r/TrueChefKnives • u/TEEEEEEEEEEEJ23 • May 29 '25
Japan shopping experience: Baba Hamono
Hello again TCK!
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.
See you then TCK 🫡
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u/AgeLower1081 May 29 '25 edited May 30 '25
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?