Name that one most underrated knife

[minibatataman]

Apologies if I stirred up any past stuff, i wasn't aware there was issued between Martell and some members.. as I know nothing about that, I'll keep the talk about the knives themselves, and they seem to be as good as any western made ones, but they get looked over a lot.

 

[GorillaGrunt]

I’ve had two Martells, both are just so, so good. One is one of the knives I might really never sell. I wouldn’t call them underrated because I always thought of them as highly regarded commensurate with their quality and performance. Then again that was a couple years ago — I wouldn’t have put Yoshikane on the list either because those used to be super popular but now I guess they’re not.

Following from that there are probably a few more makers out there who make great knives but don’t get a lot of attention!

 

[Codered]

My pain is there are so many good smiths with impeccable knives:heat treats, grinds, fit and finish and are underrated. Yet this community seems to favor some with serious problems just because of publicity. Are we that superficial? We have so many good alternatives out there that we should not turn a blind eye on flaws.
I will put Yoshikatzu Ikeda as one of the underrated smiths. He is on par with Keijiro Doi in terms of forging and attention to detail. Yet so humble

 

[Iggy]

Heiji Carbon...

 

[QCDawg]

Nashiji Mazaki Gyuto. ( I have 210). I 2nd the Kaeru vote too. (240, I beat on that thing daily).

 

[Panamapeet]

My pain is there are so many good smiths with impeccable knives:heat treats, grinds, fit and finish and are underrated. Yet this community seems to favor some with serious problems just because of publicity. Are we that superficial? We have so many good alternatives out there that we should not turn a blind eye on flaws.
I will put Yoshikatzu Ikeda as one of the underrated smiths. He is on par with Keijiro Doi in terms of forging and attention to detail. Yet so humble

Please explain in which ways Yoshikazu Ikeda has an above average level of attention to detail in your view, and how he is underrated

 

[ma_sha1]

Mazaki is one of the most popular right now, not sure qualify as underrated either. My 210 Nashiji was a great cutter for most stuff, but wedged big time when I cut a watermelon. My stainless clad 210 Toyama went right through.

Mazaki has studied under Kato and use near identical WH profile minus the sophisticated convex grind. However, I’d be surprised if Kato 210mm doesn’t wedge a Watermelon. Can anyone with Kato 210 try it on watermelon?

 

[Matus]

I would not call Yoshikazu Ikeda underrated - different vendors sell his knives - often however under their own brand. These knives are usually well above 500 $/€ category, so not everyone can afford them. Plus we (as) usually do not know who ground them. That makes a huge difference. I can only say that Ikeda’s HT is top - from white all the way up to super blue steel.

 

[MAS4T0]

For higher end... .. Mizuno doesn't get all the love it deserves

This.

 

[preizzo]

Mazaki is one of the most popular right now, not sure qualify as underrated either. My 210 Nashiji was a great cutter for most stuff, but wedged big time when I cut a watermelon. My stainless clad 210 Toyama went right through.

Mazaki has studied under Kato and use near identical WH profile minus the sophisticated convex grind. However, I’d be surprised if Kato 210mm doesn’t wedge a Watermelon. Can anyone with Kato 210 try it on watermelon?

Mine it doesn't wedges.....

 

[QCDawg]

Mine it doesn't wedges.....

Which one? You have 748 Mazaki. At last count.

 

[ma_sha1]

Mine it doesn't wedges.....

Can you clarify what you were referring to?
Mazaki or Kato?
Was it on whole Watermelon?

 

[QCDawg]

Every Maz is like a snowflake. My 240 migaki is very thin and would rip a whole watermelon. My nashiji 210 is a bit more stout. But it would rip a whole watermelon too. No katos here. @priezzo can elaborate

 

[panda]

tanaka ginsan 270

 

[Garner Harrison]

tanaka ginsan 270

I have a Tanaka ginsan 210mm and it gets crazy sharp. If I want to slice tomato or cucumber really thin, this is my go to knife over my Mazaki.

Edit: This is Shigeki Tanaka right? There are way too many Tanaka's

 

[kevpenbanc]

Masashi Kobo SLD.
Not the best knife I have, but the most underrated, and a definite keeper.

 

[Benuser]

Masahiro Virgin Carbon. Unexpensive, basic F&F, carefully ground, fantastic steel.
Extremely asymmetric. Available in a left-handed (inverted) version as well.

 

[GorillaGrunt]

See, I would disqualify S. Tanaka, because his price point is lower but the knives are well known to perform extremely well. Masashi maybe, is that like Yoshikane where they used to get more buzz here? I really liked mine. Until recently I might have included Y. Tanaka though - everybody was all about the Fujiyama but who’s this guy?

+1 Masahiro VC, the steel is definitely top notch.

 

[MowgFace]

+1 for Itinomonn StainLESS.

 

[inferno]

Name one underrated knife from a maker that never received the recognition as it deserved.

hattori forums line. very good. best F/F of anything below 1k. its SS, takes a good edge, fairly tough.
mac dimpled cryoed santoku. best allround knife ever made. not very good F/F though, but you can do that yourself with a sandpaper. thats why its cheap.

i also think the black dragon series from shiki is nice. its lightyears ahead of the rest of the crap no matter what price.

 

[dafox]

hattori forums line. very good. best F/F of anything below 1k. its SS, takes a good edge, fairly tough.
mac dimpled cryoed santoku. best allround knife ever made. not very good F/F though, but you can do that yourself with a sandpaper. thats why its cheap.

i also think the black dragon series from shiki is nice. its lightyears ahead of the rest of the crap no matter what price.

Is the Hatori vg solid or clad?

 

[MrHiggins]

Is the Hatori vg solid or clad?

Mono VG10. I love my Hattori honesuki.

 

[dafox]

Mono VG10. I love my Hattori honesuki.

Cool!

 

[panda]

Masahiro Virgin Carbon. Unexpensive, basic F&F, carefully ground, fantastic steel.
Extremely asymmetric. Available in a left-handed (inverted) version as well.

its very budget friendly too

 

[labor of love]

@thebradleycrew beat me too it. Shihan’s work really stands out to me and I’m surprised his stuff doesn’t get talked about more often.

 

[MrHiggins]

@thebradleycrew beat me too it. Shihan’s work really stands out to me and I’m surprised his stuff doesn’t get talked about more often.

+1

The wrought iron/white #2 gyuto from him is nothing short of a masterpiece. To those who say Shi Han's knives have a strange profile, here's a picture of mine. Lookin' good to me!

 

[preizzo]

Can you clarify what you were referring to?
Mazaki or Kato?
Was it on whole Watermelon?

Mazaki

 

[labor of love]

Mazaki

Mazaki did a great job on both my new Watanabe and Toyama.

 

[Neville Lin]

+1

The wrought iron/white #2 gyuto from him is nothing short of a masterpiece. To those who say Shi Han's knives have a strange profile, here's a picture of mine. Lookin' good to me!

View attachment 69907

Shehan is also great to work with, I contacted him directly and asked for a flatter profile, he had no problem doing it for no extra cost. I remember someone saying they asked for a lower tip as well.

 

[labor of love]

Shehan is also great to work with, I contacted him directly and asked for a flatter profile, he had no problem doing it for no extra cost. I remember someone saying they asked for a lower tip as well.

Yes, I made the same request. I think he gets this request pretty often.