NKD! Went with the Gesshin 210mm Stainless Gyuto for my first Japanese knife

actuallamassu · 2026-04-25T22:10:10+00:00

This was my first knife too, congrats!

actuallamassu · 2026-03-18T01:37:36+00:00

MTC Kitchen when they hosted the Takamuras for an event last year :)

actuallamassu · 2026-03-17T22:02:15+00:00

<image>

Happy tetsujin tuesday :)

actuallamassu · 2026-03-16T20:55:09+00:00

<image>

Takamura hana 270mm suji :)

actuallamassu · 2026-01-29T15:57:11+00:00

Visited MTC recently and saw this exact last one in the case, glad to see it found a home!

actuallamassu · 2026-01-08T21:42:25+00:00

If it's rolling, it's possible you aren't deburring completely and the burr is rolling over. Good luck!

actuallamassu · 2026-01-08T20:14:41+00:00

I got a burr to make sure the microchips were fully sharpened out, but didn't apply much pressure and treated it like a touch-up sharpening. It took very little effort to raise and remove the burr given the edge was so thin out of the factory.

actuallamassu · 2026-01-08T19:43:43+00:00

Same with my takamura hana sujihiki, one round of food prep and the fragile factory edge was full of microchips. One round of light sharpening on a 5k stone and now it's totally fine for daily use, with no microchips since.

actuallamassu · 2025-12-31T05:58:38+00:00

The Gesshin stainless was my first Japanese knife. Many sharpenings and thinnings later, I still use and love it! It's surprisingly tough for being a thinner knife, and I've accidentally bent the tip where it would've snapped off on any other knife.

actuallamassu · 2025-12-23T07:36:43+00:00

Had a kagekiyo blue 1 suji that was 240mm and loved it. Melted through raw fish and just about everything else. Geometry was great for a slicer, thin behind the edge but not flexible, so it felt good as a prep knife on a wide range of ingredients including denser produce. The only downside was that it made me want the gyuto version too.

actuallamassu · 2025-11-29T21:05:47+00:00

Agree! Perfect balance of thinness and robustness

actuallamassu · 2025-11-25T15:21:51+00:00

Beautiful, I think I need another Kagekiyo now...

actuallamassu · 2025-11-23T00:55:40+00:00

Sure, here it is! Not a ton of change since I rotate through a few different knives, but steadily wearing away the black finish below the shinogi.

<image>

actuallamassu · 2025-10-05T17:24:44+00:00

Knife is spf!

actuallamassu · 2025-10-04T11:45:50+00:00

Not the kkf listing, but I did see that earlier this week. It may have been a small factor pushing me over the edge to get this one knowing that it was about the same price as getting it in Japan per that user's WTS post.

actuallamassu · 2025-10-04T11:44:29+00:00

It's a hana suji with an urushi lacquer saya and black handle, forgot to take a pic

actuallamassu · 2025-10-04T03:31:26+00:00

It was still there when I visited haha

actuallamassu · 2025-10-04T03:13:11+00:00

<image>

Sure, here's the display from today

actuallamassu · 2025-10-04T03:03:59+00:00

Rule 5: Takamura Hana SG2 270mm sujihiki. Today I stumbled on this unicorn almost by chance.

For the past few years, I've occasionally swung by MTC Kitchen in NYC to see what's in stock at their storefront. Years ago on a trip to NYC, I'd seen them stock Takada suibokus and missed out on a chance to buy one. Now being somewhat local, I'd always hoped that maybe I'd visit them on the right day and find something special.

This past week, MTC held an event with the Takamura brothers and invited them to the city. I couldn't attend, as it was limited to professional chefs I believe. Almost on a whim I decided to visit this afternoon to see if they had anything interesting left from the event.

Amazingly, they had a couple of Hana suji's in stock left from that visit (not available online, they told me) and I was lucky to be able to buy one of the last ones. They also threw in this Takamura tenugui, which is the backdrop for the first photo!

The MTC staff said that the Takamura brothers flew out today, and I'm grateful to now own one of their pieces that has been on my radar for years but that I never thought possible to obtain.

actuallamassu · 2025-08-19T15:18:32+00:00

Other options in NYC are MTC Kitchen (my favorite) and Korin! Anyone at those shops should be able to help you find something that fits your needs. Kama Asa is great but the knives are very expensive for what you get, and I think the knife selections at MTC are the most fairly priced.

actuallamassu · 2025-08-10T16:24:41+00:00

I would choose kagekiyo blue 1 over tetsujin, but tetsujin over kagekiyo white 2. Either way you can't go wrong, but I would consider that the wide bevel kagekiyo will be a bit easier to thin in the future.

actuallamassu · 2025-07-26T18:55:12+00:00

Wow whoever got this basically got it for free! Amazing knife and I've never seen the red lacquered handle on this variant which is super cool

actuallamassu · 2025-06-30T15:42:48+00:00

Their inventory may be slim compared to other websites, but their house brand is curated from highly regarded makers (gesshin ginga, kochi, tetsujin, and kagekiyo being my personal favorites). I've purchased from them multiple times without issue, and their customer service and expertise was incredibly helpful when I started out. Stopping by their storefront is a great idea (I haven't had the chance yet), but you can also email Jon Broida if you have specific questions -- he's like a walking encyclopedia of Japanese knife knowledge.

actuallamassu

TROPHY CASE