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Haiku Kurouchi Tosa Knives
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Haiku Kurouchi Tosa Knives
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Product Description
The Japanese may very well be the premiere makers of kitchen knives across the world. These Haiku Kurouchi Tosa knives are crafted in the Tosa region of Southern Japan, known for its long tradition of knife forging and wild, unfurrowed landscape Read More
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keyboard_arrow_downScoobyWan
85
Feb 23, 2018
knives arrived a couple days ago and alt they are very good looking I am somewhat disappointed with the quality of the blades as they have a slight bend in them which is really frustrating on a knife of this price. I am including photos where you can see both the nakiri and the gyuto have a slight curve along the length of the blade.
myrna_brean
91
Sep 5, 2018
I have one, it is great. I have shopped i. The beverly hills store and online.
Kavik
5531
Sep 5, 2018
myrna_breanThat's funny, that looks like it might be the same knife I was talking about, and that looks just like my cutting board too lol
Unfortunately it's the wrong coast for me, but if I ever make it back out that way I'm definitely making time to stop in there 👍
Unfortunately it's the wrong coast for me, but if I ever make it back out that way I'm definitely making time to stop in there 👍
sockpuppy
451
Jul 25, 2018
This is a $50 knife with a made up $350 "MSRP" so you think the ripoff $170 pricing is a steal, aimed at people who have never seen a kurouchi knife before and are easily bamboozled by random Japanese words.
Perfect example of price anchoring and why it works.
Perfect example of price anchoring and why it works.
BrainFlush
6860
Jan 18, 2018
I won't lie.
I love how rugged and unfinished these knives look.
Like they say "look at me, I was made by someone whom we pay less than .49c a day who works barefooted with only a few teeth which you can see if they muster a smile after 14 hours of straight grinding this blade to scary sharp proportions"
Sexy knife though. This is the knife I can chase people through the street with a grin on my face without even thinking about it.
Like they say "look at me, I was made by someone whom we pay less than .49c a day who works barefooted with only a few teeth which you can see if they muster a smile after 14 hours of straight grinding this blade to scary sharp proportions"
Sexy knife though. This is the knife I can chase people through the street with a grin on my face without even thinking about it.
BrainFlush
6860
Jan 18, 2018
I do know, I am by no means a knife collector or professional chef but I have read some articles and bought 3 chef knives. I was only making a joke. ;)
saumilkt
2
Feb 15, 2018
*psa* I am completely new to knives and know nothing.
What's so special about the atsu deba that makes it so much more expensive than the vast majority of the other knives?
What's so special about the atsu deba that makes it so much more expensive than the vast majority of the other knives?
Fuzz
396
Jul 27, 2018
Good points about the Deba,
I don't know so much about this series of videos though...they are not a great representation of Japanese cuisines and knife skills to say the least.
I don't know so much about this series of videos though...they are not a great representation of Japanese cuisines and knife skills to say the least.
greyworlder
77
Jul 27, 2018
FuzzHe is a pretty well-known chef who was trained up the traditional way in Japan, and tends to be lauded for his knife skills (though not with the deba specifically), so I think he's probably doing alright at least. You're free to disagree of course, but the man's abilities as a sushi chef are pretty well established by sources other than myself. As an anecdote though, I have actually met him, and what you see in the videos is certainly not all he's capable of. That really wasn't why I used it though. Honestly, it was just the first video that came to mind of a person handling a deba where the knife was extremely visible.
FriedShoe
188
Jan 19, 2018
Have you ever held a traditional Japanese handle where the ferrule and handle were not flush? Good then you already know how absolutely terrible it feels to hold.
Haven't held a traditional Japanese handle where the ferrule and handle were not flush? Trust me, you don't want to.
Haven't held a traditional Japanese handle where the ferrule and handle were not flush? Trust me, you don't want to.
Albert.A
109
Jan 24, 2018
This is wrong, no one would ever weld a knife to the tang .
You can't compromise the most weak point of a knife for lowing cost of manufacturing, beside making a tang by itself and then welding it adds more work which will lead for extra effort and time and even more special tools to put into work to make the knife, this is just stupid.
It is like scratching you left ear with you right hand .
Kavik
5531
Jan 24, 2018
Well, it's all just speculation based off inadequate pictures, short of holding one in our hands we'll never know for sure.
But, just for the sake of clarification: what had initially made me think weld was that if you look at all the pics of the Yasai-Giri the discoloration is visible in the same area on both sides of the blade, in a sort of vertical rectangle of a shape, distinctly different in shape and size from any of the other hammer/forging marks on the rest of the blade(s). And googling brings up similar marks found in other pictures, but not all, and always only in the area where the tang and blade meet. If it were just hammer marks we would see that pattern somewhere else along the blade
And I agree that it would be an unusual extra (intentional) step on a forged knife, which is why my original comment had been that I thought it was a repair, until we got into the whole 'are tangs sometimes welded on?' discussion. It's certainly a common enough area to get warping during the forging/heat treating/quenching process... And it wouldn't be the first time i've heard of a tang cracking when trying to straighten a bend in it. Which then comes to a question of do you weld to repair or discard the blade and write off that piece of inventory?
Again, it's just all theoretical, for the sake of conversation at this point, especially since the drop has ended. But their entire site is full of more marketing jargon then actual info, and even on their site you can't get a decent resolution picture, or a view of the blade entering the handle or a choil shot to show the grinds, or info on the bevel types, etc, etc, etc...... I still think if they want these kinds of prices for a blade you can't hold before buying, they need to put more effort into providing detailed info/pics and less effort on creative writing and buzz words.
Would love to see a review from someone who actually owns one, or has access to see a large selection of them in person
Edit : my mistake, I thought the drop had ended but see it still has half a day. Anyway, I'm bowing out of this conversation. It's gone from a simple comment of saying it looked like I was seeing a weld, to way more in depth defending than any of us should feel the need for for knives we don't own and only have crappy pictures of. For those who actually joined the drop, i genuinely hope I'm misinterpreting the low-res images and would love to hear what people think when they physically have them in hand
But, just for the sake of clarification: what had initially made me think weld was that if you look at all the pics of the Yasai-Giri the discoloration is visible in the same area on both sides of the blade, in a sort of vertical rectangle of a shape, distinctly different in shape and size from any of the other hammer/forging marks on the rest of the blade(s). And googling brings up similar marks found in other pictures, but not all, and always only in the area where the tang and blade meet. If it were just hammer marks we would see that pattern somewhere else along the blade
And I agree that it would be an unusual extra (intentional) step on a forged knife, which is why my original comment had been that I thought it was a repair, until we got into the whole 'are tangs sometimes welded on?' discussion. It's certainly a common enough area to get warping during the forging/heat treating/quenching process... And it wouldn't be the first time i've heard of a tang cracking when trying to straighten a bend in it. Which then comes to a question of do you weld to repair or discard the blade and write off that piece of inventory?
Again, it's just all theoretical, for the sake of conversation at this point, especially since the drop has ended. But their entire site is full of more marketing jargon then actual info, and even on their site you can't get a decent resolution picture, or a view of the blade entering the handle or a choil shot to show the grinds, or info on the bevel types, etc, etc, etc...... I still think if they want these kinds of prices for a blade you can't hold before buying, they need to put more effort into providing detailed info/pics and less effort on creative writing and buzz words.
Would love to see a review from someone who actually owns one, or has access to see a large selection of them in person
Edit : my mistake, I thought the drop had ended but see it still has half a day. Anyway, I'm bowing out of this conversation. It's gone from a simple comment of saying it looked like I was seeing a weld, to way more in depth defending than any of us should feel the need for for knives we don't own and only have crappy pictures of. For those who actually joined the drop, i genuinely hope I'm misinterpreting the low-res images and would love to hear what people think when they physically have them in hand
Fearwater5
3
Jan 23, 2018
I see a lot of discussion debated the quality of specific parts of these knives. Can anyone just give a general yes no to whether or not this is a good deal? I am thinking of buying it for someone who is relatively new to cooking and has never had a "real" kitchen knife before. Would the chefs knife be good for its price?
sc_fd
48
Jan 24, 2018
Fearwater5If you're interested in this style, Tosa made knives should be able to be found for almost $100 less than this Chroma offering. Typically has a rep of being quite rustic and roughly finished unless one mods it.
Kavik
5531
Jan 24, 2018
@Fearwater5 110% excellent advice right there from Shenanigans.
Jon at JKI is an amazing guy to work with, if you tell to him what you're situation is he will sell you what you need, not what he can make the most money off of. Have bought both stones and knives from him and never been dissatisfied in the slightest
vkgriffer
74
Jan 18, 2018
On the Yasai Giri, is this a single bevel like a usoba bocho? What is the angle? Carbon?
FriedShoe
188
Jan 19, 2018
None of these knives are single bevel, or at least it's incredibly unlikely as none of the knives in the drop have a shinogi (see here: https://storage.googleapis.com/stateless-shop-echefknife-com/Images/articles/about-knives/blade.jpg, though the shinogi line is actually right where the different color starts). Without a shinogi, a traditional single bevel blade just makes no sense
KettleCrooked
15
Mar 18, 2018
I got my Santoku and have been using it for a while. It is truly a piece of artwork and handy. Obviously better than those I found in a supermarket (I won't tell you its name, sorry).
CNeg48
5
Jan 23, 2018
Albert.A
109
Jan 24, 2018
That's not a weld, I don't know what everyone is talking about but this is not a weld, the knife is made out of the one metal piece .
I have never ever seen any manufacturer that makes the blade out of a square metal sheet and then welds a tang, this does not make any scene, how will u sharp the knife? with what you'll hold it to work on it ?
No one would ever compromise a small piece of metal for convenience and easy work, at some point you'll have to work more time because you are missing a handle which is like 2$ of metal, this will lead to extra effort and time put in making a knife without a handle, cost efficient will be lost because you'll need to have extra tools and use specifically hard methods to forge a knife where you can't have a grip on it to work on it. https://www.messerforum.net/fotoalbum/data/838/Haiku_Kurouchi_santoko_009.JPG
watch this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4CRH8CO4X0 if you really want to know why it looks like a weld, that is because its one piece of metal which one part of it is hammered heavily to make an extra long piece for the handle - that's a "Tang". 1:27 is the point where the tang is being made.
No one would ever compromise a small piece of metal for convenience and easy work, at some point you'll have to work more time because you are missing a handle which is like 2$ of metal, this will lead to extra effort and time put in making a knife without a handle, cost efficient will be lost because you'll need to have extra tools and use specifically hard methods to forge a knife where you can't have a grip on it to work on it. https://www.messerforum.net/fotoalbum/data/838/Haiku_Kurouchi_santoko_009.JPG
watch this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4CRH8CO4X0 if you really want to know why it looks like a weld, that is because its one piece of metal which one part of it is hammered heavily to make an extra long piece for the handle - that's a "Tang". 1:27 is the point where the tang is being made.
Kavik
5531
Jan 25, 2018
Albert.AI'll give one last reply here, as I didn't see this post until just now.
I do understand the purpose/appeal of a kurouchi finish, I've owned half a dozen or so... but what we're seeing in the product images here don't look anything as close to as nice as the one in the pic you provided. Nothing wrong with that finish at all!
I know not everyone agrees, and that's fine, but I still think there's more than just hammer marks on some of the pics I've seen. Just my opinion. And again, I'm not saying they're made by welding a tang on, the conversation got derailed into that. (And I don't mean any offense, but you're wrong about that being something that is NEVER done by anyone, you just are. It's been seen and discussed plenty, but as I said before, in stamped and material removal methods, not fully forged blades) But that's still not to say it might not be a repair. Metals warp and crack from time to time, it's a fact of smithing, the question is what the smith does with it when that happens. Some will discard the blade, some will sell them as seconds, some will just sell them as is at full retail. I know in my head that a GOOD weld on the tang of a kitchen knife is stronger than any pressure were going to put on it, and in the grand scheme means nothing.....but you won't ever see me pay full price for one, if i buy it at all.
I'm also familiar with the video you posted. I own a gyuto made by that man....he knows how to make an excellent knife at a better price point than the ones we're talking about here. I will gladly be buying more of his work in the future
I know not everyone agrees, and that's fine, but I still think there's more than just hammer marks on some of the pics I've seen. Just my opinion. And again, I'm not saying they're made by welding a tang on, the conversation got derailed into that. (And I don't mean any offense, but you're wrong about that being something that is NEVER done by anyone, you just are. It's been seen and discussed plenty, but as I said before, in stamped and material removal methods, not fully forged blades) But that's still not to say it might not be a repair. Metals warp and crack from time to time, it's a fact of smithing, the question is what the smith does with it when that happens. Some will discard the blade, some will sell them as seconds, some will just sell them as is at full retail. I know in my head that a GOOD weld on the tang of a kitchen knife is stronger than any pressure were going to put on it, and in the grand scheme means nothing.....but you won't ever see me pay full price for one, if i buy it at all.
I'm also familiar with the video you posted. I own a gyuto made by that man....he knows how to make an excellent knife at a better price point than the ones we're talking about here. I will gladly be buying more of his work in the future
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