… I can be brief about the cutting performance of both knives: they cut great. A Japanese friend once said to me that for a Japanese it is not just the things that are visible that are important, the things that are invisible, the things that no-one will actually notice are just as important. Chef Knives To Go offers the knife enthusiast, home cook, and the professional chef an unmatched selection of artisan crafted, high performance kitchen Showing the world's retailers of the handmade Masakage Japanese Chef Knives, handmade and hand sharpened to give you the sharpest knife for your kitchen. $166.00. Each knife has that inestimable quality of being hand made and therefore just a little bit unique and personal. However, we will see there are also significant differences between the knives. These knives really show the importance of a blade being thin just above the edge. I have a set of Henckels as well, but I would rather use my Japanese blades any day. On one hand, the Yuki is made with White #2 and the Kohetsu is made with Aogami Super. The rosewood … Masakage Yuki Collection Handmade by Kato san Knife Care. Kurosaki-san claims he was not a natural blacksmith from the beginning and wanted to This was however, a bit of a disappointment: it was quite thick above the edge and consequently it wedged on a lot of foods. There are three master blacksmiths at Masakage, Hiroshi Kato, Katsushige Anryu, and Yu Kurosaki, and one master knife sharpener Takayuki Shibata. Mammoth tooth is heavier than wood, but not as much as you might think. It was his goal to help the Master Blacksmiths of Takefu Knife Village showcase their talent and their mind-blowingly sharp knives. The Zero has a polished finish and a western handle. They can take a wickedly sharp edge! You can see hunting knives, custom kitchen knives, machetes, sickles, blades made of Damascus steel and engraved knives. Masakage knives begin as chunks of steel that are then hammered by hand before chopping food in your kitchen. So, I love my Masakage santoku. I would classify both knives as all-round knives. The capabilities of the Japanese sword do not become apparent unless combined with a mastery of the art of the sword. US chef and handle maker Matt Delosso made a handle for my Masakage Zero out of Mammoth tooth and Ctek, with a brass bolster. The steel these knives are made of is great. It only tapers near the tip and at 1 cm from the tip it is, like the Koishi, 1.1 mm wide. For those elsewhere visit this link and see what you can find. Kato-san taught him well, and now he’s considered a master himself. 720-292-4277. I've got 3 knives of similar types.. a Masakage Petty, and a Yanagi and Nakiri made in a very similar way that were brought to me from Japan by a friend (I suspect the Nakiri might be a Masakage as well but I can't tell).. 18:29. (All pictures courtesy of masakageknives.com). Masakage is one Japanese small producer of hand made chef’s knives. Masakage Knives was founded in 2007 by Takayuki Shibata, one of Japan’s best knife sharpeners. This year a Sakai Takayuki Petty 150mm for my daughter. When it comes to Japanese kitchen knives we sometimes find people wanting to compare the Japanese knives to the “Samurai sword” and whilst its true that some of the technology is shared the reality is that a sword and a kitchen knife are used in a totally different way for rather different purposes. I experienced no wedging at all. I'm a dude with big hands and I prefer knives with much taller bellies. 2 years ago. However, it's small. 496. Whatever I threw at them, from tomatoes to hard and dense products like carrots, they cut them very well. We work with professional Chef's to select the very best knives from the best blacksmiths . Where, When, Why I purchased this knife. Something else they share is their height at the heel: 47 mm for both knives. Really love the height of the blade plenty of knuckle clearance. Both knives had above average food release. Finding a suitable teacher outside of Japan can be a challenge but there are some. Their Aogami Supersteel can take a very sharp edge and stays sharp for a long time as well. These knives are things that you are likely to keep and pass on to your next generation. Masakage is one Japanese small producer of hand made chef’s knives. These knives hold their edge for an extremely long time, are easy to sharpen and are among the most beautiful blades you’ll ever see. At first sight the Zero may look as the Western version of the Koishi: it has no kurouchi and a western handle instead of a yo handle, but it shares with the Koishi a hammered finish and the fact that it is made of stainless cladded Aogami Supersteel. The Damascus steel is manipulated by hand to give this great dreamy look. Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. We make only the best knives for you and your family. Change ). A somewhat modified version of u/marine775 review format including ideas from u/chris200071 well put together review. As I wrote, both knives are made of stainless cladded Aogami Supersteel, which is hardened to about 64 HRC. This causes a mean sharp point at the heel and I’ve already managed to cut myself on it. We are a trusted supplier of traditional Japanese Chef Knives from Yoshimi Kato, Sakai Takayuki, Seto Iseya, Mastani, Nao Yamamoto, Takamura Shigeki Tanaka and Tojiro. Other people are only interested in price point. These knives have the best edge retention of any of the Masakage line. I have read reports that the kurouchi finish on the Koishi would cause some drag when cutting, but I did not experience this. The knives come with a cherry wood wa (octagonal) handle with black ferrule for contrast. MrKnifeFanatic 170,256 views. All Rights Reserved. We also specialise in … Japanese Chef Knives Knife Sharpening Repair Culinary Tweezers Chef Supply Cookbooks Aprons. Masakage Knives was founded in 2007 by Takayuki Shibata, one of Japan’s best knife sharpeners. Yu Kurosaki works in Takefu Knife Village where he apprenticed with Hiroshi Kato. Masakage Hammer forged knives from Fukui A selection of the most popular carbon steel blade from Masakage. Masakage kitchen knives is a luxury performance brand of knives founded by Takayuki Shibata. Their differences in profile makes the Zero a bit more suitable for push cutting, whereas the Koishi is very good at rock chopping. Both the Masakage Koishi and the Masakage Zero are beautiful knives that cut great. Posted by 3 days ago. Originally, the Koishi came with an octagonal handle of cherry wood and a black pakka wood ferrule. There are three master blacksmiths at Masakage, Hiroshi Kato, Katsushige Anryu, and Yu Kurosaki, and one master knife sharpener Takayuki Shibata. The knives aren't thin enough to be lasers, but do feature an outstanding grind and are quite thin behind the edge. Yes, it can be argued that both the sword and the kitchen knife are designed for cutting up prime meat, and indeed in my house we have a tradition of carving the Christmas turkey with a katana, but that’s where the similarity ends. This is a great way to make a knife as you get all the performance of carbon steel (a very long lived edge, ease of sharpening and a silkiness when cutting) while drastically reducing the risk of tarnishing. This was at the proposal of Matt Delosso who was going to make a handle for me. He has studied the Japanese sword arts and has a long history of involvement in the shooting sports, which has included authoring submissions to government on various firearms related issues and assisting in the design and establishment of shooting ranges. I purchased this knife during the February Masakage sale at Knifewear so I've currently had it for a little over 7 months. Shibata-san recognized the talents of the blacksmiths working at Takefu Knife Village and put together a team of master knifemakers such Katsushige Anryu, Hiroshi Kato and Yu Kurosaki to create beautiful blades with extraordinary steel. One does have to be a bit careful with these knives, since they are so thin above the edge. I bought the Masakage Santoku Aogami for my son last year and it is fantastic. In mainland China there is a saying “Done is better than perfect”. ( Log Out /  (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Copyright © 2019 Revivaler. A commonly used example of the Japanese fixation with quality is the Japanese sword. For other knife types and handles choose from the Chef's Armoury Bespoke range of knives … The cutting edge, made with Aogami Super, means … The Zero does have a proper flat spot, but the remainder of the profile is similar to that of the Koishi. He LOVES it!!. Unless I find something else later on. This series is named Kumo (cloud) because the blades look like stormy clouds. They also dealt well with onions, although I must say that knives with thinner tips, like my Carter funayuki or my Dalman gyuto worked even better on these. Brand: Masakage Line: Koishi Location: Echizen Japan Construction: Hammer Forged, San Mai Finish: Kurouchi Edge Steel: Aogami Super Handle: Cherry Octagonal Ferrule: Black Pakka Wood Engraving: Hand Engraved Edge Grind: Even Weight: 7 ounces Blade Length: 244 mm Overall Length: 403 mm … Denver, Colorado. It was his goal to help the Master Blacksmiths of Takefu Knife Village showcase their talent and their mind-blowingly sharp knives. It’s razor sharp and it slices well, but the blade profile is not really the best for turkey carving and the blade is much too thick. Enter your email address to subscribe to Revivaler and never miss a new post. Anryu forges both his knives and the Masakage Kumo, The Masakage Kumo has a laser grind where his own knives have a more typical workhorse grind but the steel is better in his own knives compared to the Masakage Kumo for the most part atleast for his carbon knives that is . This one, in contrast, is crazy thin above the edge. The main difference regarding looks is that the Koishi has a kurouchi finish, wheareas the Zero does not. The spines of the knives are quite different. Knives specifically designed for the professional sushi chef. They are my very favourite knives. So we expect somewhat different techniques for making a hand made Japanese knife for a chef compared with a sword made for carving up prime meat and bone in more difficult circumstances. The edge is razor-sharp; the maintenance is pretty easy; it's gorgeous. Our knives are excellence in the palm of your hand. Both handles were well finished. ( Log Out /  However, I’ve had both knives rehandled with handles made of mammoth tooth and they are now the most beautiful knives I own. No-one is likely to 3D print a Japanese Nihonto any time soon, if ever. Masakage, dedicated to bringing the finest handmade Japanese knives to the world I wrote a separate blog post on the handles, so in this review I will concentrate on the blades. Jon Branch is the founder and senior editor of Revivaler and has written a significant number of articles for various publications including official Buying Guides for eBay, classic car articles for Hagerty, magazine articles for both the Australian Shooters Journal and the Australian Shooter, and he’s a long time contributor to Silodrome. The Masakage Yuki 120mm petty has really good edge retention, the white #2 gets really sharp,easily takes an edge, easy to maintain because of the cladding, a little thick for a petty above the shinogi line so its a bit stiff and wedges just a bit but thin enough behind the edge to do really thin cuts. Comments Required. Whatever your priorities, the chart below should help. I have the nakiri and it cuts like a dream, but does react up to the kurouchi finish. Around the year 1000AD a sword smith somewhere decided that a gently curved single cutting edge sword that could be wielded with two hands would be the most efficient weapon and so the Japanese sabre was born. Konosuke Honyaki Aogami #2 240mm Gyuto - Duration: 4:13. I can see a close up of the edge impression once you have your Dino-lite with measurement capability on it. They are wider at their spines (and at their tips) than lasers, but they are not as wide as workhorse knives. The Japanese “Katana” is filled with subtlety and hidden technologies and one should never imagine that one can assess the Japanese sword by buying a Chinese made imitation and “testing” that, as we sometimes see on TV shows. Basic kitchen knives designed for home use. Both the Masakage Koishi and the Masakage Zero are beautiful knives that cut great. They’re known as beautiful knives that are good performers. Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com. And whereas the Zero has a proper flat spot, the Koishi has a recurve towards the heel. What I'm wondering is, will I see a similar performance with Takeda's gyutos? Masakage Japanese Chef Knives, designed by chefs, handmade by Master Blacksmiths and hand sharpened to give you the sharpest knife for your kitchen. And whilst in China a variety of sword designs of varying efficiency and quality were produced the Japanese fixed on perfecting one, and perfect it they did, focusing not just on that which was visible, but on that which was invisible. Spicy garlic fried chicken (Kkanpunggi: 깐풍기) - Duration: 11:54. What both knives share is that they are wickedly thin just above the edge. The invisible things included the types of steel alloy being combined, folding to create a laminated steel that is not visible like a Damascus blade, and the process of differential hardening to produce a blade that can keep a razor edge yet survive being struck against a helmet, armor or another blade. There are sufficient differences as well: the Koishi has a kurouchi finish and a yo handle. Menu. Maangchi Recommended for you. Masakage describe their knives as “knives to fall in love with”. View entire discussion ( 2 comments) More posts from the chefknives community. I chose the different steel based on Cutting edge Knives advice pages. Both have Wa Handles and I've heard the fit and finish on Masakage's are amazing. His travels have taken him to Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan and a number of other countries. For those in New York there is a good club that can be found here. This knife is handmade by Anryu san, a 4 th generation blacksmith with over 50yrs experience from Takefu Knife Village. The Zero has a polished finish and a western handle. Close menu. Name Email Required. Knives are made in a variety of styles to suit different tastes in aesthetics. 18:29. Each knife has that inestimable quality of being hand made and therefore just a little bit unique and personal. Masakage Kumo Suhijiki 270 mm $ 999.00. The Koishi doesn’t really have a flat spot. The Zero came with an ironwood handle and a welded bolster. Instead, it has a recurve towards the heel. Even though both knives came out of the box pretty sharp, I first took them to my stones. Not heard anything about the Kohetsu fit and finish though, so chances are that may be the deciding factor as I don't like to have to sand down my knives. They have a hammered finish, which in my view aids to their aesthetics. Carbon steel, being a bit finicky isn't for everyone. This is a great way to make a knife as you get all the performance of carbon steel (a very long lived edge, ease of sharpening and a silkiness when cutting) without most of the maintenance issues as cladding with stainless steel reduces the risk of rusting. It is an attitude that tends to be reflected in the quality of typical Chinese made goods; the price may be low but the quality control is commonly lacking. I personally really like the understated elegance of the Hikari collection, which have you fallen in love with? I'm looking to purchase both over time, in the 240mm size. Even though both knives were ground somewhat asymmetrically, I experienced no steering. Shigehiro Takeda Masakage Kurosaki Hinoura Watanabe Tadafusa Takayuki Anryu Konosuke Takamura Fujiwara ASHI Gyuto Petty … Later I also obtained a Masakage Zero. Take one glance and it’s clear these knives are the result of care, attention and years of experience. Rating Required. The kurouchi finish at the top of the knife helps keep these knives relatively low maintenance when compared with other Japanese carbon knives. So the balance point of the knives did not change much: on the Zero the balance point is about 1 cm in front of the choil, on the Koishi it is right at the choil. MrKnifeFanatic 167,296 views. ( Log Out /  Review Subject Required. It would add a whole new dimension not normally seen and this will set you apart. Masakage Koishi Collection Handmade by Kato san Knife Care. Dutch knife maker, handle maker and leather worker Frederiek de Vette made a handle out of mammoth tooth and bog oak for my Masakage Koishi. Conversation pieces that help define your kitchen. Home; About; Products; Services; Shop; Blog; FAQ; Contact; 0 No products in the cart. .. Their hammered finish probably helps a little in this. Masakage Kumo Collection Handmade by Anryu san Knife Care. Masakage Nakiri Review (2 knives) - Duration: 18:29. If you are interested in DVD’s, Japanese sharpening stones and other equipment then  Nihonzashi is a good place to start looking. Hardened up to 63:65 Rockwell, edge retention of these blades is … We understand, because we love them all too. The Japanese have a long tradition of a different attitude to quality which might best be summed up as “It’s not done until it’s perfect”. Having trouble deciding which Masakage line is right for you? Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. The edge of the blade, however, will form a patina as it is made from Aogami Super Steel. The first Masakage I owned was a Yuki. The numbers in the factsheets refer to the knives with the original handles. (The choil shots only show this marginally.). Both knives have been ground somewhat asymmetrically and near the edge their grind is slightly hollow. Your opinions are greatly welcomed There are sufficient differences as well: the Koishi has a kurouchi finish and a yo handle. And the edge will stay sharp for a long time as well. I think it is entirely personal which one you may prefer, but both a great knives. So I changed it for a Koishi. They are really a great looking/working gift for you or another. The Zero has a spine with almost no distal taper: it is about 1.9 mm wide over almost its entire length. A whole new dimension not normally seen and this will set you apart little in this Review will... Delosso who was going to make a handle for me for push cutting, whereas the has. S best knife sharpeners 2 240mm Gyuto - Duration: 11:54 very well close up the... My view aids to their aesthetics remainder of the blade plenty of knuckle.. 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Similar to that of the sword world 2 years ago Masakage Mizu Gyuto Chef knife - 240mm purchased this during! Anryu san knife Care Google account easy ; it 's gorgeous first took them to my..

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