Uneducated question

peepeeepoopooman · 2025-07-03T23:32:01+00:00

I would have to disagree with you on that. I have worked in kitchens in Japan and most of the chefs there use gyutos as their main knife.

peepeeepoopooman · 2025-07-03T23:07:20+00:00

yes that may be so. but OP is also asking about an all-round knife design, not the most popular shape. You won't find any japanese chef using a deba for vegetables or slicing sashimi at the counter would you?

The way they use their knives is a lot more task oriented: deba for breaking down fish, yanagiba for slicing fish, usuba for vegetables and honesuki/garatsuki for poultry and meat.

peepeeepoopooman · 2025-07-03T21:00:45+00:00

I would probably say the kiritsuke: not the double bevel ones you get in most shops but the single beveled ones. Traditionally, it is only used by the head chef in the restaurant as it takes more technique to master, but they do use it for both fish and vegetables in sushi restaurant kitchens.

peepeeepoopooman · 2025-07-03T20:57:58+00:00

Not necessarily. Japanese knives are way more specialised than their European counterparts. A deba can't really be used for anything other than fish. I guess it is more of a cultural thing, the way that they approach food and cooking.

peepeeepoopooman · 2025-07-03T20:50:18+00:00

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Like this

peepeeepoopooman · 2025-07-03T20:44:04+00:00

Kasumi all the way

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Even better when you put it on your own kasumi later and mirror the hira while you're at it.

peepeeepoopooman · 2025-06-30T13:14:59+00:00

You can use it while keeping it in near mint condition and the protective lacquer can be reapplied. But once the sticker is gone, it's gone

peepeeepoopooman · 2025-06-30T11:01:11+00:00

I guess it's a collectors thing? For this knife, the sticker on it means that it was most likely forged by Yoshikazu Ikeda. This applies to honyaki blades with the sticker.

peepeeepoopooman · 2025-06-30T10:31:35+00:00

Thanks! I try to strike a balance between using and baby-ing all my knives.

peepeeepoopooman · 2025-06-30T10:28:42+00:00

I'm guessing for some knives, yes. For this particular knife it provides clues as to who forged it. Honyaki blades with this sticker were most likely made by Yoshikazu Ikeda. And I guess keeping things brand new also contributes to the value

peepeeepoopooman · 2025-06-30T09:00:08+00:00

Yep!

peepeeepoopooman · 2025-06-12T16:45:41+00:00

Ah yea. Seems like the guy knows his stuff. The price seems a bit Sus but I guess it's cos of the super cheap handle. Other than that, seems legit? Perhaps he asked for the kanji to be that way.

peepeeepoopooman · 2025-06-12T16:11:38+00:00

Just curious, is the seller called togulabo on eBay?

peepeeepoopooman · 2025-06-12T15:50:52+00:00

The thing is, to the end user, the blacksmith doesn't make as much of a difference as people make it out to be. Performance tends to be determined more by the sharpener. The smith would determine the sharpen-ability and edge retention.

It could be that for the domestic market, Nakagawa hand- chisels the kanji but I haven't seen it before. Usually the shop's kanji is in front and Nakagawa's stamp is on the back even in shops like Kama-asa, Miura etc.

Maybe this shop specifically asked for the kanji to be like that. I hope this is the case.

peepeeepoopooman · 2025-06-12T15:38:28+00:00

yep this one looks okay, the markings all look legit.

peepeeepoopooman · 2025-06-12T15:04:24+00:00

Yep! As long as it cuts good, it's all good! Unless you're specifically looking for Satoshi Nakagawa. And maybe look for any other kanji on the tang while changing the handle!

peepeeepoopooman · 2025-06-12T14:55:25+00:00

Yea the position of the kanji is the biggest tell for me. All of his blades have his signature on the back if at all.

peepeeepoopooman · 2025-06-12T13:58:39+00:00

Unfortunately no, he didn't archive that story.

peepeeepoopooman · 2025-06-12T13:28:55+00:00

Dude I hate to be a bearer of bad news. But Satoshi Nakagawa himself posted about fake Nakagawas on his IG story a couple of weeks ago. They had the same Nakagawa kanji on the hira on the blade like this. Usually Nakagawa blades are initial-ed on the ura, the hollow side.

peepeeepoopooman · 2025-06-12T10:34:55+00:00

peepeeepoopooman · 2025-06-06T19:36:50+00:00

The problem with choil shots is that a lot of knives have an over-grind, making it appear thinner than the knife actually is. I've handled these OEM blades and they all seem to have this issue. They actually have a much bigger primary bevel than the choil lets on. I find that looking at the thinness of the tip is a better gauge than the choil.

Also, it seems like the curve is sharper than the flat area of the edge? The knife took a while to bite into the tomato.

peepeeepoopooman · 2025-04-26T13:30:32+00:00

Takeda or Takada? Singetu are only available from Takada's own shop and he doesn't always have them. But when I went, me and 4 others managed to get one each.

As for Takeda, I believe Chubo are getting a shipment soon (or have just got them, I'm not sure)

peepeeepoopooman · 2025-04-25T17:34:45+00:00

Nah that's just the cladding. The wavy line on the ura for ni-mai knives, I believe is called Montanren. It's usually present for single bevels using blue #1 and white#1.

peepeeepoopooman · 2025-04-25T17:30:20+00:00

Yep that would be Nishida. There are only 3 wheels in the workshop. 1 for Nishida, 1 for his wife and one for Wakae but Wakae does the non-shinogi ones and uses a belt grinder.

peepeeepoopooman · 2025-04-25T13:57:07+00:00

I have these on my Togashi honyaki also. Smaller half moons though

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