Show us your new knife!

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Jeff B
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Re: Show us your new knife!

Post by Jeff B »

Hitohira Tanaka Kyuzo Blue #1 Stainless Clad 240mm Gyuto Taihei Ebony w/Black Horn Handle
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Re: Show us your new knife!

Post by LaVieestBelle »

Jeff, you are going to love this....
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Re: Show us your new knife!

Post by mauichef »

This is probably the most unusual knife I own. Got it for Christmas along with 2 other Keijiro creations.

A minimum 25 years old, this 167mm Santoku/Usuba cross breed was made by Keijiro Doi for a housewife in Tokyo. It’s made with white 3, which was among the norm in Sakai back then.

It's a strange one for sure. It was described as a santoku meets usuba by the seller and was found in the belongings of a deceased housewife in Japan. The knife was, according to what he could track down, made as a one-off for this housewife, who had some sort of connection to Keijiro Doi herself. She never used it.

It really has the feel of an usuba that was broken, and so was turned into this, especially with the santoku tip being turned down, not up. According to a well known Japanese collector who had it in his personal collection, this was absolutely intentional and the tip was made this way to make it easier to use for the housewife. A big part of the rarity of the knife is that it may actually be one of a kind. I have never seen anything like it. A real unicorn made by one of the greatest blacksmiths of the past century.

The figuring on the Blonde Buffalo Horn Ferrule is some of the best I have ever seen.

I am a huge fan of Keijiro's creations and this is the icing on the cake of my humble Doi collection.

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Re: Show us your new knife!

Post by XexoX »

Beautiful Mr. Chef. I hope you've written up the story of the knife, for future generations. It would be a shame for its history to be lost.
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Re: Show us your new knife!

Post by VictorTex82 »

It's so stylish, where did you buy it? I like the wooden part in the design
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Re: Show us your new knife!

Post by LaVieestBelle »

Jeff B wrote: Mon Apr 04, 2022 3:51 pm Hitohira Tanaka Kyuzo Blue #1 Stainless Clad 240mm Gyuto Taihei Ebony w/Black Horn Handle

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Jeff, looking at your gorgeous new knife got me thinking...

I am now very curious about the history/background of some of these knives. Mine is an older version and kanjis on both sides are different from yours, Jeff. I know that there has been a very small amount of discussion about forgers/sharpeners. I am just curious about the evolving kanjis and whether they reflect changes in who has been behind different generations of this knife. Or something else. Mine would be 2018 or earlier.

Thanks for any input/thoughts. I know little about the history, and even less about the markings!
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Re: Show us your new knife!

Post by Jeff B »

The extra kanji on the right side is only on the stainless clad version. The core steel stamp on the left side, I think the tile version is on older runs of this line but don't know exactly when it would have changed. And I could be nutz and totally off base about that.
The black ferrule on mine seems to be somewhat rare too.
There is a tag on the knife box that appears to have a date of 1/22 on it, I bought it second hand. I do know it came from Carbon Knife Co.
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Re: Show us your new knife!

Post by mauichef »

That's really interesting Cindy.
Is your knife a Hitohira Tanaka Kyuzo?
I am not sure if Kyuzo-san was doing the wide bevels back in 2018.
The standard Hitohira kanji is the same but there are 3 more characters on the stainless knives. And only on the stainless.
I am getting a translation.....

I received my stainless a couple of weeks ago and i have to say it is one of the most exciting purchases I have made.
This thing is a beauty in every way.
Its is thin behind the edge and the perfectly formed shinogi is up to the exalted standards of Kyuzo's teacher!

These are made in extremely limited numbers so if you have ever dreamt of a stainless clad Fujiyama Wide Bevel Gyuto.
Your dreams have been answered.

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Re: Show us your new knife!

Post by XexoX »

Very nice Mr. Chef! What is that background fabric? It is also wonderful. Wouldn't mind getting some of that myself.
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Re: Show us your new knife!

Post by mauichef »

XexoX wrote: Tue Apr 05, 2022 5:21 pm Very nice Mr. Chef! What is that background fabric? It is also wonderful. Wouldn't mind getting some of that myself.
Mahalo XexoX!
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Re: Show us your new knife!

Post by Qapla' »

mauichef wrote: Tue Apr 05, 2022 4:54 pm The standard Hitohira kanji is the same but there are 3 more characters on the stainless knives. And only on the stainless.
I am getting a translation.....
I'm assuming it's 不鏽鋼 meaning "stainless steel". (Literally "Not-Rust-Steel".)
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Re: Show us your new knife!

Post by LaVieestBelle »

mauichef wrote: Tue Apr 05, 2022 4:54 pm That's really interesting Cindy.
Is your knife a Hitohira Tanaka Kyuzo?
I am not sure if Kyuzo-san was doing the wide bevels back in 2018.
The standard Hitohira kanji is the same but there are 3 more characters on the stainless knives. And only on the stainless.
I am getting a translation.....

I received my stainless a couple of weeks ago and i have to say it is one of the most exciting purchases I have made.
This thing is a beauty in every way.
Its is thin behind the edge and the perfectly formed shinogi is up to the exalted standards of Kyuzo's teacher!

These are made in extremely limited numbers so if you have ever dreamt of a stainless clad Fujiyama Wide Bevel Gyuto.
Your dreams have been answered.

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Pretty sure it is a Hitohira Tanaka Kyuzo.

I just found a link to an old site. You can see the kanji and the description... Mentions Kyuzo.

https://hitohira-japan.com/products/daa ... 8727827509

In the BST here, naknekar sold a 210 with the same marks in 2018, and so did Ashy2Classy in 2017.

Does this help?

Oh--and I am lucky. I bought a Fuji wide bevel in 2014 from Mark. Your knife is stunning. And given your climate, the stainless clad is perfect. I love it.
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Re: Show us your new knife!

Post by mauichef »

Qapla' wrote: Tue Apr 05, 2022 6:06 pm
mauichef wrote: Tue Apr 05, 2022 4:54 pm The standard Hitohira kanji is the same but there are 3 more characters on the stainless knives. And only on the stainless.
I am getting a translation.....
I'm assuming it's 不鏽鋼 meaning "stainless steel". (Literally "Not-Rust-Steel".)
Nice one Qapla'!

Mystery solved :D
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Re: Show us your new knife!

Post by LaVieestBelle »

mauichef wrote: Tue Apr 05, 2022 7:47 pm
Qapla' wrote: Tue Apr 05, 2022 6:06 pm
mauichef wrote: Tue Apr 05, 2022 4:54 pm The standard Hitohira kanji is the same but there are 3 more characters on the stainless knives. And only on the stainless.
I am getting a translation.....
I'm assuming it's 不鏽鋼 meaning "stainless steel". (Literally "Not-Rust-Steel".)
Nice one Qapla'!

Mystery solved :D
One half of the mystery solved! Thanks everyone. Any thoughts on the opposite side of the blade and the changes to the kanji over time?
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Re: Show us your new knife!

Post by enjay »

LaVieestBelle wrote: Wed Apr 06, 2022 12:13 pm
mauichef wrote: Tue Apr 05, 2022 7:47 pm
Qapla' wrote: Tue Apr 05, 2022 6:06 pm

I'm assuming it's 不鏽鋼 meaning "stainless steel". (Literally "Not-Rust-Steel".)
Nice one Qapla'!

Mystery solved :D
One half of the mystery solved! Thanks everyone. Any thoughts on the opposite side of the blade and the changes to the kanji over time?
I know this one:

"Ao" "One" = Blue #1 appears in the new Hitohira

[Deleted incorrect add'l part]
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Re: Show us your new knife!

Post by TylerLeach »

Hitohira Tanaka Kyuzo B#1 240mm Gyuto

E51C9FBE-D3B3-408D-97CD-C3ED4C1462A3.jpeg
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Re: Show us your new knife!

Post by TylerLeach »

Pictures always come in blurry… click on it!
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Re: Show us your new knife!

Post by enjay »

TylerLeach wrote: Thu Apr 07, 2022 2:17 am E51C9FBE-D3B3-408D-97CD-C3ED4C1462A3.jpeg
Been waiting to grab the 210 version. Looking forward to trying that one of these days.
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Re: Show us your new knife!

Post by cliff »

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Right place, right time. The 255 B2 Fujiyama just arrived.
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Re: Show us your new knife!

Post by mauichef »

I just love knives made by Keijiro Doi.
I remember when I first got into this hobby Mark use to have so many of his knives in stock. I never realized that I needed to buy them all ;)
Now they are three times the price and as rare as hen's teeth!

Found this unused beauty in a BST thread with the Usuba/Santoku I posted recently.

210mm Funayuki/Deba in Aogami 2.

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