Grizzl17
New Member
Hello esteemed knife nerds, I'm relatively new to the realm of single bevel japanese knives and I'm in the market for a deba. I purchased a used caidao off ebay that required a little bit of TLC to get into good shape and enjoyed the light restoration so I figured I'd look for something similar for my first deba. With the added benefit of getting practice sharpening a single bevel without fear of messing up on a nice new knife.
Most of the stuff I found on ebay was between 40-60 bucks, which seemed reasonable given the age, rust/discoloration (definitely not a pretty patina) and light damage to the edge. Then there are a handful of knives from tsukiji hide masamoto that are listed for 150+, they are also older, aged carbon steel (unknown if it's yellow/white/blue) that doesn't look well-maintained, old handles etc etc. From my limited understanding masamoto has been a good brand and then some YouTuber with a following shilled for him(them?) and the value of masamoto knives inflated beyond the actual value of the knife. Is this pricing reflective of the actual value of the knife, or is this good old fashioned price gouging? More curious than anything else and would appreciate y'alls insight!
Images of said knife attached
Most of the stuff I found on ebay was between 40-60 bucks, which seemed reasonable given the age, rust/discoloration (definitely not a pretty patina) and light damage to the edge. Then there are a handful of knives from tsukiji hide masamoto that are listed for 150+, they are also older, aged carbon steel (unknown if it's yellow/white/blue) that doesn't look well-maintained, old handles etc etc. From my limited understanding masamoto has been a good brand and then some YouTuber with a following shilled for him(them?) and the value of masamoto knives inflated beyond the actual value of the knife. Is this pricing reflective of the actual value of the knife, or is this good old fashioned price gouging? More curious than anything else and would appreciate y'alls insight!
Images of said knife attached
