# Tatsuo Ikeda



## casquette (Nov 5, 2018)

I found online a Petty knife 145mm by Tatsuo Ikeda. The price is around $900. What do you think, should I buy it?

C.


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## Gjackson98 (Nov 5, 2018)

Let’s see some photos and descriptions


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## Anton (Nov 5, 2018)

Totally


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## ynot1985 (Nov 5, 2018)

casquette said:


> I found online a Petty knife 145mm by Tatsuo Ikeda. The price is around $900. What do you think, should I buy it?
> 
> C.



is this honyaki...


seems a bit step for a san mai

you can find honyaki 240-300 for about 1200-1500 usd


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## Godslayer (Nov 5, 2018)

casquette said:


> I found online a Petty knife 145mm by Tatsuo Ikeda. The price is around $900. What do you think, should I buy it?
> 
> C.



No, not unless it's a very fancy one. You can get a yoshikazu one for about a buck 50


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## ThinMan (Nov 5, 2018)

He’s not making any more and he is supposed to be the GOAT. Whether it’s worth it is up to you.


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## SeattleBen (Nov 5, 2018)

I had an opportunity to buy a Kramer for 700 usd years ago and I've kicked myself pretty regular since then.


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## ynot1985 (Nov 6, 2018)

ThinMan said:


> He’s not making any more and he is supposed to be the GOAT. Whether it’s worth it is up to you.



Great.. no doubts.. GOAT .. no such thing in the knife world .. there is no objective measure to judge how great someone is


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## casquette (Nov 6, 2018)

Godslayer said:


> No, not unless it's a very fancy one. You can get a yoshikazu one for about a buck 50





ynot1985 said:


> is this honyaki...
> 
> 
> seems a bit step for a san mai
> ...


it is a san mai damascus shirogami.


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## Omega (Nov 6, 2018)

Tatsuo Ikeda definitely is Not making knives any more.

Because he is dead. 

He is a celebrated blacksmith, especially for his Honyaki. 

Though people have a tendency to attribute knives to him that he had nothing to do with. 


Whether or not you should by the knife? The performance of the blade will partially rely on the Sharpener responsible.. and boy can that vary.


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## khashy (Nov 6, 2018)

casquette said:


> it is a san mai damascus shirogami.



Sounds far fetched, I’ve never seen a single damascus knife from him and I have been lucky to find quite a few knives made by Tatsuo Ikeda-RIP, both san mai and honyaki.

Can the seller provide any kind of verification that it is in fact made by him specifically? A stamp on the tang for example? 

If such a thing exists, then 900$ might be worth it because of unicorn status rather than cutting ability. 

I mean I have never seen a badly sharpened knife by him (the original sharpener I mean), in fact they’ve all been pretty much perfect - as you can imagine he’d have only worked with proven sharpeners; But you should know that the majority of what you’re paying is rarity premium (if in fact it is actually a Tatsuo Ikeda knife)


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## Gjackson98 (Nov 6, 2018)

I personally have never seen a Tatsuo Ikeda Damascus or double bevel. Like Khashy said, if that knife is true, its unicorn for sure.


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## lemeneid (Nov 6, 2018)

Gjackson98 said:


> I personally have never seen a Tatsuo Ikeda Damascus or double bevel. Like Khashy said, if that knife is true, its unicorn for sure.


I've seen a few Tatsuo gyuto honyakis. Not that rare, but you're right his yanagis are definitely more common.


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## Gjackson98 (Nov 6, 2018)

lemeneid said:


> I've seen a few Tatsuo gyuto honyakis. Not that rare, but you're right his yanagis are definitely more common.


My friend just showed me one lol. 
Thats crazy but awesome.


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## khashy (Nov 6, 2018)

Like Omega has already mentioned, people dress up some knives and call them Tatsuo's work where as in fact it's either mis-information, a lie or someone has been conned.

It'd be great to see photos of these double bevel honyakis by Tatsuo Ikeda you guys speak of - crazy that on a kitchen knife forum as large and diverse as KKF, there has only ever been a single one that has come to light.

I'm not professing to being a Tatsuo expert here by any means - just beware of who it is you are believing when a knife is presented as a 'Tatsuo'


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## HRC_64 (Nov 6, 2018)

He did amazing stuff but not everything is his best work.

Just my $0.02 cents.


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## marcvnguyen (Nov 6, 2018)

Is there a definitive way to tell that it is a Tatsuo Ikeda? Can't really go by brand since there are other makers that make knives for that brand. Can't see stamp on tang unless the handle is taken off.


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## ynot1985 (Nov 6, 2018)

marcvnguyen said:


> Is there a definitive way to tell that it is a Tatsuo Ikeda? Can't really go by brand since there are other makers that make knives for that brand. Can't see stamp on tang unless the handle is taken off.



Very hard to say then. That’s the Japanese way. For many years, people only cared about the brand and its assurance of quality. Who made it was never an important factor. It’s only the western market that emphasis who the maker is.

Tang is your best bet but even then it may be blank.I have both honyakis made under his brand and oem for another. The oem one had a blank tang. You need to do you own research in regards to tatsuo’s association with the brand. 
My oem one was a NOS and research tells me he made honyakis for this brand for many years so I’m 90-95% sure it’s him and I took the gamble of acquiring it.


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## lemeneid (Nov 6, 2018)

marcvnguyen said:


> Is there a definitive way to tell that it is a Tatsuo Ikeda? Can't really go by brand since there are other makers that make knives for that brand. Can't see stamp on tang unless the handle is taken off.


Only way to tell if it is genuine is going by the Certified Craftsmen seal. Since both brothers sign off as Ikeda on their kanji.

But from what I see, Tatsuo chisels his kanji a little harder so maybe that’s the only visible difference.


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## dreamwalker (Nov 6, 2018)

ynot1985 said:


> Very hard to say then. That’s the Japanese way. For many years, people only cared about the brand and its assurance of quality. Who made it was never an important factor. It’s only the western market that emphasis who the maker is.
> 
> Tang is your best bet but even then it may be blank.I have both honyakis made under his brand and oem for another. The oem one had a blank tang. You need to do you own research in regards to tatsuo’s association with the brand.
> My oem one was a NOS and research tells me he made honyakis for this brand for many years so I’m 90-95% sure it’s him and I took the gamble of acquiring it.



pictures please if possible.
Thanks!


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## khashy (Nov 7, 2018)

lemeneid said:


> Only way to tell if it is genuine is going by the Certified Craftsmen seal. Since both brothers sign off as Ikeda on their kanji.
> 
> But from what I see, Tatsuo chisels his kanji a little harder so maybe that’s the only visible difference.



I am not sure where you are getting your information from but it seems to be inaccurate.
Tatsuo Ikeda's signature has always been 'Masayuki Saku' or 'Sakai Masayuki Saku', either that or his number 12 seal.

Of all the Tatsuo blades I have seen, I do recall one, maybe two that have 'Ikeda' chiselled, but even those has Masayuki stamped on the tang.


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## marcvnguyen (Nov 7, 2018)

khashy said:


> I am not sure where you are getting your information from but it seems to be inaccurate.
> Tatsuo Ikeda's signature has always been 'Masayuki Saku' or 'Sakai Masayuki Saku', either that or his number 12 seal.
> 
> Of all the Tatsuo blades I have seen, I do recall one, maybe two that have 'Ikeda' chiselled, but even those has Masayuki stamped on the tang.


Where would you see the #12 seal stamped? On blade? On tang? Do you have a picture of what that looks like?


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## khashy (Nov 7, 2018)

marcvnguyen said:


> Where would you see the #12 seal stamped? On blade? On tang? Do you have a picture of what that looks like?



Most often on the tang, however I do have one where it’s stamped on the ura.

Here is a video of it on my IG feed

 https://instagram.com/p/Botc4qTgxEW/


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## F-Flash (Nov 15, 2018)

http://couteaujaponais.oxatis.com/Mobile/couteaux-master-tastuo-ikeda-c102x3489793

So what do you guys think about These?


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## Corradobrit1 (Nov 15, 2018)

The Yani looks pretty. But over $2K? hmmm


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## Anton (Nov 15, 2018)

marcvnguyen said:


> Is there a definitive way to tell that it is a Tatsuo Ikeda? Can't really go by brand since there are other makers that make knives for that brand. Can't see stamp on tang unless the handle is taken off.


Buy from someone you know or a reliable retailer


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## khashy (Nov 15, 2018)

F-Flash said:


> http://couteaujaponais.oxatis.com/Mobile/couteaux-master-tastuo-ikeda-c102x3489793
> 
> So what do you guys think about These?



You mean whether they are actually Tatsuo Ikeda or not?


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## fuzion (Nov 16, 2018)

So are they? And how much do his knives normally go for?


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## nakneker (Nov 17, 2018)

I found this little gem recently. Tatsuo Ikeda 210 Honyaki. I had given the whole 210 thing up, but that hamon and the fact it was a Tatsuo sealed It!


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## brooksie967 (Nov 17, 2018)

nakneker said:


> I found this little gem recently. Tatsuo Ikeda 210 Honyaki. I had given the whole 210 thing up, but that hamon and the fact it was a Tatsuo sealed It!View attachment 44849
> View attachment 44850
> View attachment 44851



Uhm, you sure?


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## ynot1985 (Nov 17, 2018)

You can tell it’s a tatsuo from the hamon? I have three and I still can’t identify them by the hamon. The last one I thought as a tatsuo ended up been genkai. I’m assuming you saw kanji on the tang right?


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## Omega (Nov 17, 2018)

My kanji reading is still dog ****... Would someone mind translating the Tatsuo Ikeda Honyaki kanji?


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## fuzion (Nov 17, 2018)

The petty does have the kanji sakai masayuki, does that mean it's by Tatsuo Ikeda?


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## khashy (Nov 17, 2018)

nakneker said:


> I found this little gem recently. Tatsuo Ikeda 210 Honyaki. I had given the whole 210 thing up, but that hamon and the fact it was a Tatsuo sealed It!View attachment 44849
> View attachment 44850
> View attachment 44851


 
I’d evaluate things carefully before jumping to conclusions on whether it’s a Tatsuo or not.


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## khashy (Nov 17, 2018)

fuzion said:


> The petty does have the kanji sakai masayuki, does that mean it's by Tatsuo Ikeda?


The knives posted by F-Flash are all Tatsuos


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## F-Flash (Nov 17, 2018)

Someone bought The petty, I wish it is one of you guys so we can get More pictures of it soon!

Khashy?


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## ynot1985 (Nov 17, 2018)

Tatsuo double bevels are rare af


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## Omega (Nov 17, 2018)

Would you mind post a closer photo of the kanji and a choil shot of the Honyaki?


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## Omega (Nov 17, 2018)

Ayyy nvm- found the info I needed. 

Confirmed Tatsuo Ikeda Honyaki Gyuto. Sharpener is Kasahara. 

I would caution against using strictly the hamon to try and determine a blacksmith- Yoshikazu makes this hamon as well.. But you hit the jackpot on this one. 

...still would love to see a choil shot though


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## nevin (Nov 17, 2018)

nakneker said:


> I found this little gem recently. Tatsuo Ikeda 210 Honyaki. I had given the whole 210 thing up, but that hamon and the fact it was a Tatsuo sealed It!View attachment 44849
> View attachment 44850
> View attachment 44851



Hummm.... I have my doubt this is made by Tatsuo Ikeda.


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## marcvnguyen (Nov 17, 2018)

Omega said:


> Ayyy nvm- found the info I needed.
> 
> Confirmed Tatsuo Ikeda Honyaki Gyuto. Sharpener is Kasahara.
> 
> ...


Could you share how you confirmed that this is a Tatsuo?


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## khashy (Nov 18, 2018)

marcvnguyen said:


> Could you share how you confirmed that this is a Tatsuo?



‘In certificates we trust’ irrespective of the issuing body it seems.

Far be it from me to act as the ‘Tatsuo arbiter’ but I’ve seen the same certificates issued by the same person and it almost makes me chuckle.

In any case, if it’s a great knife, then who cares, enjoy in good health - I just hope a fortune wasn’t paid


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