Tomita-san knives

[eyewanders]

Hey folks -
So, I just happened to pick up a 135mm petty at auction on a whim a week or more ago (have not yet received it - coming from Japan). Several types were available and seemed to be going from this seller for relatively nothing; they were described as being made by Tomita-san in Hyogo, whom I've not heard of, and so I just decided to give it a go, unable to find any info on them. Looked extremely rough around the edges, but forged with AS so I figured it certainly couldn't hurt at that price. Just wanted to ask if Mark or anyone else here knew about these and this smith after I just discovered a video on the CKTG youtubes from 2013 about Tomita.

The one I bought: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Japanese-Super- ... 2386318546
The video I just found: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Mdm4J-cI8s

[ChefKnivesToGo]

Yeah I met him at his shop outside of Miki. His property is covered in bamboo and he works pretty much by himself. I'll dig up some pictures.

[eyewanders]

Ah, cool. That'd be great. He did seem to have an almost 'don't know why everyone's watching me' sort of attitude. Though I imagine that's a common expression for anyone standing in front of a 1000 degree forge.

[milkbaby]

Dang! At that price it could cut like a baseball bat and still be worth it as a project knife! The shipping was more than twice the cost of the knife!

[ChefKnivesToGo]

[PaulB]

Very tempted to grab one of these knives for sharpening/sanding/polishing/rehandling etc practice, and possibly for guests to use.

Not sure how I could go too far wrong at that price.

[Bensbites]

I reached out to the seller to see if I could get several at once.

[GopherBroke]

Six.. on their way

[Bensbites]

Six.. on their way

Did you win them at auction?

[eyewanders]

Six.. on their way

I thought someone might do that. I was gonna wait and see how the first was, but you just jumped right on it!

[eyewanders]

Very tempted to grab one of these knives for sharpening/sanding/polishing/rehandling etc practice, and possibly for guests to use.

Not sure how I could go too far wrong at that price.

That was my thought exactly.

[slobound]

Six.. on their way

Haha, well... that escalated quickly!

[Hmirchev]

Bought two of them tonight...this one as a petty-style knife:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/112391287090?_t ... EBIDX%3AIT

And the Deba because....why not?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/112391224396?_t ... EBIDX%3AIT

I love how the finish looks on the knife...hoping the seller would sell more of them

[PaulB]

Very tempted to grab one of these knives for sharpening/sanding/polishing/rehandling etc practice, and possibly for guests to use.

Not sure how I could go too far wrong at that price.

That was my thought exactly.

Alas my cunning plan was rather foiled when I discovered you can't buy knives on ebay in the UK - it literally stops you from bidding at the last second!

[Klotf]

Very tempted to grab one of these knives for sharpening/sanding/polishing/rehandling etc practice, and possibly for guests to use.

Not sure how I could go too far wrong at that price.

That was my thought exactly.

Alas my cunning plan was rather foiled when I discovered you can't buy knives on ebay in the UK - it literally stops you from bidding at the last second!

Yeah I never understood that. Kitchen knives are legally allowed to be sent by post in the UK. Silly ebay

[jbart65]

Something about this doesn't seem quite right. These knives are legit?

[eyewanders]

Something about this doesn't seem quite right. These knives are legit?

Unknown.... That was my main reason for posting here, hoping to see if any had heard of the maker or seller. I just ordered the one smaller petty, willing to take the risk for so little, so we'll see how it goes.

[noemis]

Huh. The boxes on the funayuki listed below look exactly like the one my Yamashin honesuki came in. I've always been kind of curious about the knife boxes. Like, are there a few big suppliers that all the guys get their boxes from and then just slap a custom label on? Most of them are so beautiful, it's one of my favorite parts of getting a new knife.

These do seem way, way too cheap.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Japanese-Super- ... 2386318546

[jared]

I mean at thay price I see no room for profit. Somthing don't seem right.

[Hmirchev]

His shipping rates are kind of outrageous....I mean I've bought many things from Japan and I know well enough that a small parcel is waaaaaay cheaper than $25 apiece. So he must be overpricing the shipping in order to balance out the prices...