Show your newest knife buy

Kitchen Knife Forums

Help Support Kitchen Knife Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Aesthetically its beautiful. It could be improved with a little more height to it. As far as cutting goes, its enjoyable for tip work. I don't think it does push cuts quite as well as my tsubaya tanaka gyuto, which is the same black smith/steel and wide bevel ground. If I had to have 1 tanaka blue 1, I'd advise going with a more traditional gyuto, but its a fun niche knife to have and again aesthetically cool.

Between it and the Hitohira, I'm going to say some possibly controversial things.

1) I believe that these knives, along at least with the hitohiras and the tsubaya Y. Tanaka knives do have variation in their dimensions. That's not to say they aren't typically finished very well. But for example, my dad and I bought the Tsubaya knives at the same time and when we opened our boxes back in the states, his was much more stout and taller than mine. The CKC knife I examined in their store a few years back was also a little bigger than the one I got in the mail. Again they both have strengths and weakenesses and none of them are bad knives or finished just different. I get the impression the hitohiras are the same way. Bottom line, there's a potential to have a little variation between the same knife in these lines.
2) None of these three knife brands are that different within the standard bounds of variation as far as the actual pathway of the blade profile and cross geometry wise. You may get a taller one, you may get a wider one etc.

So in reality, its up to you what sort of aesthetic and bells and whistles you like. The magnetic in a kagekiyo saya is cool. The lacquer handle through me off when I first saw it (I had thought all sides had lacquer) but its grown on me a lot and stands out in a traditional but different way from my list of buffalo horn/ wood handles.

One other thing, is that both lines are undersized. So be aware of that. My sweet spot is a oversized 210, undersized 240 I think. If you're used to a bigger 210, you might want to consider a 240.
Thanks for your thoughtful and detailed reply. I pulled the trigger on the 210 Kagekiyo today. I think the size will suit me and I recently filled the 240 position with a Yoshikane that I'm super happy with. The question now is, will I give up either of my 2 current 210s, I should, but I don't know. The Shiki has become my wife's go-to and the Masakage, well I just have a soft spot for...
 
Nah, no d measuring. I just thought we were taking pictures of cool knives we found on the internet! I could never afford an Ashi honyaki. :(

Sure you could, man, just stop eating, stop drinking, stop paying rent, stop buying (or washing...) clothes, paying bills is right out. In a short time, that Ashi Honyaki can be yours. Granted, people are going to come to take it away from you, and even if not, having a kitchen knife without a kitchen is of questionable utility.
 
Japanese power
20210323_181832.jpg
20210323_181850.jpg
 
Last edited:
Just finished this little project up.
240mm iron clad watanabe with a burnt oak handle by @musicman980.

Super duper sanjo style/ Bobo kaiju
 

Attachments

  • 07647052-D93F-4905-81C6-6F32D4C35B79.jpeg
    07647052-D93F-4905-81C6-6F32D4C35B79.jpeg
    56.9 KB · Views: 85
  • 3260B742-460F-4D1A-84B8-AAA314BA5841.jpeg
    3260B742-460F-4D1A-84B8-AAA314BA5841.jpeg
    181.3 KB · Views: 83
  • 4738EA7A-DD07-4ED8-9A18-D74B9529C914.jpeg
    4738EA7A-DD07-4ED8-9A18-D74B9529C914.jpeg
    65.5 KB · Views: 76

This is absolutely gorgeous. Great pick!
Really digging integrals that have such a sweet grip.

Picked this from @preizzo.

unknown maker,unknown steel, amazing feel in hand but most importantly affordable quality.

stated as 290mm x 55mm.. Japanese western.
Can someone clarify if this is integral? It appears as it’s a welded bolster. I was informed it’s most likely ebony scales.
I prefer bog oak, maybe after a year of use.

that choil shot shot sold me Immediately .
 

Attachments

  • 31703352-836F-4C7E-B6F7-C72A58694183.jpeg
    31703352-836F-4C7E-B6F7-C72A58694183.jpeg
    86.7 KB · Views: 59
  • E1C8AC86-16FB-4EC9-91AE-2FDDA46CBB45.jpeg
    E1C8AC86-16FB-4EC9-91AE-2FDDA46CBB45.jpeg
    176.3 KB · Views: 72
  • 9ABDA7B1-C3DA-44BA-B2C6-00AA13AF23B6.jpeg
    9ABDA7B1-C3DA-44BA-B2C6-00AA13AF23B6.jpeg
    38.4 KB · Views: 64
Last edited:
This is absolutely gorgeous. Great pick!
Really digging integrals that have such a sweet grip.

Picked this from @preizzo.

unknown maker,unknown steel, amazing feel in hand but most importantly affordable quality.

stated as 290mm x 55mm.. Japanese western.
Can someone clarify if this is integral? It appears as it’s a welded bolster. I was informed it’s most likely ebony scales.
I prefer bog oak, maybe after a year of use.

that choil shot shot sold me Immediately .

The choil shot is rather impressive
 
Ooof, I'm way behind here! Picked up a few beauties in the last little while. Let's see...

So here's a 285mm gyuto from The9Nine in 1.2519 w/ low-count twist Damascus. An absolute unit (329gm!) with nice convexing--tons of fun to work with, and of course the cladding is bonkers. Really nice patina forming with lots of colors.

PXL_20210327_152332848.PORTRAIT.jpg
PXL_20210327_152341123.PORTRAIT.jpg
PXL_20210327_152349887.PORTRAIT_2.jpg
 
Ooof, I'm way behind here! Picked up a few beauties in the last little while. Let's see...

So here's a 285mm gyuto from The9Nine in 1.2519 w/ low-count twist Damascus. An absolute unit (329gm!) with nice convexing--tons of fun to work with, and of course the cladding is bonkers. Really nice patina forming with lots of colors.

View attachment 120372View attachment 120371View attachment 120369

Aww, hello old friend. I had to get back on Rob's list not long after I sold that one. Hope you're enjoying it.
 
And finally a 280mm gyuto from Birgersson Blades. Unfortunately this one lost a few mm from the tip in shipping, so Björn reground it for me--the nose was originally a little higher, but I really like the new profile. Nice middleweight grind and very comfortable geometry--I've really enjoyed having this one up in the rotation since it came back from surgery! Björn is awesome to work with and doing fantastic work--definitely recommend checking him out if you haven't already!

PXL_20210327_151325095.PORTRAIT.jpg
PXL_20210327_151341726.PORTRAIT.jpg
PXL_20210327_151352261.PORTRAIT.jpg
 
Ooof, I'm way behind here! Picked up a few beauties in the last little while. Let's see...

So here's a 285mm gyuto from The9Nine in 1.2519 w/ low-count twist Damascus. An absolute unit (329gm!) with nice convexing--tons of fun to work with, and of course the cladding is bonkers. Really nice patina forming with lots of colors.

View attachment 120372View attachment 120371View attachment 120369
I just got a gyuto from Rob recently as well. It is THE knife for me right now. My next from him will probably look a lot like this. That low count twist dammy is just too stellar.
 
Oh, I almost forgot! Last but clearly not least, a 295mm Raquin gyuto in 145sc. Surprisingly nimble for its size with a really great middle-weight grind that just drops through softer foods. Lovely kasumi polish and a "real" KU finish that almost feels like it's going to rub off on your fingers (butt it doesn't, of course!). Bryan's work is already well-known around here, so I'm not telling anyone anything they don't already know, but this knife is the real deal.

PXL_20210329_133623530.PORTRAIT.jpg
PXL_20210329_133639395.PORTRAIT.jpg
PXL_20210329_133701782.PORTRAIT~2.jpg
 
Back
Top