We are pleased to introduce these fine knives made by blacksmith Shindo san in Tosa, Japan. This line of kitchen knives is made with Blue #2 Carbon steel, also known as Aogami #2, which is a favorite among our customers. The steel is heat-treated to HRC 62+-, which is the sweet spot for excellent edge retention as well as ease of sharpening.
Blacksmith: Shindo San
Location: Tosa, Japan
Grind: Even
Steel: Aogami (Blue) #2
Cladding: Iron
Finish: Kurouchi
Handle: Keyaki Wood Oval
Ferrule: Black Resin
Weight: 3.9 oz (112 g)
Blade Length: 170 mm
Overall Length: 310 mm
Spine Thickness at Heel: 4.8 mm
Blade Height at Heel: 45.9 mm
Reviews
3 review(s) WRITE A REVIEW (Reviews are subject to approval)
Stupid Good Value, May 30, 2024Posted By: Chris
As others have already mentioned, stupid good cutting value for the price. Competes easily with knives 2-3x the price, but what's impressive is it does this without feeling as fragile as a true laser. Fit and finish is predictably rustic. If you look closely enough, you can see a few of the large hammer marks produced during shaping, especially up near the spine and tang. Besides general looks and polish, the only actual issues I had were the tang being inserted at a slight angle and a slight blade bend about 4/5 of the way down, but neither of those seemed to matter at all with feel, performance, or sharpening. Just don't look at it too closely if rustic isn't your vibe. The handle is quite textured, but not rough, and sealed nicely. The tang is also sealed nicely, and I had to make no quick fixes for waterproofing. We're not setting records here, but f&f is still noticeably better than most every other knife of a similar rustic style around or just above its price point.
Sharpness on arrival was maybe 5-6/10. Could have used a slight touch up on the stones, but the geometry alone carried it through most everything I cut. If you're a sharpness fiend, be ready with stones, but if you're just a guy looking for a knife that cuts, it works ootb.
Overall, 10/10 value, can't recommend enough. Set some reminders or an email notification because these sold out in like 48 hours last time.
As others have already mentioned, stupid good cutting value for the price. Competes easily with knives 2-3x the price, but what's impressive is it does this without feeling as fragile as a true laser. Fit and finish is predictably rustic. If you look closely enough, you can see a few of the large hammer marks produced during shaping, especially up near the spine and tang. Besides general looks and polish, the only actual issues I had were the tang being inserted at a slight angle and a slight blade bend about 4/5 of the way down, but neither of those seemed to matter at all with feel, performance, or sharpening. Just don't look at it too closely if rustic isn't your vibe. The handle is quite textured, but not rough, and sealed nicely. The tang is also sealed nicely, and I had to make no quick fixes for waterproofing. We're not setting records here, but f&f is still noticeably better than most every other knife of a similar rustic style around or just above its price point.
Sharpness on arrival was maybe 5-6/10. Could have used a slight touch up on the stones, but the geometry alone carried it through most everything I cut. If you're a sharpness fiend, be ready with stones, but if you're just a guy looking for a knife that cuts, it works ootb.
Overall, 10/10 value, can't recommend enough. Set some reminders or an email notification because these sold out in like 48 hours last time.
Lemon - Need Another SamplePosted By: Andrew Liang
7 people found this review helpful
Let me start off by saying I wanted to love this knife so much. As others have talked about, the geometry, thinness of the grind, sharpness are all amazing. Especially at this price point, the quality you get is a bit mind-boggling. However, when I bought this knife and received it, I had just upgraded a lot of my kit, the restaurant was super busy since we were understaffed, and I simply hadn't gotten around to opening this one yet.
Once I did I very sadly found that the knife hd some deep, semi-circular scratch marks near the heel of the knife and the blade was noticeably not straight about 4/5 down the blade near the tip. Not a huge deal during kitchen prep, but is quite dramatic during sharpening.
The price has gone up slightly as Mark has restocked, but I'm still willing to roll the dice again and buy another knife since I missed the return window on the first sample I purchased. Fingers crossed that my 2nd Shindo bunka isn't also a lemon.
7 people found this review helpful
Let me start off by saying I wanted to love this knife so much. As others have talked about, the geometry, thinness of the grind, sharpness are all amazing. Especially at this price point, the quality you get is a bit mind-boggling. However, when I bought this knife and received it, I had just upgraded a lot of my kit, the restaurant was super busy since we were understaffed, and I simply hadn't gotten around to opening this one yet.
Once I did I very sadly found that the knife hd some deep, semi-circular scratch marks near the heel of the knife and the blade was noticeably not straight about 4/5 down the blade near the tip. Not a huge deal during kitchen prep, but is quite dramatic during sharpening.
The price has gone up slightly as Mark has restocked, but I'm still willing to roll the dice again and buy another knife since I missed the return window on the first sample I purchased. Fingers crossed that my 2nd Shindo bunka isn't also a lemon.
Seriously amazing knifePosted By: Jordan Ross
10 people found this review helpful
My god this is a good knife. Seriously, for the price, this is top tier. I’ve been hearing a lot about Kyohei shindo and the value of this knife and was very lucky to have gotten one when cktg restocked.
First thing to be aware of and extremely important for the care of the knife is that it is friction fit to the handle. There is no adhesive around the tang to hold or seal it. Personally I like this, as I plan to rehandle it, so taking it off is easy as a couple taps. But if you plan on keeping the oem handle I would recommend sealing it so you don’t rust out the tang and rot the handle. btw the friction fit is perfect and holds tight, so a little epoxy around the tang would be the simplest solution.
Now on to the review…This knife is amazing. The out of the box edge and grind are phenomenal. The grind is extremely thin and comes to a near 0. This thing is a laser. The signature Tosa lacquer gives the soft iron cladding a fair amount of protection at first but will wash off after a few uses and will become extremely reactive, so remember to wipe pretty religiously to control the patina. The kasumi is sandblasted on, and looks nice for sandblasting but I’m really looking forward to giving it a natural pop with some natural stone hand polishing.
All in all, this is an all around amazing knife. The bang for your buck goes well beyond the price point. A great all around knife, great if you’re on a budget, but really fantastic if you want to put a little work in to hand finish and custom handle it for yourself.
If this knife is in stock and you’re thinking about it, grab it, it’s well worth it.
10 people found this review helpful
My god this is a good knife. Seriously, for the price, this is top tier. I’ve been hearing a lot about Kyohei shindo and the value of this knife and was very lucky to have gotten one when cktg restocked.
First thing to be aware of and extremely important for the care of the knife is that it is friction fit to the handle. There is no adhesive around the tang to hold or seal it. Personally I like this, as I plan to rehandle it, so taking it off is easy as a couple taps. But if you plan on keeping the oem handle I would recommend sealing it so you don’t rust out the tang and rot the handle. btw the friction fit is perfect and holds tight, so a little epoxy around the tang would be the simplest solution.
Now on to the review…This knife is amazing. The out of the box edge and grind are phenomenal. The grind is extremely thin and comes to a near 0. This thing is a laser. The signature Tosa lacquer gives the soft iron cladding a fair amount of protection at first but will wash off after a few uses and will become extremely reactive, so remember to wipe pretty religiously to control the patina. The kasumi is sandblasted on, and looks nice for sandblasting but I’m really looking forward to giving it a natural pop with some natural stone hand polishing.
All in all, this is an all around amazing knife. The bang for your buck goes well beyond the price point. A great all around knife, great if you’re on a budget, but really fantastic if you want to put a little work in to hand finish and custom handle it for yourself.
If this knife is in stock and you’re thinking about it, grab it, it’s well worth it.
