Why Japanese Chef’s Knives Are So Expensive | So Expensive

[Music] japanese chef's knives are world renowned for their unique design and durability and just one can cost you over nine hundred dollars from heating and hammering the metal [Music] to sharpening the knife's edge and polishing the final blade these are only a few of the skills a japanese artisan spends a lifetime learning to master so what makes these knives so coveted and why are they so expensive has spent 37 years crafting chef's knives at his family's factory in echizen each one goes through 100 production stages it's a process that requires over 10 years of practice compared to popular european chef's knives japanese blades are lighter and sharper allowing for more precise cuts on the low end most takamura blades cost a couple hundred dollars but custom made pieces can sell for 15 times that one of the most expensive knives produced by the shop sold for sixty nine hundred dollars was one of the first knife makers to use a certain kind of stainless steel called high speed powdered steel it was originally designed for power tools like saws and drills because of its durability and strength two qualities japanese chef's knives are known for today [Music] once the metal is cut it's heated in an electric oven to harden and strengthen the blade then the hammering begins at this point the artisan relies on experience and instinct to guide them in producing a blade of ideal strength and thinness hammering leaves behind circular indents something knife makers in the past typically polished away but 60 years ago terokazu's father and his colleagues discovered the benefit of knives with a textured surface like this [Music] [Music] [Music] this hammered finish called tuchime allowed chefs to chop ingredients quickly and more efficiently it also added a beautiful aesthetic to each blade another element highly valued in japanese knives [Music] but a japanese chef's knife wouldn't be nearly as valuable without a supremely sharp edge an artisan presses the blade against a rough grindstone made of natural rock a sharpening material you'll only see used in japan this step distinguishes an artisan's skill and ultimately sets a knife's final value [Music] today it takes one full day to sharpen the blade and another full day to secure and polish the handle the final knife is totally unique each with its own distinct balance thickness and design [Music] several of the world's best chefs use tagamore's knives from rene redzepi at noma to massimo botora at austeria francescana another one of those chefs is masakazu fuji he uses takamota's knives to prepare fish at his restaurant in fukuo saudi [Music] has been the center of high quality knife making since blacksmiths began crafting chef's knives here 700 years ago and today the city is internationally recognized for its cutlery production but before knives artisans made swords another valuable trade in japanese [Music] culture [Music] despite dedicating decades to this craft terekazu and his brothers weren't always set on becoming master knife makers [Music] or not getting your hands on one of takamoto's knives could take years with that kind of wait time coupled with the decades of training required to master this craft it's likely these pieces will remain costly for years to come [Music] on my you

Channel: Business Insider

Views: 13,339,313

Keywords: Business Insider, Business News, So Expensive, Japan, Chef's Knives, Knives, Cutlery, Chef

Id: 7dZmeh_28Eo

Length: 9min 54sec (594 seconds)

Published: Sat May 29 2021

Reddit Comments

[u/JCookies17]

I recently bought a decent chef’s knife, ended up deciding against a Japanese knife because I seriously doubt my ability to keep such a narrow angle sharp. I do want a really nice Japanese blade on day, though.

[u/r0gue007]

This was a great piece!

Thanks for posting OP

[u/IttaiAK]

I love business insider. Usually very interesting and informative, well edited and the narrators usually don't interfere too much.

[u/Arsenault185]

A long video, with very little "manufacturing".

Great video, but it left me wanting more

[u/iToronto]

You're not paying for a "superior" knife. You're paying for a piece of art. You can buy an excellent quality knife with similar blade and edge specifications for much less.

There is no one steel that is suitable for every use scenario. A fillet knife uses very different steel than a cleaver used for chopping through bones.

[u/DeucePot]

So they say their knives are steel on the inside wrapped with soft iron on the outside? Wouldn’t the blade dull quite fast?

[u/mtimetraveller]

What a coincidence, just watched this on YT! Japanese knives look so elegant!