Why Sushi Chefs Pay Up to $20K for These Knives | WSJ Coveted

Japanese sushi knives have been meticulously crafted for over 600 years. Traditional knives are made of high carbon steel to be able to slice or cut sashimi without breaking the fibers. But one knifemaker, Yusuke Sawada, questions if the tradition has reached its peak.
WSJ explains how Nenohi Cutlery used materials no one thought would work and found cult status as knife artisans among top sushi chefs.
Chapters:
0:00 Japanese sushi knives
1:48 Materials
3:03 Forging and heat treatment
4:34 Shaping
7:14 Personal preference
8:39 Ace craftsmen dwindling
#Knife #Sushi #WSJ

[@thomastessier4529]

I absolutely love to watch true craftsmen no matter what their discipline is.

[@azuanatoya]

thats the cleanest knife maker workshop i have ever seen.

[@paullambert4445]

Wow! What beautiful knives. I love the quest for perfection. There is never true perfection, but they get close. Thanks 🎸🔪

[@Marc-uy7hp]

This is an outstanding video and WSJ should keep working with this crew and make more content just like this. Great job!

[@skyak4493]

Counterpoint -this is just high quality pictures and talk that don’t result in an answer to the question. Therefore it is common click bait. The implication is that someone of high skill spends a large amount of time to make one knife and many failures. Who is the judge of this skill? Only the guy whose name is on the company. An example of the videos failure -it never mentions that the structure of the knife business is exactly like the premium sushi chefs that buy the knives. Apprenticeship for most of their life in the hope one day they will be deemed worthy by the expert. The $20k knife is the perfect prop for the show.

[@HasanAhmed-ex6jv]

Improving on traditional methods is an innovation that someone will continue to improve the process.

[@bernardcaille]

incredible skills

[@thealchemist013]

Respectful. Any hand-made yanagiba, with passion and dedication, is a beautiful thing. Not an easy knife to craft and finish. I got mine from Sakai years ago, it's a masterpiece and it's such a pleasure when I get to use it.

[@ciscomontano]

Very interesting!

[@charlesballiet7074]

yea forging most kind of stainless causes the grain structure to swell and a lot of the chromium to burn off. at least in my experience. 304 and 404 are not good but perhaps a high vanadium alloy might work

[@federicogalimberti9707]

Excellent reporting

[@lil----lil]

This video got you a subscription. Love stuff like this. People who they take their craft to extreme bordering on insanity. I approve!

[@Serenity_Dee]

Can whoever does the closed caption subtitles make sure that they're not obscuring the burned-in subtitles?

[@bjornhauge9593]

What do you mean? Don't you like seeing "speaking in a foreign language" and "continues to speak in a foreign language" over the actual subtitles?

[@lancemillward1912]

Would love to visit this company

[@Divedown_25]

This is pure material physics and every movement in heating and forging can be calculated as it is known how materiel behaves but these guys are talking from pure experience.

[@Lostin2024]

Awesome 😎

[@mrwest5552]

outstanding viewing content here.

[@EcomCarl]

Fascinating exploration of the evolving craftsmanship in sushi knife making! Sawada innovative approach with stainless steel challenges traditional norms and could reshape the future of culinary tools. 🔪

[@Serenity_Dee]

Interesting how many people are opposed to craftspeople being paid fairly for their time and effort and skill.

[@tshirtnjeans4829]

$20K for knives is beyond stupid

[@abg7750]

@@tshirtnjeans4829 10 people working to produce ~150 of a good per year on average is going to carry a whopping premium. They are as much tools for fine dining as they are works of art. You are comparing the price to a typical Toyota, when they are making Bugattis.

[@tshirtnjeans4829]

@@abg7750 People will find ways to justify anything. These knives don't slice better than $20 knives from Walmart. The fact that the manufacturing is inefficient does not give the product a $19,980 premium.

[@scouse_sherpa]

If there’s one thing I’ve learned about the Japanese in my life, they know how to drag a job out

[@rhubarbpie2027]

Drag it out, or ensure the best possible outcome?

[@Hans-Yolo]

@@rhubarbpie2027 no, thats dragging out, they are just slow. look at how much faster Blaupließter in Solinge worked. This is just again one of these Hipster overengineered Workshops where half of the workhours are for cleaning the workshop.

[@rhubarbpie2027]

@@Hans-Yolo I hope you get the chance to visit Japan for an extended period and learn to appreciate their culture.

[@Hans-Yolo]

@@rhubarbpie2027 i appreciate their cultur but its also a thing in Japan to do things more complicated then they have to be, especially with knifes and swords. I know the reasons why they did things like they have. the western world has a tendency to romanticizing this things. The realy old Knifemakers in Japan dont work so slow as these guys do but their knifes are also from very high quality i bet and they dont need fancy digital hardness tester or a "special developed" beltgrinder ( which was nothing more than a bigger diameter wheel shch makes grinding and polishing knifes easier )

[@ChrisKartes]

Powder steels may give you more control over the blade during the forging process. I've never seen a sushi knife made of Magnacut steel.

[@JohnFrumFromAmerica]

Powder steels don't need forging by the knife maker just forming the shape and heat treatment. A good powder steel will be significantly better than any forged knife.

[@zoggrog8823]

@@JohnFrumFromAmerica That statement is incorrect

[@rhubarbpie2027]

​@@zoggrog8823 CPM steels have their "ingredients" more evenly distributed due to how it is processed.

[@SMS2884]

It's a ridiculous argument. You're cutting meat. Blade geometry, thickness behind the edge is ALL that matters. How much maintenance depends on blade steel and heat treatment.

[@biore0330]

Respect 🫡

[@dalesmth1]

I have varying knives for different tasks. And all are high carbon stainless. My most expensive on is almost $200, and I keep them as sharp or sharper than a razor. $20K? Yeah, you go boy.

[@MemeScreen]

There should be tests done with these knives to show that they are actually better, I kind of find it hard to believe that these knives are that much better than knives of made of comparable steel. If it’s just about status like Gucci or whatever that’s fine, but don’t hum up as some sort of super fantastic thing you can’t find anywhere else.

[@NikoMoraKamu]

as a knivemaker i can tell you are totally right the only special thing about them is their marketing team able to sell the same knife that all the japanese crafters do fo 10000% the price of it it's the japanese fever , people love them and think that everything that come from there can cut cannon barrels and slice the air and we the bladesmiths of other parts of the world are just rude medieval bearded guys who cant make proper tools :)

[@JohnFrumFromAmerica]

It would lose to a modern powder steel in every measure.

[@saschamarr495]

Absolutely, there is so much going on in the knifemaking / metallurgy world right now anyway... and most people are not informed about any of it@@JohnFrumFromAmerica

[@enzomolinari9141]

There is a major distinction. Quenching the knives in the tears of blue fin tuna is what makes them superior to anything else on the market.

[@SkunkworksProps]

There was an awful lot of marketing hogwash in this video but fair play to him for getting people to buy it, that's business.

[@1014p]

Cutting from sheet steel, tapping a few times power hammer, a heat treat montage, and expected grind and polish. Yes, marketing is what this is. I dont see any of the lore of Japanese blade smithing here at all. My understanding of the forging process, hype. Time to put this blade against say 20 other smiths knowing its purpose and shape design. Blind test them with identical handles or its material. Plus lets snap one of these in half and see its grain structure verse the highest placed knife.

[@mw6696]

i hate the wsj, but love this video

[@duran9664]

👇The most important question is👇 Are these knives precise enough to avoid irritating the sensitive skin while shaving privet parts in one run?🤔

[@kyzor-sosay6087]

😂😂

[@TroyStevens1]

I use the plastic knives in take out orders for my at home sushi making

[@ThomasRonnberg]

No water cooling on the grinders? hmm.

[@hitnorcal]

I'm confused. I was under the impression that the high price from Japanese knives came from the tamhagane process and then the polishing stages. Industrializing the process that makes this uniquely Japanese (handmade with Kaizen attitude) seem like it should have a lower price. Thinking about this as a westerner looking in doesn't help. If it is Japanese chefs that are driving demand that is different than western chefs who tend to covet the older ways and hours invested from the sword making aspects.

[@pablopeu]

Same, if you start from steel sheet, nothing wrong with that, then you have a datasheet for it, saying that the heat treatment protocol is "trade secret" implies that you are better at metallurgy than the team of metallurgists at the steel factory that makes the steel...

[@MemeScreen]

Agreed. Oddly enough, the Japanese needed to use the tamhagane due to them having some of the lowest quality steel at that time in order to get all the impurities out. They’re known for having great craftsman, which is often confused with having great steels. That may be different now but back then it wasn’t the case.

[@Pyramid789]

They talk as if its rare yokai magic or something. Its impressive craftsmanship, but they exaggerated as if their lives were dependent on it.

[@lawrenceragnarok1186]

No I think they just are showing how much effort they put into the fit and finish of their knives. I'll never own one of these nenohi cause it's not my style but I love the Western handle nenox knives.

[@01Sigsauer]

Yeah... everything in Japan seemes to be art. Even cutting the fish for sushi is an art.

[@aquibmohd]

China and japan always exaggerate things , they make paper - stand in line joins hands incense sticks. As if they are doing something that cannot be done .

[@philrobson7976]

Does it make the food taste better?

[@user-us6pj2jw1h]

Pretty sure it does

[@AeroEda]

Quentin Tarantino reincarnated as a Japanese knifemaker.

[@lutomson3496]

I have a small knife from these guys its ok may be a bit over rated and a bit tough to keep an edge on

[@Lykapodium]

Look no further than CPM Magnacut steel. It's the best knife steel there is. Harder than carbon steel and ultra corrosion resistant. A crucible steel made just for knives.

[@VinegarAndSaltedFries]

Give me Nakagawa, Tanaka, Ikeda, Togashi or Doi any day. These are way overpriced. Those first four are the best in Sakai.

[@VinegarAndSaltedFries]

Rich and deep history with those other and the brands they work for. Give them your support.

[@RzTheTree]

For 20k$ you can get multiple knives from each of these and still have money left over

[@VinegarAndSaltedFries]

@@RzTheTree I genuinely think you could get every kind of Japanese Knife shape and absolutely stunning versions for 20k. You could legitimately get 9-10 Honyaki Aogami Number 1 and deck out every single staff member at your sushi restaurant.

[@chefknivesenthusiast]

Add Shigefusa and Kiyoshi Kato to that list 👌🏽

[@VinegarAndSaltedFries]

@@chefknivesenthusiast ohhh absolutely perhaps a bit tougher to find currently though.

[@lilymclaughlin3010]

"yusuke continues to speak foreign language" blocking the actual subtitles is such a bad oversight

[@Naumkovich]

Буквально: Ножи: 😑😑😑 Ножи из Японии: 🥵🥵🥵

[@colinyuan5404]

So will the meat cut by 20k$ knife taste better than a 100$ knife?

[@Dirkadew]

Yes because it’s not tearing the fibers but some one like you that only eats chicken nuggies won’t be able to tell the difference

[@colinyuan5404]

@@Dirkadew I need solid proof, not your imagination

[@josevalderrama7243]

I prefer my carbon steel knives 😊

[@deenyc1049]

These knives are razor sharp because you have to sharpen them all the time. Chefs want them because they’re a status symbol.

[@VinegarAndSaltedFries]

As someone who has cooked with many Different types of knives, great sharp knives make prep more enjoyable. Without question. But you do need to have some kitchen skills for that enjoyment to be felt. And if you don’t believe me Go out and try it yourself.

[@ballistic350]

Everything in japan is hand crafted with passion, .. japan is the best country to live in...

[@walv7952]

working in japan is really stressful and tough though

[@ballistic350]

@walv7952 I rather live in japan over the states where I'm at.. too much crimes all around.

[@miked.9364]

Well for a number of reasons: 1. Prestige 2. Charge more for sushi 3. Prestige 4. Charge more for sushi

[@svongsa]

Why not just inflate the price to $100,000, if you’re going to sell knives for $20,000? 😂😂😂

[@LikeBOOMCA]

Very well produced, but this make Nenohi seem like the non plus ultra of japanese knives, which they aren't. They are way overpriced and for a fraction of the price you get way better knives.

[@Theoryofcatsndogs]

Sounds like my $400 Japanese knife is just trash...

[@jules263]

Did these generational blade makers make blades for Unit 731?

[@muhammedk470]

With super steels in the market, these will loose relevance

[@1014p]

Indeed, many high end metal blends showing great results.

[@RM-xr8lq]

always surprised how many people in the comments don't realize watching this youtube channel is same as watching commercials, paid programming, or reading a tabloid near the checkout.... this channel is very clear that everything they say is paid for, yet occidentals take it extremely seriously 😂

[@MemeScreen]

The dude in the video straight up admitted he’s only buying these knives because of who’s making them. Not due to the quality at all. 😂😂😂

[@bryanx590]

Makes no sense to hammer forge on plate steel they are using. Best knives are drop forge knives. I would experiment with flint or obsidian materials since that is the sharpest materials on earth.

[@TheScrawnyLumberjack]

Drop forged knives are usually garbage. Best knives would be made from PM steels

[@JASinIL2006]

Many, many better Japanese knife makers than Nenohi, whose knives are middle of the road.

[@adrianenache6794]

My 10$ knife keeps me well fed

[@wybuchowyukomendant]

So basically there is no reason, they just love expensive things because they think it`s better, gotchu. Same with the fruits, japanese will pay hundreds of $ to get "perfect" fruit...

[@chalinp4886]

That price won’t make you a better 👨‍🍳

[@centurione6489]

For 20K the knife better be capable of talking.

[@ConReese]

I own one that about 3500, it was a gift from a good friend of mine and it really does feel like they do. The knife has a sort of cutting personality that you can feel when cutting certain foods that it was designed for. At that price range you have a steel that was specifically engineered for that specific type of cutting. These aren't your slice and dice choppers these are extremely specific tools for extremely specific purposes otherwise you just ruin the blade.

[@NOLAART]

Anybody who pays $20K for a kitchen knife is demented!

[@shawnfeile]

Stainless takes your edge taking and edge holding abilities down compared to carbon steel. Knowing firsthand what it takes to forge a knife and charging no where near what they want, there is no way in this world I would pay a 10th of that for a cut out blank with a little grinding on it.

[@fredrikcarlen3212]

Pretty much all stainless steels retain an edge better than stainless, some do it for several times longer. There is no objective advantage to high carbon steels other than them being easier to make and thus cheaper.

[@earvinquero2037]

Never pay for that price. Theres a lot out there. Way better.

[@yoeyzee]

I said it before and I'll say it again. Japanese people always find a way to make something normal expensive for no reason.

[@JohnFrumFromAmerica]

Knife performance drops off drops off after the $100 mark. After $1000 there is probably no amount of money/effort that can make the knife better. This is just bragging rights and stupidity.

[@msa4548]

$20,000 for a knife that's still just cut from a sheet of heavy gauge stainless steel.

[@milky1234123]

i thought this as well back then till i treated myself to knife worth a little under 3 k. The difference was night and day

[@ctai010]

There over 20 popular stainless steel formulas used for modern knife, each have their own properties, pros and cons. Your not paying for the 1 stainless knife sheet cut, your paying for someone dedicated their life to try and test the best / most suitable stainless steel formula for this type of knife usage, cuisine, and ongoing maintenance

[@edenassos]

One can tell you're broke.

[@graefx]

"I ask it for the knowledge I have gained in the work of a lifetime."

[@maartenvanderzwan8281]

The art of selling BS Steels matter on how long it holds a edge. And how brittle it is. But it's made to cut fish.not the most abrasive

[@arunkottolli]

Japanese knives are made with expensive Japanese labour, hence expensive!

[@kurtbrisch5776]

As a chef of 25+ years I would never waste money on one of these knives.

[@josevalderrama7243]

As a chef for 25 years what knifes do you recommend?

[@kurtbrisch5776]

@@josevalderrama7243 Knives from Wusthof, Henkel or Global are all more than sufficient. I personally like the way Wusthof fits my hand.

[@widipuji972]

Shibata kotetsu, Shigeki Tanaka, konosuke, hatsukokoro and thx me later

[@kurtbrisch5776]

@@widipuji972 no thanks, never held a japanese knife that fit my hand right.

[@reviewchan9806]

Kind of ironic considering historically Japanese metalwork was terrible and brittle. Europeans perfected and experimented with better refinement techniques for strengthening and protecting steel since the middle ages whereas Japan was quite stubborn with metalwork all the way up to WWII and it showed.

[@MemeScreen]

Yep, the steel quality was horrible. That’s why they had to pound it so much. And considering they don’t want to use stainless, maybe some of that stubbornness is still there.

[@rolle6588]

2 dollar knife and the salmon fish will still taste like a salmon.

[@brianbassett4379]

Because the few of them that do spend that much are truly stupid.

[@joshmajor8662]

They’re gorgeous but insanely overpriced!!! Haha 😂 do your research people, you’ll see.

[@El_Jim]

Lol, the only thing this video shows is why sushi chefs SHOULDN'T be paying up to $20K for these knives. They should've focused more on the making of those handles because the making of the blade is certainly not it.

[@bruceyung70]

Did you watch the video? They said the most expensive one was 20,000 bucks. Rest are probably like 100 bucks. Chill

[@fredrikcarlen3212]

@@bruceyung70 They make 100-200 a year in total and employ several people. The do not cost 100 bucks each...

[@aroundandround]

Expensive knives are so overrated. Many cheap knives can be made very sharp as well. What matters is how how long a knife stays sharp without having to resharpen it, but you’d rarely see that discussed because even expensive knives have to be re-sharpened as well. Cheap knives can simply be thrown and re-purchased and you’d still come out ahead pricewise over a lifetime.

[@einundsiebenziger5488]

But always throwing stuff away and buying new stuff instead of maintaining it is a waste of ressources, degrades quality of life and makes everything more expensive in the long run. You permanently have to mine new raw material, ship it, use energy ro shape it into products and deliver those to customers and that all puts stress on the environment and infrastructure. To clean them up and maintain them respectively requires huge amounts of money that will be collected via taxes and fees. So paying an appropriate price for decent quality once is the much better method to "come out ahead pricewise over a lifetime"!

[@aroundandround]

@@einundsiebenziger5488 But that’s not my economics.

[@SuperZbros]

Because people are stupid, plain and simple

[@gjm1203]

Trainee usually have zero to none salary and subjected to abuse, and those guys work as a trainee for at least 10 years? Sounds like a Black enterprise to me

[@darylfortney8081]

take my money

[@MemeScreen]

Please don’t 😂

[@youtubeattacker]

Everything in Japan overpriced. Everything in India underpriced.

[@ChefB0ii-li8vo]

There's plenty of handmade stainless steel from other knife makers for a much better price, this is just brand hype

[@angryspacerasta1398]

You watched that whole video and you come to the conclusion that price is a key factor in the buying decision? Back to Walmart, kid. Adults are speaking.

[@gjm1203]

おしゃっる通りです

[@ichchecksnicht]

@@angryspacerasta1398 That comment is beyond dumb

[@pyalot]

The hole „carbon steel is sharper“ is because stainless is harder to sharpen. Thankfully this is the 21st century and cheap/high quality diamond sharpening stones and lapping compounds are available now.

[@jwt1035]

It’s probably more supply demand based on individual reputation than hype. I have several Japanese knives, and I can tell you the difference is apparent as soon as you put it in your hand.

[@1014p]

So all he is doing to make these. Is cut its shape and a few hits with a power hammer, a lighter one. Then a tempering oven and air cool. I imagine given its stainless peobably a water quench at this point which would be odd. I call this out as hype. If your want a knife that does not drag its down to polish and grain structure. He gave away enough here a smith could come up with the heat treat orocess. With stainless steal there are sources for the information. Overly hard edge might not be the goal here. No there are many budding smiths in the eorld who are coached by very good smiths. Talent is there and they draw out the bilet by forging, not cutting to a template.

[@Ken-nv2hl]

What a scam artist. He spends all that time heat treating the steel then ruins it by dry grinding the edge, this process anneals the edge losing its hardness. Wet grinding its the only way to do it, all professional knife makers have whetstones for wet grinding to keep the edge at a constant temperature while sharping to retain the metallic structure.

[@pectenmaximus231]

The belt stage looks to only be polishing. Just after wet sharpening is shown.

[@paradox_1729]

wet sharpening happened before what you saw.

[@ichchecksnicht]

I thought exactly the same xD

[@einundsiebenziger5488]

... wet grinding is* the only way.

[@TheScrawnyLumberjack]

Came here to say what BS if you’re chasing the maximum a knife can be you’re not forging it on power hammer and saying that it helps to distribute the elements. You’re going to is a PM steel and do pure stock removal. They boast about accuracy or grinding but they’re still grinding by hand introducing human error and supporting the knife during grinding with a chunk of wood.

[@mujadedhani1132]

if japanese product is little better quality than China 🇨🇳 or normal product, than prices will be 100's times higher😠but quality is not that good overrated products as usual by Japan 🇯🇵

[@ichchecksnicht]

You are absolutely right, BUT some people are willing to pay more for something that is handmade even though the objective quality might be worse. I myself have 2 japanese gyutos, each costs around 280$. Objectively speaking, these prices make no sense, but if you value something handmade and you know that a lot of time and work has gone into it, you are happy to pay more than the pure raw material costs or what other products of the same quality cost. And also they aren't merely a kitchen tool, they are also a piece of art and art is always hard to put a price tag on :)

[@mujadedhani1132]

@@ichchecksnicht absolutely right 💯.. look Grand seiko watches quality is little better than normal seiko but prices are more than Rolex.. if there was swiss industry, i often buy swiss tools, they produce highest quality products, but price is not so much high that deserves to be.. because they make high quality with machine & automatic manufacturing process..but these swiss tools are many times better than japanese or US products..

[@einundsiebenziger5488]

If Japanese* products* are better quality than Chinese* (...) then* prices will be 100* times higher. This particular product is overhyped, but Japan does produce decent quality products at prices not higher than those of Chinese-made products.

[@ichchecksnicht]

@@einundsiebenziger5488 das war jetzt deine zeit wert irgendeine random person auf youtube zu korrigieren?

[@einundsiebenziger5488]

@@ichchecksnicht War es denn deine Zeit wert? Hast du nicht derselben "zufälligen Person" geantwortet?

[@jamesm3268]

So much hilarious opinions. Trying to convince customers who have no idea that somehow forging mono stainless makes it more uniform in grain structure? The steel comes perfect from the factory you and your power hammer and coal forge ain't making it better... The amount of gold flaking Japanese knife makers add to their products these days is hilarious. You're plasma cutting out the shapes and stock removing it with a few light taps on the hammer for the video. 😅

[@patrickvolk7031]

Not an enthusiast, let alone an expert (I was a cook for 7 years), but cutting out of a sheet and grinding it down seems a bit... mass productive? Looking at different sheet stainless steels? Slicer machines exist, paper cutters, sharp enough to remove your fingernail. Stainless steel can be plenty sharp.

[@AlexLYH]

That's kinda dumb.

[@9aguirre]

To take three years to make a tool to cut fish is pure fetish. So too to pay them $20,000.

[@jules263]

Japanese think they have a monopoly on high end knives. Nothing rare about them. Best blades are made in Germany and USA.