Although I prefer to spend my money first in my own country and second in countries with which I feel an affinity such as Canada, Mexico, and Western Europe. I also prefer not to spend my money where at least the portion collected as taxes is used, at least in part, to fund things I abhor. When I buy any tangible product, like a knife, I want it to perform as expected and to have good design. A history of being highly regarded is of great value. I require transparency as to materials and processes. Safe materials, discharge, and working conditions are high on my list. Brands do not always mean what you expect. If you buy Gillette razor blades, the odds are good they were made in Russia. I once bought a Henckels knife made in Brazil. If the answers to all of these questions are not readily accessible and answered in ways of which I approve, why would I buy such a product? Fortunately for me, but not for everyone, I can afford to be picky, but I try to spend and invest responsibly. For those who really need to watch money very closely, it gets harder to rule out products from the PRC, Russia, etc., but it is possible. Of course we live in a largely free market in the USA, and if the lowest cost product that will do the job adequately is what you want, that is a rationale I can respect, even if I do not adhere to it.
I dont know about Takeda retirement plans, but when I bought mine, I think it was the only Takeda in EU online stores around that time.
I have since discussed with Takeda by email directly, looking for his old AS line knives. I got replied, by seemingly Shosui himself then, in march 2021. and he did have three at the time, here is the pic of those
Gillette in our lovely neighbour, Russia… I will look into other options.
I felt sorry for Ray. To be fair, he is not the only one here making baseless claims from time to time. Not necessarily in this thread, but in the cookware forum. At least Ray is likeable and he tries to test his stuff instead of only theorising about cookware.
I only have two cleavers: the Sugimoto carbon 4030 medium thickness, and then the CCK bbq chopper full thickness. The Sugimoto always has a special place in my kitchen, because it is versatile and looks good. But I do want to try the CCK 1912 chef John is using.
Takeda: don’t have his knives, but pertti does. He likes them a lot!
Oh wow are you using Gilette Platinum double edge razors as well? Beautiful razor blades… Made in St Petersburg. A few hours away from pertti indeed… 
While I understand your sentiment, the CCK people cannot help that they are subject to PRC law. Who are helping by boycotting them? I also believe their supply chain is very short, with just a handful of suppliers, whereas say a Zwilling may have countless suppliers all in the PRC.
I like Personna Lab Blues made in the USA, excellent whisker cleavers.
When was that? Most of the online stores have his knives “out of stock”
I did not mean to say anything about CCK vis a vis the PRC. Guilty of associative and transferative qualities in my statement. Made in Hong Kong is quite different to me.
It seems to have been in march 21 also… i was immediately hungry for more 
Supply chains can get problematic quickly. That is one reason I like old Sabs and artisan knives made of specific steels.
I was going to say you can order direct from Takeda
https://takedahamono.com/english/
But noticed its actually closed some months after my inquiries… maybe you even hinted about this time ago, not sure…
But back then, the price would have been the same essentially from Takeda direct, or from selected-knives.de where I got mine from. Edit again, I mean with shipping and VAT…
Thanks. Sugimoto is definitely the standard in Japan. While the CCK bbq chopper is likely a great knife, it is a knife only use for heavy duty works. I do not know where you live, but yeah… it is not bad if you can get hold of a 1911, 1912 or 1913. I actually have one. When I first bought CCK, there was this very strong statement about CCK carbon steel knife KF130X series is sharper than stainless steel KF191X series. At that time, I was so interested in CCK knives, so I called the CCK store at Canada, and they claim there is no substantial difference in sharpness.
I later bought both the carbon steel and stainless steel knives. After sharpening, they are equally sharp. I did not used them for weeks, so I do not know edge retention. However, within a cooking session, they are both good.
I read it twice. You mean March Year 2021. For a moment, I was like… you bought it March 21, 2022? How did you do that? Anyway. I am pretty happy with my CCK Chinese style knives. If I have to upgrade, I am probably thinking about a Takeda. I know Takeda makes excellent knives and his choice of steel and mastery is excellent. I just not sure about his knowledge base of what makes a good Chinese style knife, you know? Like a person who make great frying pan may not know how to make a good wok. Part of it is the material, but part of this is the shape and form.
You can see chef John’s blade, 1912 so stainless steel, having been sharpened a lot. And the video speaks for itself, the sharpness is crazy.
Yes, the bbq chopper is heavy and I don’t use it often, but there is no substitute when I need to do these tasks like cutting through the bones of a duck.
Ah yes, I remember you have been lusting over (pardon me if this too strong of an impression) the Takeda cleaver.
The Takeda NAS stainless clad series is said to be a bit more wedgier than the older AS knives. So better look into that first a bit, I would say if you havent yet. I do really like my NAS, this unit has a fantastic food release, unlike any other of mine, but it is not so lasery through hard carrots or sweet potatoes.
I would say, that a Takeda NAS is not something I would recommend for a beginner looking into J knives.
Almost. Lusting a knife of the quality of Takeda. 
The trade of food release and lasery… is known. I actually further thinned my CCK slicer. However, by doing that, the foods stick more. Thanks. I will ask if I think of more questions.
Vecchiouomo,
You should.
CCK knives are manufactured in Yangjiang China–Hong Kong is part of China now as well. That Great Britain colony is no more.
Good news, damiano,
There’s a guy posting on Kitchen Knife Forum who’s going to Yangjiang very soon and promises to report back–if he doesn’t get locked out.
Ray. You don’t know that for sure. Can you please minimize your baseless speculation about “along” or “same company” or “detective work”…etc. You frankly have no knowledgeable about this field. The simple fact that you think CCK can be a brand or part of ShiBaZhi proves this. I thought you are out of here. You immediately come back. So, why don’t you answer the a question about what exact did I say it is personal? You have yet to provide any evidence.
You are derailing the entire discussion with baseless claims and speculation.
Using the ipad name was a mistake. Madtv released this sketch a few years before Apple went ahead and used the name. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lsjU0K8QPhs
