Any experience with Itamae knives?

[knifemovieguy]

I’m really liking the Funayuki but i’m not sure if i need such pricey kitchen knife. There isn’t much info about this series on the internet. Please share some thoughts and maybe photos.

[Kevinim82]

I own the Bunka Bocho, it’s a very fun kitchen knife. Preforms well for basic kitchen draw cut tasks. I’ve used it for the last two months about 5 days out of the week. Polishing the knife on leather and 5 micron diamonds about once a week. No forced patina needed, strawberries and apples gave it the nice color.

[knifemovieguy]

I own the Bunka Bocho, it’s a very fun kitchen knife. Preforms well for basic kitchen draw cut tasks. I’ve used it for the last two months about 5 days out of the week. Polishing the knife on leather and 5 micron diamonds about once a week. No forced patina needed, strawberries and apples gave it the nice color.

Thank you! At least there is one happy owner.

[Mr Blonde]

I have the Funayuki and Petty, the latter seems to get the most use but I love 'em both. I collected my thoughts on the Itamae Petty on my site. The fun thing is about these Itamae knives, is that my wife used to be rather indifferent to all our Spyderco kitchen knives until these Itamae knives came into the house. They've become her favorite kitchen knives. She likes the grip and thin edge.

[knifemovieguy]

I have the Funayuki and Petty, the latter seems to get the most use but I love 'em both. I collected my thoughts on the Itamae Petty on my site. The fun thing is about these Itamae knives, is that my wife used to be rather indifferent to all our Spyderco kitchen knives until these Itamae knives came into the house. They've become her favorite kitchen knives. She likes the grip and thin edge.

Thanks a lot!

[GarageBoy]

The price is a commitment, but I should suck it up one day and get the Gyuto or Bunka. I love my pocket knives, but I get more use with my kitchen knives

[Lumpy]

I do love the look of those burl g10 handles, but I think the price is a bit steep. There’s a lot of Japanese makers that make better kitchen knives at a better price. Takamura, Wakui, Tanaka, Anyru, etc. Though regardless, I highly recommend shelling out some cash for a high quality Japanese knife, it’s an absolute joy to prep food with one.

[knifemovieguy]

I do love the look of those burl g10 handles, but I think the price is a bit steep. There’s a lot of Japanese makers that make better kitchen knives at a better price. Takamura, Wakui, Tanaka, Anyru, etc. Though regardless, I highly recommend shelling out some cash for a high quality Japanese knife, it’s an absolute joy to prep food with one.

Most of them are really hard to get while Spydercos can be delivered next day, i haven’t heard of them so i’m sceptical to spend that much money on unfamiliar product.

[Cl1ff]

I do love the look of those burl g10 handles, but I think the price is a bit steep. There’s a lot of Japanese makers that make better kitchen knives at a better price. Takamura, Wakui, Tanaka, Anyru, etc. Though regardless, I highly recommend shelling out some cash for a high quality Japanese knife, it’s an absolute joy to prep food with one.

What do you think is better about those makers’ knives when compared to Seki City?
I think I’ll eventually do what you recommend and purchase some Japanese knives, but for now I have virtually no user experience and would just like to know your perspective.

[Pokey]

I have the Petty. I like the thin blade, the length of the blade, and the marbled G-10 handle.

I haven't been able to find the edge on it yet. Despite repeated attempts to sharpen it, it still feels like the edge angles are off and I have a slight rolled edge on one side.

In an A/B comparison my Spyderco 4.5" Utility Knife cuts better on very ripe tomatoes.

[Lumpy]

What do you think is better about those makers’ knives when compared to Seki City?
I think I’ll eventually do what you recommend and purchase some Japanese knives, but for now I have virtually no user experience and would just like to know your perspective.

The grind on the Itamae seems rather thick compared to others I’ve used. Almost seems like a FFG, which really isn’t ideal for a chef knife. Stock is still pretty thin so it could be worse. My main issue is the price point. You can get thin, convex ground blades in the same clad blue super, or other steels if you want, for much much less. I don’t think they’re inherently bad, Spyderco makes good stuff, but their main thing isn’t kitchen knives. They’re probably still better than many knives out there. But there’s also just better stuff at a much more reasonable price point.

[JacksonKnives]

I haven't handled them, but opinions I've read range from "they're a bargain-priced way to get a Murray Carter knife" to the sentiments echoed by Lumpy above.

Balance is said to be very slightly blade heavy.

Since you can't please everyone, that seems like an excellent report to me. :D

I haven't heard which OEM Spyderco is using (and I'm not really that much in the know about the makers in Japan anyhow) but between the connections of Spyderco and Murray Carter, I have no doubt that the reputation of the shop would be impeccable. If they had wanted to make the knife for pennies in a shop that would have done a merely passable job I'm sure they could have found someone, this seems like one one of the Spyderco projects where everyone involved is proud of the result.

[Kevinim82]

I’ve owned a Shun Santoku for 12 yrs and loved it. I wanted the “thin grind” Maury Carter without the cry of his custom price. This is the best of both worlds.

The knife is worth the 380.00 it retails for... it is crazy thin compared to the Shun and any western knife I’ve ever owned. It draw cuts like a champ. Easy to upkeep. Just strop. No sharpening yet (factory edge is nice.) going shy of three months of use. The Salt 2 in the picture crops hairs with a 400 grit edge. The spyderco/Carter Collab is gonna be a laser after its first sharpening.

I posted the potato chip for comparison.

You like Maury Carter? Check
You like Spyderco? Check

The Itamae knives seem like a steal for the quality.

[David45]

I really like our Bunko Bocho but my wife is totally intimidated by it’s size so one of the smaller Itamae Spydie-Carter’s will find it’s way here soon. It performs very well and the handle is a work of art. I enjoy using it every time it comes out.
My only problem is the Mrs. doesn’t want a magnetic wall hanger and the “sheath” it came in is a very cheap plastic sleeve. I need a good sheath or case but can’t find one.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[bjz]

I recently picked up one of the itamae nakiri’s as a treat to myself for some major changes in life. I’ve only had a few weeks with it and plan to post something of a much more detail statement down the line (including a comparison with a $35 vg-10 Tojiro DP nakiri), but for now I’ll provide these thoughts.

Blade fit and finish out of the box was, disappointing (overly “crisp” spine/choil edges among a couple other things). The factory edge was very acute, but rolled/etc after a few light tasks such as tomatoes. I have some suspicions.

That being said, I kept it and addressed the edges this past weekend. With a comfortable pinch grip and nice 15 degree primary bevel, the knife redeemed itself after prep for an entire work week on Sunday. It could probably use a little more edge refinement or at least a few passes on the strop, but we just started our relationship.

Observations and positive things: I find my nakiri’s balance to be squarely on the handle end of things; the handle, it’s perfectly finished, and SUBSTANTIAL; the blade, it literally rings like a bell…not sure what the heck that means but my only other blade that does that is my old CCK cleaver; it was very easy to reprofile/sharpen; in the video spyderco produced about these knives, Mr Carter himself states that they are ffg (and frankly, food sticks something fierce).

All that being said, it’s a Spyderco…it’s a Carter, or at least Carter-approved, and they are much more readily available than a Carter custom. If those are things on your radar, than the price point might be worth it to you. There are certainly myriad of options out there that will perform just as well for a lot less.

All that being said, I was able to use a coupon and paid a lot less than the map pricing, yet still took brief pause when it arrived. I also had zero hesitation pulling the trigger on a deeply discounted Wakiita series bunka on Monday. Sheesh!

[bjz]

I really like our Bunko Bocho but my wife is totally intimidated by it’s size so one of the smaller Itamae Spydie-Carter’s will find it’s way here soon. It performs very well and the handle is a work of art. I enjoy using it every time it comes out.
My only problem is the Mrs. doesn’t want a magnetic wall hanger and the “sheath” it came in is a very cheap plastic sleeve. I need a good sheath or case but can’t find one.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.

You could easily pick up an edge/blade guard (I would recommend a felt lined version unless you don’t care about scratching). If you are going to be using this daily, though, you might want to surf around on some of the more culinary focused forums and find someone that will make you a custom saya.

[Kevinim82]

7 months of use, just using a strop with diamond paste, and the Bunko b is still my favorite kitchen tool. The Shun now has a good home in my mothers kitchen.

[Kevinim82]

[bjz]

A little over a month in and I can say this…overall, I like my wakiita bunka better BUT my hand always seems to go for the Itamae nakiri (unless I need something pointy). Maybe it’s just my brain telling me to get my moneys worth, but if anyone wants one of these and can’t justify the expense, go for the wakiita!!!
I’m pretty sure that if a wakiita nakiri finds its way to my house, the Itamae will go up for sale.


Edit to add: these are great kitchen tools…if my comments seems less than glowing, it’s only because of a smidge of internal consternation over the expense. I’ve been super lucky to stumble across a handful of wonderful kitchen knives that cost very little. For example, I got into a CCK small cleaver for under $30, scored one of the original Richmond Artifex gyutos (aeb-l made by Lamson) just shy of $50 and bought a Tojiro DP nakiri (these are mind blowing vg-10 blades for $32…my plan is to post a comparison with the Itamae at some point)

[Kevinim82]

A one month update. I finally sharpened my knife. 8 months with near daily use and it is now sharpened. I used the Spyderco sharpmaker with diamond rods and really like the aggressive edge on onion dicing/slicing.

About 5 months ago I bought my friend this knife. This is the second time I sharpened his knife and I have acid etched it with paper towel pattern, I think his turned out well. The streaks on the Swedish steel are from soap. The patina really helps in the neglect department he leaves this knife.

When I see rust on his knife I soak it in lemon and wash the rust away, then re-etch with 2% vinegar on a paper towel.