Kanetsune Knives

RemyKaze

RemyKaze

Joined
Mar 23, 2012
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2,177
Anyone have any info on these? They look pretty interesting, and some of them fit my 6-7 inch criteria pretty well. I've never owned a Japanese blade, so any background on them would be awesome.

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They're very nice knives, but expect the sheath style to be naturally prone to a slightly loose fit. Also, they aren't exactly inexpensive. I see them as slightly boutique-y in that the premium materials could cause a mental barrier for some individuals regarding how hard they use the tool. I see no reason why they wouldn't do great though.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
They're very nice knives, but expect the sheath style to be naturally prone to a slightly loose fit. Also, they aren't exactly inexpensive. I see them as slightly boutique-y in that the premium materials could cause a mental barrier for some individuals regarding how hard they use the tool. I see no reason why they wouldn't do great though.
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Buying Busse doesn't seem to bother most people...after seeing those prices I find these knives pretty reasonable.:p I've been getting into these and Blackjack knives, things along those lines, but I still prefer a full tang. Haven't seen any customs lately that fit what I'm trying to find.
 
Oh they're definitely reasonable for what they are, but not so cheap as, say, a Mora or Svord or Opinel that's so inexpensive you beat the stuffing out of it and don't worry about scuffing it up. Many of Kanetsune's designs are of a traditional (or traditionally inspired) Japanese utility and outdoors designs that did see relatively rough use, but they're "pretty" enough that I know a lot of folks would have a hard time overcoming the desire to keep it that way. :D
 
I think that from an aesthetic poing of view, these knives are stunning. I find them far more attractive than, for example, the much more expensive William Henrys. My local knife store actually carries them and I've been tempted. I haven't bought one yet because I doubt if I would actually take it out into the cold hard world. It would just sit around looking pretty although I think Kanetsune knives are actually pretty tough. They also have one of the most unique and clever sheath ideas I've ever seen with a bayonet type frog. Damn, I may have just talked myself into buying one.
 
I've had two, a damascus white steel core, and a blue core damascus. Both would crumble away as I sharpened it. The edge looked like it was hitting nails. The folder was worse than the fixed blade for some reason.

I like both white and blue and super blue but for whatever reason those two damascus just didn't want to act right.

Joe
 
I own a couple, and they are pretty knives. The core "supersteel" is very hard and brittle, my use and sharpening experience has been similar to The Mastiff's above.
 
Same experience as the top 2, however I was able to mitigate this factor. Its a matter of thickness on the very edge, they don't like to be sharpened very thin or acutely. I actually turned mine into a very serviceable blade, once you sharpen away a TONNNN of steel its not nearly as brittle. However go else where, I cannot recommend kanetsune knives based off my own experience. If you need a japanese style knife go elsewhere.

I saved up my pennies and bought a Red Orca, they make excellent knives they're just pricy.
 
Thanks for the alert to the edge issues, guys. I've only handled and played with a bunch of Kanetsune pieces--never actually sharpened 'em.
 
Yes, it has been a strange experience, when they first came out, I really wanted to love the knives.

I don't know what the issue is with the "blue" & "white" steels, perhaps a steel made to filet sashimi in the kitchen just isn't meant to hack wood in the wilderness.
 
CWL said:
Yes, it has been a strange experience, when they first came out, I really wanted to love the knives.

I don't know what the issue is with the "blue" & "white" steels, perhaps a steel made to filet sashimi in the kitchen just isn't meant to hack wood in the wilderness.
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I have no clue what's wrong with Kanetsune knives. I've owned other blue and white steel knives that were really good. The higonokami for instance, or the red orca I bought as stated before. There are plenty of Murray Carter fans on here that can attest to its quality. The real kicker though is that Kanetsune kitchen knives have a really good reputation, so why their field knives blow makes no sense.
 
Javelin said:
The real kicker though is that Kanetsune kitchen knives have a really good reputation, so why their field knives blow makes no sense.
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I can confirm this. I have Kanetsune Gyuto fow few years and absolutely love it.
 
I don't know what the issue is with the "blue" & "white" steels, perhaps a steel made to filet sashimi in the kitchen just isn't meant to hack wood in the wilderness.
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Spyderco ran their super blue mule at around rc 62 and it's beautiful. A mean performer that is easy to sharpen, has great stability and decent enough toughness for a high carbon, ingot steel run pretty hard. Likewise the Super blue Caly 3.5 inch sprint run I really like. The Tungsten carbides give it a nasty bite that a lot of people like. In all fairness the Hitachi White, and Blue steels are cleaner than some powder steels though.

I got the impression my knives had been "overcooked", which really means not a whole lot. No lab tests and just a feeling. They couldn't have been running so high a hardness they were brittle from that. I've had that in a knife or two and the steel essentially acted normally until it chipped. ( O-1 at rc 64-65. I've also seen 1095 over rc 65 and despite being fairly brittle it didn't just crumble away.

Still, no lab tests mean I'm only taking potshots and should probably keep my opinion to myself. :)

Joe
 
mossyhorn said:
I've always like the look of the Kikori axe.

KanetsuniKikori.jpg
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I always thought that looked pretty, but the wrap would probably get really annoying in actual field use. Swords and axes are used very differently so a wrap designed for one does not necessarily translate to the other.
 
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