KATABA Japanese Knives Limited Reviews 

Quality product

Excellent service and fast delivery, many thanks

Beautiful knife bought as a birthday gift.
Excellent and helpful customer service.
Gift wrapped beautifully
Thank you

Great knives and lovely gifts wrapping

Customer service was incredible. Had my knife shipped to the states very fast and it arrived safely!

Great knife super sharp and delivered super fast.

Though I can not speak of their physical shop, my experience shopping here online and more over shipping overseas has been nothing short of amazing.
Especially their customer service.

Great product, price and prompt delivery! Deffo recommend

Fantastic service, paid, delivered and better than expected!

Super fast dispatch and delivery!
In love with my new knife, using it almost daily as a home cook!

The item arrived on perfect condition and quickly . I dont know where these people got Carol Green from she has been deceased for several years..

It came on time but is a christmas present so not in use!

great quality and lovely packaging. quick delivery too

Never an issue while shopping with Kataba helpful staff and great quality products

I just made my 2nd knife purchase from Kataba recently and literally could not be happier. The first was approx 8 years ago; before their retail store or Brixton pop-up existed, around the time of the original website launch. The owner of Kataba actually visited my home to present the best options (as he was passing by)!!
What could make more sense than buying a Japanese knife, crafted by true Japanese artisans, via a top Japanese chef?! That knife served me brilliantly for the 8 years, used every day (sometimes semi-professionally) and travelled with me globally. I learned the value of a one-of-a-kind carbon steel knife and can truly say it made me a better cook. I bought sharpening stones and learned to hone the edge and I rarely used another blade in prep. Then someone dropped it (no, not me).
The tip broke and Kataba reshaped it perfectly and I was back in action without issue. However, the hidden fracture finally gave way, and the blade had to be retired.
There was only one place for me to spend my money and price was the last consideration. Let me explain why. I'm not interested in anything that 'looks' great. Nor do I care for buying cheap or expensive. My motivation was first and foremost the everyday utility. Secondly, it was important to support the true artisans of these incredible blades - so the smaller and more unique the blacksmith, the better. Yes the geometry and balance had to be right, but that goes without saying.
My original knife is no longer made so the owner and I scanned all knives on display, but none quite fit. Then, he showed me some blades (without handles) from a blacksmith that was soon to retire and was the last of that specific workshop. The back story was as important as the knife and when coupled with the oak handle we selected, the decision was made with ease.
I've purchased gift knives from Kataba over the years and all have been very well received.
The Kataba knife range is utterly unique, the knowledge is second to none, the customer service is truly like that of a long lost friend and you will be supporting artisans and traditions centuries old. Oh and the prices... well as a bonus, they are extremely reasonable all things considered. Stop researching (trust me I went a bit OCD for the first purchase), just visit Kataba and you'll never look back.

This week, from KATABA, I purchased a set of Shapton stones (220, 1000, 5000) as well as Naniwa 60 grit and a stone holder. Including delivery the total came to £374.98.

Now this is entirely my own doing as I clearly didn't research multiple stores before hand, but I've since realized that KATABA have added a 100% markup to all stones.

Hours after delivery I Googled the Shapton brand to see their first use tips which was when I noticed some listings for Amazon where I could have actually purchased this full set for around £180. Unfortunately I'd only noticed this after I unpackaged everything - now I wish I'd done some research prior to purchase.

Don't make the same mistake I did and instead do your research prior to purchasing.

While the stones are of excellent quality, and I would have loved to have given 5 stars for the extra careful packaging, the printed guides and instructions as well as the speedy delivery, I will unfortunately deduct 3 stars for the extortionate prices. This is a shame because I can tell KATABA put a lot of care into the packaging of these items.

Edit #1 (08/11/2023): Thank you for providing a company response.

In this response you mention that it isn't possible to meet the capacity of Amazon as you're a small independent business - this is fair, I understand. However, I think it is wrong to add such a markup AND specifically excluding free delivery when there are many other small businesses offering significantly lower prices.

Let's use the Shapton #5000 as an example, since this is the most expensive item on the order, and look at prices from multiple small UK businesses, starting with yours.

KATABA - £109
Knives and Tools - £57.95
Kitchen Provisions - £60.00
The Sharp Chef - £70
Community Cutlery - £70

None of the aforementioned businesses are businesses "having mega warehouse in the middle of nowhere". They are small, local and independent businesses.

Your price is 188% higher than the lowest from Knives and Tools just on one item.

Like I said, I've made a mistake in purchasing impulsively prior to first comparing multiple sources which is why I haven't seeked a refund. That's my mistake to own.

As a small and independent business, you should do better price matching alongside the other smaller businesses, or come up with an alternative arrangement since, no offense, it isn't really a customer's problem that you have limited space - that's a decision you willingly made.

Support independent businesses only when they support our wallets.

Edit #2 (09/11/2023): it appears KATABA have now removed all Shapton stones from their website.

This was a birthday gift and it was gift wrapped beautifully and was delivered on time. The knife meets expectations