Nagao Higonokami Friction Folder

Not for everyone

Obviously, I'd highly suggest that most people stick to the standard higonokami. It's relatively cheap and perfectly sufficient for any cutting-related tasks one might face throughout the day. However, for those who love higonokami knives and want to take it a step further (or simply have money to waste), this knife is arguably an upgrade from the standard. White steel certainly… read more forms a finer edge than the blue steel variant. The handle is a pretty neat color and provides some unnecessary grip. Idk, it's pretty neat and honestly, I'm not too upset paying nearly 100 dollars for a 25 dollar knife. Overall, I guess I'd buy this knife again if I could go back in time, and maybe you should too. Maybe.

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Not good - total waste of money

I received this knife today! I will say I like the blade, but that is where it ends. the knife blade is attached to the handle with a rivet. it is so tight I can barely open it I oiled it a worked it open and closed for 10 min without any improvement . I'm glad I didn't buy the $90 one. I like the blade so I will keep this knife and modify it. I'll remove the rivet and use brass… read more washes and screws to improve the action. it will be a letter open on my desk. For $40 I could have bought many other knives of much greater quality.

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Small and elegant

It’s smaller than you would think, but with most things, do a little research. I almost didn’t buy it after I read the size and got out a ruler. But I did and I’m very happy with my purchase, and I have since bought another model. They are super sharp and interesting and unique and I’ll probably buy another soon.

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I want more

I don’t see a reason to have any other folder in my pocket!!

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Great knife for its style

This is my second higonokami knife, my first was a fair bit cheaper. This one looks beautiful. The gold is just as bright as in the photos, if not a bit more shiny. The handle is also extremely thin and disappears in both my front shirt and pants pockets.

The blade itself came razor sharp, and is a fantastic cutter. Even more so in both regards than when my Civivi Praxis… read more when it first arrived.

This is a blade you get mostly for design and history, to be honest. Its action was not good, and fairly difficult at first. Since then, I've messed with it a bit to loosen it up and added some oil, but it is still difficult to open with one hand.

All in all, I love it and got exactly what I expected and then some.

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HigonoBOMBi

I love this knife, sharp as sin out of the box and has a decent, balanced weight in the hand. No bells and whistles, just hard, folding steel honed to a razor.

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Beautiful knife

This is the best-looking knife I own!

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Good knife for a price

If you are looking for a perfect knife which gives you a perfect grip, folding mechanics and stuff, you better go find something else. This one is intended to give you a nice traditional touch and feel of a historical item. It's sturdy, it provides for all your daily tasks like opening a box, slicing a ham etc, but it's not ideal overall.

I don't regret I've bought this knife,… read more I got exactly what I expected.

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Beautiful knife!

I have an absolute love of all things Japanese. For the quirkiness, uniqueness, and of course, incredible quality and attention to detail. I was more than blown away with this wonderful little gem of a knife. If you have read other reviews complaining, ignore them entirely. For paying 40 bucks, the quality in this knife was far higher than so many others made it out to be. The steel… read more is razor sharp out of the box and the fit and finish is tight, crisp, and everything is substantial and quality feeling. It is a high carbon blade, so keep that in mind and oil appropriately. The hand forged aspect of this knife shines through and you can see that this wasn't manufactured by just a machine, but rather, skillful hands that take pride in their work.
This being a friction folder with the little thumb support piece on the spine, I thought it sticking up might cause an issue in my pocket slightly, however, I doesn't one bit. I have never carried a a knife so slim and it rides in a jean coin/pocketwatch pocket very nicely.

If you are on the fence about this, jump over it and click "purchase". It is my favorite knife purchase to date and I think it just might be yours too.

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Fun and made from only 4 parts!

+ Great history, going back to samurai times in Japan
+ Hand-made!
+ Samurai sword-shaped blade is unique
+ Simple and elegant; only 4 parts!
+ Might be the original 1-handed folder... (1896)
+ No stupid bail that can fold in and ding the cutting edge; just a lanyard hole drilled in the bottom of the handle.
+ Works well as a neck knife
+ Thicker blade stock… read more than you would think; very strong blade shape.
+/- Thumb lever doubles as a rest while in use, but can be a pocket-pecker
- Blade can be blunted on the inside of the handle, if you're careless in closing it
- Not a comfortable pocket carry, unless you rig a lanyard to keep it vertical
- Spine of the blade is not finished at all

This is a simpler knife than a Douk Douk or Mercator Cat, but I like it more than the Douk Douk and as much as the Cat. Why? It is simpler, less expensive and more elegant than the Douk Douk. It's as elegant as the Cat, but a lot simpler. (4 parts instead of 10)

It is fun to develop a new dexterity for the thumb lever to open it. Once open, one's thumb rests on the back of it comfortably during cutting. This triples as a reminder not to let one's hand slide up onto the edge. (as there is no kind of guard against this, and the edge is sharp all the way down)

The blade didn't come very sharp, but was easy to sharpen up. Right from the box, it has a triple bevel cross section: the top is full thickness and un-tapered. Then, it goes down to the main taper that you can see in the photos, and finally there is a 3rd bevel angle about 1/4" wide going down to the cutting edge. When sharpening, put your 40° micro bevel on that.

This full size model is the one to get; you don't want a crowded grip area when there is no blade guard and the edge is sharp all the way down!

This is a knife to buy because it is interesting and historic; made the same way over 120 years later. It is not a replacement for locking tactical folder. But it with this in mind and you'll be well-satisfied.

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Its small

Id buy a bigger model, if i had to do it again. Interesting design from japan.

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Disappointment

Nowhere in the pictures do they show what the knife really looks like. It feels like something my little brother would put together, the blade being the only professional feeling part of the whole mess. It came scratched, greasy and dirty, and smelled weird. The blade is extremely thick and sharp and feels durable, but it's impossible to open with one hand and somewhat of a task… read more with two. Will try to return it but wow, what a pathetic excuse for a knife.

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Nagao Higonokami Friction Folder 120mm

Fast delivery, great price. Yeah, three tone blade requires more than a squint and a rich imagination. There is enough friction to securely keep it closed in pocket, but one would have to have a very generous pocket to purpose this as an EDC. The thumb tab is a clever and functional bit of safety. The blade edge is sharp out of the box and with just a wee bit of attention can be… read more brought up very sharp in no time. I leave mine on the counter and have used it daily. It feels good to do so.

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It's cheap, what else do you want?

As the title says, it's cheap, but functional.
Not an EDC in my book, but maybe for some. All in all, it's a $13 knife, so what do you expect?

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Nice piece of history

Pros:
it came sharp
I love the blade shape
it's relatively easy to open
It's a nice size
As a history buff it's awesome to own historical knives

Cons:
3 tone steel isn't very visible
it free floats in the pocket but I knew that would happen when I bought it

However despite the Cons it's a soild knife for the price

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Great Knife

I've had the knife for approximately 6 months, and as of so far its done spectacularly.

The blade arrived sharp, and has stayed very sharp under moderate use. The action is what you would expect out of a friction folder, a little stiff to be sure, but nothing an average person couldn't open most of the way with just their thumb. Opening the knife in one smooth motion is difficult… read more to achieve, though I've seen it done.

One slight note of disappointment was that the blade did not arrive in the traditional box that I've heard these blade usually come in, but instead was delivered in a plastic sleeve, which was sealed in a bag

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Cool little accessory

Knife arrived about four days after ordering alongside my Ontario 499. Perfect because I went out of town for those three days.
Anyways, when I received the knife, it had a decent edge. Not quite paper cutting edge, but sharp enough to open a package of any kind. To be fair, I'm not using it as a straight so it doesn't need to be razor sharp. The action is, well, that of a… read more friction folder. blade centering isn't perfect but I can't expect it to as the knife is 1. $15 and 2. a friction folder.
It's still a little fun to open and close in my opinion, and I like it so much I'm going to try carrying it for a few days. The only problem might be fishing it out of my pocket, but it has a lanyard hole.

TLDR: If you want a cool little trinket that can still function perfectly as a knife, I'd suggest this to have at your desk or even as an EDC if you feel like being quirky. My guess is that the same goes for the rest of Nagao Higonokami's knives. Thanks for reading.

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Tiny, but mighty

As always, it is a handcrafted work of art. Every one is different. Definitely smaller than expected, but it is perfect for the occasional letter opening, or just to fidget with and admire.

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Get one while you can!

This beautiful Japanese knife was much smaller than I thought, surprisingly to my liking. If you like little unique knives, you'll enjoy this friction folder very much. It is two handed opening. I removed the bell it came with since it kind of gets in the way. Didn't come sharp enough to cut paper, but even a few min of honing it was getting there. Fantastic little brass knife for… read more any collection.

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Cool

So I like this knife, but. . .
Difficult to carry as it is quite long and only a friction folder. And the 3 tone steel? Very exagerated in the pictures, cannot hardly tell and graduation differences in the knife I received. I like the knife, it has found a home in my work apron where I can use it and appreciate it without it opening in my jeans' pocket.

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Decent knife, not sure I'd order it again.

Received this knife today, I ordered it for $17.95 and I'm a little disappointed. The handle arrived covered in little scratches and fingerprints before I had even touched it. Blade opening is really stiff, I need two hands though that's pretty standard for friction folders I'd imagine. Handle feels really cheap and is made out of pretty thin steel. However, for less than $20 all… read more of this is pretty easily overlooked, except for the fingerprints and scratches, not sure what's up with that. Though while writing this review and looking over the knife I am noticing a number of dents and chips in the handle I didn't see at first, if I didn't know any better I'd say this had been carried in someone's pocket for a few months, maybe even dropped a few times. I didn't expect to receive a used product but I'm sure I did, and if I haven't, this is a surprisingly low standard for quality.

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Affordable Japanese Blue

Aogami Blue (and moreso, Super Blue) Steel knives are in realm of the “Holy Grail” for kitchen blades. You can easily drop close to $200 for a hand-forged blue paring knife of this size.

This design is commonly referred to as a Japanese Carpenter’s (or Craftman’s) knife but works well for many tasks (including small prep work) as long as you choke the blade in a… read more scalpel or tournade grip. The handle is there mostly to protect the blade and as a counterbalance.

Functionally, you’ll notice that it operates in a similar fashion to an old straight shaving razor. So, approach it in a similar fashion; ironically, Japanese straight-razors are actually fixed blade, but I digress…

All good things aside, keep in mind blue steels are high-carbon, meaning they will rust if you do not care for, and oil them.

But man, they will split hairs if you want them too.

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Gets the job done

its being used as a letter opener so no complaints here.

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Imperfect but cool.

Not a huge knife guy but I liked the design of this blade, and it seemed cheap enough. I bought it mainly just to look at not necessarily for use. Has a few imperfections in the blade and is a bit tight to open, but I heard this is because they are handmade. Probably worth the money.

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