Other insider recs on where to shop or go to in Japan! e.g. local clothing stores, or other specialty stores. We are visiting in September and very overwhelmed with all the options and places to shop.
Thank you very much for the rewiew and congrats for your choice! After I did my homework I knew I wanted a funayuki. Well... the shop clerk asked twice if I am sure about this, knowing that a western guy will not know how to handle such kind of knife. What an awesome blade, but I never use it because I am so afraid of it gets stained.
I wanted a traditional knife one just can buy in Japan. In fact the funayaki is a formidable allrounder. It's a joy to use it for all purpose, the only concern was the staining. I'm now going to use it, No reason that it rots in the drawer.
Interesting! I've not used one before. Yes, you should definitely use it! As long as you wash it and dry it carefully each time there shouldn't be much issue with staining as far as I'm aware, so let it live out its purpose as a great knife
Nice video Cassie. Gyutos are handy but I would suggest a petty next. Also once you are used to your new Santoku consider a carbon steel if you are the type that is good about cleaning your tools. Before that I suggest a ceramic honing rod. Then later think about whetstones. Again that applies if sharpening interests you and you want to control your edge. A honing rod for sure. Whetstones or going to a pro is something you need to ponder. Have fun!
Thanks for the insight! I ended up getting a whetstone along with the knife, but honestly I used it once and made weird marks on the knife (that a professional then cleaned up the next time I got it sharpened), so I got a little wary about it haha. I've been using the standard rolling sharpener for now but intend to try again with the whetstone after watching a few more tutorials. A honing rod is a good idea!
@@cassandra_lord ---- A honing rod doesn't give flat edges, like a whetstone. It can leave concave spots. A leather strop will refresh an edge (website "Burrfection" has many instructional videos, but you only really need one whetstone and strop). If your sharpening service doesn't charge much, it's not a bad idea. If you're comfortable with your roller sharpener, use it, but try a strop. As for "thinning", the bevel angle does not change with sharpening, as you demonstrated. A 15 degree bevel will always be a 15 degree bevel. With a new knife, you drag the entire thickness through every slice, and the surface of the blade's friction or cohesion to what you are slicing is a more significant factor reducing ease of use. I wrote a lengthy post to this video about that and more. I use a 6" Yaxell, and that blade is so thin I don't see how it's possible to ever "thin" it. Their Super Gou is expensive, but it's beautiful and great for slicing and I use it very carefully. (I think "thinning" is a ritualistic myth sales pitch kind of thing.) On honing rods: a couple of years ago a woman gave me a Wusthof santoku (to fix for her) that her husband had repeatedly used a honing rod on; the entire center of the edge was concave, useless on a cutting board. It takes only a few months to get proficient with a whetstone, and only five minutes to refresh an edge. It is not at all necessary the whet away an edge every single time. I'm not great at it at all, but I've found that I can keep my two or three knives better than factory sharp with only light use of a whetstone and frequent use of a strop. Lightly! Sharpening videos uniformly go through laborious demonstration routines that are not necessary unless your knife has chips or rolled edges, and for that, take it to a pro (like once a year, or whenever you yourself just can't get the edge back). The finishing two stages of sharpening videos are most often all you need to maintain an edge: light whetstone and strop.
Two years past the first screening, but .... I've been working with whetstones for three years now, and can get a knife sharp, sharper than it was out of the box. There are fine points to using a knife, and keeping a usable sharpness. The big trick is to strike a comfortable balance of sharpness (usefulness) and durability of that edge (so that you don't have to sharpen every week). It is true that as a knife wears down from many sharpenings, especially if chips develop through carelessness, the thinnest part of the blade will be the first to be sharpened away, and fanatics will talk and show "thinning" the blade. But two or three millimeters of whetted away edge is not going to make that much of a difference, and that two or three millimeters is two to three THOUSAND microns! If you don't have chips or bends, you only remove maybe ten microns when you refresh the edge, or even less if you strop regularly. I make the point that with a brand new knife, you are still dragging the entire thickness of it through whatever you are slicing (if you slice all the way through, obviously). It is the edge and bevel angle that makes the first contact and initiates the slice. The bevel angle is important. You can, yes, get a finer initial sharpness with a 10 degree bevel, but it is more fragile. The "sweet spot" angle balancing sharpness and durability is apparently somewhere between 12 and 15 degrees. As you get a thicker knife, the same bevel angle produces a wider bevel. The angle of the edge doesn't change. The thickness of the blade doesn't change, either. You are still dragging the entire blade through the melon (for example). The main thing that changes is the width of the bevel. Repeating: the angle of the bevel does not change. One could argue that the melon meets more thickness sooner, but I'm not sure how to even conceptually gauge how much difference that makes after taking the wider bevel into account. Certainly, you can go through the entire process of thinning a blade on a whetstone, and make the blade thinner than it was originally. You also reduce its weight, and increase its fragility. If the thickness of the blade is a worry, then I suggest using a "shorter" blade, one that has less distance between the spine and the edge. Or simply buying a thin knife. The cohesion resistance of the entire blade is certainly something to consider. The "taller" the blade, the thicker (usually). A 6" utility knife if a pretty thin blade! And the "shorter" height of it makes for less cohesion as you slice. Ask a pro to thin your gyuto knife, and hear a groan; hear a price. About sharpness, there is a graphable curve of declining sharpness over time of use. You can get an extremely sharp knife (50 BESS, for example, compared to the 200 to 300 BESS most western mass manufactured knives come with). The thing about a 50 BESS edge is that it will lose sharpness much more quickly. I would suggest that the "optimum sharpness" depends on use. If you watch a Japanese sushi master make paper thin slices of whitefish, you may notice how very carefully he handles his knife, as if it were a very fine crystal. He needs a very sharp knife. But if you watch a chef slice beef, or vegetables, his knife will make contact with the cutting board. His knives do not have to be as sharp. My guess is that for average domestic use, the mass manufacturers know something about that curve of declining sharpness! One very expert sharpener told me he sharpens his knives when they get about 400 BESS, and begin to feel a bit dull. It is not hard at all to get a knife below 200 BESS. Used carefully, you probably won't have to refresh that edge more than once a month, and you will probably be satisfied with 200 BESS sharpness. I have found that even 300 BESS can be refreshed down to 200 just by stropping. One knife fanatic told me he considers anything above 100 to be dull, and he keeps a high grit stone on his countertop next to his cutting board. I gather from that, that his 100 goes "dull" after just one or two uses. But, he undoubtedly has developed sharpening skill sufficient to think that 90 or 50 is worth it, and he can get that with minimal effort. I can't. I'm content with 140 because I don't want to put in a half an hour refreshing an edge. But I do use different knives for different things. And occasionally, I will go nuts and put i the time I require to get a 50 (but it fades).
I recently took this very knife to be sharpened by some professional knife-makers who are making some insane high-quality pieces with "aogami super", supposedly the best carbon steel for knives in Japan. They said that my knife needs proper sharpening once a month, which to them seems to be a very short interval, and they were talking as though it were nearing its expiry date in a sense. They went on to tell me that these fancy knives they were making only need to be sharpened once a year, but need to be sharpened by a professional. They weren't telling me this with the intention of luring me in, I don't think they had any misconceptions about my budget. It was very interesting to hear, but I don't know if I need that level of professional knife, especially for those professional prices!
@@cassandra_lord --- Cutlery (and pots and pans) is a matter of taste and use, like fashions, professions, cars, houses, and boats. The guys in knife shops sell and sharpen knives. I would suggest that, no, you do not need to take your knife in once a month. You should sharpen it yourself once a month. The guy is saying, "we can take care of you." You can take a super aogami HRC 66+, attack a bone-in rib steak with it, and chip it before your first slice is complete. If you chip an edge, I would suggest taking it in to be sharpened, because they have grinding wheels and experience and can do in three minutes what might take you two days. If you can sharpen a "cheap" western style HRC 56 (HRC is Rockwell Hardness Scale) knife, you can sharpen an expensive Japanese HRC 66+ knife. They probably aren't trying to lure you in, as you put it, simply that it's difficult to "diagnose and prescribe" knife sharpening. The guy recommending the santoku for you was very probably spot-on, but only you will know, after using it for a while. I admire your fluent Japanese. I don't believe I've ever heard a westerner speak it. I was very surprised!🙂I'm still enthusiastic about cutlery and sharpening, and I'm hoping my analysis might be helpful to you, just starting out. I bought a $5 cheap Chinese knife in the supermarket to ruin on a 1000 grit whetstone that cost 20 times what I paid for the knife. Turns out, I unexpectedly got it sharp! 😲 So I bought a $30 dollar Chinese knife ... and got IT sharp, too! Wow! Now I'm an expert, and know everything there is to know about knives and whetstones, working on my PhD thesis! I have more whetstones than I have knives! I referred my adult son to Burrfection, with my comment that, besides doing sharpening tutorial videos, the guy also sells knives. He got back to me: "I know what happened there. His wife said, 'Either the knives go, or I go!' " You can and should sharpen your own knives. Avoid going overboard. A 1000 grit whetstone will do just fine, and so will a good (not "Super Great") knife - or three. That's really all most people need. All my knives are stainless; my most expensive one is $200 bucks. Your electric sharpener may do a perfectly adequate job, but whetstones are better - especially for hard steel which chips more easily. You will find for yourself what level of sharpness you want for everyday use, and you will find how often you want to take ten minutes to refresh that edge. Best to you!🙂
@@cassandra_lord --- Getting a knife to better than factory sharpness (under 300 BESS) is not hard at all. I returned a friend's knife - one of my first - after a simple 1000 grit stone only. He said it cut a bit too well (he had nicked his finger, he wasn't used to it being sharp). People are weird about knives and sharpening, as if were all way beyond their reach, and will throw away a perfectly good but dull knife. Another friend finally tried out an el-cheapo whetstone I'd given him, one of the ubiquitous 1000 grits, his first attempt, and told me, "You know what ...? It really makes a difference!" Getting a knife under 100 BESS requires some practice (I have to say that to continue to pretend PhD level expertise in a v-e-r-y tough art!🤣). A key thing to keep in mind is that the very edge of a knife is annoyingly fragile. Learning to be delicate in its use will save you time refreshing the edge. Use a rubberized cutting board (Asahi); when you move chopped stuff to the side use only the spine of the knife (not the sharp edge); avoid turning the knife on the board as you rock; use only the force you need, slice rather than chop; do not pry food apart with the edge); do not slice into bone nor frozen food; do not cut hard squash with your sharp knife, etc.. Oh ... I'm assuming you know to hand wash only and stow it away so the edge doesn't contact anything hard. Almost all friends' knives I've sharpened for them (to practice) have been repair jobs. I got a lot of practice repairing - chips, bends, rolled edges! After all that, sharpening was almost an afterthought (PhD, remember?😂) .
My first serious knife was a santoku and I would recommend it to anyone regardless of where they live. And learn to properly sharpen and maintaining a knife. How did it hold up?
I'm still using it now! I met some expert knife makers recently who told me it needs sharpening once a month. They were selling special knives that use Aogami Super steel which don't need sharpening as often, but I'm not quite ready to fork out the price for those
@@cassandra_lordHurray! It’s a good knife then! I’m sure that the stronger steal is great for longevity and full time chefs, and maybe bragging about 😁, but it is also much harder to sharpen once it does lose its edge and I personally wouldn’t pay a premium for those knives. They just aren’t practical or necessary for everyday people, or even most professionals. The most I ever paid for a knife was @$80us (@12,000¥) and I’ve used it for @15 years now.My family (immediate and extended) has a few professional chefs and the advice that keeps coming up is to buy a decent knife and learn how to keep it sharp. I was handed my first knife when I was 9 (under parental supervision of course and I’m 49 now) and was taught to use a whetstone to keep it sharp. Saves on injuries. But I’m rambling now…😂😂 Cheers
What kind of steel does it have? I bough a knife that looks almost exactly the same in Kyoto, although mine has an octagonal handle and the texture on the side has a bit more of a matte finish to it. Mine has a high carbon, white steel core, very very hard and sharp but it's brittle and will require quite a bit of care. It reacts with food and develops this patina and a bluish tone over use, all good as long as it doesn't develop any warm tones, which would mean rust. Yours seems to stay perfectly silver so it's probably some kind of stainless steel? Mine also got my name engraved, and I got another one for my dad in a different store, also with the name engraved, seems to be a common practice in Japan! BTW the shops I visited were Shinto and Minamoto-no-Hisaishi, both in Kyoto
showing the knife, looking like a crazy person. nice video indeed, I'm going to visit Kappabashi soon looking for a nice knife, because I'm tired of the 100 en ones XD
I'm headed to Tokyo next month and would love to get a knife at this store! I saw you speak Japanese in the video - are they friendly to tourists and are any of the employees able to help the customers in English?
Amazing! They are very friendly to tourists, and very used to tourists. They also have English speaking staff who can explain the knives. I don't know if the ones with the best English work every day, or if sometimes there are some with a lower language level who might assist - either way, they will certainly try their best to help!
nothing against jp knive i love them. both different animals. get your western in shop to put new edge and adopt good fine steel rod. horizontal slice tomato like nothing
Unfortunately if you want anything of decent quality the cheapest you'll probably get to is around $50. You can find knives below that at a home depot store in Japan, but the blades won't be as thin or as sharp - it depends on what you need it for!
@@cassandra_lord I'm a simple man. Don't do much with knives. Only cut cheese and sausages and have no issues. Maybe if the yen goes 200 to a dollar I'll consider it. Thanks for replying (: can't wait to go in January🤙🏼
If I ever make it to Japan, I must avoid Kappabashi or it will bankrupt me. :P Those are the worst kind of knife sharpeners you can use. My classic Sabatier chef's knife is just over 25 years old and it's still as sharp as on the day I bought it. All I use to keep the edge is a honing steel. Most traditional Japanese knives need a lot more care which is the main reason I haven't bought one yet.
That's a beautiful knife! And a reminder to sharpen my knife :D I got my knife from Kamata too - around a year ago. Here's hoping you have a lot of cooking adventures with the new sidekick :)
It's so pretty isn't it! Ooh, still going strong after a year I take it? Thank you! I'm so glad I bought it, I can definitely feel the difference in my daily slicings and dicings
@@cassandra_lord Yep! Well, there was an unfortunate run in with a bone that took a small chunk off..but that hasn't stopped it from making prepping less of a hassle, and something to look forward to.
I do Japanese calligraphy, and my teacher gave me that name. Basically you can assign kanji to your name using the sounds. There are some places in Tokyo that will make one for you!
Yes, normally it would be キャシー, and it can be a bit weird to assign yourself kanji if you don't have a reason. But in calligraphy it is nice to have a name for your stamp and signature. You just have to align it with the sounds of kanji, so my name "伽思" would sound like "かし"
I hope you learn the proper stones and master techniques to sharpen any knife. Japanese knife artists repect chefs that sharpen their new knife and old knives properly.
Honestly, I would say it's better than nothing for the average person! It's super tough to get just anyone to get into knife sharpening. But definitely agreed that whetstones are the best way to go
haha I bought 3 knives already from Kamata and they are great! I miss not being able to come to Tokyo in person because their online shop doesn't have all their inventory from the shop :) Kamata is definitely the most approachable shop on the street, along with Kama Asa :)
Haha three! They must be good. That's a shame you can't visit, hopefully you can soon. If I had more money/space I would find it hard not to go shopping on that street every other week!
Wow this santoku looks amazing!! do you know what brand or blacksmith made it? When you said you wanted a usuba, I almost felt from my chair haha. A usuba knife is one of the most difficult knives for use. It's single beveled, that means it's much sharper, but much delicate and much harder to use and sharpen
This is a Kamata original, made and sold by the same people! Yeah, I'm definitely not an expert when it comes to knives. I watched an episode of Masterclass where they said Japanese chefs started with an usuba, cutting the vegetables first, so I thought, oh, I'll do that too! But of course it's just not the same learning to cook at home haha. I'm glad Kamata pointed me in the right direction
Japanese knives are the best in the world. I think you made a great choice with the stainless santoku. If you enjoy having a sharp edge all the time and are keen on doing your own sharpening, you might consider a honing rod to start off with.
The problem with honing rods is that you get concave edges. A concave edge won't chop, mince, dice, etc.. A whetstone is flat and gives nice flat edges.
The honing rod is not a good recommendation for a Japanes knive, while not knowing the steel and hardness... you need a special rod, if this knive has 61HRC or more. For Japenes knives you either learn how to sharpen on whetstones, or what will also work - get a leather strap with diamond paste for the quick resharpening and once in a while go to the shop and let a pro refine the cutting-edge for you (if you only use the knive for home cooking this "while" may well be every few years).
This video is 2yo, so how is the Santoku now? Watching this video, I feel petty for the old knife, if I were there I could sharpen the old knife sharper than that Santoku.
As far as I'm aware, no, unfortunately. If you visit and buy one in person then you just need to wrap it tightly and put it in your stowed luggage. Are you trying to buy one online without visiting?
Nice knife after that knife I would recommend a takamura gyuto...as a chef I love knife that is bigger but for home cook santoku is really nice...when bought more knife I would recommend morihei knife near asakusabashi knife awesome shop I love going there to buy a whetstone... good luck with your cooking
Interesting! Takamura Gyuto looks like a chef's knife - is that right? Thanks for the tips! I'm definitely still a beginner with knives, hoping to understand more as I go along. Do you recommend sticking to one knife for everything for a while first?
@@cassandra_lord in my opinion first knife you should get is a gyuto because it is truly multipurpose knife...after you get use to santoku buy a gyuto and a petty those are basic knife that can use for any cooking task....just get a takamura gyuto and petty those are that made me fall down the rabbit hole in collecting Japanese knife they are very affordable... another of my favourite knife is teruyasu fujiwara they're a little bit expensive but it is the best knife I ever use they are located in meguro city Tokyo ....have fun with your knife
@@bidin5253 santoku is more versatile than the gyuto. Keep it with Santoku, there is a reason why Santoku have more limited special editions. They are more appreciated. Gyuto is just.... standard...
@@vforvendetta6193 people have their own preference...for me out of all knife I own teruyasu fujiwara is my favourite I use it at work and love it....another thing what do you mean santoku is special edition I don't understand...I don't like using santoku I more prefer bunka that is my opinion though
Your old knife could also cut like your new one, you can bring it to the knife Shop i saw they have a big stone wheel, in Japan it is normal to thin out kitchen knives
Looks like a fun experience! Sorry too well actually you and I'm sure they're are others in the comments. But, your explanation of how the knife gets thicker with sharpening was a little off. The knife has two bevels, the primary bevel which is the overall taper of the blade towards the edge and the edge bevel itself. It seemed like you were talking about the edge bevel getting flatter over time. The edge bevel will continue to have the same angle of the sharpener as you're sharpen. But, you will be moving that secondary bevel up the primary bevel. As you go up the primary bevel it gets thicker towards the spine. TLDR: sharpening causes your knife to get thicker directly behind the edge of the secondary bevel.
The price is in the description! It was 14,000 yen at the time. There's a range of prices but if you want the same one as me the price shouldn't have changed too much, if at all!
Amazing! I hope you have as good of an experience as I did. The engraving was very quick, they did it there and then. I can't remember exactly but it was maybe only 15 minutes? It probably depends on how busy they are though
Hi! I'm going to japan next month and looking for a knife as a souvenir for my mom who's a cook. Your video helps me a lot on what to get/what to do but I wonder does Kamata cater to luggage-friendly packaging? I heard you're allowed to bring one in your checked in baggage as long as it's properly sealed by the store. Thank you so much for the video again!
What a lovely gift for your mum, I'm sure she'll love it! Yes, to be honest I've brought knives across borders where I've just sheathed the blade in cardboard then wrapped the rest in cardboard and clothes. As long as it is wrapped and in your checked bag there is no issue, it needs to be wrapped safely so not injure baggage handlers, but Kamata puts it safely in cardboard then in a box. I would recommend wrapping that box in clothes and putting it in a spot in your bag where it won't rattle around to avoid any breaks.
I’ve been to Kamata 3 weeks ago , bought 4 knives, they put them in cardboard box and also in a nice wrapping if it’s for a gift, .don’t forget to tell them to engrave it, that’s a nice bonus and it’s free !! Just put them in your check-in bag and it’s gonna be OK , no need to declare them,( it’s not a weapon after all ) . Try to get knives made out of VG-10 steel ( Japanese metal ) . A utility knife ( PETTY knive ) is the best overall. Santoku are ok but a little big,( I’m a guy with big hands) but utility knives are the best.
1:37 omg yes, 100%... Hate that feeling. I grew up really poor, so oftentimes I get that feeling and have to remind myself, "actually, I can afford this.". But I still get that feeling far too often
But agreed that the customer service in Japan makes it so much easier. I've visited more than 4 dozen countries and lived in half a dozen, and nowhere else even comes close. In customer service, Japan is in a league of its own.
Yeah! At Kamata they were very friendly even though I was such a beginner asking weird questions. I'm so glad they were there to help me figure out what I needed
You could have just gotten your old knife sharpened by the shop. They will do an excellent job with a whetstone, and you can even ask for a specific bevel to be put in. 15 degrees on each side is the modern standard for 90% of the higher end knives out there. As for ease of cutting, people focus a lot on how sharp the knife is, but just as important is how THIN the knife is. Your new knife looks like it has a 2mm or so spine, which is slightly thicker than the Japanese norm for a 170mm santoku. Usually they're around 1.8mm. That little tiny difference is noticeable when you're cutting onions, squash or other harder to cut through vegetables.
Buying your first Japanese knife is like going down the rabbit hole 😄 quality Cutlery and cookware adds to the enjoyment of something we're inevitably going to do anyway and also it makes it feel less of a chore. Meshiagare' 🥢🍽🔪
