Kiridashi Knife question

Wow, what is the deal with Kiridashi knives?  Why does a plain piece of metal, sharpened at one end by some guy in Japan cost over $300?!!!

As far as I can tell, Kiridashi refers to a style of knife, not a maker. It's a handy utility knife, similar in concept to the pocket knife most of us put on with our pants.

It appears that everybody and their dog makes a Kiridashi style knife. It's likely that there are also handmade versions, limited editions with specialty steel -- for a price.

I'm here in Japan, and I can probably answer both your question and the underlying question that I read, are there cheaper kiridashi knives?

First the latter. The cheapest kiridashi knife on my amazon.co.jp results is under 5 USD.

To answer the prior - As with most things, the sky is the limit.

You might see a higher asking price because...

The steel is better.
The knife is forged with a better technique.
The knife is ergonomically well designed.
The knife is aesthetically pleasing to people who have a lot of money.
The knife was made by a person who is famous for making knives.
The knife was featured in an advertisement that was very well done.
The knife is an heirloom, antique, or art object.
The knife will never be sold because the asking price is absurd beyond all reason.
Or various other reasons I can't think of.

Since there is no English translation of the wikipedia article on kiridashi knives I plopped the Japanese version into google translate. It reads as follows:

Kiridashi Kogatana is a type of single-edged knife[1][2]. A steel plate with a slanted edge [3]. Mainly used for scraping things [4]. It is one of the representative single-edged knives[1], and until cutter knives and pencil sharpeners became popular[2], it was one of the most commonly used tools in daily life in Japan[5]. It is sometimes written as kiridashi knives [1], or simply kiridashi [3], kiridashi [2][3], and also called kiridashi knives[3][6]. It is also called a Buddhist sculptor's knife because it is suitable for carving hard wood.[7]
structure

The tip of the steel plate is a slanted blade [3], and the tip is sharp [2]. Both the body width and thickness gradually decrease from the head to the base, and the thickness gradually decreases from the back to the abdomen [8]. In general, soft iron with steel attached is used, and iron oxide is attached to the body to prevent rust [5].

The blade angle is adjusted from 18 degrees to 30 degrees depending on the application [8]. Normally, the angle is 20 degrees, but it is said that about 18 degrees is good for grafting, and about 30 degrees is good for cutting eels[8].

This name comes from the fact that when the blade becomes shorter due to polishing, the tip of the hilt is cut off and the body is exposed [1]. For this reason, it originally had a handle, but today even those without a handle are called kiridashi knives [1].
how to use

There are various types of kiridashi knives [9], but they are usually held in the right hand and the object to be sharpened in the left hand, and the thumb of the left hand is placed on the back of the kiridashi knives for sharpening [10]. However, when cutting a long part, conversely, it is necessary to move the object to be cut [11].

Kiridashi knives are one of the most commonly used tools in daily life in Japan[5], and were also used in arts and crafts classes at school[2][5]. However, it has fallen out of use as cutter knives and pencil sharpeners have become popular [2].
maintenance

Since the whole is made of iron, it is managed on a daily basis so that it does not rust [5].

If the edge of the blade is worn out, polish it with medium and finishing whetstones, and finally adjust the blade angle[12]. If there is chipping, first rough grind [12]. At that time, if iron oxide is applied to prevent rust, be careful not to remove it [5].

Edit on reading to add
Translation notes:
- "scraping" is maybe not the best translation of 削る... perhaps carving, shaving, or cutting off a small layer
- "cutter knives" refers to box cutters with disposable blades.
- "abdomen" refers to the middle part of the knife.
- "Cutting eels" does indeed mean cleaning eels for eating
- "iron oxide" probably refers to tool blacking

They remind me of a seax.
It's a knife, of various quality and sizes.

William Bronson wrote:They remind me of a seax.
It's a knife, of various quality and sizes.

It does look similar! Cool knife that.

kiridashi usually have a shorter blade though. I can't speak to the angles.

There are some with good reviews on Amazon for around $30.  I'll try one for wood carving.  I would have to have experience using several from different makers to understand why those that basically are just a plain, angled chisel with no handle are generally so much more expensive.  I know there is a fairly obsessive passion for quality when it comes to traditional Japanese items, but when it comes to such a simple tool it is still ahead scratcher for me.

Judson Carroll wrote:There are some with good reviews on Amazon for around $30.  I'll try one for wood carving.  I would have to have experience using several from different makers to understand why those that basically are just a plain, angled chisel with no handle are generally so much more expensive.  I know there is a fairly obsessive passion for quality when it comes to traditional Japanese items, but when it comes to such a simple tool it is still ahead scratcher for me.

Well, in Japan, if an item is made by a craftsperson, not a factory worker, it becomes a very different item.

There is a culture surrounding traditional crafts in Japan that is hard to explain, but Toshio Odate does a damn good job of it in "Japanese Woodworking Tools: Their Tradition, Spirit and Use"

There are certain expectations of a tool made by a craftsperson here. Things like durability, repairability, ease of use, etc are a given when the item is made by a respectable craftsperson. Yet, the craftsperson making tools does not do so for the layman, they do so for fellow craftspeople. Thus they don't expect you to pay 300 dollars for a kiridashi if you are not using it in a traditional craft, they expect you to buy the five dollar factory version.

I don't know if that does much to answer, Toshio Odate does a better job in the book.

Marketing

L. Johnson wrote:
Well, in Japan, if an item is made by a craftsperson, not a factory worker, it becomes a very different item.

That seems to be a universal trait.

Generally it's a matter of one man selling one knife every now and then versus selling thousands per day, generally made by machines or unskilled farm laborers, then peddling them via the internet and distributing that profit from the top down (so... everything ever made by hand).

I have many hand forged Japanese tools made by singular smiths whose names I know and it's personally more meaningful. That doesn't mean I don't use a tape measure from Home Depot. My kiridashi was not that expensive, and when it comes to Japanese woodworking and carpentry, it is one of the most useful tools there is, not only that but it can easily function beyond marking. From carving wood to carving soft metals, it can do quite a bit. Part of the expense is the high quality steel used, often called aogami, blue paper, white paper, Swedish steel, various grades are used.

If it's made by a craftsman, there is almost guaranteed to be two metals used, soft and hard, which are forge welded together. This is vastly different from Western tools which use a singular steel hardened and tempered... and far superior. Due to the dual quality of the finished product laminated steels provide all the benefits of each separate steel forged into one: edge retention, ease of sharpening, and overall durability.

This is why there is great focus in the Western woodworking world on Japanese tools. When I first got into blacksmithing this was the only way I wanted to try and make knives, but importing these high grade steels is unbelievably expensive.

Source for first and last photo: Covington and Sons