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Why Japanese Chef鈥檚 Knives Are So Expensive | So Expensive - YouTube
Channel: Business Insider
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japanese chef's knives are world
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renowned for their unique design
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and durability and just one can cost you
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over nine hundred dollars
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from heating and hammering the metal
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to sharpening the knife's edge and
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polishing the final blade
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these are only a few of the skills a
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japanese artisan
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spends a lifetime learning to master
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so what makes these knives so coveted
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and why are they so expensive
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has spent 37 years crafting chef's
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knives at his family's factory
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in echizen each one goes through 100
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production stages
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it's a process that requires over 10
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years of practice
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compared to popular european chef's
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knives japanese blades are lighter and
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sharper
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allowing for more precise cuts on the
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low end
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most takamura blades cost a couple
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hundred dollars
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but custom made pieces can sell for 15
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times that
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one of the most expensive knives
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produced by the shop sold for sixty nine
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hundred dollars
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was one of the first knife makers to use
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a certain kind of stainless steel
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called high speed powdered steel it was
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originally designed for power tools
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like saws and drills because of its
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durability and strength
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two qualities japanese chef's knives are
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known for today
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once the metal is cut it's heated in an
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electric oven
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to harden and strengthen the blade then
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the hammering begins
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at this point the artisan relies on
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experience and instinct to guide them
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in producing a blade of ideal strength
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and thinness
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hammering leaves behind circular indents
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something knife makers in the past
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typically polished away but 60 years ago
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terokazu's father and his colleagues
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discovered the benefit of knives with a
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textured
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surface like this
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this hammered finish called tuchime
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allowed chefs to chop ingredients
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quickly
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and more efficiently it also added a
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beautiful aesthetic
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to each blade another element highly
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valued in japanese knives
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but a japanese chef's knife wouldn't be
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nearly as valuable
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without a supremely sharp edge
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an artisan presses the blade against a
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rough grindstone made of natural rock
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a sharpening material you'll only see
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used in japan
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this step distinguishes an artisan's
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skill and ultimately sets a knife's
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final value
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today
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it takes one full day to sharpen the
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blade and another full day to secure and
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polish the handle
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the final knife is totally unique each
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with its own distinct balance
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thickness and design
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several of the world's best chefs use
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tagamore's knives
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from rene redzepi at noma to massimo
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botora at austeria francescana
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another one of those chefs is masakazu
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fuji
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he uses takamota's knives to prepare
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fish at his restaurant in fukuo
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saudi
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has been the center of high quality
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knife making since blacksmiths began
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crafting chef's knives here
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700 years ago and today the city is
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internationally recognized for its
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cutlery production
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but before knives artisans made swords
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another valuable trade in japanese
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culture
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despite dedicating decades to this craft
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terekazu and his brothers weren't always
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set on becoming master knife makers
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or not getting your hands on one of
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takamoto's knives could take years
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with that kind of wait time coupled with
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the decades of training required to
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master this craft
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it's likely these pieces will remain
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costly for years to come
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on
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my
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you
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