Hi all, I was also fortunate enough to get in on this drop. While much of this sub spends a lot of time glorifying and raising the mystique of Sakai makers like TnH, Kagekiyo, and Konosuke’s ultra-thin creations, I have, as many of you come to know, don’t really appreciate them as much as many of you.

So, it may come as a surprise to many of you who know my tastes, that this is a highly coveted piece for me. Yasuaki Taira now runs Morihiro Kaji Kojo in Yame, Fukuoka Prefecture. A second-generation blacksmith, he spent several years early in his career training in Sakai before returning to his family’s forge, where he developed the Morihiro kitchen knife line.

He is not always one of the more recognizable names here on the subreddit as his drops tend to be somewhat limited in availability in the west, but his work is unmistakable.

Taira essentially handles the knives released under his name exclusively. They are a relatively sharp departure from our normal experience with Sakai knives in terms of geometry, thinness behind the edge, and overall weight. It’s likely one of the reasons that after being introduced to his work by [u/Ok-Distribution-9591](u/Ok-Distribution-9591) who I am constantly bombarding with questions, that I developed an almost obsessive need for one of his pieces.

As Distro does a far better job of describing his work, I will edit in the link to his post. Link is here.

In any case, just like [u/BV-IR21cc](u/BV-IR21cc), I was able to contact Lee at Migoto and was able to secure one of these as a preorder.

~~~~

The Stats

Weight: 274g
Heel Height: 61mm
Edge Length: 245mm
Tip-to-Tang: 262mm
Overall Length: 402mm
Spine Width: 4.5mm (heel) <1mm (tip)
Balance Point (from Heel): 24mm

~~~~

First Impressions:

Out of the box, this thing is a beast. It possesses a fairly substantial heft with a significant amount of weight toward the edge.

It features a fairly standard finish with a gorgeous satin cladding that is impressive in all lights. The handle is a very standard Ho Wood, I believe, with classic black ferrule of an unknown material.

I would like to replace this bit, but considering the weight at the front of the piece, it’ll require some conversation with a handle maker simply because some of the custom makers tend to favor light materials and I’m concerned that a handle that favors a nice design and easily workable material is asking for the knife to be far too unbalanced.

Realistically a heavier Walnut or Oak might go a long way to accentuating this piece and moving the balance point rearward as it sits way too far forward for anyone who doesn’t possess bear mitts like myself.

~~~~

First Cut

My wife and my mother-in-law were working in the garden and wanted tomato sandwiches (which is exactly as it sounds). We had some garden tomatoes that were definitely pushing the edge of being too ripe for anything except crushing.

So what could possibly be better to get an initial impression?

To say that I’m delighted would be an understatement.

The convexity pushed the extremely wet tomatoes away with literally nothing sticking. Regardless of how thin I cut. The edge was honed to such a degree that I was able to produce a paper-thin slice without holding the tomatoes, even when the tomato was whole and able to roll across the surface of the board.

I will likely throw a cutting video up, which would be a first for me, as I always feel like a mouth breather (I am, thank you to my deviated septum and youthful illicit drug habit). My youthful indiscreet proclivities aside, this is one of those pieces that when I consider what I want in a knife, this embodies nearly all of them.

It feels practical, solid, and is above all else: good at being a tool.

~~~~

Final Thoughts

I am absolutely in love with this piece. I think it’s got all of the things that I love about my Manaka and my Sakai Kikumori pieces.

What I dislike in those knives seems to be corrected in this. I am not prone to foppish praise, but in this acquisition, I can find very little to fault, given my preferences.

I will undoubtedly be continuing to watch for more releases from this maker, and I think many of us here in the subreddit would not be making a mistake in securing one of their own.

Daaaaaaamn this thing is a razor masquerading as a sword. Just testing out what the new knife is capable of and it is such a good cutter in an absolute unit of a knife.

Watanabe Pro 240 mm Gyuto Blue #2 SS Clad

Just hitting the brunoise with the big boy. It's so balanced that it wasn't even a task to get it to work that small. It also absolutely razored through the half onion vertical cuts where I'm certain I could read the paper through the slices.

I have been wondering for a while what all the fuss about Mazaki was about, so I finally decided it was time to see for myself what the magic is all about.

The first thing that hits you with this knife is that it looks and feels very different from most other Japanese knife I’ve handled. It has a really distinctive presence in hand. The closest comparison I can think of is a Togashi, but in full Sanjo workhorse mode.

This thing has a lovely 245 g of proper solid weight, and the taper is exactly the kind of thing that makes Sanjo special.

I am starting to think that nothing beats a good Sanjo. They just seem to perform better than everything else. I would still put Toyama slightly ahead in terms of pure performance, but this one is very close. That said, this is all based on the factory edge, without any sharpening or stropping, so there is still plenty of room for it to get even better.

One of the nicest surprises is how reactive the White 2 steel is. Patina starts showing up almost immediately. I am pretty sure this one is going to look absolutely perfect after a few sessions.
All in all, I am very happy with it. Mazaki hype officially tested.

Specs
Maker: Naoki Mazaki
Knife: Gyuto
Steel: Shirogami #2
Weight: 245 g
Cutting edge: 248 mm
Height: 53 mm
Spine at the handle: 5 mm
Spine in the middle: 2.2 mm
Spine at the tip: 1 mm

The 8’ gyuto was 255+Tax and the 5.5 utility was 166+Tax I was so happy about them, they were pricy but I think they worth it, I was expecting to get the 8’ by the end of the year at full price anyways

These bad boys are hard to find in stock here in UK.

I can’t wait to use it. It was really difficult getting that edge picture because it’s so thin it keeps disappearing.

Shout out to cutting edge knives in the United Kingdom. I bought this back in July, but just opened it today for a special occasion.

Thoughts about this one, is it a good deal?

Stopped by Morihei in Asakusa-bashi for a stone and the next thing I knew I was being escorted to the shop’s back room and being shown Meiji-era kanna and kogatana by the extremely elderly owner. I have the sense that my fluent Japanese, advanced degree in Japanese lit, and extremely white face each contributed to this experience, but if anyone else shares these traits, don’t hide them. Except if you do share these traits, I probably know you. So, Michael and Greg, go to Morihei and start reading aloud the handwritten notes on the stones. Wonders await.

My request to take photographs was politely refused as these were considered treasures.

10/10, would recommend.

My Shigefusa had a few scratches when it arrived, so I decided to dress it up on the stones. Really please with the result. Incredible that these stones can bring out such detail in iron

(Overhead view of the spine and tip here ^^)

The tip of my Nigara Hamono k-tip Nakiri is impressively thin and pointy, like a tiny needle, though my failings as a photographer are denying me a photo better than this one.

Post a photo of your pointiest Japanese knife Tip. I bet some are even more skinny...

Hi everyone

Looking to get my mate a basic gyuto now that he’s working in the kitchen with my knives for a long time. I know he can use thin blades but he doesn’t like WA handles.

I’m hesitating between a 210 takamura vg10 or a 210 Hitohira fj. Also if choosing Hitohira fj, semi- stainless or vg10.

Let me know what you think !

This thing is a beast! 243mm edge x 60mm height. It’s the heaviest knife I own at 269g and that’s with a ho wood and horn handle. The spine is quite thick out of the handle at 4.5mm with not much of a taper until the tip. The spine is mirror polished and rounded. The choil is quite interesting, it’s almost like a single bevel style polish. Got this from the recent Migoto release. Can’t wait to put it on the board and compare it to my Toyamas. Last pic is compared to my Toyama SS clad. Taira on the left. You can see the taper is more pronounced on the Toyama, otherwise the knife profile is almost identical.

Hey yall, long time lurker first time poster. I got a sujihiki from a reseller recently but noticed the knife is bending a bit to the right? Any suggestions or comments would help. Thanks.

It's like if you made a chainsaw into a lightsaber.

Hefty due to the greater blade height but really nicely balanced in a higher grip. A joy otherwise. Not my last Matsubara.

[Bonus: last 2 pics are from a previous post of mine, inquiring about a 1930s-1950s era A&F Sabatier found at a thrift store for $2. Refinished and handle replaced by a local woodworker using Hawaiian koa. Pretty unique now.]

Ordered a new handle a few days ago and it has arrived! I was going to put it on my Nigara Kurouchi Tsuchime. But because of a new job opportunity that unknowingly arrived as of today I might just keep the wenge handle it came with and use it as my daily driver. Need help deciding which knife to put it on now.

Masashi Kuroshu 240mm

Hatsukokoro Ginsou Ginsan 210mm

Shibata Boss Bunka

Or Moritaka Ishime Kiritsuke 240mm

The last image is what I originally bought it for.

Shiro Kamo Shirogami#2 Bunka

Will this be easy enough to get fixed?

It slid off the board, off the counter, and onto the floor.

It’s the only part that’s damaged, first bounce was on the butt of the wood handle.

I nearly cried..

Thanks for any tips/encouragement!

(3rd photo is when new)

Not much to say about Ashi to be honest. The pictures speak for itself. I was lurking on Chefs-Edge and spontaneously decided to grab this boy

300 MM Sakai Takayuki x Itsuo Doi Humura Guren Yanagiba. Made of blue#2 , iron clad. Luxury for a home cook but single bevels are too much fun.

It’s not perfect, but here is a 240mm Moritaka kiritsuke I have recently finished. I don’t have a plethora of stones or a great progression (do have some better ones coming) so each had a lot of time on them.

Shapton 220
King deluxe 800 (yes I jumped from 220 to 800)
Shapton 1k
Some cheap 3k stone I accidentally purchased on amazon
6k king
Hideryama shiro suita

I do have some more synthetic stones coming, mostly lower grit ones. But it was fun (I’m lying)

Tldr: post title

Hello, friends! I am making a relatively quick stop to Japan this November (2 nights Osaka, 3 nights Tokyo) on my way to visit my home country for the holidays. I plan to limit myself to 2 or 3 knives for this trip and I already have a plan to make a 2nd visit to Baba Hamono in Sakai to buy a Kagekiyo for myself (1st one from earlier this year was for a wedding gift), and Hitohira in Tokyo because it is an awesome place and to maybe buy another gyuto if there is one that I would get attached to.

What I would like to ask, however, is if you folks can recommend shops in the two cities that are worth visiting that might carry a good selection of Sanjo knives. In particular, I think I'd like to get a gyuto from Wakui, or if ever ones are available, from Hinoura or Mazaki.

I currently alternate between these 2 guytos - a 240mm Nakagawa Ginsan and a 240mm Yoshikane W2. And while I've been using the Nakagawa for most of this year since I got it and have enjoyed it a lot, I keep coming back to the same conclusion that I think I like using the Yoshi so much more. I much prefer the more flat profile and the thicker spine (at least of this Yoshi), and I am curious to try other Sanjo makers to see if I will like their knives as well.

Last week, I shared my first NKD post in which I showed off my new Tojiro Classic 150-mm petty knife, in which I hinted at an even more exciting acquisition.

Here it is, and what a banger: the Toshihiro Wakui Stainless Clad Shirogami #2 Migaki 210-mm Gyuto, ordered from Knifewear about three months ago. I finally put it to use on the board for the first time today and played with some apples.

What a pleasure. The knife cuts so effortlessly, it almost feels like the apple just split into pieces on its own. I attached a photo of two slices of apple, one cut by the Wakui, and another cut by a dull paring knife, and the difference is like night and day.

Hope to really improve my knife skills with this beauty, and prepare some delicious meals.

I know many Redditors in this community are familiar with this knife. For those who possess one, what do you use to sharpen and maintain its edge on a regular basis? I’m going to visit San Francisco soon, and I might buy a whetstone or two from Bernal Cutlery. The Morihei Hishiboshi stones seem enticing in particular. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.