Moki, Hattori, Sakai, Hiro...

J

James Mattis

Joined
Oct 3, 1998
Messages
3,264
I was looking for more information in Moki, and in the process I found some very interessting Spyderco variants here. The same outfit sells the Jess Horn Clipit, apparently still in production for the Japanese market if a present-tense price tag in Yen is to be believed.

The page is a mix of Japanese and English, and shows a bunch of interesting knives that I haven't seen on this side of the big pond, not even in old Ironstone catalogs. I did one currency conversion to find that I was just about competitive on one the several Moki models I've been getting, after adding something for international insured postage that is.

Any chance of seeing the whole Moki line for sale in English in the USA, through SFO, if not through the US knife market in general?




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- JKM
www.chaicutlery.com
AKTI Member # SA00001
 
so THAT's what a yin/yang cricket is supposed to look like... drooooooooool.

i want, nay, NEED one of those.

 
I forgot to put the link to that Japanese Knife Page with model listings and prices in Yen in my top post.

The "special" Spydercos are under the Sakai heading, with a cryptic note in English about only being sold in Japan, and there's no price tag next to the Cricket.

You may find some similar knives, especially in the "traditional" styles, in the A.G. Russell catalog. Several well-known US knife comapnies are represented there. But there are a lot of knives in the Moki, Hattori, Hiro, and Sakai lines that are not being marketed here, either under US brand names or their own.

I did, however, find more Moki knives on Spyderco's page today than I found the last time I looked, and there are several other models that get here via Sweden and Canada. And you probably won't find those entire lines all in stock anywhere all at once.

Here's a useful looking line of fixed blades.


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- JKM
www.chaicutlery.com
AKTI Member # SA00001
 
I sure would like to see the whole Sakai & Moki lines for sale outside of Japan.
Samurai quality at its best...
 
This would sell here. I want one. The one hander, of course.

moki_pt.jpg


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Roger Blake

[This message has been edited by beam (edited 08-07-2000).]
 
But don't count on continuing supplies of India stag. India has shut down exports of the stuff until further notice. Better look at the hardwood, micarta, and seashell models.


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- JKM
www.chaicutlery.com
AKTI Member # SA00001
 
Personally, I'm drooling over the G.Sakai made Akihisa Kawasaki designs. I'd even buy one of the laminated higo knives...Is there anyone who is importing a wider line of Japanese knives than Spyderco?
Mr.Mattis?
 
Look through A.G. Russell's catalog for some fixed blades and folders from those manufacturers. I have a handfull of [http://www.chaicutlery.com/moki.html]Moki[/url] models on my page that come via the Fällkniven connection.

Spyderco has Moki, Sakai, and Solo on their "SFO" pages, not all in stock all the time. More models than they had a few months ago, but not as many as I think I remember from some old Ironstone catalogs. And I suspect that if they thought they could make money carrying the whole line, they'd be doing it. Remember, these brands are not cheap, and it's a minority of the public, and even of minority of people with discretionary income, who can imagine paying more than $50 for a knife, so the market for these things has limits.

On the Fällkniven page I found a link to Hattori's web page. It's all in Japanese, but I clicked some links and found that they have a huge line of fixed blade knives for outdoor or kitchen use. I recognized some SOG models there, I think. Here is a page of Hattori damascus fixed blades. Nice. I can only guess at prices and specifications in English, and I suspect that one can get a good custom knife from an American maker for what one would pay for those if somebody imported them.


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- JKM
www.chaicutlery.com
AKTI Member # SA00001
 
Did you see that page with Cold Steel products on the Hattori site? There's even a picture of Lynn Thompson and a Hattori knife maker together. Looks like Hattori makes the Cold Steel line.
http://www.hattori-hamono.com/prof2.htm
<img src = "http://www.hattori-hamono.com/image/cold4.jpg">

And did you see those SOG bowie look alikes?

<img src = "http://www.hattori-hamono.com/image/m42-44.jpg">


I would love to see those damascus Randall types in the US though.
 
James - G.Sakai, Moki and Hiro do not stock inventory. Models must be specifically ordered with minimum quantities. Sometimes difficult.

Moki is currently deciding which models they would like to make. Spyderco will stock all of those at SFO. Prices are too high to permit a distribution chain.

The Stag Moki at the top of your pic is the prototype for the Moki "Elite" model.

G.Sakai will be making collaboration designs with US designers. We're in the process of selecting designers.

sal
 
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