I don’t know if he’s “imploding” or lost his path, I’m just waiting for him to switch up from the triangle profile. It’s very functional, but it’s too light and skinny towards the front, lacks authority while cutting.
One of the reasons he had so much hype was because he used to come out with a new profile every few months and people were buying 3 or 4 just to try out, but he’s been sticking with the triangle for a while now, maybe the longest of any profile. The generation before the triangles was really nice and weighty, the super thin Yoshihiro ones were fantastic cutters and the older bullnose profiles are beloved, I saw one pop up on BST a couple weeks ago and it went really quickly.
Plus, most people who want a Maz probably already have one they’re happy with so this thread isn’t nearly as active as it used to be. In terms of being a “fan favorite”, I’m sure if you put out a survey, tons of members would report as still having a Mazaki in their rotation. He’s still the only maker I can think of that makes a knife with a spine 5-7 mm thick out of the handle with continuous taper, nicely thin BTE grind and a pretty hard heat treat that you can pick up starting at under $300 for a 240 mm gyuto.
If he comes out with blue 1/blue 2 in a different profile, non-damascus, I’d love to pick one up. And if he finally made another Ginsan batch, they would sell out instantly. I actually just picked up an older profile Maz because I sold my old one a while back and it left a Mazaki shaped hole in my heart.
