YANAGIBA Knives
The four pictures here show a knife we had made for us by Nenohi in the early part of 2007. This YANAGIBA knife was hand forged using the Mizu-Honyaki technique, meaning that it was totally water-tempered. This knife cost $3,500 (USD) retail in Japan.
Kaede and Keyaki
 NENOHI, KAEDE-stainless 300mm YANAGIBA |
 NENOHI, KEYAKI (KDX)-stainless 300mm YANAGIBA |
The two pictures here show two different stainless steel knives made by Nenohi. The one on the left is a Kaede blade, and the one on the right is a Keyaki blade. The Kaede blade line is very popular in Japan, and has been sold by Mutual Trading Company in America since the start of 2008. This includes some wide-blade versions of YANAGIBA (lower left photo) and KIRITSUKE types of YANAGIBA blades sold exclusively by MTC in the U.S.
Because of the special high-carbon stainless steel with which these knives were made, they have an extremely sharp cutting edge. The Keyaki blade on the right is made with KDX steel; the hardest type of stainless steel available in the world. They are about 2.5 times harder than regular HONYAKI blades. This is a good thing for thinner cutting, but poses a problem when sharpening. It is not very easy to do, even for a sushi chef. However, the blade is sharp to the point that words cannot properly describe it. Personally, this is my favorite knife (The Producer).
Japan's Number One Yanagiba Blade
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 Knife Polisher, Shinpei Ino |
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| 300mm X 48mm width YANAGIBA-BLADE | Knife Forger, Yoshikazu Inoue |
Both of these blades are the best ever made in Japan, and are one-of-a-kind sushi knives from Sakai, Osaka-Japan. A two blade set of NENOHIMARU knives like these sells for at least $40,000 retail in the U.S. These are the best of best ever made in Japan until 2009.