It’s been a long, long time since I posted anything related to pricing of Shigefusa knives, as a matter of fact, nearly 2+ years. Time to give a brief update.
Introduction
For those not familiar with this type of data; I collect (as best as I can) ‘mostly publicly’ sold Shigefusa knives. The data comes from a combination of vendor websites, KKF’s BST and auctions, while occasionally I receive sales data from you. Thank you for that, and I encourage you to do so; data submissions are 100% confidential. As of this writing, my file includes sales 1379 entries and 447 entries have been made between Jan 1 2020 and Jan 2021.
The Stats
Since we are talking about entries, the first graph illustrates the breakdown between finish (Kurouchi, Kasumi and Kitaeji) over the years. An interesting question could be, is the decline in ’20 and ’21 due to the pandemic, or was 2019 the height of Shig sales? Any other reasons possible, like decline in production, pandemic hoarding, or simply poor record keeping on my side? Spoiler on the latter, no, my vigilance actually increased. Please chime in with comments below!
The graph below is more or less a similar representation of the above, only this time in a fancy pie chart with actual numbers. The data only covers ’20 and ’21:
Another fancy pie chart, though answering the question you had, how do those number related to knife type? Throughout the years, a gyuto, yanagiba and santoku (the latter often in Kurouchi) have been the most ‘popular’ knives to be sold & bought.
Related question to the first chart, okay a decline in numbers, does it affect the price? (Demand and supply?) Well, yes, though in line with the trend seen in previous years. I chose kitaeji gyutos vs all kitaeji knives as I have a decent sample set available to make a sensible comparison.
Next one is interesting too. Where can you best start to find a Shigefusa knife? This is by far the most frequently asked question I receive via email, or a derivative like ‘I am looking for a western handled kitaeji unicorn’. (good luck btw…). It’s confirming a trend I have seen for the last couple years, Yahoo Actions JP is on the rise. Initially ‘the worst kept’ KKF’s secret, now probably the best place to check out along with BST. Use services such as Buyee or Noppin to do the bidding and shipping to your location and if you really cannot figure it out, these are the top users whom sold 70+% of the knives I found on Yahoo in descending order of listings (# of listings omitted): pikmin777pikmin, suika_9, mitsuaki_5, romantoromansu, yakanna95, hf_metal_engraving, zqfqzl6998, yoko_1_2_3, hakozaki_risaku, nojqvm8383
Now that this is out of the way, let’s move on to the second most asked question: where can I find a cheap Shigefusa. Well, those do not really exist, now do they? We can reminisce over a glass of cognac and talk about the ‘good old times’ when I picked up that 270mm kitaeji gyuto for $750 USD in 2013 (and yes, an actual entry), or when the market wasn’t destroyed by flippers. Reality boys and girls, but I digress. To continue the storyline of the previous graph, both KKF and any other source (whether this is an auction or any vendor) were pretty much on par. Below you can see the average price per millimeter of all knives by year and sales location. (Price per millimeter my own scientific invention to be able to make comparisons across knife types, length and finish.
So that’s it for now, if you have any requests for graphs, or simply want a price spot check on your Shig, let me know.