Wanted to share this quick one-minute video from my visit a couple of months ago.

He isn’t selling knives directly from the workshop anymore as he’s focusing on catching up with his backlog. That said, he’s enjoying the slower pace and is still more than happy to meet visitors. If you’re in Sakai, don’t hesitate to stop by and say hello.

He also has merchandise available, including tote bags, T-shirts, hoodies, magnets, and more, so be sure to grab something to support him if you visit!

2.5 hours peeling and cleaning tenderloin

156 6oz petite filets
14 pounds clean tail and tip trim
8 pounds clean chain tender trim

Super slicey and comfy. Things a beast at work

Hello TCK!

I just received this lovely Kagekiyo black dyed damascus gyuto.
Bought it from a fellow redditor u/ruffy263, great guy and a smooth deal.

I haven't tried it out yet but will soon.

Have a great day!

#5 Knife details

Blacksmith: Y. Tanaka

Sharpener: Sho Nashida

Steel: Blue 1

Finish: Black dyed Damascus

Handle: Black urushi octagonal handle

Blade type: Gyuto 240mm

Weight: 154gr

Hi guys! This is my very first NKD post on Reddit😁Will post more of my knifes soon.

This week I finally received my Baba Hamono Kagekiyo White #2 240mm Gyuto fitted with a stunning red/black Akro handle.

I had been in contact with Baba Cutlery for a while, and I got lucky they were kind enough to sell this knife directly to me. Considering how difficult these are to find in the EU, I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity. I am absolutly in love with this knife.

The knife is forged by Yoshikazu Tanaka and ground by Nishida-san.  

I would love to see some aged (Kagekiyo) White#2 patina pictures 😁

So much to say. Been on my list for a while. Finally able to find someone to work out a deal with to it to me. The proportions on this are perfect. Thick in all the right spots. Super clean work. Love the light color handle. Thins is so clean, and gorgeous. Feels great in the hand. Sweet spot for height and the spine is perfect to pinch. What a piece and a grail for me to cross off this maker. Couldn’t be happier. Coming in to work with me tomorrow and going right on the board. Been a long time hunting and waiting. Finally cross this off my list. Add it to the collection and file under you’ll never see this for sale and you can pry it from my cold dead pinch grip.

From top to bottom:

1: 210mm Gyuto
white #2 steel
Ebony Handle with Buffalo Horn
Shigehiro
Purchased at Traditional Crafts Museum and Knife Shop

2: 180mm Deba
White #2 steel
Magnolia and Buffalo Horn
Purchased from Eric Chevallier at De Sakai

3: 235mm Yanagiba
white #2 steel
Buffalo horn
Japanese magnolia
I lost my notes and I cannot find who the maker was. any help would be appreciated. Purchased at Traditional Crafts Museum and Knife Shop

4: 177mm gyuto purchased at Shigeharu in Kyoto

5: 130mm Petty purchased at Shigeharu in Kyoto

6: 150mm Petty
Oak Handle
Yamawaki Cutlery manufacturing co
purchased at Traditional Crafts Museum and Knife Shop

7: 130mm Petty purchased at Traditional Crafts Museum blue steel #2
Red rosewood
Fujii Cutlery Manufacturing co
purchased at Traditional Crafts Museum and Knife Shop

Konosuke yanigaba b1 270mm

Just missed Tanaka Tuesday, but made it for Wide Bevel Wednesday. This is a JKI Tangetsu Blue 1 Damascus 240mm, heavily rumored to be a Tanaka x Kyuzo. Grind looks it as well. I’ve been wanting to pick up one of Yauchi/Kyuzo’s gyutos, but there’s so many variations. Super happy to find this one, and can’t wait to start using it. Happy Hump Day!

Specs
Length: 232mm
Height: 51mm
Thickness at heel: 2.5mm
Weight: 165g

The food release on this beast is insane. Also, for its size, incredibly nimble. I might have to relearn sharpening on stones because I don’t think this will be easy to sharpen on my TSPROF fixed system like the others.

+Home Chef SOTC Family Picture

Finally snagged a Tetsujin! Myojin grinds looks amazeballs.

Hey,

this subreddit knows BYs inside and out, and there have been plenty of NKDs, but this one feels especially meaningful to me — and I’m sure it marks a new era for Konosuke as well. I wanted this knife for a long time, and it finally happened. It looks even better in person than I expected.

Take a look at the brand-new BY logo — I absolutely love it!

Dimensions are 222 mm x 53.7 mm, and it weighs 200 g. It has a very nice convex grind, a little more pronounced on the right side of the blade, and it looks flawless to my eyes. Fit and finish is superb.

This may be a bit controversial, but it wouldn’t surprise me if this is a step toward phasing out the FM line and continuing with their new mindset of undisclosed sharpeners, etc.

The knife looks amazing in person, and I did my best to capture that in the photo. I also found the bag itself to be something I’ve never seen before, so I wanted to share it here. I was also gifted a nice leather saya keychain.

The only thing I am a bit bothered by is the matchi gap finish, I mean its their signature move right? And its not perfect.

I’ll remove the lacquer next and put it through a proper test. Stay tuned.

Thanks for reading!

Lucky enough to own these two by Simon. Simon is active on instagram and is very nice.

Top:
215 x 51 mm Gyuto 135cr3 clad in wrought iron with a nickel twist

Bottom:
175 x 50 mm ko-Gyuto 135cr3 clad in dirty wrought.

Choil shots are followed by the full specs for each knife.

Some may hate but I want to make my own patina

This is just a follow up revision of the previous post. Removed some of the more expensive knives due to too many workers finishing our new home. I really hope the haters don’t hate so much. Enjoy your evening guys.

Got this a while back, but putting it to use for the first time.

Tinker Sabertooth 270 x Grade 6-7 Westholme Wagyu

I’ve been designing a tall bunka from scratch and have been testing the blade and handle geometry with CAD and 3D-printed mockups.

Current concept:

• ~180 mm / just over 7" edge
• ~63 mm / 2.5" tall
• 1/16" AEB-L
• K-tip
• Traditional straight octagonal Wa handle
• Slight downward handle cant
  • 2° gives about a 3.5mm drop on a 4.5" handle
• Shallow continuous belly rather than a long dead-flat section

The grip is a little unusual. I use an index-finger pinch, but choke up high on the spine in something closer to a Chinese Y-grip. My middle finger sits in the reverse-curved choil, so I kept the effective neck fairly short to let the handle follow the hand forward. It also engages the fingers faster on upward motions and I get more feedback and response on rocking motions.

The goal is basically a tall laser bunka with some Chinese chef-knife influence: lots of board clearance and scooping area, but still light, thin and useful for tip work.

And just to get a bit of a jumpstart on the potential self-deprecation I've already named it the "Brokeback Bunka"

Had to sit an outrageously expensive exam as a prerequisite for work progression. Gave a goal that if I was able to pass, then I'd get myself a new knife. Now this beauty arrived a few days ago.

Saw this at Japanese knife studio in Brisbane months ago and fell in love. Great place to go to if you're ever in Brisbane and the owner is so nice at helping even for accessories they don't sell. The nice thing was both the 220mm and 240mm version are the same price but I stuck with the 220mm since that's my preferred length.

Maker: Tadokoro hamono

Steel: ginsan

Finish: kuroichi/tsuchime

Length: 220m

Spine thickness: 2.3mm at midpoint

Height: 48mm

Handle: dark buffalo horn with blond buffalo spacer

Will get round to using it once I finally get round to doing some grocery shopping😅

Specs

• Maker: Naoki Mazaki
• Origin: Sanjo, Japan
• Profile: Gyuto
• Steel: Shirogami #2 / White #2 with soft iron cladding
• Blade length: 247 mm
• Blade height at heel: 55 mm
• Weight: 201 g
• Spine: 4.49 mm at heel / 1.55 mm mid-blade / 0.55 mm near the tip
• Finish: Migaki / Kasumi
• Handle: Blond ebony

I have only used this Naoki Mazaki W2 Gyuto 240 for two days so far, so this is very much a first impression rather than a detailed performance review. It will need considerably more board time before I can properly judge its cutting performance in detail.

First of all, a big thank you to u/Independent_Spend386, who kindly sold me this Mazaki here on Reddit. A highly recommended seller – keep an eye out for their future listings. Absolutely brilliant!

This is my second Mazaki, as I already own one of his nakiris. Along with Wakui, Mazaki is the only maker represented twice in my collection—which probably says quite a lot about how much I appreciate his work.

I deliberately went for the migaki version because I wanted the beautiful kanji to stand out properly. Mazaki’s kurouchi finish looks absolutely legendary and I love its rustic appearance, but the cleaner migaki finish was the right choice for me on this one.

This is a Sanjo-made gyuto in Shirogami #2 / White #2 with soft iron cladding. Its blade length is 247 mm, blade height at the heel is 55 mm, and it weighs 201 g. It has a migaki/kasumi finish and a blond ebony handle. The measured numbers are specific to this knife; handmade Mazakis can vary noticeably from one example to another. White #2 with soft-iron cladding is Mazaki’s characteristic construction for this line.

The fit and finish are excellent. The spine and choil are very well rounded and comfortable, with no sharp edges. The transition into the handle is clean, and the blond ebony handle both looks beautiful and feels great in hand. Overall, it feels carefully finished rather than rough around the edges; the pictures should give a good impression of that.

Geometry-wise, it has the typical Sanjo taper, but this appears to be a relatively lean Mazaki. Spine measurements are 4.49 mm at the heel, 1.55 mm in the middle, and only 0.55 mm near the front. It gets almost criminally thin toward the tip. That makes it look like an excellent precision cutter, but the very thin tip deserves a bit of extra care.

The W2 core and soft iron cladding are very reactive. The patina visible in the photos started forming after cutting just one onion, so it is definitely a knife that will quickly show its use.

Despite weighing 201 g, it feels rather light and agile in hand—especially after using a JNS x Wakui V2 240. The 55 mm blade height provides plenty of knuckle clearance. Based on these first two days, it seems much more at home with push cuts and chopping than with rock chopping, but I will reserve a final judgment on performance until it has seen more use.

I have clearly developed a soft spot for Sanjo knives. I like that the production often feels more transparent: you generally know who forged and ground the blade, so there is a stronger connection to the people behind the knife. Besides Mazaki, I now have knives by Masashi, Munetoshi, Wakui, Watanabe Pro and Yoshikane. There are still a few makers missing, but no need to rush that part.

Thank's for reading.

I have some knives that perform incredibly well, but some of them are pretty slippery. This for me is quite a predicament especially if during work busy times.

For context i work in the meat section, so meat juices and fats are usually on the board, and by accident it gets caught to the knives on top. I try my best to clean the board as i can, but board discipline can only do so much.

Sometimes it's an urushi handle (one i got from Baba Kagekiyo), sometimes it's a stab wood handle, or even a coated wood handle. What do you think is a probable solution for this situation?

Not about the handle in the picture btw, that's a friend's handle. I just took a pic of it because I'm a fan lol

Is it just me or does wrought iron patina way different than other steels? I would always scrub off any brown in the past but I’m letting it ride this time.

20 year old Watanabe 270mm wrought iron clad B2

From left to right:

Top:

- Takada No Hamono - Singetu Reika - Shirogami #2 (by Y. Tanaka) - 205mm

- Y. Tanaka x JNS (Unknown sharpener) - Aogami #1 - 195mm

- Hatsukokoro Shinkiro (Nihei) - Aogami Super - 220mm

- Suzuki Uchi Hamono - Shirogami #2 - 218mm - Single Bevel

- Moritaka - Aogami #2 - 240mm

Bottom:

- Hitohira FJ ( probably Fujitake) - VG10 monosteel 205mm

- Motokyuuichi (Hatsukokoro Kurosagi) - Aogami Super - 205mm

- Motokyuuichi - Aogami #2 stainless clad - 210mm

- Matsubara - Shirogami #1 - 205mm

- Yoshida - Suj-2 - 215mm

I'm officially part of the 10+ Gyuto club. A ridiculous amount to the average person, but nothing compared to some of you. I'm quite happy with the diversity. I think it's a nice mix of more hyped, classic, and lesser-known makers.

I think it's pretty obvious I have a type: iron-clad 210mm gyutos, preferably Shirogami. My optimal size is probably in the 220–225mm range, but sadly these aren't too common. Love me some kurouchi too, the more rustic, the better.

If I had to choose some favorites:

Finish and aesthetics go to the Takada. The amazing performance is a nice bonus too.

The JNS is the most ridiculous laser I've ever seen. It makes a Shibata look thick. So if you like lasers, this is the one.

The Aogami #2 Motokyuuichi just works for me. I can't explain it, but this knife is perfect. The profile, size, and performance are exactly how I'd want them.

One of my recent favorites is the Suzuki. It's just a very unique knife. It's incredibly fun to use and has the best food release I've experienced on any knife. Aesthetically, I love it too.

I could say something positive about all of these knives, but I don't want to make this too long. I have write-ups for most of them on my profile. Feel free to ask if you want to know anything or see a choil shot. :)

I'm sure more gyutos will join the collection in the future. At the moment, though, I'm looking for something a little different, mostly a forever yanagiba or sujihiki.

Hey TCK,

Looking to get some insight on what to do with my new Tinker Tank that arrived with a bent tip.

I opened the main parcel box expecting to see another smaller box within, like all my other knife purchases so far. However, the knife was just sitting on some filler material and the blade was wrapped in newspaper, and had an small edge guard (small plastic piece, not a full blade guard) that didn’t fully cover tip to heel. When I unwrapped the knife, I saw that the tip was noticeably bent. I was disappointed because these knives are pretty limited and quite expensive. I reached out to the business I purchased it from and the options I was given were either take it to a sharpener or send back for a refund.

I don’t want to return it outright since it’s a knife I’ve wanted and is hard to find, but also concerned about taking it to a sharpener to get it repaired right out of the box. I feel like having to sharpen it right way removes the BNIB status and I would need to disclose it’s been sharpened. I fully understand this is a tool, and I intend to use it as such, but this community also understands that something like this is also very much a collectible item. It’s brand new and already needs to be fixed. Pretty disappointing for something that cost nearly $700 USD.

Looking for some insights on what to do as this is new for me. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you!

Pics included, though it’s a bit hard to capture.

What are your thoughts on the Misono ux10 Gyuto used professionally?

Just received a Matsubara Blue #2 Nashiji Honesuki and noticed some small rust spots where the core steel meets the cladding. Is this something worth an exchange?

Found at thrift store and can find any info on it anywhere.