HIGO NO KAMI7 Pocket Knife by Nagao Seisakusho, Parkerized Black Satin Finish

Super cool little knife. Absolutely simple and sharp. Always in my pocket

I've been looking at a higonokami for a long time, and finally decided to pull the trigger and buy one. I wasn't sure if it would have a place in my daily routine, or if it would end up as just more clutter in my collection of knives. I'm quite glad that I did so, because this little blade is really nice.First, realize that a higo is a friction folder. There is no safe locking mechanism on the blade. Right now the bent brass scales are tight enough to keep the blade secure when the knife is folded up, but I don't have much confidence that this will continue to be the case over time. That being said, I am not carrying this knife in my pocket or in the bottom of a bag where an accidental opening could be catastrophic.I have read that these types of knives were traditionally used by school children in Japan to sharpen pencils. That is a job that this knife is more than capable of. The blade comes extremely sharp, and the back of it is quite thick and sturdy. The tanto-esque point is also quite sturdy. The knife is quite obviously hand made, and made well at that. For the money, this is one of the top "peasant" knives that one could buy. Compared to my Opinel no 8, the higonokami has a shorter blade, but the blade is much thicker and stronger. The higo could be used to pry things that would bend the blade of the Opinel over on itself.The only downside to the knife is that it has no locking mechanism. The Opinel at least has the ring lock that makes it somewhat safe to use, but the higo is just a sharp blade on a hinge. That might limit its usefulness (unless you don't mind losing the occasional finger), but it still doesn't prevent me from giving this knife five stars. Treat it with the same respect that you would a straight razor, but abuse it like you would any peasant knife. It is an all around fun blade, and I'm glad to have it in my collection. If for no other reason than the look on people's faces when I pull it out to sharpen my pencils in public. A higonokami is by far the best pencil sharpener for the money ever made.

Its cheaper than what you are expecting and probably the most simple folding pocket knife there is... i was extremely disappointed when it arrived fairly dull out of the bag and many reviews stated it was scary sharp. However, i reprofiled the egde freehand, on a diamond hone (thats what i had handy, im sure with this steel that any type of sharpening stone would work) for about 15-20 minutes. Then gave it a go-over on a 3000-ish grit trizact sheet, and this thing got SHARP! Im sure if you have a sharpening device that holds even and correct angles, this knife would get SCARY sharp.The blade steel is rough on the spine, and it almost looks like its 2 steels with one folded around the other... but its so rough, its hard to tell, and for the price, id doubt that it is. It seems pretty good, hasnt gotten dull in day-to-day use over the past few weeks. I use it mainly to open boxes, bags, packages, etc... but i havent really pushed the blade to see its edge holding abilities.Its got no lock on the blade, so unless an emergency happens, im never going to use this knife under any kind of heavy use.Do Not purchase this expecting something more than what this is... a simple designed, good carbon steel, inexpensive folder for light tasks.It is NOT tacticool, heavy duty, stainless, or cutting edge tech.Overall, its well made for what it is, and i would probably buy it again, but with less high hopes of what i was getting.

I love this thing. As others have mentioned here, it's handmade and so there will be noticeable imperfections with each one, but that just gives it more character imo. The blade is quite offcentered on mine - so much so that it almost makes contact with the interior of the handle when it's closed. And you'll need to sharpen it when it arrives (which is generally the case with traditional Japanese knives), but once you do it gets REALLY sharp. I own quite a few knives and I can honestly say none of them get any sharper than this little slicer. I have no problem with the lack of a locking mechanism as my thumb naturally lands on the tang and keeps it open when I'm using it. Be sure to keep it clean and oil it regularly (I use mineral oil to keep the blade food-safe) as carbon steel is quite prone to rust, but with a little maintenance yours should last a lifetime. I'm so smitten with this knife that I've subsequently ordered the fancier brass-handled version with a blue paper steel (Aogami) blade, and I'm already shopping around for the high end white paper steel (Shirogami) version. These things are addictive!