Thread: Japanese Kitchen Knives

Originally Posted by KingsRam

There are 3 knives that are a must have IMHO. A paring knife, a boning knife and an 8" Chef's Knife. I use the Shun Classic knives and they are fantastic and a reasonable price. I believe traditional Japanese knives are single bevel, which may be a drawback.

Link to my favs:
KAI USA : Shun Products

+1 on the Shun Classic line. Fantastic knives at a decent price point. I love mine.

Thought I'd finally take a picture of my knives. The top knife is a 7 1/2" Tosagata satsuma knife from Japan Woodworker. It is a japanese "white steel" knife forged by hand and at $35, I think it was a screaming deal. I sanded, stained and sealed the natural ho wood handle to make it a bit more durable after purchase. I am fortunate enough to live within driving distance of the japan woodworker shop so I was able to examine the knife before I bought it and pick it up in person.

The second knife is a Moritaka Gyuto 270mm in Aogami Super Steel. It has a stainless steel tang and a beautiful rosewood octagonal handle. This knife blows me away every time I pull it off the rack. It is perfectly balanced in the hand and I literally need only put the weight of the blade on most food items to cut completely through. Moritaka's skill as a blade maker is evident in every movement I make with this knife and I'm sure I will treasure this knife for many years to come.

Both of these knives have the unpolished kurouchi finish which I really like. I think it really highlights the hand-made nature of these beautiful tools. They both came to me sharp, but since I allready had hones around (for my razors) I decided to be an idiot and take them both up to hair popping sharp. They are true pleasures to use and certainly make prepping dinner more exciting .


on the rack.


makers marks and better view of construction.

Originally Posted by skimack

The second knife is a Moritaka Gyuto 270mm in Aogami Super Steel. It has a stainless steel tang and a beautiful rosewood octagonal handle.

cool knives, I have a 240 Moritaka and it is very nice knife.

On another note I got my Shigefusa Yanagiba and I must say it is a superb knife to have. Total craftsmanship of a hand made blade, no power tools.
Shigefusa gets his steel from Iwasaki by the way.

Originally Posted by mainaman

On another note I got my Shigefusa Yanagiba and I must say it is a superb knife to have. Total craftsmanship of a hand made blade, no power tools.
Shigefusa gets his steel from Iwasaki by the way.

Beautiful looking knife Stefan. Custom ? Did you have to get on a waiting list ?

Originally Posted by onimaru55

Beautiful looking knife Stefan. Custom ? Did you have to get on a waiting list ?

The guy I got it from orders 3 of each type of blade with no handles then installs custom handles.

Originally Posted by skimack

Thought I'd finally take a picture of my knives.

You didn't mention your turner! I have a similar turner that I use almost every time I cook. It's actually being rehandled now with some custom micarta The turner comes in so handy that it is just as indispensable as my knives, even more so since I only really have one!

I also wanted to make mention of the shuns people were discussing...

Shun doesn't get much love or respect from knife "snobs", partly because they're so very common, but mainly because they're simply not considered "high end". There is always something better. Well, that and the Ken Onion line is probably the most hideous collection of knives ever created.

The fact is most shuns are very good cutters, and pretty much ideal in a home kitchen. They're comfortable, they take a fantastic edge, they resist corrosion, and they're relatively cheap for a nice knife. I didn't have all that high opinion of shun knives till I gave one to my girlfriend. She hardly cooks at all and thus rarely uses a knife. It's more common for the knife to be put to use carving a pumpkin, opening mail, or to open up some kind of microwave dinner.

Before I gave the knife to her I sharpened it up I think to a 4k edge, nothing special. After nearly a year, it remained quite sharp an only showed moderate dings chips and wear as well as minor corrosion. I am quite sure it went through the dishwasher many times (even though I instructed not to), as well as performing some no no tasks for such a knife. Sure it looks a little beat up, but boy am I impressed at how well it has held up in all that time.

What I have learned through the experience is that shun makes a good knife. I'd still have a hard time owning one myself because I like unique, but I wouldn't hesitate to recommend one to anyone wanting a low maintenance high quality kitchen knife. Sometimes a knife nut needs to realize he can't convert everyone into a knife nut as well, and the shun is an excellent choice for a non knife nut (or even a knife nut on a budget).

I'm really enjoying this thread, guys. Some of these pictures are simply beautiful. I still haven't decided what I'm going to get. My wife has been looking at the Kramer series Shun knives... I'm still not sure. I'm loving the Chinese cleaver I picked up before Christmas (so much I got my two partners one).

Originally Posted by Potato42

You didn't mention your turner! I have a similar turner that I use almost every time I cook. It's actually being rehandled now with some custom micarta The turner comes in so handy that it is just as indispensable as my knives, even more so since I only really have one!

Oh man, I love that turner. Its just a cheap chinese stainless turner that I picked it up at a local restaurant supply store for $2.50. I have since tightened the rivets, sanded and treated the handle with tung oil to make it more waterproof, and rounded the sharp corners with a bench grinder so it doesn't scratch my pans. It's the one kitchen tool I use every single day. It rocks for flipping eggs in my carbon steel pan. Give me that, my knives, my pans and a good cutting board and I'm good to go in any kitchen.

Like the title says which yanagiba should I buy? I want a sushi knife and am looking for a fairly high end, hand made, Japanese style (single bevel) knife in the 270mm to 300mm range. My only previous experience with decent (not great) knives is my shun collection, but I want one knife that's very nice. So far I have found these two that I am interested in: 11-3/4" Yanagaba Sashimi Right Hand - Shigefusa <!S-Y-ST300> - The Japan Woodworker Catalog
And Sakai Takayuki White Steel Dragon Yanagi 300mm

I like the history behind both manufactures and would be looking for something similar from any other manufactures I considered. So basically I'm looking to see if anyone has any information on either of these knives or any other makes that I overlooked. Both of these are at the top of what I'd be willing to spend and if there is something of equal quality for a lower price or if either of these knives are available for less from other sources I'd love to hear from where. Also I was wondering what the difference between 'blue' and 'white' steel in terms of hardness, performance, durability, and manufactoring process? Thanks for the help hopefully I'll get some great responses.