So I started collecting, my first Shigefusa

Miura knives
Japanese Knives - by Tokushu Knife
Advertise with us
Kitchen Knife Forums

Help Support Kitchen Knife Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
A recent addition to the collection, a long awaited Kasumi Gyuto, 270mm:

4.jpg
 
HRC_64 said:
Profile on 270 shig looks amazing, don't know why specifically...
Just seems understated and all in balance :)

4.jpg
Click to expand...

shig 270 has an awesome profile and geometry, it's taller than the others which makes it wedge less since the lower convex is not as low and more tapered and the profile has a very long flat spot.
 
I recently passed the 400 recorded Shigefusa sales in my database, so I thought is would be time for an update and provide you again with some interesting stats. The first disclaimer, these are sales that are publicly available, either from KKF, social media or known resellers. If you come across a sale, let me know and I will record the item in my data base. When reporting, any sale outside of KKF is simply listed as “3RD” or third-party sale.

First some data facts:
  • Time period: June 2011 – today
  • Recorded sales: 411
  • Total sales value: $288.000 USD
  • Highest price: Kitaeji Hamokiri ($2308 (2013)
  • Lowest price: Kurouchi petty, $150 (2012)
  • Finish: Kasumi (47%), Kitaeji (37%), Kurouchi (16%)
  • Bevels: Double (65%), Single (35%)
  • Handle: Wa (92%), Yo (8%)
  • Top 5 knives: Gyuto (145), Yanagiba (54), Nakiri (34), Petty (34), Deba (32)
  • Sales Outlet: KKF (62%), 3rd (38%)


So, then a couple questions:


a) Dear Zweber12, I want to sell a Shig, how do I price it?
Answer:Well, I do not have a definite answer for you, though these box plots should give you a good idea of the price ranges and median. I can also provide you the entries for a specific knives. Just send me a DM.

Shigefusa Pricing - Box Plot

Shigefusa Pricing - Box Plot



b) The latest [insert knife & finish] prices are insane, unbelievable.
Answer: Yes, maybe, not really. Below two graphs of Kitaeji only sales. There is a high variability as you can see in the graph that plots each average price per mm vs a time stamp. There is simply a higher demand for these knives, but as the normalize “avg price per mm/year" shows, there are cycles and dips.


AvgPrice_Kitaeji_July2018_1

AvgPrice_Kitaeji_July2018_1


AvgPrice_Kitaeji_July2018

AvgPrice_Kitaeji_July2018



So if you got specific Shig pricing questions, drop me a line!
 
For those who follow me in Instagram know that a couple days ago I had to opportunity to visit the Shigefusa workshop and meet Mr. Iizuka san, his wife and two sons, Masayuki san and Yoshihide san. Not many words describe the honor be able to visit and the whole experience in itself; nothing short of a dream come true! Got a lot of questions answered around knives in my collection and was able to see some of the knife making processes in person. Simply stunning!

View media item 31103
View media item 31102
 
Wow thats amazing, for a super Shigefusa fan like yourself; must be a most precious and memorable momment. Very happy for you, living our collective knife boy dream. I recently acquired my first Shig, influenced by your posts [emoji14]
 
Did you ask him about what he thinks about the global craze for his knives? I'm sure they have always been taught after, carny not to the extent they are today. He looks like a cool guy, like to see some more pics and videos if you have them.
 
valgard said:
Nice knife but you know this is @Zweber12's personal gallery thread right? There is a separate thread for showing your new knives.
Click to expand...
My bad, I’ll try and delete it. New here and should have read it closer. My apologies.

Couldn’t delete so I erased it.
 
Several people have contacted me already about my recent trip for additional information. If you ever make it Sanjo, I can highly recommend contacting Mr. Yasushi Kawakami from the N.G.A. (Niigata Guide Association; niigata.guide.association[a]gmail.com; 070-1554-0902). He helped us out brilliantly and completely tailored our itinerary for the day.
 
Zweber12 said:
Several people have contacted me already about my recent trip for additional information. If you ever make it Sanjo, I can highly recommend contacting Mr. Yasushi Kawakami from the N.G.A. (Niigata Guide Association; niigata.guide.association[a]gmail.com; 070-1554-0902). He helped us out brilliantly and completely tailored our itinerary for the day.
Click to expand...
Great info! Thanks for sharing!

I wonder now how many people will going to visit them on a daily basis ;-P
 
Last edited:
Something simple, a nice piece of striped black ebony, which is mostly black

Or rosewood with a super dense burl that doesn't take away from the blade - i have some I can send you pics of.
Also, the right boxwood burl/red block.
 
Zweber12 said:
Posted this image on my IG yesterday; a three year pursuit/quest to acquire this particular knife, a 300mm kitaeji yo. Any suggestions for which wood to use on the handle, let me know in a comment below!

3.jpg
Click to expand...

The most basic, understated, dark wood you can find. Maybe heavy like ebony to counter some of the blade weight. Absolutely stunning Floris
 
Did you have to set up an appointment before the Shigefusa workshop visit?
If I have to travel to Japan in the future, I really want to stop by at Shigefusa. I really appreciate their work :)
 
rebornhj said:
Did you have to set up an appointment before the Shigefusa workshop visit?
If I have to travel to Japan in the future, I really want to stop by at Shigefusa. I really appreciate their work :)
Click to expand...

The owner of the hotel I stayed at helped me out with the arrangements, i did not ask them for the details. The guide mentioned in a post above was helping out with the transport and translations. (I can recommend contacting him when you are in Sanjo, or planning on going, super guy and has a wealth of regional knowledge!)
 
Zweber12 said:
The owner of the hotel I stayed at helped me out with the arrangements, i did not ask them for the details. The guide mentioned in a post above was helping out with the transport and translations. (I can recommend contacting him when you are in Sanjo, or planning on going, super guy and has a wealth of regional knowledge!)
Click to expand...

I really appreciate you for passing that information along. You're the best!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top