Japanese Knife Index包丁索引

Mei ID Desk

Send us a mei to read

Free. Read by hand by The JKI Editors, Tokyo. Usually answered within a week; we take a few cases a week in the order received. A reading is not an authentication or appraisal.

1 · The knife

Leave blank if you have no idea — that's what we're here for.

How did you get it?
Is this knife currently listed for sale?

Where and when it was bought, the shop's description, any box or paperwork. Max 1,500 characters.

2 · Photos

JPEG, PNG or WebP (iPhone HEIC photos are converted automatically in Safari; elsewhere please export as JPEG). Daylight, no flash, the mei filling most of the frame and in sharp focus. Photos are resized in your browser before upload and location data is removed. Up to 5 photos.

3 · Publishing and reply May we publish this as a case? (required)

Letters, numbers, _ . - only. Leave blank to appear as “Anonymous”. Please don't use your real full name.

Used only to send your reading and ask follow-up questions. Not added to any mailing list.

4 · Owner report (optional)

Tell other buyers what the knife is like to use. Published with your case (not available with a private reply), shown in full whatever your ratings. No rewards of any kind.

Owner report

As the shop named it, e.g. “Kurouchi Shirogami #2 Gyuto”.

Your ratings (1 = poor, 5 = excellent)
Out-of-box sharpness
Edge retention
Fit & finish
Reactivity / food release (5 = barely reacts, food falls off)
Value for money

What you cut, how it sharpens, what surprised you. Write it yourself; translation tools are fine.

The knife next to a handwritten note saying JKI, today's date and your handle — like a swap-forum timestamp. Deleted 30 days after we decide.

Your connection to the knife trade (required)

If you work for the maker of this knife, or a shop that sells it, please don't send a report about it.

Everything is checked by a person before publication, under our content & review policy.