In the latest Coveted episode, a historic lace factory is preserving the dying art of Leavers lace in England: th-cam.com/video/XD2nh75Yz8E/w-d-xo.html
@@CyberBeep_kenshi maybe they are taking about a prosthodontist who create dentures. That also would be a treat to watch a skilled prosthodontist create a very high quality set of dentures.
Counterpoint -this is just high quality pictures and talk that don’t result in an answer to the question. Therefore it is common click bait. The implication is that someone of high skill spends a large amount of time to make one knife and many failures. Who is the judge of this skill? Only the guy whose name is on the company. An example of the videos failure -it never mentions that the structure of the knife business is exactly like the premium sushi chefs that buy the knives. Apprenticeship for most of their life in the hope one day they will be deemed worthy by the expert. The $20k knife is the perfect prop for the show.
@@skyak4493Let's see. I'm a metallurgist, and I have been a process engineer for 9 years. This video wasn't just smoke-and-mirrors to me. Making such a high-end fully customized knife is incredibly intricate. Every step is artisanal, meaning someone had to work very long to gain the required experience for the manual work. Hot working, heat treatment, grinding, sharpening, engraving, polishing, handle making, and so on. And with most steps (except maybe for the polishing and the handle making) a mistake can be unrecoverable. But, ok, I agree that much of the above may not be obvious to a lay person.
Too much hype, and have studied both Japanese katana and knife making. No reason his best knife should sell for 20,000 not even Howard Clarke asks that for his Katanas that stunned and humbled two Japanese national treasure smiths that tried them, and their swords command 100k or more. Japan produces amazing heels, you can source with Hitachi and several others, and working premade steel is way easier than working a katana from tamahagane.
Respectful. Any hand-made yanagiba, with passion and dedication, is a beautiful thing. Not an easy knife to craft and finish. I got mine from Sakai years ago, it's a masterpiece and it's such a pleasure when I get to use it.
The Japanese just make spectacular things. Ranging from their cars in Honda and Toyota, knives/swords, electronics, watches and so many other things. I honestly think they are the best overall manufacturers of stuff in the world. Period. They innovate AND have attention to detail and reliability and aesthetics.
Beautifully created video! I love Japanese knives because they start with the best steel, like Hitachi White or Blue and many other grades. Their edge geometry is completely unique making Western knives seem more like a wood splitting maul than a knife. Their asymmetrical edge is a new level of sharp that has to be experienced. I own 4 handmade Japanese knives and wouldn’t trade them for anything. Sharpening them on a series of waterstones is like mindful meditation.
i was watching a video from a guy who does videos of things in japan and he got his sister in law a knife that was "expensive" but lower end. her husband left the knife on the cutting board and it got rust spots and the edge was damaged (just from hours of lying around wet). he took it back to the store/maker and they fixed it like new for free. she said the husband isn't allowed to use the knife again 🙂non stainless steel sounds so stressful!
@@mm-yt8sfI saw this video too! For anyone else interested the TH-camr’s name is Life Where I’m From and the title of the video is “What I Learned When I Damaged a New Handcrafted Japanese Knife”
I have a $10,000 Takeda Hamono that I had hand made, one of one, for my chef career, back in 2014. I no longer cook professionally, but it is a prized possession that will be passed down!
@@smoll.miniatures I have about $26,000 worth. I also worked 90+ hours a week for years straight for $125,000/year in Denver, so you don't spend your money on anything other than rent, booze or other substance, and takeout food. I have a $3000 daily driver that was custom hand made by Takeda in Japan, that I still use daily. There is an incredible knife store in Denver, Carbon Knife Co. that will ruin our wallet with fully hand made Japanese beauties. I was single and just worked. I did NOT use those during my chef career though, I just used Sakai Takayuki or even Shun, thanks to terrible people and thieves. Those were my splurge purchases.
That's cool. Get your kid a nice 100 dollar wustof to practice with them present them with the hamono knife in some elaborate ceremony when they are worthy.
@@smoll.miniatures Combat disabled veteran with 12 years service, and I had another business during that time too. I was always deployed or working, saving money. After I was hit and two years of recovery, I went back into the kitchen, somewhere that I started in at 13. I also was making about $150,000/yr at my last exec job and was working 100 hours a week, so no place to spend money either then on tools and knives!
With age, experience, and understanding how many levels of precision one can intill into these projects, the more these 20k-30k price tags make sense. I'm glad for these craftsmen. It can be difficult to feel truly entitled to the value of your work and stick to your guns.
This is pure material physics and every movement in heating and forging can be calculated as it is known how materiel behaves but these guys are talking from pure experience.
@@tshirtnjeans4829 10 people working to produce ~150 of a good per year on average is going to carry a whopping premium. They are as much tools for fine dining as they are works of art. You are comparing the price to a typical Toyota, when they are making Bugattis.
@@abg7750 People will find ways to justify anything. These knives don't slice better than $20 knives from Walmart. The fact that the manufacturing is inefficient does not give the product a $19,980 premium.
It’s fired & stoned steel. As you see, he isn’t even the one doing it. It’s outsourced to normal workers. The marketing is fantastic, but these are $500 blades here. Too simple & easy to make. There’s a reason people don’t think stainless steel is as strong - because it isn’t.
Well presented. Now , knives today are almost always made with known raw materials and classified types like 1082 or 51n20 that can be sourced from anywhere. These knives are really just works of art keep a traditional methods alive.
@@RzTheTree I genuinely think you could get every kind of Japanese Knife shape and absolutely stunning versions for 20k. You could legitimately get 9-10 Honyaki Aogami Number 1 and deck out every single staff member at your sushi restaurant.
To get the best out of knives you need the proper steels for the right task. First off moving to a powder metal would help the performance of many knive steels or using the type of steel with the characteristics you need in them. Do you need high alloy low alloy carbon or stainless? Do you need high toughness, corrosion resistance, ability to hold an edge or ease of sharpening? There is alot that goes into a good knife and a good material
They do accept low quality. It's all in how much it is paid for. There was a time when Japan was known for inferior junk the same way cheap Chinese stuff is viewed today. It also is the same as to why England mandated German made blades to be marked "Made in Germany". At one point in time they were the cheapest options and the quality reflected that. They understand that to remain competitive with what they charge as the economy improved, the cheap mass production just won't cut it. With current labor costs, any cheap quality good produced in Japan will be massively overpriced and won't be competitive. But back when labor was cheap they did produce garbage quality stuff.
Fascinating exploration of the evolving craftsmanship in sushi knife making! Sawada innovative approach with stainless steel challenges traditional norms and could reshape the future of culinary tools. 🔪
Piotr Tatamovich here , I am polish , I spent 4 years in Japan and was taught how to make sushi blade by the master Imagonnatakashitta nowi san , I am now best sushi knife make in world, like betman
I’m used to Swedish Damasteel and ot impressed of the japanese knives. I bought an expensive Gyoto but once it accidentally fell to the floor it broke the tip and a peace of the blade.
Cutting from sheet steel, tapping a few times power hammer, a heat treat montage, and expected grind and polish. Yes, marketing is what this is. I dont see any of the lore of Japanese blade smithing here at all. My understanding of the forging process, hype. Time to put this blade against say 20 other smiths knowing its purpose and shape design. Blind test them with identical handles or its material. Plus lets snap one of these in half and see its grain structure verse the highest placed knife.
If you know anything about metallurgy you’ll know a lot can be done to improve structural properties of the metal. Government’s don’t build synchrotron light source to study materials for no reason. Modern metallurgy has moved forward in the last 20 years enough for an average chef to notice his knife stays sharper for longer.
@@sid35gb I know enough about metallurgy and blade smithing to know that nothing that happened to the steel in that video made a blind bit of difference to the finished product.
The absolute pinnacle of craftmanship and attention to detail based on turning work into art. Japanese not just, but especially with knifes and sword making were high tech way before this term was invented. Excellent report, thx WSJ👍
yea forging most kind of stainless causes the grain structure to swell and a lot of the chromium to burn off. at least in my experience. 304 and 404 are not good but perhaps a high vanadium alloy might work
I'm confused. I was under the impression that the high price from Japanese knives came from the tamhagane process and then the polishing stages. Industrializing the process that makes this uniquely Japanese (handmade with Kaizen attitude) seem like it should have a lower price. Thinking about this as a westerner looking in doesn't help. If it is Japanese chefs that are driving demand that is different than western chefs who tend to covet the older ways and hours invested from the sword making aspects.
Same, if you start from steel sheet, nothing wrong with that, then you have a datasheet for it, saying that the heat treatment protocol is "trade secret" implies that you are better at metallurgy than the team of metallurgists at the steel factory that makes the steel...
Agreed. Oddly enough, the Japanese needed to use the tamhagane due to them having some of the lowest quality steel at that time in order to get all the impurities out. They’re known for having great craftsman, which is often confused with having great steels. That may be different now but back then it wasn’t the case.
@@pablopeuUhmm... As a metallurgist, and working for a stainless steel supplier, I can tell you that no stainless steel manufacturer will have a standard procedure ready to modify the grain structure from stainless steel plate specifically into the optimal grain structure for an extremely high-end sushi knife. This isn't a simple _"Hold at 1150 °F (721 °C) for at least 30 minutes and then quench in fast oil."_ Instead, it will be a highly specific combination of holding times, temperatures, heating rates, cooling rates, hammering (so hot deformation) which will depend on the specific location on the blade and more. You can't get this from an AMS or ASTM standard, or a manufacturer product data sheet.
I feel like you'd get better results and a WAY higher production if you used industrial production robot arms. I know this is about craftmanship and all that, but this wouldn't take much time to program them to do. Like they said: "The craftman is dying out", so you can teach them your tricks, which won't get told to anyone since they can't speak. I'm pretty sure you could even use the cheapest robotic arm for those movements, so you'll get away with the 2000 dollar arms.
I know nothing of sushi knives..please forgive my ignorance. However, Has any decent knife maker utilized "super stainless steel" such as s90v, m390, etc for such an application?
“Super steel”, like “surgical steel”, is a marketing term, not actually a description of anything.. Yes, makers in Japan have used duper steels. Still, a high carbon steel like Aogami or blue super, etc with good geometry, an optimized and highly controlled heat treat protocol, and a high hrc will be superior to any duper steel. It’s been proven in real world use-tests, of which CATRA is not. CATRA is far too controlled not allowing anything approaching real world use to be a factor…unless your job is cutting abrasive impregnated card stock all day.
@GeneSargentArt yep I agree it's art but as a buyer I would be apprehensive knowing it came from sheet metal. I would prefer it to be forged like a traditional samurai sword but I'm not a knife expert just an enthusiast.
There should be tests done with these knives to show that they are actually better, I kind of find it hard to believe that these knives are that much better than knives of made of comparable steel. If it’s just about status like Gucci or whatever that’s fine, but don’t hum up as some sort of super fantastic thing you can’t find anywhere else.
as a knivemaker i can tell you are totally right the only special thing about them is their marketing team able to sell the same knife that all the japanese crafters do fo 10000% the price of it it's the japanese fever , people love them and think that everything that come from there can cut cannon barrels and slice the air and we the bladesmiths of other parts of the world are just rude medieval bearded guys who cant make proper tools :)
Absolutely, there is so much going on in the knifemaking / metallurgy world right now anyway... and most people are not informed about any of it@@JohnFrumFromAmerica
@@JohnFrumFromAmerica it wins in terms of sharpenability. Powdered steels are hard and tough because of carbides, but those carbides also make it much harder to sharpen.
"Even if the quality of the knives were all the same. We would still choose based on the maker." That says everything you need to hear. They'll pay $20K for a name brand knife. End of story.
Yes it does. A sharp knife will do minimal damage to the meat fibers, which makes for a more pleasant texture to the mouth, which our brain interprets as more pleasant.
The craftmanship is admirable, but dont say that you pay $20k for the precision of the knife, if you really want precision nothing can beat machines. You are paying $20k for a legendary craftmanship which in my opinion is worth it even if you could achieve more precise reaults with machines
I never had any problems with cheap knives as long as you sharpen them. These guys, they take knives too seriously. Its not that serious. But I respect the quality.
I bet he had the greatest collection ever ? He probably can make Kanna sword very expensive and sharp i watch a man make it from scratch the iron the coal itbtook him a very long time then he put it in water took like 2 yrs to sharpen
Look no further than CPM Magnacut steel. It's the best knife steel there is. Harder than carbon steel and ultra corrosion resistant. A crucible steel made just for knives.
I hesitate to call anything the best but I'm convinced that you are absolutely correct. My Hogue Deka, an Elishewitz designed folder with a reverse tanto Magnacut blade, has easily the best steel I've ever used in a pocket knife. I've had it for two years and haven't needed to sharpen it. Still looks new!
Issue is Japanese knives are incredibly thin and require good edge stability and toughness, which magnacut may not meet the criteria for, also carbon steel knives can often be made sharper than stainless steel knives as they possess a finer grain structure thanks to the lack of large carbide particles which are present in stainless steel.
The best mechanics know that a tool is more likely to be lost then broken, so they buy a reasonably priced set. Your not defined by your knife or tools, so be practical.
Powder steels don't need forging by the knife maker just forming the shape and heat treatment. A good powder steel will be significantly better than any forged knife.
It's a ridiculous argument. You're cutting meat. Blade geometry, thickness behind the edge is ALL that matters. How much maintenance depends on blade steel and heat treatment.
Sushi knives aren't made of stainless steel because they need to be extremely sharp and be sharpened easily to be extremely sharp. If you need to sharpen every day to maintain an extremely sharp edge, magnacut isn't good. Very hard steels are good for maintaining a very sharp edge for a long time without sharpening, but not good when you need an extremely sharp edge that requires lots of sharpening.
No I think they just are showing how much effort they put into the fit and finish of their knives. I'll never own one of these nenohi cause it's not my style but I love the Western handle nenox knives.
China and japan always exaggerate things , they make paper - stand in line joins hands incense sticks. As if they are doing something that cannot be done .
@@rhubarbpie2027 no, thats dragging out, they are just slow. look at how much faster Blaupließter in Solinge worked. This is just again one of these Hipster overengineered Workshops where half of the workhours are for cleaning the workshop.
@@rhubarbpie2027 i appreciate their cultur but its also a thing in Japan to do things more complicated then they have to be, especially with knifes and swords. I know the reasons why they did things like they have. the western world has a tendency to romanticizing this things. The realy old Knifemakers in Japan dont work so slow as these guys do but their knifes are also from very high quality i bet and they dont need fancy digital hardness tester or a "special developed" beltgrinder ( which was nothing more than a bigger diameter wheel shch makes grinding and polishing knifes easier )
@@Hans-Yolo ? These are high end knives meant for those seeking perfection. Of course it take a long time for each knife to be crafted. It is because of their crazy prices, high quality and effort to make which gives the knives from Japan the image of being over complicated. However, these knives take up a small amount of the total knives made in Japan. Try finding high end honyakis, several pieces are released here and there and are not easy to find. On the opposite spectrum there are Japanese knives which are much cheaper at around 100USD, but still with good quality, being churned out in crazy numbers and distributed widely overseas. Not every single Japanese knife goes through the crazy and lengthy process as seen in this video. In the Western world where craft knives are also important, there are cheaper mass produced knives, but also high quality custom knives which can make you wait for months to years to get your knife made for you. Look at cars, Rolls Royce in the England are super overcomplicated and expensive. Yes, but there is still a group of people willing to spend the money and time to wait for such products. Toyota, Honda etc from Japan are churning cars out in huge quantities. It is not right to say Japan over complicate things. They do pay greater attention details to the things they do, but they can also excel in high volume manufacturing with good quality.
@@colinyuan5404 get a piece of bluefin tuna and cut it with a knife. the surface should be reflective, which is only achievable with a very sharp knife. Any knife can be that sharp if you know how to sharpen though.
I suppose when a chef is slicing a tuna worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, there is no other option than use the best knife available. Do they go back to the knife maker for sharpening?
"Otaku" means "Geek." It's not anymore mystical or complicated than that. If you are an otaku of anything, it doesn't mean you're an expert, but that you're really into it., a geek.
You watched that whole video and you come to the conclusion that price is a key factor in the buying decision? Back to Walmart, kid. Adults are speaking.
The hole „carbon steel is sharper“ is because stainless is harder to sharpen. Thankfully this is the 21st century and cheap/high quality diamond sharpening stones and lapping compounds are available now.
It’s probably more supply demand based on individual reputation than hype. I have several Japanese knives, and I can tell you the difference is apparent as soon as you put it in your hand.
He probably sleeps w/ the knives on his bed. LOL. Obsessed is what I will call that. Some people will just make it too extreme over nothing. But I love the dedication to perfection.
In the latest Coveted episode, a historic lace factory is preserving the dying art of Leavers lace in England: th-cam.com/video/XD2nh75Yz8E/w-d-xo.html
I absolutely love to watch true craftsmen no matter what their discipline is.
Do you give equal deference to the 'designer' of the teeth that will chew the food that these blades will cut?
@@mwng5186there is no designer like that. this is no place for religious banter....
@@CyberBeep_kenshi maybe they are taking about a prosthodontist who create dentures. That also would be a treat to watch a skilled prosthodontist create a very high quality set of dentures.
Well said.
thats the cleanest knife maker workshop i have ever seen.
That’s what I thought too lol
I hope so - coz he only does 100 blades a year. LOL
almost more of a lab
@ 20K, do the math…..
@@stevesyncox9893majority of them will be much cheaper than that
This is an outstanding video and WSJ should keep working with this crew and make more content just like this. Great job!
Counterpoint -this is just high quality pictures and talk that don’t result in an answer to the question. Therefore it is common click bait.
The implication is that someone of high skill spends a large amount of time to make one knife and many failures. Who is the judge of this skill? Only the guy whose name is on the company.
An example of the videos failure -it never mentions that the structure of the knife business is exactly like the premium sushi chefs that buy the knives. Apprenticeship for most of their life in the hope one day they will be deemed worthy by the expert.
The $20k knife is the perfect prop for the show.
@@skyak4493 lol
@@skyak4493Let's see. I'm a metallurgist, and I have been a process engineer for 9 years. This video wasn't just smoke-and-mirrors to me.
Making such a high-end fully customized knife is incredibly intricate. Every step is artisanal, meaning someone had to work very long to gain the required experience for the manual work. Hot working, heat treatment, grinding, sharpening, engraving, polishing, handle making, and so on. And with most steps (except maybe for the polishing and the handle making) a mistake can be unrecoverable.
But, ok, I agree that much of the above may not be obvious to a lay person.
The Japanese attitude to precision and development is what impresses me.
Masters of precision, and actual quality.
Too much hype, and have studied both Japanese katana and knife making. No reason his best knife should sell for 20,000 not even Howard Clarke asks that for his Katanas that stunned and humbled two Japanese national treasure smiths that tried them, and their swords command 100k or more. Japan produces amazing heels, you can source with Hitachi and several others, and working premade steel is way easier than working a katana from tamahagane.
Respectful. Any hand-made yanagiba, with passion and dedication, is a beautiful thing. Not an easy knife to craft and finish. I got mine from Sakai years ago, it's a masterpiece and it's such a pleasure when I get to use it.
The Japanese just make spectacular things. Ranging from their cars in Honda and Toyota, knives/swords, electronics, watches and so many other things. I honestly think they are the best overall manufacturers of stuff in the world. Period. They innovate AND have attention to detail and reliability and aesthetics.
wow beautiful blades and craftmanship ! truly masters of the art ! I need to order some of these beautiful cutlery pieces !
Beautifully created video! I love Japanese knives because they start with the best steel, like Hitachi White or Blue and many other grades. Their edge geometry is completely unique making Western knives seem more like a wood splitting maul than a knife. Their asymmetrical edge is a new level of sharp that has to be experienced. I own 4 handmade Japanese knives and wouldn’t trade them for anything. Sharpening them on a series of waterstones is like mindful meditation.
Improving on traditional methods is an innovation that someone will continue to improve the process.
I had the pleasure of owning several of these Japanese knives, they are the best I've ever tried and nothing can beat em. Truely masterpieces.
"babe did you put my knife in the dishwasher?!?"
Says “huh” as she’s cutting on a metal platform 😂 Means for a break up right there .
i was watching a video from a guy who does videos of things in japan and he got his sister in law a knife that was "expensive" but lower end. her husband left the knife on the cutting board and it got rust spots and the edge was damaged (just from hours of lying around wet). he took it back to the store/maker and they fixed it like new for free. she said the husband isn't allowed to use the knife again 🙂non stainless steel sounds so stressful!
@@mm-yt8sf LOL THAT'S CRAZY THAT THEY BANNED HIM
"No, it's over by the can of dog food that I used your knife to open."
@@mm-yt8sfI saw this video too! For anyone else interested the TH-camr’s name is Life Where I’m From and the title of the video is “What I Learned When I Damaged a New Handcrafted Japanese Knife”
This is like the Grand Seiko of knifemaking.
I have a $10,000 Takeda Hamono that I had hand made, one of one, for my chef career, back in 2014. I no longer cook professionally, but it is a prized possession that will be passed down!
I don’t get how a chef could ever afford a 10 grand knife. I have a few $800 knives. I worked at a high 3 star level and they felt like overkill.
@@smoll.miniatures I have about $26,000 worth. I also worked 90+ hours a week for years straight for $125,000/year in Denver, so you don't spend your money on anything other than rent, booze or other substance, and takeout food.
I have a $3000 daily driver that was custom hand made by Takeda in Japan, that I still use daily. There is an incredible knife store in Denver, Carbon Knife Co. that will ruin our wallet with fully hand made Japanese beauties. I was single and just worked.
I did NOT use those during my chef career though, I just used Sakai Takayuki or even Shun, thanks to terrible people and thieves.
Those were my splurge purchases.
@@smoll.miniatures unless u own bunch of places , its very rare for that to happen
That's cool. Get your kid a nice 100 dollar wustof to practice with them present them with the hamono knife in some elaborate ceremony when they are worthy.
@@smoll.miniatures Combat disabled veteran with 12 years service, and I had another business during that time too. I was always deployed or working, saving money.
After I was hit and two years of recovery, I went back into the kitchen, somewhere that I started in at 13.
I also was making about $150,000/yr at my last exec job and was working 100 hours a week, so no place to spend money either then on tools and knives!
With age, experience, and understanding how many levels of precision one can intill into these projects, the more these 20k-30k price tags make sense. I'm glad for these craftsmen. It can be difficult to feel truly entitled to the value of your work and stick to your guns.
This video got you a subscription. Love stuff like this. People who they take their craft to extreme bordering on insanity. I approve!
incredible skills
This is pure material physics and every movement in heating and forging can be calculated as it is known how materiel behaves but these guys are talking from pure experience.
Not a question of how it behaves more of a question of what behaviour will make it better.
Interesting how many people are opposed to craftspeople being paid fairly for their time and effort and skill.
$20K for knives is beyond stupid
@@tshirtnjeans4829 10 people working to produce ~150 of a good per year on average is going to carry a whopping premium. They are as much tools for fine dining as they are works of art. You are comparing the price to a typical Toyota, when they are making Bugattis.
@@abg7750 People will find ways to justify anything. These knives don't slice better than $20 knives from Walmart. The fact that the manufacturing is inefficient does not give the product a $19,980 premium.
It’s fired & stoned steel. As you see, he isn’t even the one doing it. It’s outsourced to normal workers.
The marketing is fantastic, but these are $500 blades here. Too simple & easy to make.
There’s a reason people don’t think stainless steel is as strong - because it isn’t.
@@abg7750except this Bugatti is easily mimicked & made of cheap materials.
It’s great marketing, that’s it.
"Traditional knives have reached their limits" I can hear every man in Japan over 50 roaring in anger XD
Very interesting!
Can whoever does the closed caption subtitles make sure that they're not obscuring the burned-in subtitles?
What do you mean? Don't you like seeing "speaking in a foreign language" and "continues to speak in a foreign language" over the actual subtitles?
you can drag and move the closed caption (if you are on PC)
Whoever did the CC deserves a lengthy jail time, with no parole.
Excellent reporting
Very clean work shop.
Would love to visit this company
Wow! What beautiful knives. I love the quest for perfection. There is never true perfection, but they get close. Thanks 🎸🔪
These are not craftsmen. They are artists.
Well presented. Now , knives today are almost always made with known raw materials and classified types like 1082 or 51n20 that can be sourced from anywhere. These knives are really just works of art keep a traditional methods alive.
Give me Nakagawa, Tanaka, Ikeda, Togashi or Doi any day. These are way overpriced. Those first four are the best in Sakai.
Rich and deep history with those other and the brands they work for. Give them your support.
For 20k$ you can get multiple knives from each of these and still have money left over
@@RzTheTree I genuinely think you could get every kind of Japanese Knife shape and absolutely stunning versions for 20k. You could legitimately get 9-10 Honyaki Aogami Number 1 and deck out every single staff member at your sushi restaurant.
Add Shigefusa and Kiyoshi Kato to that list 👌🏽
@@chefknivesenthusiast ohhh absolutely perhaps a bit tougher to find currently though.
To get the best out of knives you need the proper steels for the right task. First off moving to a powder metal would help the performance of many knive steels or using the type of steel with the characteristics you need in them. Do you need high alloy low alloy carbon or stainless? Do you need high toughness, corrosion resistance, ability to hold an edge or ease of sharpening? There is alot that goes into a good knife and a good material
Sushi hustle go hard!😂😂😂
He realised billiet is better. As someone that works with metal all day I like to see others work with metal.
How do these carbon steels compare to cd1 or magnacut?
Fascinating.
He’s around 50 years old??? Goodness. I thought he was in his later 30s.
I love how they don’t accept low quality in Japan, in everything they do. It’s truly remarkable yet obvious.
They do accept low quality. It's all in how much it is paid for. There was a time when Japan was known for inferior junk the same way cheap Chinese stuff is viewed today. It also is the same as to why England mandated German made blades to be marked "Made in Germany". At one point in time they were the cheapest options and the quality reflected that. They understand that to remain competitive with what they charge as the economy improved, the cheap mass production just won't cut it. With current labor costs, any cheap quality good produced in Japan will be massively overpriced and won't be competitive. But back when labor was cheap they did produce garbage quality stuff.
Fascinating exploration of the evolving craftsmanship in sushi knife making! Sawada innovative approach with stainless steel challenges traditional norms and could reshape the future of culinary tools. 🔪
Piotr Tatamovich here , I am polish , I spent 4 years in Japan and was taught how to make sushi blade by the master Imagonnatakashitta nowi san , I am now best sushi knife make in world, like betman
I’m used to Swedish Damasteel and ot impressed of the japanese knives. I bought an expensive Gyoto but once it accidentally fell to the floor it broke the tip and a peace of the blade.
Wiltshire stay-sharp - now that was true craftsmanship.
I use the plastic knives in take out orders for my at home sushi making
There was an awful lot of marketing hogwash in this video but fair play to him for getting people to buy it, that's business.
Cutting from sheet steel, tapping a few times power hammer, a heat treat montage, and expected grind and polish. Yes, marketing is what this is. I dont see any of the lore of Japanese blade smithing here at all. My understanding of the forging process, hype. Time to put this blade against say 20 other smiths knowing its purpose and shape design. Blind test them with identical handles or its material. Plus lets snap one of these in half and see its grain structure verse the highest placed knife.
If you know anything about metallurgy you’ll know a lot can be done to improve structural properties of the metal. Government’s don’t build synchrotron light source to study materials for no reason. Modern metallurgy has moved forward in the last 20 years enough for an average chef to notice his knife stays sharper for longer.
@@sid35gb I know enough about metallurgy and blade smithing to know that nothing that happened to the steel in that video made a blind bit of difference to the finished product.
Ike you are breaking it in nicely!
The absolute pinnacle of craftmanship and attention to detail based on turning work into art. Japanese not just, but especially with knifes and sword making were high tech way before this term was invented. Excellent report, thx WSJ👍
That is same like with Stradivarius violins, everyone says they are the best, but no one can recognize them among contemporary violins.
This video goes hard at 2am
The most impactful and highest regarded people are always absolutely obsessed with whatever it is they are trying to Achieve.
Remarkable
yea forging most kind of stainless causes the grain structure to swell and a lot of the chromium to burn off. at least in my experience. 304 and 404 are not good but perhaps a high vanadium alloy might work
When I grow up I want to be Japanese.
Nice
Bark River Knives a bit envious here (**)
outstanding viewing content here.
I'm confused. I was under the impression that the high price from Japanese knives came from the tamhagane process and then the polishing stages. Industrializing the process that makes this uniquely Japanese (handmade with Kaizen attitude) seem like it should have a lower price. Thinking about this as a westerner looking in doesn't help. If it is Japanese chefs that are driving demand that is different than western chefs who tend to covet the older ways and hours invested from the sword making aspects.
Same, if you start from steel sheet, nothing wrong with that, then you have a datasheet for it, saying that the heat treatment protocol is "trade secret" implies that you are better at metallurgy than the team of metallurgists at the steel factory that makes the steel...
Agreed. Oddly enough, the Japanese needed to use the tamhagane due to them having some of the lowest quality steel at that time in order to get all the impurities out. They’re known for having great craftsman, which is often confused with having great steels. That may be different now but back then it wasn’t the case.
@@pablopeuUhmm... As a metallurgist, and working for a stainless steel supplier, I can tell you that no stainless steel manufacturer will have a standard procedure ready to modify the grain structure from stainless steel plate specifically into the optimal grain structure for an extremely high-end sushi knife.
This isn't a simple _"Hold at 1150 °F (721 °C) for at least 30 minutes and then quench in fast oil."_
Instead, it will be a highly specific combination of holding times, temperatures, heating rates, cooling rates, hammering (so hot deformation) which will depend on the specific location on the blade and more.
You can't get this from an AMS or ASTM standard, or a manufacturer product data sheet.
I feel like you'd get better results and a WAY higher production if you used industrial production robot arms. I know this is about craftmanship and all that, but this wouldn't take much time to program them to do. Like they said: "The craftman is dying out", so you can teach them your tricks, which won't get told to anyone since they can't speak. I'm pretty sure you could even use the cheapest robotic arm for those movements, so you'll get away with the 2000 dollar arms.
I know nothing of sushi knives..please forgive my ignorance.
However,
Has any decent knife maker utilized "super stainless steel" such as s90v, m390, etc for such an application?
“Super steel”, like “surgical steel”, is a marketing term, not actually a description of anything.. Yes, makers in Japan have used duper steels.
Still, a high carbon steel like Aogami or blue super, etc with good geometry, an optimized and highly controlled heat treat protocol, and a high hrc will be superior to any duper steel.
It’s been proven in real world use-tests, of which CATRA is not. CATRA is far too controlled not allowing anything approaching real world use to be a factor…unless your job is cutting abrasive impregnated card stock all day.
Cutting 20 thousand dollar knife from a blank made from sheet metal?
It's just metal. What were you expecting?
@GeneSargentArt a proportional price. Though I guess if I could sell cnc cut sheet metal for 20 grand per square foot I would.
@@IIrandhandleII but it's not just the material cost, it's all the work and knowledge that goes into it
@GeneSargentArt yep I agree it's art but as a buyer I would be apprehensive knowing it came from sheet metal. I would prefer it to be forged like a traditional samurai sword but I'm not a knife expert just an enthusiast.
The ergonomics of this knives are really different. It feels very very different from commercial made knives.
There should be tests done with these knives to show that they are actually better, I kind of find it hard to believe that these knives are that much better than knives of made of comparable steel. If it’s just about status like Gucci or whatever that’s fine, but don’t hum up as some sort of super fantastic thing you can’t find anywhere else.
as a knivemaker i can tell you are totally right
the only special thing about them is their marketing team
able to sell the same knife that all the japanese crafters do fo 10000% the price of it
it's the japanese fever , people love them and think that everything that come from there can cut cannon barrels and slice the air and we the bladesmiths of other parts of the world are just rude medieval bearded guys who cant make proper tools :)
It would lose to a modern powder steel in every measure.
Absolutely, there is so much going on in the knifemaking / metallurgy world right now anyway... and most people are not informed about any of it@@JohnFrumFromAmerica
There is a major distinction. Quenching the knives in the tears of blue fin tuna is what makes them superior to anything else on the market.
@@JohnFrumFromAmerica it wins in terms of sharpenability. Powdered steels are hard and tough because of carbides, but those carbides also make it much harder to sharpen.
No water cooling on the grinders? hmm.
Awesome 😎
Буквально:
Ножи: 😑😑😑
Ножи из Японии: 🥵🥵🥵
Is this a Hattori Hanzo knife ?
Respect 🫡
"Even if the quality of the knives were all the same. We would still choose based on the maker." That says everything you need to hear. They'll pay $20K for a name brand knife. End of story.
Truly if you need a 20k knife when a 500$ knife will do the same then its about ego.
Yes all those guys driving Ferrari and Bugatti can get the experience driving a Corolla.😂
@@sid35gb Poor comparison. Your cutting experience from a sharp $100 knife to a sharp $800 knife is going to be the same aside from ergonomics.
Did these generational blade makers make blades for Unit 731?
Does it make the food taste better?
Pretty sure it does
Yes it does. A sharp knife will do minimal damage to the meat fibers, which makes for a more pleasant texture to the mouth, which our brain interprets as more pleasant.
Myamoto Musashi had a few things to say about good and bad blades.
There never was a good blade made of bad steel.
The craftmanship is admirable, but dont say that you pay $20k for the precision of the knife, if you really want precision nothing can beat machines. You are paying $20k for a legendary craftmanship which in my opinion is worth it even if you could achieve more precise reaults with machines
I want to know who made his eye glasses
I wonder what other type of 👓 do you have in US an a...s glasses, a knobbbb 👓 ??
Quentin Tarantino reincarnated as a Japanese knifemaker.
I never had any problems with cheap knives as long as you sharpen them. These guys, they take knives too seriously. Its not that serious. But I respect the quality.
i hate the wsj, but love this video
When they use micrometer to make a knife you know they mean business.
The ultimate flex for da roadmen
I bet he had the greatest collection ever ? He probably can make Kanna sword very expensive and sharp i watch a man make it from scratch the iron the coal itbtook him a very long time then he put it in water took like 2 yrs to sharpen
Look no further than CPM Magnacut steel. It's the best knife steel there is. Harder than carbon steel and ultra corrosion resistant. A crucible steel made just for knives.
I hesitate to call anything the best but I'm convinced that you are absolutely correct. My Hogue Deka, an Elishewitz designed folder with a reverse tanto Magnacut blade, has easily the best steel I've ever used in a pocket knife. I've had it for two years and haven't needed to sharpen it. Still looks new!
Issue is Japanese knives are incredibly thin and require good edge stability and toughness, which magnacut may not meet the criteria for, also carbon steel knives can often be made sharper than stainless steel knives as they possess a finer grain structure thanks to the lack of large carbide particles which are present in stainless steel.
just like everywhere else - people pay that much just so that they can say they paid that much
the hubris of the menu
Impressive
The best mechanics know that a tool is more likely to be lost then broken, so they buy a reasonably priced set. Your not defined by your knife or tools, so be practical.
Just like suit enthusiasts spend $15k on a bespoke suit, some chefs will do the same with knives even if it doesn't make sense.
Japan really loves slicing things. From people to fishes.
Powder steels may give you more control over the blade during the forging process. I've never seen a sushi knife made of Magnacut steel.
Powder steels don't need forging by the knife maker just forming the shape and heat treatment. A good powder steel will be significantly better than any forged knife.
@@JohnFrumFromAmerica
That statement is incorrect
@@zoggrog8823 CPM steels have their "ingredients" more evenly distributed due to how it is processed.
It's a ridiculous argument. You're cutting meat. Blade geometry, thickness behind the edge is ALL that matters. How much maintenance depends on blade steel and heat treatment.
Sushi knives aren't made of stainless steel because they need to be extremely sharp and be sharpened easily to be extremely sharp.
If you need to sharpen every day to maintain an extremely sharp edge, magnacut isn't good. Very hard steels are good for maintaining a very sharp edge for a long time without sharpening, but not good when you need an extremely sharp edge that requires lots of sharpening.
They talk as if its rare yokai magic or something. Its impressive craftsmanship, but they exaggerated as if their lives were dependent on it.
No I think they just are showing how much effort they put into the fit and finish of their knives. I'll never own one of these nenohi cause it's not my style but I love the Western handle nenox knives.
Yeah... everything in Japan seemes to be art. Even cutting the fish for sushi is an art.
China and japan always exaggerate things , they make paper - stand in line joins hands incense sticks. As if they are doing something that cannot be done .
Right? I can get my klien wire cutting knife pretty sharp with a grinder
@@timothyb.4928 yikes
Pretty sure that heat treating oven is made in Texas 🤘🏻
If there’s one thing I’ve learned about the Japanese in my life, they know how to drag a job out
Drag it out, or ensure the best possible outcome?
@@rhubarbpie2027 no, thats dragging out, they are just slow. look at how much faster Blaupließter in Solinge worked. This is just again one of these Hipster overengineered Workshops where half of the workhours are for cleaning the workshop.
@@Hans-Yolo I hope you get the chance to visit Japan for an extended period and learn to appreciate their culture.
@@rhubarbpie2027 i appreciate their cultur but its also a thing in Japan to do things more complicated then they have to be, especially with knifes and swords. I know the reasons why they did things like they have. the western world has a tendency to romanticizing this things. The realy old Knifemakers in Japan dont work so slow as these guys do but their knifes are also from very high quality i bet and they dont need fancy digital hardness tester or a "special developed" beltgrinder ( which was nothing more than a bigger diameter wheel shch makes grinding and polishing knifes easier )
@@Hans-Yolo ? These are high end knives meant for those seeking perfection. Of course it take a long time for each knife to be crafted. It is because of their crazy prices, high quality and effort to make which gives the knives from Japan the image of being over complicated. However, these knives take up a small amount of the total knives made in Japan. Try finding high end honyakis, several pieces are released here and there and are not easy to find. On the opposite spectrum there are Japanese knives which are much cheaper at around 100USD, but still with good quality, being churned out in crazy numbers and distributed widely overseas. Not every single Japanese knife goes through the crazy and lengthy process as seen in this video.
In the Western world where craft knives are also important, there are cheaper mass produced knives, but also high quality custom knives which can make you wait for months to years to get your knife made for you.
Look at cars, Rolls Royce in the England are super overcomplicated and expensive. Yes, but there is still a group of people willing to spend the money and time to wait for such products. Toyota, Honda etc from Japan are churning cars out in huge quantities.
It is not right to say Japan over complicate things. They do pay greater attention details to the things they do, but they can also excel in high volume manufacturing with good quality.
And I’m over here getting mad at my $80 knife for not slicing like this…
You should sharpen it. an expensive knife wont cut well if its dull.
👇The most important question is👇
Are these knives precise enough to avoid irritating the sensitive skin while shaving privet parts in one run?🤔
😂😂
So will the meat cut by 20k$ knife taste better than a 100$ knife?
Yes because it’s not tearing the fibers but some one like you that only eats chicken nuggies won’t be able to tell the difference
@@Dirkadew I need solid proof, not your imagination
It works in a more indirect way: A chef that can afford a 20k knife must be doing something right.
@@colinyuan5404 get a piece of bluefin tuna and cut it with a knife. the surface should be reflective, which is only achievable with a very sharp knife.
Any knife can be that sharp if you know how to sharpen though.
I suppose when a chef is slicing a tuna worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, there is no other option than use the best knife available. Do they go back to the knife maker for sharpening?
I’d love to use one of these in Call of Duty
NOTHING THERE WORTH ANYWHERE NEAR 20K!
"Otaku" means "Geek." It's not anymore mystical or complicated than that. If you are an otaku of anything, it doesn't mean you're an expert, but that you're really into it., a geek.
There's plenty of handmade stainless steel from other knife makers for a much better price, this is just brand hype
You watched that whole video and you come to the conclusion that price is a key factor in the buying decision? Back to Walmart, kid. Adults are speaking.
おしゃっる通りです
@@angryspacerasta1398 That comment is beyond dumb
The hole „carbon steel is sharper“ is because stainless is harder to sharpen. Thankfully this is the 21st century and cheap/high quality diamond sharpening stones and lapping compounds are available now.
It’s probably more supply demand based on individual reputation than hype. I have several Japanese knives, and I can tell you the difference is apparent as soon as you put it in your hand.
The sushi business must be very lucrative indeed for a chef of any caliber to afford $20K for one flipping knife. That’s a status grab, not a tool.
Look at Sandrin Knives, this is really new.....
The only reason to have a $20K knife? To say you have a $20K knife. A $250 knife will do just as well.
Boooo!
The guy doesn’t seem like a price gouger. Just means it took an extremely long time to make the knife.
He probably sleeps w/ the knives on his bed. LOL. Obsessed is what I will call that. Some people will just make it too extreme over nothing. But I love the dedication to perfection.
"yusuke continues to speak foreign language" blocking the actual subtitles is such a bad oversight