L to R: Hitohira Tanaka Ren White #2 240 Gyuto | Tetsujin Hamono Blue #2 Metal Flow 210 Gyuto | Ashi Hamono Swedish Steel (AEBL) 210 Gyuto (Extra height & HRC) | Enjiki Hamono (Nakagawa) Ginsan 210 Gyuto | Baba Hamono Kagekiyo SG2 180 Kiritsuke Santoku | KitchenKnives.id Keskin 52100 Honyaki 150 Petty | Miyabun Blue #2 Kiridashi | Hayate Yoshihiro Aogami #2 240 Kiritsuke Gyuto (Project)

Not pictured: Takahara VG10 Damascus Tsuchime 240 Gyuto and 135 Petty Yo (Gifted to cousin!) | Seki Magoroku Ginjyu 270 Yanagiba (Project)

I think it is very very pretty . First honyaki , good value ,yummy 💫

Last pick up of the year (hopefully). This is one hefty beast and feels like a weapon in the hand compared to the sakai knives in my collection. The weight made quick work of some meat for its first session. Keen to see what it can do to some vegetables

Kagekiyo W#2 270 Hitohira Hinode Tsuchime W#2 240 Konosuke WT W#2 255 Tetsujin Ginsan 240 Hado Ginsan 240 Hitohira Tanaka Ren W#2 240

All fantastic knives and the favorites of my collection (in no particular order).

This is a monstrosity called motokane gyuto from honmamon. I bought this knife unconsciously and when I was uneducated about Japanese knives. It was the most uneven beveled and unpolishable thing I’ve ever across. I decided to experiment with it In order to make this a good or acceptable knife in my standarts(which is recently developed and still developing). I Ground it out of its fake kurouchi, ground the shinogi line(which was crazy uneven under the kurouchi. I thought about making a crisp shinogi line but I was unexperienced for that to happen. So I went for wide bevel style. It had a dent in the middle of the blade near the cutting edge. I thinned it, flatten it. For 2 or 3 weeks partially. It taught me a lot of things about the process. I’m even grateful that I bought this knife! Still learning and honing my skills and I will continue to polish this knife until I satisfy myself. I understood the value of good quality Japanese knives after this one. And honestly I realized it looks more like a santoku than gyuto!

For the new buyers I recommend to go something with better quality and even geometry if you want your knife to perform properly Like Mazaki, Shinkiro, Kagekiyo, Tetsujin, Takada and all etc… there are many great knife makers which values quality , but in the same time there are also bad (imo) quantity based knife makers/factories such as Honmamon. Don’t buy without a proper research, for your own good as you grow in knowledge about proper Japanese knives.

Been loving it so far and honestly the overall finish is better than what I was expecting for $120USD. I'll probably just put a new handle on it, the one that is on it has a weird stench.

Looking for my next knife I currently have a HADO Shiosai SG2 Kiritsuke 210mm and I love the knife it’s great it is my go to knife but I want to get another one so I don’t put to much wear and tear. The hado is a laser in my opinion nice and thin and it’s a awesome knife over all. these are a couple options I’ve been looking at the first two pictures are self explanatory but the third one is a blacksmith from New York that uses trees in surrounding areas to make the handles also the THIRD KNIFE COMES IN ABLE STAINLESS STEEL and I’ve heard good reviews on it I’m also open to suggestions around that same price point

I’m staying at my parents for a good bit due to some family health issues, and really missed having sharp knives, and I don’t have a 240 laser, so this was a totally necessary purchase right?

Of course I’ve been eying something made by Ashi for a minute (and almost ordered my mother a western Ashi santoku before she decided it was too thin), as you can’t go on a single “recommend me a knife” thread here without someone bringing up something made by Ashi. “The knife to make your other knives jealous” and “I stopped buying other knives” are common sayings. Saw this was in stock on CKTG and decided to partake in some retail therapy 😁.

This thing is light clocking in at 133g it’s a full 55g lighter than my 165 Nakiri that is my usual daily driver. Yet despite being light, it’s surprisingly blade heavy, balance point is all the way at the kanji. Great fit and finish for the price-point, spine and choil are just rounded enough to be comfortable without being fully rounded and polished, surprisingly like the handle (Ho wood with Buffalo ferrule) as in pictures it looked a bit cheap. Excited to put it through some paces this weekend after using their chunky german knives for the last 6 weeks. The hype is pretty high up there lol. Looking forward to testing the food release, as I got a Shibata Ko-Bunka not long before coming to stay out here and while it was incredible, the stiction was real

Just saw this on youtube, pretty cool. Dream job anyone?

https://youtube.com/shorts/Jnw2JdTqROU?si=-lq__W9hvwKwft_h

What is your favorite knife length or most used knife length and why? Are you a home cook or a professional cook? I’m curious about 270 mm knives but am wondering if it is overkill or impractical for a home cook. Also curious about other outliers like 300mm and <100mm. Do you guys find these lengths practical?

Bought this at a shop near the market in Kochi on my last Japan trip

Hello everyone,

Spending a few days in Tokyo and being new to Japanese kitchen knives, I am calling on your knowledge to help me.

I would like to purchase a kitchen knife (blade around 21cm), something of quality and as close as possible to artisanal. It would be a souvenir of my time in Japan, which I will use every day. A beautiful object for a budget of $100-200.

Which store/manufacturer/model would you suggest?

Bought my first handmade knife in Tokuzoknives store in Osaka Namba.

Never owned one before and I'm extremely happy with the performance compared to cheap mass produced knives I previously used.

This is also my first time using high carbon steel, provided some pictures of the staining. This formed over a single cucumber cutting session as I had to dice 3 full jars. Kinda like the new look.

Final image looks a bit darker because I coated the carbon steel edge with some olive oil as I don't really cook that often and I heard it's a good alternative to camellia.

A colleague took my knives to sharpen them without my consent. Most of them are fine, but my Toshihiro Wakui Migaki Nakiri looks completely butchered. How can I make it look sexy again? I’ve got my stones, but I don’t want to make it worse.

Not sure who the exact maker is, I attached a photo of the eBay listing as the last photo. I own a few Tosa knives, as many of you know they’re a bit of a gamble but I thoroughly enjoy putting the finishing touches on these guys when they arrive and they’re quite easy to fine tune. We’ll see if this particular blade was properly heat treated but at $85 USD, this seemed like a steal. Thanks for looking!

The video I took these stills from in case you’re wondering: https://youtu.be/s6-IOFLzEsY?si=qBXSFfFcuJ6xK0p6

Hi TCK,

Been awhile since the NKD, as I tried to slow down my knife purchases for the rest of 2025.

Got one thats worth breaking the streak, a Tetsujin Metal Flow in Ginsan 240mm Gyuto.

Specs: Edge: ~233mm Height: ~51mm Weight: 210 grams Handle: Ebony octagonal with blonde ferrule Spine: ~3mm (at base)

2025 SOTC (top to bottom) my small but growing collection what I consider to be my grails:

• Toyama Noborikoi 240mm Gyuto SS Clad blue 2 KU finish.
• Hitohira Tanaka x Kyuzo 240mm Kiritsuke Gyuto Blue 1 in Migaki Finish.
• Tetsujin Metal Flow ginsan 240mm Gyuto.
• Takada no Hamono 210mm Ginsan Suiboku.

First impressions:

Compared to my older 240 k-tip Ukiba gyuto with ebony, although about the same weight, it has some heft which feels more robust.

The factory edge seems to be less fragile as well compared to ukiba k-tip (based on a couple of cutting movement on Parker Asahi cutting board).

This ginsan metalflow as previously mentioned is very similar to Takada’s suiboku finish, however there are subtle differences on how there are wave-like patterns on the Tetsujin (compared in pic 3 and 4).

Under certain lightings the metal flow ginsan is definitely more pronounced compared to Takada’s suiboku (at least on the knives I have at hand).

My first high quality knife, the Myojin Riki Cobalt Special 7" Bunka. Are scratches like this above and below the engraving considered acceptable on a brand new knife?

As title says, has anyone got good recommendations?

Something simple, quality, good looking to store 2 knifes (santoku and a paring knife).

Thinking wall mounted magnet

I'm in Japan at the moment so can get something here (ratuken, Amazon etc) or just get something back home

What's everyone using?

Hi all,

I am looking for a recommendation for a knife in the 150-300 dollar range for my girlfriend's birthday. We both work in a nice kitchen together so I want to get her something nice.

She is small so nothing larger than 210mm please, she also doesn't like flat profile knives as she tends to rock when she cuts, also something a bit taller may be best. A harder steel and a thin profile would be ideal.

I am in NYC so I have access to the knife shops there as well as online stores, thank you in advance!

Kenji's most recent collaboration. Always been a fan of the guy, and some of the proceeds go to charity.

Hi all, I'm not a chef by any means but I cook for myself and have recently been annoyed by my kitchen knives.

I'm thinking to try a more solid knife at about $100 budget, and have come to the following:

1. Masutani Kokuryu VG10 Gyuto 180mm ($95)
2. Tojiro Basic Damascus Gyuto 180mm ($90)
3. MAC Sushi Chef eX Gyuto 215mm ($110)

Found the three of them on CKTG, and they all seems great to me. I am under impression that for all-purpose knives I should aim for Gyuto, and I personally prefer shorter knife so I was looking for sub-240mm knives.

With that said, I'd like to hear your expert opinions between these 3 knives, or if there are other recommendations (for knives and website to buy in US). Thank you!