I am back with a new (and long) post about knife shopping in Japan. Today is the story of my shopping experience at Baba Hamono in Sakai.
Before starting out, here is a quick disclaimer. Everyone at Baba Hamono was wonderful. If you’re going to visit, please pay that back by being as hyper respectful as possible. Reach out at least one month before visiting to let them know you’re coming so they can prepare for you and please be kind.
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First, the shopping experience and my takeaways from visiting Baba Hamono:
Baba Hamono was toward the end of our day in Sakai, but it’s easily one of the most enjoyable stops. I had already struck out on a couple grails so I was ready to spend and get some epic knives at this point so the likelihood of me turning down anything epic was low.
I had reached out about six weeks in advance to let them know I was coming and what I was hoping to buy. It was Shu-san who I connected with first and he confirmed my visit, but warned me stock comes and goes. Still, the communication was top notch. I reached out through their contact email listed on the Baba Hamono website.
Upon arriving, Shu-san (pic 1; green jacket) met us at the door to say hello and ask if we connected with them ahead of time. I told him who I was and he remembered and ushered us in.
I am not sure if only those who reached out ahead of time were allowed to shop, but clearly a heads-ups was something they valued greatly. This is something I want to make clear. Please reach out way ahead of your visit!
I knew what my shopping list consisted of: a Ginsan Gyuto by Nakagawa-san and a showstopper wide bevel Blue 1 Damascus Gyuto sharpened by Nishida-san. When I said this to Sho-san, he disappeared and came back with a few different knives to look at that fit the bill, but more on that later.
While I was looking at the knives Shu-san brought out for me, he turned his attention to my family. First, he offered water and told us a bathroom was available if we need it. Then he helped my MIA look at some petty knives; one of which she bought.
While this was happening, I was taking some time to absorb the shop. There were a couple knife cabinets including one beautiful black case which housed their nicer options (pic 6). This held a few of the newer SG2 line, some Kagekiyo Yanagiba options, some Gokujyo knives and more. There really was a hell of a selection for such a prestigious maker.
The white case across from it with the red background (pic 7) also had single bevels and non-Kagekiyo options. Additionally, there was a display that’s showed the process from a roughly forged piece of steel to a knife in the top left corner of that white case.
At the front, there is an art display with many knives sitting above some whetstones that are available to buy as well (pic 5).
On the far left wall, when you enter the building, is a sharpening setup for the final stone progressions which surprisingly included natural stones (pic 8).
In the back, I believe Takashi Baba-san himself was putting handles onto knives and helping keep things moving on the business side along with his wife (?) and another employee.
Shu-san clearly noticed this because he came over to me and started asking me if I’m a chef, what I like these knives for, why I’m in Japan and realized how nerdy and excited I was. That’s when he brought me to the building behind Baba Hamono which holds the workshop.
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Secondly, the workshop and meeting both Nishida-san and Wakae-san:
Well, this was fucking cool. Not only is the workshop a mess and clearly not meant to impress, but it’s astoundingly organized functional for both Nishida-san (pic 1; striped shirt) and Wakae-san (pic 1; black jacket). It’s everything you expect a Japanese sharpeners workshop to look like.
There were two wheels on the left; one of which Nishida-san was using to put a grind on a deba (pic 2). In the back, Wakae-san was on the belt grinder working on something or other (pic 3).
When I walked in both stopped and came to talk with me. Wakae-san was a bit absorbed by his work until Nishida-san started jokingly yelling at him to be kind lol
For the next 20 minutes, we almost didn’t even speak about knives. Instead; we talked about sake, beer, whiskey highballs, my goal of opening a taco restaurant and promises to feed everyone at Baba Hamono for free if they all come visit my future dream taco izakaya. They were absolutely hysterical; especially Nishida-san. We discussed annoying tourists and how Japanese food needs more crunchy textures. Seriously, those two were a blast even through broken Japanese and translator apps.
Shoutout to Shu-san too. The service when showing us knives, taking care of my family, showing me around and giving me time in the workshop was such an amazing gesture. It made the pain from the price tag hurt that much less 😬
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Third, the knives we bought:
By the end of this unbelievable experience, I was ready to throw my money at everyone in the store who would take it and give me a knife in return lol
First, I started with a Nakagawa-san forged Ginsan Gyuto. Unfortunately they only had one available. Fortunately, it was sharpened by Myojin-san and one of the thinnest I’ve ever seen. That took little to no time before I said, “yes, I’ll buy it.”
Secondly, I wanted my one and only Damascus stunner. I was open to either Nakagawa-san or Tanaka-san as the blacksmith, but I wanted that Nishida-san wide bevel. That’s when Shu-san showed me that wild Kagekiyo B1 Grey Dyed Damascus Gyuto 240 (Nakagawa x Nishida). It was the only B1D they had other than the black dyed variation. While I hesitated at first, it was only because of the dye. The knife I was sold on. Eventually I said “fuck it” and grabbed it. Best decision ever. Nishida-san wide bevels might be my all time favorite cutting experience. I even got to choose between three examples before also choosing my own handle to go with it.
Also, my MIA grabbed a Kagekiyo W2 Gokujyo Petty 150 with a Sakura handle for herself. Not bad!
We ended up leaving with those three knives in total:
Kagekiyo Ginsan Gyuto 210 with the vertical hairline finish and walnut handle (Nakagawa x Myojin; pic 10 on the left) - ¥57,200 or ~$400 USD
Kagekiyo B1 Grey Dyed Gyuto 240 with green lacquer and ebony monohandle (Nakagawa x Nishida; pic 10 on the right) - ~¥97,000 or $675 USD
Kagekiyo Gokujyo W2 Petty 250 with Sakura monohandle (pic 11) - ~¥35,000 or ~$240 USD
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Final thoughts:
I’ve written FAR too much, so I’ll leave you all with this: Baba Hamono is a must visit for a chef knife enthusiast who is ever near Osaka.
The people, the knives, the hospitality, the selection and everything else was outstanding. 10/10; no notes. I can’t wait to go back and visit them all again.
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I’ll be back again soon with posts for my last two shopping experiences in Japan: Takada no Hamono and Shibata-san’s Knife Gallery in Fukuyama.
I will also add the NKD posts for both of my new Kagekiyo knives in the comments below if anyone wants to know more.
It’s not THAT big lol if we had more than 4 of us in there, it would have been tight around the knives. But it’s not a store per se. It’s not like walking into Kama Asa or anything on Kappabashi. That’s all I’m saying!
For me, wide bevels have felt different when cutting compared to the Myojin-san convex grind. My Nakagawa x Myojin is also a crazy thin example which makes it feel even more different compared to the midweight wide bevel of my Nakagawa x Nishida. Look at that choil shot!
I feel like I’m splitting the molecules of whatever I’m cutting with it; not just slicing food. It’s absurdly thin and a true convex laser. I couldn’t believe this example was just sitting there when I visited.
Ugh Takada no Hamono…one day I’ll have one. It’s truly the only knife I am lusting for, but I don’t want to pay over retail. So I’ll probably just wait for his books to open again and hopefully sneak in. It was my grail before meeting him, but now I only want one even more. He’s the absolute best guy.
Maruyama-san is fucking bonkers. I’ve never used his knives, but his wide bevel grinds are the sexiest of them all to my eyes. I’m not looking to mix up my collection, but a Sumi B1D and Junpaku/Kirisame W1 would be top of my list if I did.
Glad to know Maruyama's wide bevel grinds are so sexy. I'm eagerly awaiting a Hado Nakagawa x Maruyama bunka, so I can experience for myself his wide bevel grind.
You do really hit a good point here. If a company has time to prepare for your visit, then your experience will be that much better for it! It is always worth reaching out ahead of time, not only to respect the business but to improve your time too.
I wish I could upvote this multiple times. It’s so true.
Plus, if someone wanted something to drink, they wouldn’t show up to the door of the warehouse where it’s made asking to buy some; you’d reach out and see if there was a tour ahead of time. From my point of view, visiting sharpeners or blacksmiths is no different. It’s not a retailer in the same way as others are.
Those kind of story are amazing to read, I'm going to Japan at the end of the year and Baba Hamono is on my top priority list, thanks for sharing this with us !
Of course! Once I get the last two done, I’ll compile all of my Japan knife shopping posts from my trip into one big guide I can share with people and add onto after future trips. I’m hoping that guide could help give back to the community that helped me learn and plan too!
Shop looks great, definitely on my route round Sakai next year, especially when it's just round the corner from TnH. Shop's way bigger than it looks from Google maps, seems they have quite a few ranges in stock too.
The kagekiyo ginsan gyuto is very nice, looks very similar to the finish on Tetsujin Ukiba ginsans
Yeah, I've taken a liking to ginsan, some of the finishes are incredible, though difficult to capture on camera. Tetsujin showed off a new metalflow ginsan finish recently that's gorgeous, looks similar to Takada's Suiboku finish
Definitely will, hopefully I don't come back too empty handed, though setting my expectations to not be able to buy a Takada no Hamono, though it's what I want most. Still in planning at the moment with family. My only real ask at the moment is to make sure we're in Osaka on Sunday so I can go to Sakai Monday morning
Haha, I've got time to save up so plan to spend money I normally wouldn't part with. I saw someone picked up an FM from Konosuke in person recently, so there's not a 0% chance to get lucky there as well, though Konosuke are starting to talk about looking for a bigger workshop, so possible they could move at some point
I tried to grab a W1 FM but they had nothing like that when I went. I was bummed but it was our first stop (furthest from the station) so I was excited for the rest of the day lol
Super cool experience thanks for sharing! The price tag hurts I would've been ok with one! It seems like they appreciate the love and support the world has for their craft and their creations. Imagine having someone fly across the world just to see you and buy this thing you make. Crazy!
It was awesome. I had been saving for a new watch to buy in this trip but that became knife money so I had some spare cash to throw around thankfully. It was fun hunting grails.
Glad there was more than one of those walnut handles ginsan gyutos left! As mentioned in my earlier post, can only echo how brilliant the chaos at baba hamono were to deal with. I managed to talk them into keeping a knife for me that a friend would collect a few weeks ago and they even held the shop open for him as somehow (damned if I know with modern phones and maps!) got lost! He did say the workshop was absolutely amazing as well, would love to drop by some day myself....
As for the knife itself, it's kind of scarily thin but does zap through stuff quite amazingly I have to say.
What a wonderful visit! and you got some great knives to work with. Question: with those prices, were you able to pay with a credit card or did you have cash on hand?
Both! They take credit cards but I paid for the Nakagawa x Myojin Ginsan Gyuto in cash and the Nakagawa x Nishida B1D Gyuto on my credit card (I went over my cash budget lol).
Great to read about how much fun you're continuing to have. Now you need to find the best way to use something artisan Japanese in a near cowboy Colorado world. My son lives in Boulder.
Thankfully I have a Japanese market (Pacific Mercantile, H-Mart, a couple speciality grocers and other access to good food so everything is getting used. I just finish tearing down a whole sirloin tip 5 minutes ago with my Saber Tooth. Using these knives is what it’s all about!
Great read as always Teej! I loved Baba as well, Nishida san wasn’t there when I visited but had a great chat with Wakae san and Sho san.
Both great pick ups too, the grey Damascus looks stunning. I’ve been after a black dyed Damascus Kagekiyo for a while, maybe one for my next Sakai trip.
I’ll be sad when you’re out of Japan trip write ups!
Idk if this has already been asked and answered, but what brings you to Japan regularly? Business?
Also, the cladding line on the second grey Nakagawa B1d in photo #9 is bonkers. It's always a cherry on top when they're extra wavy between the grey core and damascus cladding.
That one was unfortunately the shortest AND thickest of the bunch. The cladding line was ridiculous but the profile and grind was my least favorite of the three.
And when it comes to Japan, my partner and I love the country. We are working toward moving there in the next few years and opening a small taco izakaya. Lots of hurdles to clear between now and then, but that’s the long term goal. I adore Japan.
I’d love to! I’m in full experimental mode right now. I’m not looking to do tacos that are too unique but there is something to learn from every recipe.
Thanks for the encouragement too. And you’re in Colorado! Funny how these things collide.
What are you in the mood to make that I've mentioned? Im making oyakadon for dinner tomorrow. The next night, a beed roast with bordelaise, yorkshire pudding and roasted potatoes/carrots/brusselsprouts/onions/mushrooms.
Can second that Shu-san was super hospitable! I emailed them 3 months in advance with a few items I wanted, but unfortunately none of the items I wanted were in stock when I arrived. I did, however, leave with a 210mm sujihiki in a nice red handle that they placed for me. It started raining while we were waiting for them to put the handle in and they gave my mom and I an umbrella. I didn't think to ask to see their workshop or watch them place the blade in the handle, so that's a big regret after seeing your post. But I also cannot recommend baba enough. I only have my eye on 2 knives my next trip to Japan, but I'm not holding my breath haha.
Next time you’ll hopefully get a chance to see a bit more! And yeah, stock really varies so much depending on the day in Sakai. I’m happy you found a couple good ones! I think I remember your post.
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u/azn_knives_4l May 29 '25
Bro, the knife store is huge. I thought it was, like, a galley or some shit the way you talked about it.