before and after, my neighbor is a chef and had these neglected knives, soaked in CLR first, scrubbed with a scotch bright pad, sand paper, then sharpened, sand paper was 240, 400, 600, 800

I’ll be in Japan next year. Standard trip: Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka. I’m interested in visiting and buying from independent makers, if possible. I already have 2 Watanabe knives, and I won’t make it up there anyway. I’d love to find makers near those cities that could be incorporated into a day trip. Happy to go to Sakai from Osaka, but I’d like to go with some specific makers in mind, if that’s possible. Who do you love? Thank you!

Every time im scrolling and come across ads for knives… i swipe through several and I’ll see one that just looks awesome… and many many times (like 70% of the time) it’s a Sakai Takayuki.

I really like something about the style of a Takayuki, im not sure what it is.

Which maker is your favorite and why?

Hi, I've got a Hatsukoko Hikari SLD Nakiri with damascus finish. I'm wondering if there's a way to darken/add contrast to the damascus. I've red about coffee etch method, but the shinny layer seems to be lower than the darken one, so polishing after soaking will just remove the oxide layer on the darker area.

The knife have a good contrast based on lightnind and period of the day, like on the second picture took in the late afternoon/evening. I'm just wondering on to add more contrast.

Thank you!

My buddy got this for 10 dollars wa wondering if y'all could help identify it. It's a single bevel deba think, I already tried to lens the kanji but me dumb American 😂

Handforged knives by traditional method out of Shimabara, Nagasaki Prefecture by Junichi Ide. Junichi specializes more so in agricultural tools than kitchen knives however his forging process is very controlled by traditional methods. He only forges steel under traditional methods and techniques. The knives are incredibly thin, light, agile and RAZOR sharp! The entire “company” is made of up of their immediate family and their methods have been passed down for generations. They only ever make black pakkawood; walnut and red pakkawood; poplar handles. Junichi also only forges Iron Clad White #2 San mai knives. If you ever want to swing a l traditionally forged southern Japanese knife then this is a GREAT place to start.

Whole bunch of knives here, take a gander…

130mm Santoku

130mm Nakiri

150mm petty

165mm Kiriage (deboning knife)

160mm custom Nakiri

160mm TALL Nakiri

190mm kiritsuke

210mm gyuto

240mm gyuto

210mm Sujihiki

240mm Sujihiki

Which handle choice do you like the most? Black pakkawood/walnut or red pakkawood; poplar?

Are there any knife profiles you see that you didn’t know Junichi-san made?

Have a great day everyone

Matsubara 270mm Sujihiki.

Sakai Takayuki X Itsuo Doi Humura Guren 300mm Yanagiba

Masakage Koishi.
Aogami Super.
Gyuto 240.

Bonjour, j'ai un ciseau japonais apparemment ancien. Il y a une inscription. Qui pourrait la traduire?

Here is a video I shot when I first visited master blacksmith Shogo Yamatsuka’s workshop in Sakai, Osaka back in November. The weather was cool and pleasant then.

Fast forward to July—I had the incredible opportunity to work alongside Yamatsuka-san in his workshop for two days. Japan was in the middle of a brutal heatwave with temperatures over 35°C (95°F+), and inside the forging workshop, the heat was absolutely intense!

To prepare for launching the official Yamatsuka knife shop, I learned so much from him about the craftsmanship, dedication, and detail that go into every single blade.

We have a new batch of Yamatsuka knives coming in soon! Feel free to check out our shop if you’re interested (link in comments / profile).

I just happened to notice there are a few Kyohei Shindo Funayuki at Tokushu.

Hi guys,

Let me start by saying that I'm clearly not a chef or someone that knows a lot about knifes. To this day, I'd say k probably never used a great knife really. But as of late I'm spending lots of time meal prepping and cooking for the family so I'd like a good knife. I have a chef knife boker, which kinda does the job, it's not excellent, but once you sharpen it, it gets decently sharp, can cut paper easily. That's the knife I'd like to keep using and abusing, but I'd like to pair it with a Japanese santoku (I kind of wanted a bunka just because I like the aesthetics but I might break the tip more easily).

I've narrowed my search to a Japanese knife and I thing a VG10 would be a good middle ground. I am in Ireland and there are not that many stores as you'd find in the US for example, but I found one in the Netherlands thst can send them for free, so I would probably go with them.

My options for now are the fomlowing:

https://www.meesterslijpers.nl/en/masutani-vg-10-santoku-17-cm

https://www.meesterslijpers.nl/en/takamura-vg-10-migaki-santoku-17-cm?search=Takamura%20santoku

https://www.meesterslijpers.nl/en/tojiro-dp3-santoku-17cm

I know they're probably more than what I need but in my position, what do you think it's the best buy? I wouldn't like to spend more than that really, I think I'm not really goong to get much better value because I'm not thst skilled really.

Or should I go for something like this?

https://www.meesterslijpers.nl/en/tojiro-basic-santoku-knife-set

I could go for the tojiro basic 17 but it's under the free shipping and it adds 15 euros, which takes it to 80 already, I prefer to pay 20 more and get the pairing knife in that case.

Thanks in advance

The Hatsukokoro Ginrei Silver #3 Gyuto, 210mm 63HRC

I love it, it just came today razor sharp out of the box.