Buying Global Knives in Tokyo

[RickBehl]

Hi,

Will be in Tokyo for 2 days at the end of this week and just wanted to check on the latest situation regarding buying Global knives there. Can anyone advise on:

1) Where to buy? Still at the Yoshikin store?

2) How are the prices compared to those in the US or Europe? (especially with current FX rates)

3) Do they sell knife 'sets' in Tokyo?

Thanks in advance,

Rick

[Conal]

You don't have to buy them in Yoshikin store, but the Global Pro line is sold there and only there.If you're going to the trouble of buying a Global in Tokyo you may as get one you cant get elsewhere.

The GLOBAL-PRO Series is for professional use (business use) knives that are manufactured through the "honbazuke", special blading process and are on sale only in Japan. Through the "honbazuke" blading process, a blade become sharper than that of normal knife, we recommend to customers that these knives are sharpened by a whetstone. For details, please see our page on knife sharpening

http://www.yoshikin.co.jp/w/products/global-pro/list_global-pro.html

Edited November 24, 2010 by Conal (log)

[RickBehl]

Thanks. Any idea on prices? relative to other parts of the world?

[prasantrin]

the prices were right on the website.

[RickBehl]

Oops! Sorry, missed that small detail. Thanks!

[DALI]

You are going to be in Tokyo and what to buy a knife and Global is what you are interested in? Seriously there are hundreds of knife makers there that produce a much better product then a Global knife. Please think about this allot before you do this. You have options. And yes this is an intervention.

[Dakki]

LOL!

No fan of Global but hey, if that's RickBehl's thing...

[RickBehl]

Well, I don't have a lot of time to be honest, only 2 days in Tokyo and then moving to Kyoto for another 5 days. Add the fact that I don't speak Japanese and it might make things harder to research/find once I am there... But I'm happy to be told otherwise...

I was under the impression that even Pro chefs in the west were using Global knives quite widely?

[Dakki]

I don't speak a word of Japanese either and my Tokyo knife hunt went just fine. Just walk down Kappabashi and hit the different knife stores. I think I went into four or five and the staff spoke at least some English in all of them. The guy at the place with the suit of armor outside was especially helpful, and he even spoke excellent Spanish!

Another place I liked wasn't a specialist knife store. They had a lot of Lodge cast iron cookware displayed. The guys there looked at the knife I chose and brought out a few more of the same make/model so I could pick the one with the damascus pattern I liked best.

Globals are a love or hate thing. I personally think they're odd-looking and -feeling, and I'm told the steel is "gummy" like typical Western stainless, unlike the almost glasslike properties you'd associate with a typical j-knife. (This is hearsay, I've never actually sharpened a Global).

[prasantrin]

Why not get an Aritsugu knife in Kyoto then? It's easy to find, they have English speakers on staff, it's a "real" Japanese knife (i.e. not make for export), and they're highly regarded amongst foreigners and Japanese. Maybe not as highly regarded as some of the Seki knife makers, but it's an old well-respected Kyoto knife maker. Plus they'll engrave the knife with your name if you like. Snazzy.

Do a search for it online and I'm sure you'll find more information.

[RickBehl]

Ahhh... I think I bought a knife from Aritsugu in Kyoto a couple years back. Is the shop near the Nishki food market area? They even inscribed my family name on it. It's a great knife but I think my sharpening skills need some work... I bought the whetstone they recommended at the same time but I can never seem to get it as sharp as I think it could be... I'm sure it's not a knife problem but my own poor technique...