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News

November 25, 2015

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Welcome to our new website

Welcome to our new website

After a lot of work, and a bit of a wait, we were finally able to launch the newest version of Japanese Knife Imports today. Though the website looks similar, there are a number of huge changes we have made with this new version.  We have been listening to what our customers have been asking for, and, in this newest version, we have tried to implement as many of those requests as possible.  Here's a brief rundown of some of the new things you can expect: Mobile and Tablet friendly sites- the site should work well whether it be on...

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July 17, 2014

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A note on the subject of microbevels

A note on the subject of microbevels

I had a discussion about this on another forum and i thought it might be useful here... i think people misunderstand microbevels (and also have no clue what thin behind the edge actually looks like with regard to thinning)... microbevels are intended to achieve the following things (not necessarily all of them, but at least one, if not a combination of a couple or more): -maintaining extremely thin geometry on a knife that could not otherwise handle it -reduce chipping in super hard steels -increase stability in larger carbide steels (especially at low sharpening angles) -improve edge retention at the...

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May 10, 2014

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Rethinking How Restaurants Hire - The Hiring Process at 3-Star Michelin RyuGin

Here, at Japanese Knife Imports, we have been expanding our library of books and magazines.  One of the magazines we get is essentially the equivalent of Art Culinaire in Japan.  Unlike Art Culinaire, however, there is a greater emphasis on professional chefs sharing information about how they run their businesses.  In the most recent issue, there was a very interesting article by Seiji Yamamoto, the chef and owner of 3-michelin-star RyuGin restaurant in Tokyo.  He discussed his hiring process in depth.  As we have been hiring lately, and as our job board has grown, we have thought a lot about this ourselves.  His...

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January 14, 2014

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Steel Type Vs. Blacksmith

I had an interesting question from a customer today and wanted to post about it here, since i thought it was a great question and i'm sure many of you probably were thinking about the same thing... Question- Is it true that white steel #1 is considered the top of the line steel since it is so clean and offers a blacksmith a "white canvas" more than the blue steels that have additional alloys? Answer- I don't believe that any steel can be called top of the line... all of the steels require different skill sets to heat treat well....

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July 30, 2013

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On single bevel sharpening- Hamaguri and Beta Togi

Recently, a customer/friend asked me a question about how single bevel knives are properly sharpened and if the concavity from the large wheels the knives are made on has any functional purpose. Here was my answer: The concave part of the blade road is a function of how the knives are made. Often, they go from a wheel to a buffer and are finished with minimal stone contact, so the low spot in the center of the blade road remains. As a rule of thumb (though not always 100% accurate), the more expensive knives have less of this and to...

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July 19, 2013

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A Series of Notes on Various Subjects

Here are some notes on various aspects of kitchen knives and knife repair that i have shared with customers recently. I hope many of you will find them useful. Up First, a bit about sharpening single bevel knives, angles, geometry, and asymmetry- An answer to a question posted on youtube... thought it might be helpful to some...question: What angle will you recommend on the primary and secondary edge on a yanagiba?answer: The exact angle will depend on the knife/maker/etc. However, these things can be quite easy to follow from initial sharpening. The angle doesnt change much between the two angles......

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July 09, 2013

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Kanto Vs Kansai Knife Shapes - A Lesson In History

Someone asked this question the other day, so i thought it might be nice to copy and paste some of that conversation here:"The history of the shapes is a bit different, as is the way the used to be used. Because of the tip on the kamagata usuba, chefs can use it for regular usuba work and mukimono (design work), and tend to do so. In kanto, chefs that do mukimono tend to use a mukimono bocho as well. Of course, at the best restaurants and with the most skilled chefs, they still tend to use the most task specific...

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OUR STORY

Welcome to Japanese Knife Imports, Inc.

We are a small company of passionate knife dorks, focused on making high quality Japanese knives from small makers available to you, outside of Japan.

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SERVICES

We offer a variety of knife-related services... click below for more info

ABOUT KNIVES

Just as with many other traditional and cultural products in Japan,

Japanese knives offer simple, yet sophisticated beauty and quality to their users. It can take some time to learn how to handle these knives correctly, but it is a rewarding experience.

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PHONE 310-399-0300
HOURS Monday-Friday 11:00am-6:00 pm, Closed Weekends
ADDRESS 8642 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90211

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