The founder of Masahiro was a man named Kazuichi Hattori. He founded the company nearly 80 years ago in 1948 in Seki, Japan.
All of Masahiro’s knives are handmade by excellent craftsmans to ensure quality knives with amazing sharpness.
These knives are not for the faint of heart and are oriented towards professional chefs, or those who are least those who are knowledgeable and confident in their skills.
Masahiro prides themselves not only on their knives, but also that these knives are Japanese. From production to the materials these are Japanese.
Masahiro knives are not known for being superfluous and flashy, but rather for their utility. The company emphasizes and prioritizes quality over design.
History of Masahiro Knives
A Century of Craftsmanship
While Masahiro was started in 1948 by Kazuichi Hattori, he began learning about blacksmith practices in 1920.
Masahiro is a relatively young knife company, but the ideas and practices that would eventually form the company we know today date back almost a hundred years ago.
After nearly a decade of studying the blade and how to forge it, Kazuichi eventually started selling and producing knives in 1932.
He started as just an individual selling his wares. Finally, in 1948 he established Masahiro and continued to hone and grow his craft/company.
Noboru and Koji Hattori
Since Masahiro’s conception, the company has been passed down and kept in the family.
In 1969, Noboru Hattori was handed the mantle and ran the company for almost 50 years.
Then recently in 2017, Koji Hattori took over the company and is currently the company’s president and CEO.
Setting Up Camp In the Infamous Seki
Kazuchi first set up shop in the infamous Seki, Japan, which has a long relationship and history in Japan’s forgin traditions.
After quite a bit of commercial success, in order to expand and grow with the company’s sales, Masahiro established a new factory in 1972 in order to keep up with their increasing demands.
Besides their new factory, Masahiro also set up a shop in Tokyo to take care and handle other administration responsibilities and duties like operations, management, etc. This office was established in 1998.
Feature of Masahiro Knives
Masahiro’s blades are made out of their coveted MBS-26 high carbon stainless steel, which is like VG-10. Masahiro has developed a new way to forged stainless steel to make the steel more flexible and soft compared to VG-10.
Not only this but it makes the blade hygienic and resistant to rust. The most notable and distinguishable feature of Masahiro knives is the blade’s edge.
Lots of edges of blades on the market are symmetrical at 50/50, meaning each blade comes together and are equally sharp on both sides.
However, Masahiro’s blade’s edge is actually forged at 80/20 making the blade a tad asymmetrical and even thinner than other blades.
Due to this, the blade is actually sharper than most. The handle of most Masahiro knives are made resin, which is moisture resistant, making it easy to hold and less-prone to harboring bacteria.
The handle also is riveted and smooth. Thanks to each of these three qualities of blade materials, forging, and handle materials, they all come together in perfect harmony to create a truly professional and luxurious blade experience.
While most blade’s in Masahiro’s arsenal are not the most complex or unique in outward appearance design elements, the little details that one may not notice are what make these knives particularly special.
Best 5 Masahiro Knives
Masahiro typically crafts and forges blades in all different kinds of traditional Japanese styles like: santoku, gyuto, deba, etc.
Santoku Knife by Masahiro MV-S Series 175 mm
This knife is the santoku style which is used for many different things like cutting vegetables, meat and fish. This knife, from blade to the handle, is completely made of stainless steel and high carbon steel. The handle has a unique “grilled” pattern that gives this knife a unique design edge.
Gyuto Knife by Masahiro 240 mm
This knife is a gyuto which is mainly used for cutting and slicing through tougher materials, typically meat. This knife is remensicnet of a standard modern knife. The blade is made of Japanese steel, while the handle is made of black wood with three metal rivets.
Yanagiba Knife by Masahiro 240 mm
This knife is a yanagiba, which literally translates to “willow leaf,” and is primarily used for slicing raw fish for sashimi slices, and for that reason it is also known as a “sashimi knife.” The blade is of stainless steel and the handle out of matte black wood with two rivets.
Deba Knife by Masahiro 165 mm
This knife is a deba which is used to cut or slice through thicker and tougher fish, meats, and poultry. The blade is made of an amalgam of high carbon stainless steel and regular stainless steel. The knife is wedged in the handle which is made of a light wood.
Masahiro Knife for Kids 130 mm
This is a smaller knife oriented towards children, but can be used by amateur chefs or even people with small hands. This knife comes in three different styles: bear, rabbit, and squirrel. The differences between the knives are the animal and the color on the knife.
Reviews of Masahiro Knives
Nearly most of the reviews online surrounding Masahiro and their products are very positive. This section will have a review of a chef reviewing a whole line of Masahiro knives, as well as reviews of the products that Amazon offers in the above section.
Trying 19 Masahiro Products
They tried and reviewed 19 different products from Masahiro and rated the brand and these products an overall 4 out of 5 stars with using things like sharpness, how easy it is to use, and difficulty to rust as their criterion. The most mentionable points are that even with a lower price point, these knives perform to a very high standard, and that when cutting even tough materials the knife readily and without much force cut right through.
mybest: https://my-best.com/products/108355
Yanagiba Knife by Masahiro 240 mm (#10613) Review
This item is highly rated averaging 4.3 stars out of five with 42 reviews. Most of the people who bought this item are praising it for being very sharp and being made of good quality and material. The only complaint is from one customer saying that the knife is a tad too light and would feel/cut better if it was heavier.
Gyuto Knife by Masahiro 240 mm (#13012) Review
This knife is highly rated ona 4.7 out of five stars on Amazon, without a single bad review. This knife is a great deal and price for how sharp and quality it is. The only issue someone had was that this knife was not stainless steel, but said the knife otherwise had no faults.
Best Place to Buy Masahiro Knives
Masahiro offers its knives through its personal website, masahiro-hamono.com, and you can also purchase them on amazon.co.jp, which can be shipped to other countries outside of Japan. The selection on Amazon is limited, but you can use other third party websites like: knivesfromjapan.co.uk, jp-knives.com, or japanny.com.
Knife of Many Talents
This video features Shouyan, who used to work at a meat processing facility and that he typically used a Masahiro knife to get the job done. He says the knife is easy to use, cheap, and can be used for more than just slicing meat. At the end of the video, he’s cutting ingredients to make hot pot. While the knife is not built for cutting tough vegetables like daikon radishes, it still does so without too much issue. The knife really shines when it cuts through chicken like its paper and without having to use any force at all.
Summary
Masahiro is a reputable brand that prides itself and its products on its quality. That’s what Masahiro has done: made great products, basic knives for a great price.
While they tend to market for more skilled chefs, their knives can be a great introduction into the world of Japanese knives.
