I general it is pretty expensive, and you often end up buying your own stabilized wood too which adds to the cost. Martell is more expensive than most, and he takes quite a while as he is backed up with other projects. There are others who charge less and if you get a cheaper material (micarta or G10 for instance) it can be more reasonable. Some of the highly figured wood blocks will run you $50-100 just for the wood.
I would say you can generally get it done for $150-200. It’s a luxury obviously. I wouldn’t recommend rehandling until you know you love the knife and replacing the handle will satisfy you so you won’t buy something else.
FYI, I even had my kid’s Misono rehandled with old growth redwood…but I am not normal when it comes to this stuff
My local sharpening shop will round the spine and choil of a knife for $10. It was a great addition to my Hiro AS and other knives; so much more comfortable to use.
This morning I ordered the Hiromoto AS in 210mm. Very excited to try it out. Shipped already and should be here in time for christmas cooking.
BTW, I had a question with my order, which I put in at about 7 AM this morning CST. Mark at chefknivestogo.com answered my question within minutes. Excellent customer service.
I personally like stainless clad. You get the benefit of a higher carbon, harder steel core and easier maintenance. My Hiros and 2 Murray Carters are stainless clad and I use them very frequently. Btw, the two Hiros I posted a picture of above were thinned and etched with makes the cladding line very dramatic, especially on Hiros.
k.
Added: I also highly recommend round the choil and spine – good suggestion. $10 is very reasonable too. I do my own with my belt sander, but a lot of makers and some retailers will make sure things are rounded off nicely before you get the knife.
I think mine should be here any day now too. I am curious to see how the collaboration with Lamson Goodnow (LG) works out. A few knife makers are working with the company, but they have not had a great reputation for making quality cutlery as of late. This is why people are using them for part of the process, then finishing them to ensure quality.
Mark Richmond from Chef Knives to Go has created an extensive line of knives using LG, but since he is a retailer and not a knife maker there have been problems with quality, consistency, and finish of his knives.
A couple of Canadians, Pierre Rodrigue (knife maker) and Tom McLean, are also working with LG to make a Sabatier-inspired knife at a reasonable price. It is going through the testing rounds right now.
Randy Haas is efficient and a very capable knife maker, so I have high hopes for it. We’ll see.
got my Hattori 150 mm Petty. Beautiful knife. Not sure yet if I will use it since he is in poor health and I imagine value will go up–but I also likely will never sell it. Fun to have, though. I showed the wife KM’s collection so she would see perspective and not gut me for buying just one knife.
You need to post a pic. Those are some of the best looking knives ever made IMO.
And btw, when we have wine/food gatherings we also bring our knives. And I am serious, we bring MANY knives. Here are some pics from two of our get-togethers. There are so many ways this could be worse than your new hattori
I would second the sentiment that you should go for it, but you don’t really need a block of too many knives: 2-4 will usually do. A gyuto/chef’s knife, suji/slicer, larger petty/utility, and smaller pettey/parer would provide enough cutting tools and utility for 95% of all cooks.
There are other storage solutions too: sayas (wooden sheaths), drawer racks (which I use, see pic below), and magnetic strips. It often depends upon what your spouse finds acceptable.
As for knives not being about cooking, that can definitely be true – just as there are wine collectors who don’t drink a lot of wine. But for the most part, knife fanatics use their knives and cook a lot, and almost all of my gatherings have professional chefs at them.
In my experience, buying better knives and learning how to care for them often leads to more cooking.
A friend of mine as the Hattori “Forum Knife”, a 240 gyuto. I once cooked at his place and forgot my knife and so used that. It’s quite nice. I have no experience with Hattori’s upper range, though. This same friend has some custom carbon knife from another maker whose name I can’t remember. He is so obsessive about chipping the edge that after every use he scans it with a jeweler’s loup. He doesn’t let me use that knife.
K,
Did you purchase of make those racks? I’ve been meaning to make something along those lines, but have yet to get around to it. I have no where near as many knives as you, but I do have a couple of the insanely thick Japanese knives, which makes most off the shelf solutions somewhat difficult… Any thoughts or help would be appreciated!
