# Kaneshige



## pullox (Feb 20, 2014)

Hi all,

This is curious. does anybody knows something about that kaneshige knives from the guy you don´t like to mention? Suspiciously cheap? Or just a wa-fujiwara fkm? There is also the Goko knifes, are those for real? 

It just seem odd enough a wa 240 gyuto in almost a tojiro price...


----------



## eshua (Feb 21, 2014)

Lexus is to Konosuke as Kaneshige is to Toyota???

I haven't used either brand, but here some good things about konosuke and little about Kaneshige. I'd like to know more too.


----------



## chefcomesback (Feb 21, 2014)

AFAIK Kaneshige is the parent company just like Toyota and Konosuke is the brand created by Kaneshige for their premium line just as Eshua stated like Lexus . There was a post I remeber somebody really looking to buy a HD gyuto in sakai and having difficulty locating the brand konosuke and convincing them to sell one since all of the production was pretty much sold to US vendor. Altough they were different styles of blades I had a knife from each line and they both had good fit and finish. FWIW I remember seeing Kaneshige being sold at the same price level from a different vendor too


----------



## insomniac (Feb 22, 2014)

Indeed, Kaneshige is the parent company of Konosuke. The "Kaneshige"-branded knives are a more mass market commercial enterprise and accordingly considerably cheaper--QC of course suffers proportionally. "Konosuke"-branded knives adhere to a more artisanal approach of having designated specific expert smiths for each part of the process for each of the specific lines, and are priced to accommodate that. If you ever buy a Konosuke knife from them directly in Japan, you will get it in a box from Kaneshige Cutlery.

Having visited them twice over the past three or four years, I can say that while Konosuke does have an "office" in Sakai which you can visit, it has changed. Whereas some years ago (09 or 10?) you could walk into Konosuke's studio, view some blades, pick a handle, throw in an engraving and get a knife assembled within the day or at least within a few days, you no longer have that option (or at least I was told it wasn't possible anymore when I was there last December). Depending on what exactly you assemble, I was told it would take from two weeks up to as long as several months later--basically it'll be a mail delivery. Reason is quite simple... they've become quite famous with several U.S. online retailers whom are overloading their artisanal approach with requests--they just can't handle the volumes they're getting to offer the same kind of service that they used to. There was a time when they even planned to have a "store" in Sakai and not simply an office (its literally just desks an cabinets and piles of boxes), but they've given up on that at least for now. In a sense, its unfortunate, but I guess its great for them that they're doing a killer business. I believe you can still buy some of the stuff they have on hand-but it is extremely limited.

Going back to the OP's original query, frankly, Japanese wa gyutos/knives in general do not NEED to cost hundreds of dollars. You can get perfectly decent Japanese blades for prices competitive to Germans or even less. Certain Japanese brands have gotten increasingly expensive with their ascent to fame--but there are plenty of reputable knives in Japan that are selling for cheap, especiallly if you're looking in the Kaneshige "mass market" ballpark. Having said that, "that" shop isn't the only place selling knives at those prices. Many online shops offer very affordable Japanese lines. You can try other vendors on the forum here or others like Blueway Japan - there are many ways to get Japanese knives at reasonable prices if you've flexibility with your maker and QC concerns. I go to Japan twice a year. $100 for a stainless wa gyuto is affordable but not dirt cheap--you'd be surprised how low it goes.


----------



## pullox (Feb 23, 2014)

insomniac Thanks for the input.

Actually I´m not looking at buying right now, just curious about the knives and the prices. I´ve read before about kaneshige being the Konosuke parent company. 

Anyone here have some experience with those cheap kaneshige? What about the damascus Goko? Actually, what about Goko knive


----------



## pullox (Feb 23, 2014)

I´m saving for the purpose of buying a 270 KS and a sabatier slicer and/or sabatier beater, I really like the knife withe that kind of a profile. That and a pair of pettys (one really cheap, maybe Kuhn Rikon or Victorinox) and one 150 Masa VG or Hiro, or FKM or something like that. I think that´s all I need.


----------



## DanDan (May 4, 2020)

I know 6 year old bump, but I chose this thread because it had the most info about Kaneshige.

Shot in the dark, but any KKF'ers know more about the brand or have tried it? I'm not too attracted to Konosuke and it seems stock is sparse, but I this one at Ai & Om caught my eye while searching for Wakui. It looks particularly thin. Seems Tosho stocked them at one point (they still have a damascus gytuo in stock). Also found an old B/S/T for a nakiri that said it was particularly lefty-suited (yay).


----------

