Material: Aogami #2 + soft iron clad Aogami #1 core
Blade length: 238mm
Blade width at heel: 54.6mm
Weight: 218 grams
Taper: 3mm at heel - 1.5mm around tip

This knife is the next generation that stemmed from Boku-Enn, and honestly, the combination works incredibly well.

I’ve always loved Manaka’s Damascus patterns, while Xinguo, in my opinion, is capable of some of the best fit and finish out there. Put those two together and the chemistry is just pure perfection.

One of the coolest parts is the finish. Through a special acid etching process, the blade can reflect subtle rainbow colors when the light hits it at the right angle. It’s one of those things that’s difficult to fully capture in photos but looks absolutely fascinating in person.

The grind is also extremely thin and immediately reminds me of my Hado B1D, which is still one of my all time favorites. That combination of an aggressive thin grind, excellent F&F, and such a unique Damascus finish makes this one feel pretty special.

Hello knowledgeable knife knerds, lend me your expertise?

I'm just a home cook, currently I have a Victorinox chef's knife that I hate, mainly because it does not keep it's edge, and I suck at sharpening it. I have a Sharpal 162N diamond stone, and I've been getting better at using it but I take forever and the results are hit or miss.

So, I recently went down the rabbit hole of looking into fancy chef knives, specifically one that will keep it's edge for a long time so that I'd only have to periodically have it sharpened by a professional. I'm a scientist so looking into all the different steel types and properties is very interesting to me, but I'm also trying to remember that I just need a sharp knife, and 1 good general purpose knife at that.

Anyways, my first thought was to buy a Miyabi Kaizen II chef's knife, but as I dug in I found some other options, but the choices are really overwhelming. Here's what's on my mind:

Fujimoto Nashiji Gyuto 210mm or Ichigo Ao the first one seems highly rated, and they have a higher quoted hardness than the Miyabi while being around the same price. Not stainless cladded but that's ok. There seems to be a lot of other similar knives so I'm not married to any one particular knife. This is a no brainer over the Miyabi, right?

Msicard Basic Gyuto buying a made to order knife would be really cool, but just based on my limited knowledge of the different knife steels, AEBL or 52100 wouldn't have been my first choice. Am I too fixated on HRC?

Hatsukokoro Ryuhyo SG2 or ICHIE x Shibata SG2 Two examples of powdered steel knives. They are a step up in price than the Miyabi and everyhing else listed before. They look cool, and are made of a harder steel. Would I really see that much of a difference for almost double the price, or is it diminishing returns here?

Xin Guo Vanadis 8 Way too expensive for me. But. This is made with one of these exotic steels, if I look at the knife steel nerds charts it seems to have the highest area under the curve in terms of toughness and edge retention. If this is going to be a life changing difference, I'd shell out for it but I suspect its probably not.

Ikea Fjallroding The "don't go down the rabbit hole" choice. I'm probably going to buy one of these in any case to have something I don't mind hacking at things with, but, should I just buy this nakiri and the petty knife from this line, and learn how to sharpen better? (another option would be something from

Thanks for your help!

Recently i made this knife for a very good friend of mine and im quite happy with the result

the steel is 2'5mm sandvik 14c28n

and the scales are made from olive wood from my grandmothers town olive fields

It’s really a lot of fun. A quick, very finely shredded cabbage salad…

Hello, I was given this knife as a gift... Does anyone happen to have any information about it? I’m not exactly an expert, all I can say is that it’s an Asian-style knife made of carbon steel, and I really enjoy cooking with it! Beyond that, I don’t know much else! :) Thanks, everyone.

Towards the bolster the blade groove is much deeper on one side than the other. Is this just a cosmetic issue or should I get a replacement?

I'm a beginner :)

Gyuto journey continues with this lovely Ren 210. Thanks to a member on here for shipping over the pond for me and being a throughly nice dude to deal with.

It's absolutely stunning. 175g, nice weight for me. Thinnest behind the edge of the wide bevels I've had so far. Look that that choil 😅 Absolutely ghosts through veg, the factory edge is so toothy, it's almost like a saw blade! Very impressed, not one I'll be selling anytime soon.

Any recommendations of other wide bevels to try? I love the look of them and I line the grind of this A LOT.

Basically Title...

Looking for a Nakiri and found this one for 165€.

Reddit says it's the best budget option, but its usually cheaper elsewhere (cheaper tho...)

Hello fine folks.

I'm a somewhat new collector of knives and sharpening gear. Starting the whole journey with knives only 6-7 months ago.

For me it actually started with my love for axes, since I've always had to use them because I grew up on a farm with my parents, and we only had firewood as a heat source back then. They still live there and I still help them with the firewood. Chopping and splitting, etc.

But now the passion has expanded to knives as well. When my partner became pregnant and we had our daughter, I fell in love with making food for the family, and that's alot more fun with great knives 🙌😊

On the picture included in the post are brothers from other mothers 🤗🔪🪓

What advice would you give a guy like me just starting out?

What are the dos and donts in your opinion?

Took a while, it was an idea that i had a few years ago, but just proved hard to do. The Sambar Stag out of India is super rare and not being exported anymore, and Chef's knives have big handles. But i got it done. I met a neighbor, as luck would have it, Hunter and he has a shop in Bedford, u/MachineCreekForge not sure if he has a site, but he did the work once i got everything to him. Once i added the 270 Gyoto to the set, i knew it was time. Left to right, 150mm Honesuki, 270 Sujihiki, 270 Gyoto, 240 Gyoto Kirisuke (not commercially available) the 240 Santoku (my very first Masahiro, purchased in 1993) the 150 Petty and the 120 Utility "Paring" Kiritsuke (not commercially availible) all just done up with new scales and pins, buffed out and sharpened, ready for my new job and now, I have something to pass on to my kids. I'm a 65 yo, Certified Executive Chef, so I've had, and have, a lot of knives. But the Masahiros are wonderful and now I have something truly unique!!!

With all the hype of workhorse knives in this forum, I though I'd jump on the bandwagon and see what it's all about. I went for a smaller ko bunka (140mm) to supplement my collection. Since I just started collecting, I didn't want to buy repeat sizes.

I was also interested in getting a warikomi blade, and really liked the Kunimitsu sword making history behind their knives.

I have to say, even though it feels like I'm weilding a garden tool with that wabisabi finish, it is a joy to sharpen and use. The smith recommends sharpening the entire edge up to the shinogi line with no micro bevel, which gives an interesting sharpening experience. It also takes on a mean edge.

Only drawback I see is that the thick spine and V shaped edge don't glide down crunchier ingrediens, and I have had splitting here and there.

Overall, I feel this is pretty fun to use, and allows a bit more rough use and experimenting with sharpening. I'll likely go for a full sized Okubo next :)

Hey guys I plan on getting a new knife soon and I’m quite torn between the Yu Kurosaki VG10W or the Saji-STRIX Gyuto? I’m an avid home cook so I’m just wondering is STRIX as good as people make it out to be and are Kurosakis blades as good as the hype that surrounds him? I understand it’s a loaded question but having experience with neither and being 2 different steels I’m curious to hear opinions as I’m really only familiar with ATS34!

One of my all-time grails. Absolutely stunning in person, especially the finish. Definitely cost me an arm and a leg, but I’ve wanted one of these for a long time.

I’ve always had a thing for both Damascus and Kurochi, so this knife hits a very specific sweet spot for me. The way Hinoura blends the two together so seamlessly is just beautiful. It really shows the level of craftsmanship he still brings to his work, especially considering his age. To me, this is genuinely a masterpiece.

This also happens to be the final piece I needed to complete my Sanjo maker collection, which makes it even more special.

That being said… I’d still really like an Unryu someday lol. Apparently “complete” is a very flexible word in this hobby.

Had a blast taking the knife sharpening class from Craig at CKC tonight. So impressed with his store and his willingness to stay late with us just nerding out on knives tonight.

Bought a Sakai Kikumori Nakiri and an ebony handle. When it comes in I’ll do a NKD.

If you are ever in Denver and love Japanese knives then stop by and visit with Craig and the team. You will not be disappointed.

Customer for Life

Hey folks, long time lurker.

I'm agonising between buying a laser like takamura sg2 or even a Hayabusa Aogami super, for use with the basic HDPE boards. Is this safe or wise? Or... Am I overthinking it??

I'm a guy who has a yoshikane and babies it... 😂

I'm even thinking of getting a...

Morihei inox, kanehide ps60, Sakai takayuki grand chef seigaiha or sp, or maybe a vg1 for protection against chipping.

Currently using a misono mv gyuto and a kiwi petty for beef butchery

(if you're from knives and stones, you know who I am 😂)

Hatsukokoro Irodori Blue 2 Rainbow Damascus Kiritsuke Gyuto 210mm

First day using it as a general chef knife at work after keeping it hidden for a year as its too nice.

The tips so thin and I already bent it a few times so I knew this would happen.

How can I fix it? I dont overly want to whetstone the top down which is the normal way? Will that ruin the dark colour?

I’m getting my first real knife soon, and my current contender is the Tojiro DP. Is it still good bang for your buck? And to those who’ve had it, how was it?

Just wanted to share my small Japanese knife collection so far!

From left to right:

• Hatsukokoro x Yoshikane SKD Nashiji Gyuto 210mm - Octagonal Ebony & Blonde Horn Ferrule
• Nigara Anmon SG2 Raindrop Damascus Santoku 170mm - Octagonal Birch Burl & Spacer
• Nigara SG2 Kurouchi Tsuchime Petty 150mm - Octagonal Ebony

Two more on the way — one stuck in customs and another coming from Australia. Hopefully, they'll both arrive soon!

Ordered these from Hitachiya USA. Took me a few days to use them for the first time.

Kramer Zwilling 5” utility, 52100 carbon steel.

Story time. I stopped by the Zwilling outlet near home to just see what they had and play with some knives. When talking to the sales rep, he told me that just last week they had sold off all their Kramer’s when the manufacturing contract ended and everything was 80% off.

Turns out, the manager had one single piece returned because the customer didn’t know how to deal with carbon steel knives and had let it rust. The customer had returned it so she told me she’d give it to me for 90% off. A knife like this for $30 is hard to pass up.

I cleaned up the rust with BKF and baking soda before putting a light patina on it. First couple pictures are after cleaning up the rust, next few are after patina, and the last one is how it came. How’d I do?

Im looking to get a real kitchen knife. Im leaning towards Japanese style knifes. They seem to be more similar to the pocket knifes I use.

Any recommendations or anything to stay away from

Went to Kappabashi today specifically looking for a 165–180mm carbon steel santoku, and I came away pretty disappointed.

I was looking for stuff along the lines of a Hatsukokoro Kumokage Blue #2, Tetsujin Metal Flow Blue #2, HADO Junpaku White #1, Hinoura Blue Super, or even something interesting in Blue #1 from a smaller smith.

I checked several knife shops and showed them exactly what I was after: carbon steel, preferably kurouchi/nashiji/kasumi, understated finish, no flashy Damascus, and ideally something from an actual smith rather than a generic production line.

Most of what I saw felt heavily aimed at tourists: lots of polished stainless, Damascus, flashy finishes, and knives that looked nice in a display case but very little that interested me as someone already into Japanese knives.

I’m not saying Kappabashi has bad knives. There are obviously good shops there. But if you’re looking for specific smiths, steels, grinds, or more enthusiast-oriented carbon knives, it felt much more limited than I expected.

Honestly, I think I’m just going to order the Kumokage I wanted in the first place.

Anyone else had the same experience with Kappabashi? Or did I miss a shop that actually carries more niche carbon steel stuff?