Side by side
FLTR: kasumi, kitaeji NOS, kitaeji. Which one is your favorite?
| Knife Measurements | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Length, Overall | |||
| Length, Handle to Tip | |||
| Length, Heel to Tip | |||
| Weight (gr) | |||
| Height, Blade at Heel | |||
| Width, At the Handle | |||
| Width, Above the Heel | |||
| Width, At the Middle | |||
| Width, 1cm from Tip | |||
| Halfway, at Spine | |||
| Halfway, 2cm from Edge | |||
| Halfway, 1cm from Edge | |||
| Halfway, 0.5cm from Edge |
Since writing the original review in 2016, I have sold both the kasumi and kitaeji yanagibas. Looking back, I should have kept the kitaeji knife, as the measurements were not like a regular yanagiba. Later measurement articles with kitaeji 270mm owners clearly highlighted hybrid characteristics between a yanagiba and a fugubiki. Yes, these knives are fully hand made and have variations from knife to knife, yet these are "off" by simply too much. Have a look at the “height at heel,” “spine width” and “weight” and drop me a line with your comment.
FLTR: kasumi, kitaeji NOS, kitaeji. Which one is your favorite?
FLTR: Kasumi Kitaeji, Kitaeji NOS
The kasumi yanagiba in full glory
The kitaeji yanagiba in full glory
The Kitaeji NOS version in full glory.
Close-up of the kasumi kanji.
Close-up of the kitaeji kanji.
Close-up of the kitaeji NOS kanji.
A closer look at the kasumi kanji.
A closer look at the kitaeji kanji.
A closer look at the Kitaeji NOS; yes, those are dust specs on the knife.
Could not help myself, testin the limits of my Nikon 110mm Marco lens. Even the individual hammer marks creating the engravings are clearly visible, as well as the bulging of the steel around the indentations. Interestingly, the Kanji on the NOS (image below) appears a lot rougher compared to the non-NOS Kitaeji.
Detail of Kitaeji NOS kanji.
I do recall one KKF thread on Shigs patterns, stating that newer Kitaeji Shigs have patterns grouped in three lines at a time, whereas theNOS stock does not, or at least a lesser extend. This is pretty much confirmed and indeed clearly visible (see Kitaeji on left, Kitaeji NOS on the right).However, the Kitaeji NOS knife does have a similar pattern, yet tighter grouped. A clear, visual difference between the kitaeji knives is that the Kiaeji NOS knife appears to have “straighter” lines compared to a “wavy” pattern on the Kitaeji version. The other difference is the number of lines, I counted 22 on the NOS version and 18 on the normal version.