What is the budget nowadays?

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Tea_Hills

Tea_Hills

KKF Supporting Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2021
Messages
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Location
New Jersey
I was thinking about my current favorite knife, a Wakui migaki I purchased 2 years ago on Epicurean for 169 USD. Its a great knife even next to more expensive options like Konosuke, Toyama, Shibata, etc. The same Wakui is now listing at 400$. It seems that everything is a lot more expensive now than it was just a couple years ago. I know inflation, etc but is the low end of the budget for a non-house brand Japanese knife 250 - 300? Or did Wakui realize he can (rightly) charge way more for his quality? If that's the case, is there another maker that sells a 210 gyuto for the same price range Wakui once occupied (with similar quality)?

Thanks!
 
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JNS was also supposedly recently selling them under the Tanuki Hoard name for a killer price as well. If you're in the market for a Wakui, I'm sure there are plenty to go around, depending on what you want.
 
Munetoshi and Kyohei Shindo are a great 1-2 punch for excellent cutters per dollar spent, but the f&f on either cannot compete with Wakui.

Shiro Kamo has been consistently producing good knives with solid f&f for a long time. I particularly like the ones he makes for Cleancut, seems they ask for their different lines to be thinner.

I like to play in the sub-$350 pond.
 
SwampDonkey said:
Munetoshi and Kyohei Shindo are a great 1-2 punch for excellent cutters per dollar spent, but the f&f on either cannot compete with Wakui.

Shiro Kamo has been consistently producing good knives with solid f&f for a long time. I particularly like the ones he makes for Cleancut, seems they ask for their different lines to be thinner.

I like to play in the sub-$350 pond.
Click to expand...
Oh man Shiro from cleancut is a hell of a price. Damn I might be buying another knife.
 
Tea_Hills said:
Oh man Shiro from cleancut is a hell of a price. Damn I might be buying another knife.
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I've tried the Akuma and Tora lines, normally not a fan of damascus but the Tora makes a really neat patina canvas and the dammy doesn't affect performance. The Akuma is cool with AS at 65 HRC but if you chip it the stainless cladding is a stone eater to thin/repair. Both cut very well.


20230328_095823 (1).jpg
 
Tea_Hills said:
They have always been interesting for being cheap. How's the quality? Any good makers to check out?
Click to expand...


For the most part, fit and finish isn't what you're looking for in most of Michael's offerings. These are largely function-forward products and generally by small, sometimes even remote smiths. There can be a real charm to their rustic qualities. But there's more than just nostalgia as the steel and grinds are often excellent and Michael also has knife designs we rarely see elsewhere.

Brands that I've been very pleased with are:

- Unshu Yukimitsu. Regarded by some here on KKF as the pinnacle of shirogami. My example was nice for sure.

- Homi. Rustic no doubt but really nice grinds and profiles on both the nakiri and santoku I have from him. The steel is good as well.

- Minomo. I have a small nakiri from them that I got my granddaughter and it is very well executed. The blade has excellent spine-to-edge taper and I'm interested in trying one of their full-sized blades.

- Kawatsu. I bought a 120mm funayuki-bocho from them and absolutely love the thing. Steel is very nice and the knife is an excellent size/design to serve as a quite handy utility type blade. I grab mine for quick tasks, slicing open packages, and even breaking down chickens. It's become one of my favorite knives.

- Okahide. I have the 115mm "kitchen mini" and it is an excellent petty. Before I picked up the Kawatsu, this guy saw a good bit of use and much the same role, to include chickens.

My Yashima nakiri, now that needed a lot of love. It was very thick. Steel is really nice though.

Okubo and Sasaoka also get a lot of love by those who've tried them.
 
Tea_Hills said:
Loving these recommendation. Anyone else have a favorite budget knife?
Click to expand...
Entry level yo-knives like Carbonext, Misono, Fujiwara, etc. They might need some thinning out of the box, but they're cheap, comfortable, can take a beating, and honestly good enough that anything more is just a luxury purchase.
Stepping up in price a bit I think Ashi Ginga is still one of the most well-rounded packages that will satisfy almost anyone. But there's plenty of other affordable contenders.
 
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