Morihei Hisamoto

[zizirex]

Well, I haven't been to Morihei myself, but AFAIK Morihei doesn't have any staff. Just Oguro-san and his wife.

 

[RockyBasel]

I called Ai Om to double check who polished the knife. He said they are pretty sure it was Ogura-San. They said the owner goes to their shop, while they have staff there obviously, he said Ogura-San prefers to take personal ownership and the owner has been to the shop in the past to verify just that. So they stood by their assertion that these were done by him

he also said that OS is getting old, and he is doing less work. Finally, he said it was sharpened on a stone wheel - but he also confirmed the broken wheel story as well

Bottom line - he said we are unlikely to see the FF knife, possibly ever again. For those who got it, it’s a good thing

he also said the Ginsan Damascus is personally sharpened by OS - under the akimitsu banner

 

[RockyBasel]

And since most if not all these Morihei's are being wholesaled through Hitohira onto their 'partner' retailers in the West and Singapore, I wonder why they would pass on this info if incorrect or unverified.

He confirmed that as well - that Hitohira confirmed the same that OS sharpens

 

[Alder26]

Another thought. I don't know how Morihei chooses the knives that are getting FF treatment. They might choose the better ones so that the FF treatment process would be easier. Or they might choose the worse ones because those ones are too bad to be sent to customers without any treatment. Or maybe they choose them randomly.

I have owned three Hisamoto’s, 2 FFand 1 regular finish. Both FF’s have much better than average bevels and finishing, just a few slight low spots, nice rounding on the spine etc.

The regular finish was warped and slightly bent and had an over grind in what was a very thick knife. It took an eternity fix. I would say that the regular finish knives are the same kind of gamble that regular TF’s are. Any improvements to the FF line are likely a result of the Morihei’s shop alone

 

[tchan001]

How does a Morihei fine finish compare with a Forty Ounce spa treatment?