HIGO NO KAMINaka(sizeS), Nagaokoma, Import from JAPAN (Single Pack) (1)

I was a little nervous before I ordered this knife. I wasn't sure if the "old fashion make" of this knife design would make it too silly to use. But I've really learned to love it. As soon as I got the knife, I soaked the blade in hot vinegar to force a patina on the knife to protect the blade from rust and to add personality. Not only does it make the blade look cooler and protect the knife, it really brings out the two layers of steel. See my pic of the blade close up, and you can see how the soft edge steel took a different stain compared to the hard steel above. Aesthetically awesome if you ask me. The brass is beginning to take on a nice patina, which really completes the look of this knife. I had to add a plumbing grommet in order to keep it shut in my pocket. Without one, expect to get stabbed. This knife wouldn't be pocket carryable unless you find a way to stopgap its ability to wiggle open. Other reviews said to hammer this blade tighter, and I may still at some point, but the grommet works perfectly fine for now. It's not a heavy duty knife, as the brass case will dig into your hands while shaving wood or anything like that, and since it doesn't lock, using this knife under high exertion would be dangerous. But seeing as how most of my life is spent in an urban setting, this thing is BOSS for slicing cardboard, opening letters, spreading mayonnaise on my sandwich, clipping herbs in my garden or any other similar light duty/gentleman's carry task. No, this isn't a Spyderco with supersteel and titanium handles. This isn't your fixed blade you take into the woods. This is a classic and timeless knife embedded with more history and aesthetic than tactical function. To borrow from the rifleman's creed: "This is my Higo no Kami, there are many like it, but this one is mine."Update 2/16/20 - I took a hammer, and gently hammered the brass inward so the handle "squeezes" on the blade somewhat. The fat/back side of the knife just barely catches now on the case, and it now locks shut in the closed position very well without the silly grommet. I have attached a picture to demonstrate that. I also took my pointed glass file and took 5-10 minutes working the sharp edges of the handle so it doesn't dig in as much into the hand. The handle will still pinch your skin some since there is obviously still a gap, but it wont feel as toothy against your hand from the raw edge. Totally worth the little extra tinkering to make this my knife my own...Update 3/20 - Tip broke ever so slightly, and now it's the perfect EDC knife. Filed the tip smooth, and now it doubles as a mini screwdriver! And since the handle is essentially a fat piece of raw steel wrapped in sheet bronze, the knife makes a great edc prybar/bottle opener as well! I mean, what more do you want out of a pocket knife? It's raw, affordable, useful, personal, handmade, a little bit dangerous, and fits better in the pocket than any other pocket knife out there (due to its sheer simplicity)! Even my Opinel #6 can't beat the usefulness of this knife for light/urban EDC.

After reading many reviews, I decided that this is the Higo no Kami for me. I am writing for this knife only. This is the one that you want, and have been looking for, blue Paper over Gold box, Blue Paper Steel, in good light you can see where the Soft and Hard steels come together on the Blade. Beautiful Brass with stamped, not rolled Caritures. Stamped on the Blade also. Wow what a surprise! My knife came in beautiful condition, but did my homework also. There's only one sharp edge, and that's where it's supposed to be. I suppose if you really try you can find another sharp edge, but don't look too hard. My knife came beautifully finished and polished. The Blade is beautifully finished and sharp, not really or crazy sharp, but it will do until I can hone it. It's sure a great friction fit, very tite. Be careful with the blade, until you get the hang of it! Because you're pushing/pulling pretty hard at the start. The first thing that I did was put a few drops of oil on the blade pivot, and cycle it to where I could open it with the tang. It's still is very tight, but I want it this way, it will losen up soon enough. Definatly a two handed opener when new. I hope that this satisfies some of you fence sitters. This is the 'Original' that you're looking for.

The construction is solid, the back of the knife is hard and has a soft blade, comes sharp and can be sharpened further.The blade does have some splinters around the back that need to be polished or buffed out. The folding mechanist is very tight making it difficult to open and close, I expect it to become softer with use, W40 helped a little.

It’s a great quality blade at this price point, but mine arrived weirdly pre-oxidized or something. The cutting edge of the blade was nearly at a mirror polish, but the top 1/3 was oxidized black giving the blade a weird two-tone appearance that was goofy looking and not consistent with any other higo photos id seen online. A patina is normal on a high carbon blade but this was strange.I had to scrub it down with baking soda paste and a fine grit sandpaper to make it look like it should. I still like it, but I thought that was off.

I have owned this knife for 2 years and have carried it every day. I own quite a few pocket knives, but wanted to give this a try. Now it's all I carry. For the price and function, it's perfect for my use. I really like brass, so this was very cool to me. I use a little Brasso every month or so and it looks fantastic (if you like brass). It's not meant to be a tactical or hunting knife. I use it for really boring jobs like cutting tape, string, opening my cans of Copenhagen, etc. It takes two hands to open, but it's really simple to open and not a problem for me at all. This is not a high quality knife, it has a very simple metal blade that is of marginal quality, but if you run it backwards on a sharpening stone every once in a while it is razor sharp. The blade would probably rust pretty good if you used it in a wet environment, mine is in my pocket and I dry it off when it gets wet. I spray a little WD40 on it every once in a while and it still looks good. There was a metal burr on the little piece you use to flip it open, I used a file and made it smooth. The rivet that holds the blade in the brass liner gets loose, I stick it in my vice every 6 months and give it a squeeze and that makes the friction on the blade perfect. For the price, if I lose it, oh well. If you're looking for a really high quality knife that is perfect in every way, this aint it, but it's just so dang cool. I am happy with it.