Shig alert

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I would be inclined to agree. I have a yanagiba that I really like and use almost every day, but if I had to replace it I would not buy another Shigefusa at current pricing. The Masamoto KS single bevels are functionally as good as a Shig for less money and nearly constant availability.
 
Credit to Shigefusa for their great knives and success, and I think they have been very slow to put prices up. However, the foreign bubble probably means that we pay a lot more from abroad and that Shigs are scarce in Japan because of it. Anyway, lots of other great knives too
 
I've said it before, I so tired of hearing about the Shigfusa faux-utopia and all the ring-around-the-roses grab-a$$ fan-boy prattle.

I'm glad that you've made that brand untouchable, bloated and overpriced. Remind me a lot of what happened with Bose speakers.

I had a chance to use Bill13 brand new 240 Kitjei, was certainly a nice knife but did I think it was worth $1000, come one. Not when there are so many other performers out there that are on par. What even funnier is that so many people gush on knives they never even touched. Makes me laugh.

When something comes up on Newest Knife buy, and people go wow, and ooo to knives they have never even heard of. I know I'm being a downer but overtime I see that Shig Alert post, my eyes just roll. Don't worry, yo won't get any competition from me.
 
Shigs are nice...really nice. It's not so much that they're better than many others, but that they've been that good and that well made for a long time. The name goes a long way.
 
Haha #keepingitreal My man. No highs no lows must be bose.
 
Mucho Bocho said:
I've said it before, I so tired of hearing about the Shigfusa faux-utopia and all the ring-around-the-roses grab-a$$ fan-boy prattle.

I'm glad that you've made that brand untouchable, bloated and overpriced. Remind me a lot of what happened with Bose speakers.

I had a chance to use Bill13 brand new 240 Kitjei, was certainly a nice knife but did I think it was worth $1000, come one. Not when there are so many other performers out there that are on par. What even funnier is that so many people gush on knives they never even touched. Makes me laugh.

When something comes up on Newest Knife buy, and people go wow, and ooo to knives they have never even heard of. I know I'm being a downer but overtime I see that Shig Alert post, my eyes just roll. Don't worry, yo won't get any competition from me.
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I agree. A lot of it is personal taste as well. I stated it before, and I will say it again... I did not like the Shig I tried for a couple of weeks (loaner) at all. I had it sharpened by a pro, I tried it again. It was ok, but nothing special FOR ME. Not saying it isn't a great knife, but then it is for others. Maybe I am still too much of a novice, but to me the cutting performance still comes first, then the looks.

No offense to anyone.
 
Mucho Bocho said:
I've said it before, I so tired of hearing about the Shigfusa faux-utopia and all the ring-around-the-roses grab-a$$ fan-boy prattle.

I'm glad that you've made that brand untouchable, bloated and overpriced. Remind me a lot of what happened with Bose speakers.

I had a chance to use Bill13 brand new 240 Kitjei, was certainly a nice knife but did I think it was worth $1000, come one. Not when there are so many other performers out there that are on par. What even funnier is that so many people gush on knives they never even touched. Makes me laugh.

When something comes up on Newest Knife buy, and people go wow, and ooo to knives they have never even heard of. I know I'm being a downer but overtime I see that Shig Alert post, my eyes just roll. Don't worry, yo won't get any competition from me.
Click to expand...

I bought mine from Japanese Woodworker using a 100 off coupon so I paid 650 for it (the most I have ever paid for a knife), but I had to wait about 8 months for one to come in. My thinking at the time was I want to know that what I am getting will be perfect (or close to it) and made by a craftsman with a long track record. If I ever decide to sell it be it in 5 or 10 years I am pretty sure there will still be a market for it - especially down under:D.

The newer makers scared me at the time; do they really know what they are doing and will they still be in business 5 to 10 years from now, or will their brand already be forgotten? This is why I am also partial to Watanabe knives.

They are getting too expensive, but I am not sure who is benefitting from this rise in price, especially considering the strong dollar.
 
Mucho Bocho said:
I've said it before, I so tired of hearing about the Shigfusa faux-utopia and all the ring-around-the-roses grab-a$$ fan-boy prattle.

I'm glad that you've made that brand untouchable, bloated and overpriced. Remind me a lot of what happened with Bose speakers.

I had a chance to use Bill13 brand new 240 Kitjei, was certainly a nice knife but did I think it was worth $1000, come one. Not when there are so many other performers out there that are on par. What even funnier is that so many people gush on knives they never even touched. Makes me laugh.

When something comes up on Newest Knife buy, and people go wow, and ooo to knives they have never even heard of. I know I'm being a downer but overtime I see that Shig Alert post, my eyes just roll. Don't worry, yo won't get any competition from me.
Click to expand...

You should've just posted a pic of you giving the middle finger to a Shig. Would've been less to read and just as effective, and just as insulting on a thread devoted to Shig lovers. I'm not a fan of ITK's, but I don't run around the forum telling everyone who is a fan, how dumb they are for buying them.
 
Hehe, good. Maybe now the latest Shig-wave is starting to break.

To be positive, I'll list their pros as far as I'm concerned: classy feel and elegant finish, cut well, consistency, relative scarcity and value (value being a detriment too), sharpenability, ease of care.

On that last point, no need to decry their reactivity again, especially kasumi. I mean that their design enables and invites you to re-polish and re-finish once the inevitable thinning/scratching all unfolds. They're good for training you how to do this, I think.

My rough, subjective feeling, though, looking at the latest JNS prices is that they're going at 1.5x above what they might be, thinking of the actual knife, what they do, and what other knives/prices exist out there, not to mention the wait if you want one. The Shig Bubble as said.

Mucho Bocho said:
When something comes up on Newest Knife buy, and people go wow, and ooo to knives they have never even heard of. I know I'm being a downer but overtime I see that Shig Alert post, my eyes just roll.
Click to expand...

I don't think we're allowed to say 'oh poo, nothing special' considering we're all nice-guy, supportive knife types (and they're still great knives anyway; careful, there are probably some forum rules about this). It is much, though, when too many people listen to the same song.
 
I got a shigefusa Kaumi Gyuto cost me aud600. And then I want to get one knife from lan's ready make knife plus shipping cost me about usd700. So I don't really feel the knife is too much over priced.
 
They're more expensive than they were a few months back, but I'd take a Shig kasumi gyuto over many of the customs people are buying, and I think the price is comparable. With that being said, there are certain custom makers whose work I'd take in a heartbeat over a Shig (one rhymes with Candy Dillipp), even for more money. It's all part of the fun, really; we all like different things, and that is how there are so many successful makers who keep this hobby alive.
 
Lefty said:
They're more expensive than they were a few months back, but I'd take a Shig kasumi gyuto over many of the customs people are buying, and I think the price is comparable. With that being said, there are certain custom makers whose work I'd take in a heartbeat over a Shig (one rhymes with Candy Dillipp), even for a more money. It's all part of the fun, really; we all like different things, and that is how there are so many successful makers who keep this hobby alive.
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The only thing keeping me from a Shig (other than scarcity), is the chatter about the very high reactivity. I would be so happy if they did a semi-stainless clad.
 
DamageInc said:
The only thing keeping me from a Shig (other than scarcity), is the chatter about the very high reactivity. I would be so happy if they did a semi-stainless clad.
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The reactivity is no higher than many other iron clad knives at that price point, IMO. Both of my Kato workhorses were more reactive than the any of my Shigs thus far.
 
Quite interesting. I've always heard the opposite. Guess I'll have to pick up a shig soon.
 
In my limited experience, the shig's are reactive in that they seem take a patina really fast but I haven't found it objectionable. I have a Kato and it took a patina fairly fast but not as obviously (i.e. dark) as the shig kitaeji's. I wipe the blades a lot so that delays the patina and may affect it's development. I tried forcing a patina with mustard and various other concoctions I've read about here but frankly the one that develops with regular use is not so bad. I just took the fingerstones to the kitaeji nakiri and it only took a few minutes to have it looking like new (yes, I like fiddling with my knives - a lot :cool2:) Banana's are the only think that get's kind of a weird black gunk but all my carbon knives do the same thing.
 
deltaplex said:
You can cut a banana with a bench scraper about as well as you can with a chef's knife.
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True I guess but I have a whole flock of parrots to feed every day and it's an excuse to cut stuff with really sharp knives lol.
 
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I'm definitely not bashing Shigefusa, I started the thread.

I really like my yanagiba, it is definitely a keeper. I also really liked the 210mm gyuto I had. I (knocking on wood) would hate to not have my yanagiba anymore, but I don't know I could justify the prices I've seen on these recently.

Again, Shigefusa makes great knives, especially the single bevels I have used. I would be totally content with an all Shig fish butchering set.
 
210mm deba is still available at JNS. Someone just took the 210 mioroshi last night.
 
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