MCX Hado X Isa Smedjan Damasteel mass drop

[moderncooking]

Hello KKF members,

We are excited to present a rare and exclusive opportunity for knife enthusiasts!

In collaboration with Hado Knives Japan, Jonas Johnsson of Isa Smedjan, and the Damasteel team, we’re thrilled to announce a limited-edition series of Gyuto knives.

This exclusive batch will be limited to just 20 pieces, and here’s what we can confirm so far:

• Blade Length: 240mm

• Steel: Björkmans Twist

The blades will be expertly forged by Jonas Johnsson, with grinding handled by Tadataka Maruyama of Hado Knives.

We will share additional specifications soon. Currently, we’re exploring handle designs featuring stacked birchbark with black and brass accents, aiming for a classic profile and convex bevels.

The final price will be 1,055 EUR (excluding taxes and shipping).

To secure one of these 20 knives, a deposit of 300 EUR is required. Production will begin once we’ve received at least 15 deposits, with delivery scheduled for later this year.

Don’t miss your chance to own one of these remarkable knives!

Make your deposit here

Let me know if you’d like any further adjustments!

We are open to general requests or suggestions in terms of the overall design, but we cannot offer any individual customisation. Please feel free to leave your requests here in the thread and we look forward to producing some amazing knives for you all.

 

[blanks]

Sold out already??

 

[blanks]

Can’t delete or edit my original post…

At first when I added it in, it said none available but when you refresh on the check out page, it allowed me to purchase.

 

[moderncooking]

All good!

Plenty of spaces open for now

 

[F-Flash]

All good!

Plenty of spaces open for now

I can still add 26 pieces to cart. Is the limit really 20?

 

[jedy617]

*sigh* in

 

[More_Gyutos]

“Sigh”, same!

 

[moderncooking]

I can still add 26 pieces to cart. Is the limit really 20?

It won’t let you confirm the order, but for now it’s a hard limit of 20. We are about half way to our 15 minimum

 

[jedy617]

European steel is rare to have in a japanese knife, much less Damasteel the best stainless damascus, which Jonas does a great job with, so I'm surprised they haven't all gone by now

 

[More_Gyutos]

Me too. This a super interesting combo. Plus, his work with this steel is the best aesthetically in my opinion. Really excited!

 

[Dwergi]

European steel is rare to have in a japanese knife, much less Damasteel the best stainless damascus, which Jonas does a great job with, so I'm surprised they haven't all gone by now

Not to be a downer, but it is over 1k pre-tax, which is getting pretty firmly into unicorn territory, and Isa doesn't quite have the star power to sell it on on his own. For reference, JB x Hado was 670.

I know the Damasteel ingots are crazy expensive, but I'm not really surprised it's not sold out yet. It probably will, but it's past impulse buy territory for me at least.

 

[moderncooking]

Not to be a downer, but it is over 1k pre-tax, which is getting pretty firmly into unicorn territory, and Isa doesn't quite have the star power to sell it on on his own. For reference, JB x Hado was 670.

I know the Damasteel ingots are crazy expensive, but I'm not really surprised it's not sold out yet. It probably will, but it's past impulse buy territory for me at least.

Just for reference, the steel cost in this knife is heading in the direction of 300€. The JB x Hado steel cost was close to €50.

I’d love to do a Damasteel knife like this sub 1k, but it’s very pricing stuff

 

[Dwergi]

Just for reference, the steel cost in this knife is heading in the direction of 300€. The JB x Hado steel cost was close to €50.

I’d love to do a Damasteel knife like this sub 1k, but it’s very pricing stuff

Yeah, that's fair, I did mention that. =)

 

[enrico]

star power to sell it on on his own.

Talking like this means you have no idea what you talking about. Just move on if you aren't buying/interested. Modern Cooking is a fantastic operation and I will always pay extra to see the machine keep going.

 

[cooktocut]

Not to be a downer, but it is over 1k pre-tax, which is getting pretty firmly into unicorn territory, and Isa doesn't quite have the star power to sell it on on his own. For reference, JB x Hado was 670.

I know the Damasteel ingots are crazy expensive, but I'm not really surprised it's not sold out yet. It probably will, but it's past impulse buy territory for me at least.

My most used knife is a damasteel gyuto with a very thick grind that mostly lives on my counter under my cutting board. I bought it very early in my collecting. It's the knife I use when I don't want to pull one off my rack and wash off the oil for something quick, for acidic things, for the occasional chicken bone, and even to slice open sous vide bags after cooking. I sharpen it once every 3 or 4 months, and even though I abuse the hell out of it, it's always more than sharp enough to do what I need it to do. I've dropped it a few times, banged it against pots and all manner of things, and it doesn't have a single mark of wear and tear. It's made by a primarily pocket knife maker who doesn't get any love on here. It cost me $1200, and if I lost it tomorrow I wouldn't be heartbroken. I would however replace it with another damasteel knife. Sooo I guess moral of the story is everything is relative, and I don't think a knife being over 1k automatically means it's in unicorn territory. I think that speaks more to your budget and personal situation than it does the value of what they're offering.

 

[Dwergi]

My most used knife is a damasteel gyuto with a very thick grind that mostly lives on my counter under my cutting board. I bought it very early in my collecting. It's the knife I use when I don't want to pull one off my rack and wash off the oil for something quick, for acidic things, for the occasional chicken bone, and even to slice open sous vide bags after cooking. I sharpen it once every 3 or 4 months, and even though I abuse the hell out of it, it's always more than sharp enough to do what I need it to do. I've dropped it a few times, banged it against pots and all manner of things, and it doesn't have a single mark of wear and tear. It's made by a primarily pocket knife maker who doesn't get any love on here. It cost me $1200, and if I lost it tomorrow I wouldn't be heartbroken. I would however replace it with another damasteel knife. Sooo I guess moral of the story is everything is relative, and I don't think a knife being over 1k automatically means it's in unicorn territory. I think that speaks more to your budget and personal situation than it does the value of what they're offering.

Doesn't it mean that it's within the reach of unicorn territory, though? 1300 of my euros can buy almost anything that comes across BST.

It's nice that it's within your budget, but money is fungible and drawing a direct comparison of cost-to-cost doesn't seem like something people should get offended by.

Talking like this means you have no idea what you talking about. Just move on if you aren't buying/interested. Modern Cooking is a fantastic operation and I will always pay extra to see the machine keep going.

Relax, dude. I didn't say it wasn't worth it. I said that it would probably sell out eventually, but that pricing meant that it's not an impulse buy to most - in reply to a comment marveling that it hadn't sold out already.

 

[Dave]

I was one of the few people who DMed Pete when we initially discussed this after the JB x Hado drop because this looked to be a great opportunity to get a very unique knife. I was 100% in.

That said, while I expected this to be pricey, I didn't expect it to be ~ $1200 USD, so I still need to mull it over. I feel like I'm going to regret this either way

I totally get what @Dwergi is saying. It's such a cool knife, but the price is making me second guess it. The JB x Hado, on the other hand, was an instant buy.

You know what else would be an instant buy? Maillet x Myojin. Please make it happen @moderncooking

 

[cooktocut]

Doesn't it mean that it's within the reach of unicorn territory, though?

Well I mean maybe, but if I tried to sell it tomorrow I'd probably be lucky to get $500, even if I didn't disclose all of it's battered history. I said all that to say that I definitely feel like I have gotten my money's worth out of it, and will continue to for the years to come. Damasteel is a fantastic steel and if I didn't have such an affinity for carbon steel and patinas, I'd have a heck of a lot more of it. So if I think so highly of a knife that has a grind like an ax and is from one singular unknown maker, the value of what Peter is offering is a no-brainer. I think one of the biggest selling points of damasteel is how absolutely indestructible it seems. Again, this knife looks brand new and I've abused it worse than any knife I own. So yes, it is more expensive, but from a wear and tear standpoint it holds it's value better than carbon steel IMO. Always looking brand new, from a reseller's perspective, is definitely a valuable asset for a knife.

 

[Dwergi]

Well I mean maybe, but if I tried to sell it tomorrow I'd probably be lucky to get $500, even if I didn't disclose all of it's battered history. I said all that to say that I definitely feel like I have gotten my money's worth out of it, and will continue to for the years to come. Damasteel is a fantastic steel and if I didn't have such an affinity for carbon steel and patinas, I'd have a heck of a lot more of it. So if I think so highly of a knife that has a grind like an ax and is from one singular unknown maker, the value of what Peter is offering is a no-brainer. I think one of the biggest selling points of damasteel is how absolutely indestructible it seems. Again, this knife looks brand new and I've abused it worse than any knife I own. So yes, it is more expensive, but from a wear and tear standpoint it holds it's value better than carbon steel IMO. Always looking brand new, from a reseller's perspective, is definitely a valuable asset for a knife.

I wasn't specifically talking about your knife, just the price of this one.

I'm priced out here, as are probably many others, but that's honestly fine - he needs to sell 20, not 200. If a knife like this sells out instantly it means the price was too low and you could have got more money for the same amount of work. In this case, it's probably in the right ballpark.

 

[jedy617]

There definitely isn't a ton of money to be made in a project like this. Again when a Hitachi laminated hado uses less than $5 in steel costs compared to damasteel we are already talking 60x in material cost compared to an average sakai knife, the whole knife is also hardened like honyaki so a lot more expensive to grind compared to San Mai, then the shipping costs back and forth, having to pay 2 craftsmen instead of one, along with slimmer profits that inherently come with a smaller batch size, and then modern cooking needs to make money.

Also, Jonas absolutely has the star power to do it himself, because he does. His damasteel invitational gyuto usually sell out instantly, and his regular stuff is in pretty good demand.

You said unicorn territory but it is one to me, Japan never uses damasteel, or much of any non Japanese PM steels, hado is making it convex which they have not done before, and Jonas is a top tier knife maker who is going to heat treat and make a great handle.

 

[jedy617]

Another reference, this is the only maker I've seen using damasteel in Japan and it's $1600, and I don't even know who he is:
https://miuraknives.com/japanese-kn...fe-shisui.html?SubmitCurrency=1&id_currency=8

So $600 cheaper, and getting Jonas and hado together is pretty sweet to me, and I know the fit and finish, heat treat and grind will be great.

 

[JayS20]

And Isa doesn't quite have the star power to sell it on on his own

criminally underrated around here imo

 

[Blumbo]

Will this be a full ground convex or will this have KU above the primary bevel?

 

[enrico]

You know what else would be an instant buy? Maillet x Myojin. Please make it happen @moderncooking

Only if you buy one of these! Its like a subscription

 

[Dwergi]

criminally underrated around here imo

Potentially true, I can't say. Still counts as a lack of star power. All I'm really saying is that BST has several Isas sitting around at this very moment...

His damasteel invitational gyuto usually sell out instantly, and his regular stuff is in pretty good demand.

Significantly cheaper, though. I'm really not expressing an opinion on the quality of his work - I have none since I've never held one of his blades - I was only stating my impression of his perceived popularity here.

 

[jedy617]

200 euros cheaper, considering you are adding in 2 additional partners and one more craftsman... In a pretty similar realm.

Also I think the isasmedjan myojin collab did over 2k did it not? Pretty good value here for half off imo

 

[AdamE]

Value is what someone is willing to pay.

I’m sure there are enough people that will find value in this collaboration to make the production requirement. I am happy to be one of them.

I own two of Jonas’s knives from this year’s Damasteel invitational and they are amazing.

It’s natural that these knives be more expensive than something solely made by and purchased from Jonas directly. Hado deserves to make a profit. @moderncooking deserves to make a profit.

I personally want to see more of these collaborations. The fact that these knives were born from a KKF thread is pretty cool. Looking forward to next KKF x Modern Cooking creation!

 

[Dwergi]

200 euros cheaper, considering you are adding in 2 additional partners and one more craftsman... In a pretty similar realm.

Also I think the isasmedjan myojin collab did over 2k did it not? Pretty good value here for half off imo

I think the other half of that collab was also doing a bit of the lifting...

Honestly, I'm not even trying to say the price is wrong, just that it's high. The DCI prices were also high. You asked why it hadn't sold out, I think that's the answer.

My final rebuttal before I leave this thread is this: could Isa sell a batch of 20 identical Damasteel blades for this price on his own?

 

[AdamE]

I think the other half of that collab was also doing a bit of the lifting...

Honestly, I'm not even trying to say the price is wrong, just that it's high. The DCI prices were also high. You asked why it hadn't sold out, I think that's the answer.

My final rebuttal before I leave this thread is this: could Isa sell a batch of 20 identical Damasteel blades for this price on his own?

Those of us that are excited about this venture can only hope this represents your “final rebuttal” on this thread.

 

[fortheloveofmoar]

@Dwergi I think the point is that these more….. negative opinions… are best kept to yourself in a thread like this. If you want to make a separate thread that’s your prerogative but to say it on this thread is disrespectful. You can pass, again, totally cool no one cares but to say something like not enough star power, regardless of the state of BST, is un cool and I think that is everyone’s beef