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Customer Ratings and Reviews
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Beautiful piece of history
This is truly an awesome little knife, and a piece of Japanese blademaking history. Looking at the top of the blade, it is readily apparent that it was forged from a core of soft shingane steel for the edge surrounded by a harder kawagane jacket, exactly like a katana. Razor sharp right out of the box, it is a friction folder but is solid enough it has not even come partially open in my pocket. The thumb switch or chikiri on mine allows for it to be opened one handed. I moved house right after getting this and cut numerous ropes and boxes with it, and it is still sharp and beautiful. Getting my son one too. Between the storied history of the higonokami style folding knife and the quality and beauty of the knife, I highly recommend this one to anyone who appreciates a beautifully-made Japanese blade.
February 2019 Rate & Review Honorable Mention $50 Winner. Congratulations, Jameel!!
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Love it!!
Great Knife. I had one of these before and decided to buy myself another one just because i liked it so much. Well, this knife was far better than my first one by far. It is put together really nice. I like the sturdiness of this knife and the blade was cleaner and sharper. Even the packaging it came in was a plus. Great purchase for sure! -
japanese brass knife
beautiful knife great quality .would recommend. -
It's All About The Blade
This is an amazingly useful tool. The blade is very stiff and sturdy, yet it stays sharp in everyday use better than my Kershaws (which cost 4-5 times as much) ever did. The whole knife is so thin and compact I can carry it in my pocket all day and almost forget it is there. Before I received the knife from Garrett Wade I was a little concerned that it did not lock, but I have used this knife every day for two years now and it has never opened in my pocket, or closed on my fingers while cutting. The thumb tab thingy is brilliant, after a little use and practice I can now easily open and close it with one hand. I can strip some wires, trim a hammer handle made from Ash... then slice some cherry tomatoes and trim the fat off of a steak. Mine came sharp enough to shave hair, right out of the box, and stays wickedly sharp for a long, long time. For butchering deer (which are super slippery) the Kershaw is still my favorite, but for everything else this little guy really works well for me. Oh, yes... it also works well as a scriber, and it will make nice straight cuts in paper or cardboard, or cut neat circles out of gasket material. In a word: Brilliant. -
Over The Ocean Quality
The materials used are very good quality. Fantastic job on making it razor sharp. Good looking too. -
Great Utility Knife
I have bought one before and it is a great knife. I bought two more, one for a friend and the other for work when I forget it at home. I would recommend placing a piece of cordage or rope inside of the case so the edge does not rub against the brass. Aside from that. Excellent knives that exceed any knife that I have bought in the past for a generic work knife. They will take the abuse of everyday electrical and woodworking that you may encounter. -
Unique
This is a unique knife with a really nice blade. The case is folded brass and the blade comes pre sharpened but definitely needs some touching up. -
Work Knife
Interesting knife, great balance and without hesitation a true work knife, flat, very sharp, sturdy and dependable. -
Unique Knife
If you appreciate a high carbon pocket knife that will sharpen to a razor blade edge and stay that way this is it. Simplicity and function. I'm tired of stainless steel junk that won't sharpen and won't keep an edge. A knife is only as good as it's edge! -
Nice Knife
Love this knife! carry it with me every day. excellent pocket knife. Highly recommend. keep it oiled it will rust. very sharp right out of the box. -
Unique or just funky?
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Brass Cased Knife
This is a great Japanese Knife..It has high carbon steel like a metal cutting file..Soft steel on the sides to give strength..German knives have soft steel...This knife is high carbon....Like a metal cutting file..Its inner steel is very hard and keeps a great edge...It is one of the worlds finest..German knives have soft steel.High carbon inner steel...Soft steel for outer steel to give strength..It will keep a great edge..The high carbon inner steel is like a metal cutting file...It will have a hard sharp edge....It will keep the edge for a long time...German knives have soft steel...High carbon knives are great...It is even affordable!!! -
Japanese Knife
I use a special knife to cut the paper in my drawing project...This old knife causes trouble..The new Japanese knife has steel like a metal cutting file. It has very high carbon steel..It cuts the drawing paper extremely well. If I lost this knife...I would have to rush off and buy another..I do woodcarving...I made a woodcarving tool from a small metal cutting file...This tool I made cuts really great..The Japanese knife has steel like a metal cutting file...It is very high carbon steel...It is a little brittle like a metal cutting file...This Japanese knife cuts my drawing paper extremely well..If I lost it...I would have to rush off and buy another one....Thanks.. -
Disappointed
Not the heft & quality I expected. -
Sharp one
This is a good example of the Japanese laminated steel blades - very hard steel in the middle with tough softer steel on both sides - you can shave with it and it stays sharp - and it should last forever.
July 2012 Rate & Review Honorable Mention $50 Winner. Congratulations, Wayne!!"
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Great value and worksmanship
I just don't understand how the Japanese produce well made laminated blades at a price that people can afford. Great product, I'm so glad Garrett Wade had this in their catalog. -
Great Travel Companion
The knife is man's oldest and most versatile tool, and this piece is no different. This knife has been a perfect companion for my travels, and has helped me out on countless occasions. Rugged, yet sophisticated, it feels as at home in the hand of a business professional as it does in that of a carpenter. Its slim profile allows it to go with me everywhere. A unique piece that truly stands out. -
A Must Have
I love the rugged beauty of this knife. Come to find out this knife, the higonokami, has a fascinating history. Thrilled to have one! -
Cool Knife
These people don't know what this knife really is. I cannot remember the official" name but it is made in japan and the blade is made from two (2) distinct metals - one for the cutting edge and one for the backbone of the knife. These knives are tough and take a great edge!
Response By: Garrett Wade Tech Department
Thanks for the note, John. The Brass Case Knife is traditionally known in Japan as the Higo no Kami. The Japanese character on the handle is a trademark of the maker. The blade is stamped aogami warikomi, which signifies that it is made of a high carbon 'Blue Steel' edge laminated between outer layers of softer, lower carbon content steel." -
Great service
great product! -
Brass Cased Knife
This is a very useful knife with an unusual beauty. -
outstanding knife
very well made yet simple knife comes very sharp right from the box i have used mine a lot out in the shop and at work . Will be ordering more for myself and friends You cant go wrong with this item -
Great small Japanese knife
I bought this charming little knife for my husband, the knife lover and bonsai enthusiast. He loved it. It has a nice hand-made feel and, although it doesn't lock, closes securely enough to carry in your pocket. -
What price Unique?
What Price Unique? This is a very sharp and unique knife in America. I am a casual collector, and I could not pass this knife up. Simplicity and function. No something you see much any more. Many people get so caught-up in peripheral features they lose their effectiveness. Not with this item. The perfect pocket knife, light and thin. I love it. -
Woodworking Odds & Ends
This knife deserves a permanent place among my woodworkings tools. It's great for removing dried glue from the inside corners of my small fancy boxes. This knife subs as scriber in measuring and is the perfect trim tool for fitting dovetails.You can't go wrong ordering this 'baby' ! -
just a plain cool knife
this knife is great. to me it is the complete opposite of most popular knifes these days; no fancy locking mechanism and no assisted opening. the only way it could be simpler is if it were a fixed blade -
Great Knife
This knife is great. Its like the japanese version of the douk-douk, but mine had a smoother hinge. I wish I had never lost it. -
Alberta
I think to say not to carry this knife in your pocket is ridiculous.I have never heard of anyone that had the blade open in their pocket!! I buy this knife up here for around 20 dollars. I bought a fair few of them and give them to customers as presentation gifts. They all love them and have never had anything but nice things to say about them. I think for a handmade product the quality is incredible.My last order was 25 knives and they were all pretty consistent in their construction. -
don't leave home withot it!!
Had one of these knives for years.It's actually listed as a Japanese carpenters' knife.You could shave with it when I honed up the blade.Many,many uses......in the home,in the shop.When I bought these originally,I bought 2.One to use now and one for later.The second one is still in it's original package!!Easy to use and stores well in the pocket. -
exellent affordable little knife
i got this knife for my birthday and i love it.the brass handle is very solid in the hand.from the info i have dug up on different websites i think the blade steel is aogami(blue steel)which is an exellent steel for such an affordable knife,5 out of 5. -
Rugged and stays sharp
I've carried a number of small knives in my pocket over the past 50 years (which includes a 33-year military career). Some have been elegant but delicate - I've broken 4 or 5 blades. Some have been tough, but wouldn't hold an edge. Bought this knife a couple of years ago, and will never carry another. If you use your pocket knife as a tool, this one is for you! -
I actually own it
A very nostalgic Japanese knife. The handle is folded brass with a simple lever to open it (no lock). I'm not sure the blade steel, but it's a hard tool steel (probably blue steel) sandwiched in softer iron (maybe steel). Takes and edge and holds it well. The blade is pinned with a steel rivet that looks hand hammered. The entire piece seems handmade. Disregard comments about it being rudimentary. It is an old fashioned piece, simple and functional, made the way they were 100 years ago. It's rustic and the blade is hand ground. I can imagine my Japanese grandfather using one of these at the family shop (it's a kimino shop, still in the family, but still). My only complaint? As a kid, I used to find these things in Little Tokyo for a buck. Can;t find them that cheap anymore. -
Blast from the past
It has this air of hand made authenticity and that's what it is. Looks like the design and quality haven't changed in a century - you can use it hard and not worry about spoiling the polish and it's both sharper than and more re-sharpenable than any of my too-nice-to-use knives. Sharpen your pencil or hammer on the back to split kindling to start a campfire. -
Nice blade
The 3 and 1/4 blade does not lock. It has a large thumb tab to assist with both opening and manually holding the blade open during use. Brass case needed a quick turn on the buffing wheel to clean it up to match the items catalog photo. Carried in my pocket like any folding jack knife. It's a fairly tight friction folder so the risk of it opening in the pocket is low." -
Light and Thin
This is a great pocket knife, emphasis on the pocket. It is thin and light, so it doesn't weigh down your pant leg, but it's solidly built, nicely exotic in styling, and easy to open, but it stays closed nicely too. It allows me to carry a knife even when I'm dressed up! Excellent buy. -
Works
but rudimentary -
time honored tool
i've had a similar aogami warikomi working knife before. the craftsmanship, toughness and easy to sharpen blade is second-to-known. Highly approve. i have one question, not answered: 'does this model have a locking blade?' timber tom -
A Different Knife
Don't be fooled by the low price of this knife because the manufacturing expense went into the blade, the layered carbon steel that the Japanese are famous for. This is a friction folder, a very basic design, so you may not want to carry it in your pocket unless you put it in a pouch. -
A small Katana(Japanese sword)
Until fifty years ago every school boy in Japan carried this knife in his pen case or pocket for sharpening pencils and for many kind of crafting. It is made in Japan and made of hand forged hardened steel, same as Samurai's Japanese sword. It is a useful and economical multipurpose hand tool for wood working. -
Brass Cased Knife
The brass cased utility knife with the Asian writing on it is a must have, especially for $20 when knife outlets are charging $30 for it. It doesn't lock out. It doesn't even lock in, so you are not going to want to carry it in your pocket. It is odd, rugged and nicely made - but not made in China. I think it is a fugitive from a different era, when things were simple.
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