of work and challenges involved in this type of finish:


In summary, I believe that the very nature of a product like the Kaiju is hardly compatible with production in quantities that could satisfy ever-growing demand.

 

[jaydee]

tupperware full of sliced carrots in my fridge building up

Change vegetables now and then or you will end up orange.
If you alternate wirh celery onions and tomatoes, you could make big batches of bolognese and fill up the freezer too.

 

[JPAU]

That's for sure a good thing. Regarding dealer, as one of them recently sold their Kaiju for almost $2.5k, maybe Konosuke should also rethink support for some of their dealers. It's inacceptable that they were demanding such a high price.

Which dealer was that?

Edit: never mind, I read ahead.

 

[porcinecephalic]

Windings or nothing!

Always been more of a Webdings guy myself. But I'm cool with Wingdings 2 as long as they're laser etched and then covered in painted-on KU

 

[esoo]

Can anyone clarify why Konosuke has such a production / selling shortage of FM’s and Kaiju’s?

By basic economics, I’m frustrated but not surprised at $2.5k on a well regarded knife that’s impossible to get unless you fly to Japan to personally buy at their store

Seems Konosuke could fix this problem by releasing more to the public market

I may be wrong (and will correct this if I am), but a FM requires three basic things:
1. A blade forged by Y. Tanaka
2. That blade sharpened by Myojin
3. A handle installed by Konosuke.

A Kaiju has a step 2a - polishing by Ivan

So if we're not seeing any FMs coming to market, either Konosuke is choosing to not produce them, or can't get one of the steps to happen. Now I'm going to assume getting a handle isn't the issue and that Konosuke wants to make knives, so what's happening at steps 1 and 2? Why can't Kono get either blades or sharpening done?

And none of these delays are new - when I started 6 years ago, Konosuke was producing more, but no where near what others were producing.

Sure there is a point to keep demand high, but at some point people will realize that is artificial and move on. And based on what I've handled, give me pretty much any non-FM Myojin over a FM anyday.

 

[Corradobrit1]

I may be wrong (and will correct this if I am), but a FM requires three basic things:
1. A blade forged by Y. Tanaka
2. That blade sharpened by Myojin
3. A handle installed by Konosuke.

A Kaiju has a step 2a - polishing by Ivan

So if we're not seeing any FMs coming to market, either Konosuke is choosing to not produce them, or can't get one of the steps to happen. Now I'm going to assume getting a handle isn't the issue and that Konosuke wants to make knives, so what's happening at steps 1 and 2? Why can't Kono get either blades or sharpening done?

And none of these delays are new - when I started 6 years ago, Konosuke was producing more, but no where near what others were producing.

Sure there is a point to keep demand high, but at some point people will realize that is artificial and move on. And based on what I've handled, give me pretty much any non-FM Myojin over a FM anyday.

Aren't the specs of the starting blade different for the Kaiju vs FM? It's not just an FM with a fancy polish. The blades are taller and thicker ie an FM on steroids. Personally I don't get the attraction of paying such a huge premium if it's a knife you plan to use. That finish isn't going to remain so attractive. As a wall piece collectible, sure. In which case the $2.5k paid could be deemed good buying.

 

[esoo]

Aren't the specs of the starting blade different for the Kaiju vs FM? It's not just an FM with a fancy polish. The blades are taller and thicker ie an FM on steroids. Personally I don't get the attraction of paying such a huge premium if it's a knife you plan to use. That finish isn't going to remain so attractive. As a wall piece collectible, sure. In which case the $2.5k paid could be deemed good buying.

Sure, the Kaiju is thicker, but I meant the points at a very high level. The basics still are "blade of Kaiju or FM specs from Y. Tanaka > Myojin > Ivan (for Kaiju) > Konosuke for finish"

Neither FM or Kaiju is happening for some reason.

And yeah, that much money for a Kaiju that wouldn't be to my specs isn't my thing. There was a time when they first came out I'd jump on one to try it, but today not a chance. There are much better values out there.

 

[Barmoley]

....Personally I don't get the attraction of paying such a huge premium if it's a knife you plan to use. That finish isn't going to remain so attractive. As a wall piece collectible, sure. In which case the $2.5k paid could be deemed good buying.

My feelings exactly. You are paying a lot for a polishing job, which I am sure is great, but not for a knife that will be used. Same for mirror polished honyaki. As art pieces, definitely, but that's a different paradigm and the price is truly what someone is willing to pay.

 

[Yoshi]

So instead of buying it at Foodgear, it would be cheaper to fly out to Sakai and get one at the store?

That’s all the justification I need.

I literally just came back from Sakai.

Got to the konosuke store, the first thing I asked for was the kaiju (was told by another person who went a week ago, that there's one in the backroom). The lady who was showing me around gave me that "dude you can't possibly be serious, a kaiju that's currently available?" look.

In fact the whole store only had less than 10 knives available, and a bunch of them had some sort of defects on them, that konosuke engraved the Japanese word on it indicating it's a B grade item. Yes they are only minor blemishes, but for them to only knock 5% off and had that ugly engraving on there? No thanks. Brought my kid with me, he got the legendary grasshopper that was made out of a leaf from kawamura senior.

Takada was equally disappointing. Only two knives available, a 195mm b1 gyuto and a 210 w2. Tempted but couldn't justify spending 3000 yen on a No Hamono no life T-shirt, when a Shindo funayuki was only 6000 yen.

 

[nexus1935]

I literally just came back from Sakai.

Got to the konosuke store, the first thing I asked for was the kaiju (was told there's one not on display but at the backroom from another person who went a week before I did). The lady who was showing me around gave me that "dude you can't possibly be serious, a kaiju that's currently available" look.

In fact the whole store only had less than 10 knives available, and a bunch of them had some sort of defects on them, that konosuke engraved the Japanese word on it indicating it's a B grade item. Yes they are only minor blemishes, but for them to only knock 5% off and had that ugly engraving on there? No thanks. Brought my kid with me, he got the legendary grasshopper that was made out of a leaf from kawamura senior.

Takeda was equally disappointing. Only two knives available, a 195mm b1 gyuto and a 210 w2. Tempted but couldn't justify spending 3000 yen on a No Hamono no life T-shirt, when a Shindo funayuki was only 6000 yen.

That selection does sound disappointing, after having made the trek all the way there

Did you visit the Sakai Traditional Crafts Museum and Knife Shop? I had read that they also have a knife store with a variety of Sakai knives for sale?

 

[Yoshi]

That selection does sound disappointing, after having made the trek all the way there

Did you visit the Sakai Traditional Crafts Museum and Knife Shop? I had read that they also have a knife store with a variety of Sakai knives for sale?

Sadly not, was on a really tight timeline that day, I did drop by Baba no Hamono tho. Got to meet the legendary Nishida and Max at the workshop tho.

 

[OkayMode]

I literally just came back from Sakai.

Got to the konosuke store, the first thing I asked for was the kaiju (was told by another person who went a week ago, that there's one in the backroom). The lady who was showing me around gave me that "dude you can't possibly be serious, a kaiju that's currently available?" look.

In fact the whole store only had less than 10 knives available, and a bunch of them had some sort of defects on them, that konosuke engraved the Japanese word on it indicating it's a B grade item. Yes they are only minor blemishes, but for them to only knock 5% off and had that ugly engraving on there? No thanks. Brought my kid with me, he got the legendary grasshopper that was made out of a leaf from kawamura senior.

Takeda was equally disappointing. Only two knives available, a 195mm b1 gyuto and a 210 w2. Tempted but couldn't justify spending 3000 yen on a No Hamono no life T-shirt, when a Shindo funayuki was only 6000 yen.

I may be wrong, but isn’t it recommended to email in advance to give you a fighting chance?

I’m going to Japan later this year and will be in Osaka, but honestly I think I’ll skip the stores in Sakai to spend more nakey time with the locals in a nice Onsen.

 

[jedy617]

Takada*

 

[Yoshi]

I may be wrong, but isn’t it recommended to email in advance to give you a fighting chance?

I’m going to Japan later this year and will be in Osaka, but honestly I think I’ll skip the stores in Sakai to spend more nakey time with the locals in a nice Onsen.

Yes in hindsight I should have emailed.

There's an onsen at Sakai as well.

 

[ReiHamono]

The issue is that virtually all Japanese blacksmiths are backed up due to such high demand and many are also slowing down due to getting old and even looking to retire.

For sharpeners it’s much worse as they are in very low supply and high demand. Many are old slowing down and prepared to retire as well.

The demand for Japanese knives is only increasing over time as people find out about them and quickly grow a desire for the best.

Soon prices won’t even matter as it will be a 4-5 year wait to even get the opportunity to purchase your favorite knife in the first place.

 

[Simply]

Honest question. If all of these smiths are getting so old... Are there vintage katos, etc out there? If so I haven't seen any older than a decade

 

[jedy617]

From what I know, kato is newer to kitchen knives relatively speaking and he did a lot of stuff like hunting knives, and of course he is/was a swordsmith.

 

[blokey]

A lot of old Sakai stuff was branded by knife houses with no no personal signatures, some have tang stamped but that’s it, also lots of people don’t really do their own brand well until lot later, Toyama started his own only after he retired from Tadafusa, tho you can actually found lots of old Toyamas on Yahoo auction, and some of the single bevel Sakais might as well be from 20 years ago and never touched till recently