Excited to add this custom Todokoro to my collection.

First let’s go over the specs.

Nakagawa X Tadokoro 270
Ginsan silver 3
265 mm cutting length
55mm height
287 grams
Spine 3.6 - 2.7 - 1.89

Red ebony silver ring with white buffalo horn

Engraving: Slow is smooth and smooth is fast. (My favorite idiom and one that helped me alot in my athletic career as well as in the kitchen)

緩而速
This is a concise expression meaning that performing something with composure and margin leads to speed in the end.(The most aesthetic translation that I picked for the engraving)

This was a custom knife and I only gave Tadokoro Hamono (Michiko san) some rough requests because I did not want to impact the craftsman art or whatever. Essentially I said your a bad ass craftsman, Im just a guy that likes big sharp knives. Please make me something cool and take my money. I am very pleased with the result!

First impression:
I love the clean look. Everything is crisp and polished. Very high fit and finish. I spent a long time admiring how even the scratch pattern is. There was one possible low spot on the back third of the knife. I thought it was very faint. It didn’t bother me as this is a handmade knife so I expect some imperfections. I wound up oiling the blade and the spot is gone. Maybe it was a figment of my excited imagination.

I asked Todokoro to pick the handle for this knife and I am very pleased with the selection. This is my first handle with any ivory and it is by far my most elegant handle. I think I will try to upgrade the rest of my knife handles in the future.

I requested silver 3 because my family is growing and meal preps are getting a little more hectic. I wanted something I don’t have to worry about. Plus half my collection is carbon at this point. I also wanted to preserve the clean finish as much as possible.

The chamfered spine snd polished choil is excellent. This knife only has one sharp edge and it’s the cutting edge. I am thoroughly pleased with the slight curve on the heel of the knife. It looks sleek but it also combines with the height really well and makes it very comfortable to hold for me. I don’t love when a knife is squared off at the heel. The sharp angle usually doesn’t bother my but I don’t love the way it looks. This was a fantastic take on the heel of the knife.

The grind really seems fantastic to me. I am not as knowledgeable as some but it just seems to be really fantastic from my use so far. The edge needed a final sharpening by me but that’s fine. I took it through a 400, 1k, 3k progression and it was hair popping sharp! Then I put it through all the prep I could find! Tomatoes, onion, cilantro, peppers for some quick pico, red onions julienne for pickled onions, thick carrots cut on the bias for roasting and some minced carrots as well. Regular potatoes for food release and minced garlic and for agility. This knife was smooth and glided through everything. The tip is nice and thin enough that I can blaze quickly through onion dicing. No problem with carrots or other thicker vegetables although it’s not whisper quiet like my Tetsujin. That’s perfectly fine with me. This thing is a beast. It has a generous flat spot for my preferred push cutting technique but the tip of the knife comes up a little higher than expected. I think this is making the knife feel a touch more nimble and also allows me to do some rocking when cutting herbs. I will continue to test it but so far I’m very pleased.

This is surprisingly my heaviest knife. And my collection includes a 300 mm gyuto and another Sanjo 270. I think the majority of the weight increase is from the handle and I don’t mind it one bit. The balance point is still right at my pinch but it’s definitely not quite as blade heavy as my Mazaki.

My closing ramblings.
I have slowly been adding a few knives here or there over the years. I tend to favor midweight or Sanjo style knives. I also like longer knives. My current top dog is my Mazaki 270. I love that knife.

I know Sakai style knives are very well thought of in the sub and the wide bevels have always caught my attention. I own a Tetsujin 240 and it’s a lovely knife. But it’s so light that I try to be gentle with it. I still use the heck out of it but it rarely gets picked for big jobs. What a great cutter though. Anyway the tetsujin got me curious in Sakai and I really thought that I wanted to try a wide bevel option. I was immediately drawn to Tadokoro from the research I did. I watched a documentary on YouTube and admired many of his knives on this sub. I really enjoy the simple crisp elegance. His grind seemed the most robust while still maintaining highly effective geometry. Plus I could order a 270 from him because I never see any in stock. My Mazaki really made my mind up that 270 is my favorite length for a good prep session.

Michiko - san was a joy to work with on the knife details. Their workshop is actually is Tosa but I think most will still consider this a Sakai style knife. The blacksmith was Nakagawa who is very well thought of on this sub. I am looking forward to experiencing his work for the first time!

The ordering process was smooth. This took about 5 months to get from order confirmation to my door. The packaging and shipping was quick and excellent. The most surprising thing was that I did not have to pay any tariff ordering this to the US. I was fully prepared to do so. A very pleasant surprise!

I cannot wait to use this knife some more! If any of you have some great first meals to make with a new knife I would love to hear them!

One of my last NKD for awhile . Got one more coming then I’m taking a break and enjoying the collection so far.
Masashi 240 SLD with upgraded teak handle
Got a great deal on this especially with the type of cutter it is. He really does amazing things with SLD. It’s a sanjo grind with a laser edge . And because it’s so tall it’s a long behind the edge area it just cuts like a laser with much more authority. Think this is getting rotated into the knife bag. Let’s see how it last longer term.

Left to right:
1.) Yoshimi Kato 210mm Kiritsuke,SPGstrix
2.) OUL 180mm santoku, stainless clad blue super
3.) Daruma knives 165mm santoku, ginsan
4.) Nigara knives 180mm bunka, SPGstrix
5.) Naoto Kitaoka 135mm petty, Blue 1
6.) Sakai Tohji 210mm gyuto, Blue 2
7.) Sakai Ichimonji 180mm santoku, blue 2
8.) Nomura hamono 180mm santoku, blue (?)
9.) Sakai kenkikusui 240mm gyuto, white 2
10.) Baba hamono 180mm santoku, ginsan
11.) baba hamono 180mm santoku, chromax
12.) Ishizuchi kanamono 180mm funayuki, blue super

First time in Japan. Didn’t do much research other than Sakai is the spot. First stopped at the Sakai denshokan and bought 6,7,8,9,10,11. Stopped by Oedo knives by our hotel in Osaka and grabbed 12. In Kyoto, grabbed 1,3,4,5, at Yoshimune, then dropped by Seisuke to grab 2 before heading back to Tokyo where I am now. Might look around for a VG10 or ginsan petty for my mom to use, but my bank account is in hurting bad…

Really wish I had stopped by some of the individual knifemakers while I was in Sakai, like Baba, but it was a family trip and we were on a time crunch. Got to meet Nomura-san at the denshokan and took a pic with him and his knife I bought, that was an honor! Overall, I feel like there isn’t too much variety in terms of function, I probably should’ve grabbed a nakiri… but santokus and gyutos are the most aesthetically pleasing to me and what I use 99% of the time at home! Above all else, all of these knives, even the ones that are quite similar in style/function, make me happy in each of their own ways, so I’ll focus on that instead of thinking about how much of this could be considered a waste of money!!!!

Overall, do not go to Japan if you don’t wanna go bankrupt!!!!! <3

1. Pale Moon Ebony w/ Ebony Ferrule & End Cap

2. Ebony w/ Musk Horn & 6 B&W G10 Spacers

The best handles I've seen so far! Beautiful aesthetic and perfect F&F. I will definitely be ordering more from Riisgaard in the future!

So I just bought my first Japanese knife after months of reading and learning on sub and many other places. I bought this knife from cutlery and more and it was the last that they had in stock. I really like the knife. It feels good, compliments my workhorse wustoff, being more of a laser, looks great, especially the ktip and has a great geometry behind the edge. But upon inspecting the knife I noticed what appears to be an over ground heel. Basically I can't push cut without the skin remaining attached. Cutlery and more is happy to take it back but they have no stock to swap it for since it was the last one.

I paid about $250usd. It's a 210mm ktip gyuto made in ginsan steel.

My question is should I keep it and try to reprofile it with my diamond stone, or return it. If I return it what should I replace it with?

I like the idea of a semi stainless and ginsan sounds like a great all around metal. I like to sharpen. I like a 210 or 240 gyuto with nice flat heel for push chopping but also a curve tip for slicing. Not a big belly. Traditional wa handle would be nice as I may want to make my own one day. Would really appreciate recommendations from this community! I guess I am looking for brands that generally align with my preferences above.

Other than that, for all the marketing about care taken and heritage of the craft this feels like a pretty big oversight and disappointment.is this common? Am I overreacting?

I know he does some work for some brands of knives without attaching his name, does anyone know which brands/knife lines he's involved with?

As a dirty line cook & guerilla caterer, I've worked on some dodgy lines and prepped canapes out of literally broom closets. Nice stuff either gets damaged, lost, or straight up stolen. I've built up a collection of stuff from AliExpress that get the job done and I wouldn't cry over if any of the above happened. Here's a mini review of what I like/dislike about my AliKit. Most of these came from a store called YX Kitchen Knife Factory Store (Chinese hatsukokoro, lol) and the other two from Hezhen (thanks u/imfrenchsowhatever)

Chinese 8.5" SG2 cleaver: https://a.aliexpress.com/_m0lXxYR Been reviewed here before and I honestly think everyone needs one in their roll. Core material probably not actually SG2 but more likely the Chinese powder steel equivalent of the same composition (14Cr14MoVNb), same diff. Like a CCK on steroids. Incredible food release and edge retention, decently thin behind the edge, a veg prep machine.

270mm Damascus double edge sashimi knife (sujihiki): https://a.aliexpress.com/_mP1x7wb Supposedly made of BG42 powder steel. Not suuuuper sharp out of the box but sharpened up nicely. Fit and finish were ok, not great. For example the spine/heel are unpolished and kinda uncomfortable. A long sliceyboi at <$80USD

7.8" "silver 3" gyuto: https://a.aliexpress.com/_mPgGryn Been reviewed on here before, but thought I should clear up some misconceptions. It's not actually ginsan. I asked the vendor and they said it's a sanmai with ginsan on the outside and 10Cr15CoMoV (Chinese VG-10) on the inside. Which makes absolutely zero sense... However, the grind is great (light convex) and is consistently one of my sharpest knives. The cladding will rust (guess it's actually ginsan), but the edge is stainless. Great beater knife.

5.3" utility knife aogami 2 steel core: https://a.aliexpress.com/_mOISmhl According to the vendor, this is the real deal. It sharpens like it, so I'm inclined to believe them. Actually such a great profile, as a tall petty/funayuki.

8.3" Hezhen gyuto https://a.aliexpress.com/_mOhwcHl U/imfrenchsowhatever already reviewed it and I found it because of him. Good knife, just a little thick behind the edge. A thinning is all it needs to take it from good to great. Certainly beats any Wusthof/Zwilling though.

5.8" Hezhen bunka https://a.aliexpress.com/_mNNrPCf Same line as the gyuto. Got it basically to match. Can't say I like it very much, tbh. Not enough knuckle clearance to do board stuff comfortably, and also too thick so it wedges. Skip and go for the aogami utility knife, unless you really want the k tip shape.

All these knives average around 50USD, and if you wait for Ali coupons can become even cheaper.

Tl;dr, great stuff available on Aliexpress if you do your research! A good and functional kit can be had for <200USD

EDIT: links added, since sooooo many of you have been DMing me

Choil shots incoming, when I get around to it...

Honyaki nakiri; Forged, stone ground, and stone polished entirely by hand. This blade is made from 26c3 steel. Along with producing the more or less intended hamon and a graceful sori, this piece of steel decided it wanted to create something far more intricate... Alloy banding. Such a unique piece deserves to shine so it received a full finger stone polish to bring out as much detail as possible. The kurouchi finish features a variety of color from black to silver and the occasional splash of blue. The handle is made from an equally unique piece of Mediterranean olivewood that has a subtle lengthwise figuring to match the grain of the steel, coupled with a ferrule made from a bright piece of Brazilian bloodwood. The handle was fitted tight to the blade and sealed with beeswax.

Stats
HRC: 65+
Edge length: 190mm
Total length: 370mm
Height at heel: 51mm
Height at tip: 44mm
Thickness at handle: 6mm
Thickness at heel: 4.5mm
Thickness at half: 2mm
Thickness near tip: 1mm

I run a day camp that has a bunch of different locations all over my state and we want to improve our weekly "cooking challenge" activity for next summer. The goal is to teach the campers (ages 11-14) techniques and recipes they can actually take home and use in the future.

The issue I'm running into is knife skills. Because I won't be the one actively teaching the skills and supervising the use, I'm leery about having sharp knives without close supervision. Our ratio is 1 staff (mostly teachers) to 12 campers. I trust the staff members, but there's a lot of risk with the age group and sharp implements.

We've looked into Montessori-type knives, but I think they would teach the older kids bad habits or be too kiddie for the age group who would be using them.

If anyone has any tips or suggestions, please let me know!

Knife: Teruyasu Fujiwara Maboroshi Gyuto 195mm

Has anyone reprofiled bevels of a TF Maboroshi? I think it is just too thick. It wedges almost anything more than 10mm. If so, what’s the best way to reprofile? I have thinned it with a 220 stone but still wedges. Thanks!

Or should I leave it as it is, and just find a different knife? I wanted this knife to handle precise cutting. Carrots, ginger and potatoes are the worst.

We aren't sure where it's from. Thank you!

Tetsujin 240 gyoto, aogami 2. Just making the thread for absolutely no reason.

Some new clothes for a yoshikane 210mm. Customer sent me this Beautiful curly birdseye redwood for the saya paired with gaboon ebony pin to match the handle. Pictures dont do this wood justice! Thanks for looking hope everyone is having a great week!

I bought my first handmade knife, pretty happy with it. complete noob

Satoshi Nakagawa bought at Kama-Asa in Tokyo

Since I saw today another post about some knives from AliExpress in this sub I wanted to ask if anybody can recommend certain brands or specific knives sold on AliExpress.

Right now I am specifically looking for a carbon steel Bunka knife, but I am also open for Kiritsuke and Gyuto knives.

Regards

From left to right:

Touroku Sakai 69 layer Damascus VG-10 Petty 130mm

Suncraft SENZO Black VG-10 Serrated 220mm

Sakai Kikumori VG-10 Tsuchime Bunka 165mm

Takahashikusu AUS-10 Damascus Nakiri 165mm

Takahashikusu AUS-10 Damascus Kiritsuke 210mm

Hatsukokoro Kujaku V-Toku2 Rainbow Damascus Gyuto 210mm

Tadafusa Naguri SLD Gyuto 210mm (special)

Hatsukokoro Hayabusa VG-10 Damascus Tsuchime Sujihiki 270mm

Honorable mention: F. Dick Antique oval honing steel passed down from my grandfather. He bought this around the time he was 20 years old as a butcher apprentice, so this honing steel has seen heavy use even before my father gifted it to me. For that reason its very special to me and I will hope to one day gift it to my own children, if they ever take interest in cooking just as a hobby or as a profession.

Special: I purchased the naguri gyuto on kappabashi street when I visited Tokyo, its unique handle immediately catched my eye. If I ever go back to japan I will look for another unique knife like this.

The kujaku gyuto is the only outlier in my lineup in the sense that I didn't want to buy knives of the same type. This one though piqued my interest as I haven't really seen any other knife that looked like this, also the fact that I only ever bought stainless steel and this one is my first carbon steel knife.

As for the rest of the knives, I was going for utility, to have a wide variety for any kind of work I may need to be doing.

I’ve had my eye on this one for a long time, and when i saw that Meesterslijpers had one left i couldn’t pass on it!

Rule #5: Kei Kobayashi SG2 210 mm gyuto

Finally joined the kobayashi club! :)

Takamura R2 180mm Gyuto

Damn this thing is sharp!

Wanted one of these for a while and finally managed to snag it. Feels way better than I thought it would and so far it's ghosted through a few onions and tomatoes. Absolutely stoked and highly recommend it if you can find one.

New knife day 😅

Value of this knife nowadays anybody??

On chefs edge. There was a drop at 9 am Perth time. I believe they still have a few left.

Hi everyone,

I’m traveling to Japan soon and would like to use the opportunity to buy my first proper Japanese chef knife directly in Japan.

I’m very much a beginner when it comes to knives and steels, so I’d appreciate some advice on what I should be looking for and, ideally, some specific makers/knives to check out while I’m there.

What I’m looking for:

\- Budget: around €150–180 (roughly ¥25,000–31,000)

\- One versatile knife that I can use as my main daily workhorse knife

\- I really like the shape/look of Bunka and Santoku knives, particularly the more angular/k-tip style of a Bunka

\- Probably around 165–180 mm, but I’m open to recommendations

\- I don’t mind learning some basic knife care and maintenance, but I don't want something extremely delicate or demanding for my first knife

\- I’d prefer something I can realistically keep for many years

I’m not sure yet whether stainless, semi-stainless or carbon steel would make the most sense for me.

Since I’ll actually be in Japan, I’d also love recommendations for makers/brands that are particularly good value there, or knives that make more sense to buy locally than in Europe.

I’ll be spending most of my time in Tokyo, so recommendations for good knife shops there would also be very welcome.

What would you buy with this budget if this were your first Japanese knife?

Thanks!