# Toku Atsuraï



## Francois601 (Mar 26, 2017)

Hi every one
Can someone tell me what is (or who is) Toku Atsuraï.
L'émouleur is selling several knives by that name in Montréal and I cannot find details on the web (including here) about it
I could find Takefu V-Toku 1 and 2  They are steel manufacturers, and V-Toku 1 and 2 are alloys similar to Blue steel
And of course, Toku is the "virtue" or "use" part in Santoku
Atsuraï doesn't ring anything in Google

Can someone help ?

François


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## bkultra (Mar 26, 2017)

Welcome to the forums


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## Jovidah (Mar 26, 2017)

Maybe it's the name of the kid slaving away in their sweatshop?


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## Francois601 (Mar 26, 2017)

Thank you very much Jovidah That helps a lot


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## XooMG (Mar 26, 2017)

Looks like a branding that uses a few OEM. Some look quite nice. They have some pics on Instagram and their website, and the styles look to be varied (some like hinoura, some like itou, etc.). Prices are a bit out there though, I think.

For what it's worth, their brand seems to be &#29305;&#35458;&#28858; &#24535;&#20828;


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## Francois601 (Mar 27, 2017)

I didn't notice before that all of the knives were named like that... It seems to support the branding thing... Thanks XooMG


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## Francois601 (Mar 29, 2017)

Hi again
Here are pictures. Maybe that can help identify the knife.
http://francoismessier.com/couteaux/Toku_Atsurai_Kanji.jpg
http://francoismessier.com/couteaux/Toku_Atsurai_Petty.jpg
http://francoismessier.com/couteaux/Toku_Atsurai_label.jpg


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## XooMG (Mar 29, 2017)

&#26085;&#26412;&#35069;&#29305;&#35458;&#24535;&#20828; &#38738;&#32025;&#37723;&#36896;

You will likely find some information by searching for Minamoto blue nashiji.


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## Francois601 (Mar 29, 2017)

Thanks XooMg You're a real Pro.
I found this : http://www.**************.com/minabl2pe13.html
It is exactly my knife (with detailed information). The down side is that I paid twice the price
Nevertheless it was my first Japanese knife and it hooked me to them forever
I now own a Moritaka kiritsuke, a Tanaka deba, a Kitaoka usuba and a Sakaï yanagiba from ChefKifeToGo
I love them all
Thanks again


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## Francois601 (Mar 29, 2017)

By the way Maybe it not appropriate but I would like to know why CKTG is "not allowed here"
Should I avoid to by knives there ?
Is there a thread here I should look for here ?


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## bkultra (Mar 29, 2017)

Francois601 said:


> By the way Maybe it not appropriate but I would like to know why CKTG is "not allowed here"
> Should I avoid to by knives there ?
> Is there a thread here I should look for here ?



Here is an old thread that has the information you seek 

http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/showthread.php/12175-Shout-out-to-CKTG


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## valgard (Mar 29, 2017)

Be prepared for a lot of information on popcorn. Besides what you want to know of course.


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## michel.guy (Feb 5, 2020)

and anout this one 
toku atsurai shapu 
at l'emouleur but cant find anything on web 
you have idea XooMg ?


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## bkultra (Feb 5, 2020)

@michel.guy welcome to the forum


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## michel.guy (Feb 5, 2020)

This is the picture 
Where I can find info about this knife


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## McMan (Feb 5, 2020)

michel.guy said:


> This is the picture
> Where I can find info about this knife



Looks a lot like this Tadafusa, just not in terms of price 
http://bernal-cutlery.shoplightspeed.com/tadafusa-240mm-gyuto-aogami-2-nashiiji-walnut.html


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## michel.guy (Feb 5, 2020)

Thanks nice job


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## zizirex (Feb 5, 2020)

the Quebecoise shop... they sell some of the rebranded OEM knives with 3 times the price. maybe because it's from Quebec? I saw bunch of Yoshikane, Tadafusa, Hinoura etc with their brand name and 3-8 times the original prices.


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## valgard (Feb 5, 2020)

zizirex said:


> the Quebecoise shop... they sell some of the rebranded OEM knives with 3 times the price. maybe because it's from Quebec? I saw bunch of Yoshikane, Tadafusa, Hinoura etc with their brand name and 3-8 times the original prices.


yep, anything that shop sells is just fancied up names and prices from 3X to 10X


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## Gregmega (Feb 5, 2020)

michel.guy said:


> This is the picture
> Where I can find info about this knife



Wow. Never seen a thousand dollar Tadafusa before.


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## Colonel Mustard (Feb 5, 2020)

Gregmega said:


> Wow. Never seen a thousand dollar Tadafusa before.


I bought my first knife there. The prices are indeed insanely high. I think he mostly aims for the Outremont crowd who want a fancy, good looking and good cutting knife and don't care about prices (or about who makes the knfe  )

I have to admit Iwas quite pi**ed when I started learning more about Japanese knives and found out my precious 450$ (CAN) knife was a 230$ (CAN) Yoshikane. If he was to sell Mazakis, he would probably charge at least 600USD for a 240 gyuto.


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## tito_degrace (Feb 19, 2020)

Colonel Mustard said:


> I bought my first knife there. The prices are indeed insanely high. I think he mostly aims for the Outremont crowd who want a fancy, good looking and good cutting knife and don't care about prices (or about who makes the knfe  )
> 
> I have to admit Iwas quite pi**ed when I started learning more about Japanese knives and found out my precious 450$ (CAN) knife was a 230$ (CAN) Yoshikane. If he was to sell Mazakis, he would probably charge at least 600USD for a 240 gyuto.



Where would you buy a knife now? For someone who doesn't want to make the same mistake.


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## bkultra (Feb 19, 2020)

@tito_degrace welcome to the forum


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## ojisan (Feb 19, 2020)

Toku Atsurai means Special Made/Crafted. There are variations like Betsu Atsurai that means also Special Made, Toku Sei (this is also Special Made), and Betsu Uchi (Special Forged). These words sometimes mean virtually nothing, only used to make knives look more special. Some brands (e.g. Aritsugu) use these words as series names, but still, the words themselves do not provide any information.


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## KenHash (Feb 20, 2020)

Atsurae 誂え specifically means "Made to order".
Whether the knife actually is or not, don't know.


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## Macaroni (Feb 20, 2020)

I’ve got a handful from that shop. Things go on close out from time to time making the prices much more reasonable. The knives are all nice and the handles generally unique / not standard. 

I’m fairly certain my TA “Hanma” gyuto is a Konosuke Sanjo.


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## Furminati (Feb 21, 2020)

It’s actually crazy the mark up on a tadafusa


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## Colonel Mustard (Feb 21, 2020)

tito_degrace said:


> Where would you buy a knife now? For someone who doesn't want to make the same mistake.


My second knife (Kurosaki Shizuky gyuto in R2)I bought from Alambika (not a huge selection but sometimes some interesting knives) because I really wanted to see the knife in person before buying.
Then I just ordered online from Japanese Natural Stones because I wanted to try a Mazaki.
If you're in Montreal, I think ordering online or buying from BST would be your best bet unless you see a knife you would like at Alambika as their prices are usually fair.


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## tito_degrace (Feb 22, 2020)

Colonel Mustard said:


> My second knife (Kurosaki Shizuky gyuto in R2)I bought from Alambika (not a huge selection but sometimes some interesting knives) because I really wanted to see the knife in person before buying.
> Then I just ordered online from Japanese Natural Stones because I wanted to try a Mazaki.
> If you're in Montreal, I think ordering online or buying from BST would be your best bet unless you see a knife you would like at Alambika as their prices are usually fair.



Yes I'm in Montreal. As I was waiting for your answer I looked on knifewear. Are Masakage knives any good? I plan on buying a santoku or gyuto and a petty 120mm as these are the only knives I use in the kitchen. Any recommendations? Theses are the firsts knives I'll be buying and I'm wiling to pay 200$ each as a set of 6 Global knives are about 600$ and that's what I was about to buy next. I hate buying cheap stuff and I take care of it. I think you have to be rich to buy cheap.


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## tito_degrace (Feb 22, 2020)

tito_degrace said:


> I'm wiling to pay 200$ each




I know there are much more expensive knives out there... thank you (answering myself for the "I think you have to be rich to buy cheap." as 200$ may look cheap)


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## Colonel Mustard (Feb 25, 2020)

tito_degrace said:


> I know there are much more expensive knives out there... thank you (answering myself for the "I think you have to be rich to buy cheap." as 200$ may look cheap)


Hi, I've never tried Masakage knives myself but you should find some info using the search function. I had looked at the Masakage Koishi before but decided on the Kurosaki shizuku instead. Why do you want a santoku if I may ask? My first japanese knife was a santoku but after buying my gyutos, I never really used the santoku again. If you were to buy just a gyuto and a petty, you could get pretty good knives for 600$. Are we talking CDN or USD by the way?


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## tito_degrace (Feb 25, 2020)

Colonel Mustard said:


> Hi, I've never tried Masakage knives myself but you should find some info using the search function. I had looked at the Masakage Koishi before but decided on the Kurosaki shizuku instead. Why do you want a santoku if I may ask? My first japanese knife was a santoku but after buying my gyutos, I never really used the santoku again. If you were to buy just a gyuto and a petty, you could get pretty good knives for 600$. Are we talking CDN or USD by the way?




CAD$. I don't know. I tought a santoku was an all around knife. I prefer the shape as well. But it looks like a gyuto is THE knife to have. I am very new to cooking but my wife is kinda tired to cook every day and I cannot imagine myself using the knives she uses. They cut so bad it is dangerous.


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## Colonel Mustard (Feb 26, 2020)

The santoku is indeed sold as an all around knife but I find it less useful than a gyuto. By the way, if you'd like recommandations on your purchase, you can fill out the which knife to buy questionnaire and you should get lots of advice and probably some info on Masakage knives.


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