Koji Hara Dragon Maki-e Folding Knife

[Sharpnshinyknives]

Gorgeous Kim. Having a Koji Hara knife like this is a dream of mine. The closest I have is a Buck knife that was designed by him. I have deeply admired Master Hara’s talents for many many years. That is a drop dead gorgeous work of art you have.
Welcome to the forum by the way. Please share more of your collection especially any Japanese made knives that you have.

[Reverand]

Sweet! I love the tanto-inspired folder. I have not seen many like that in a traditional knife style. Most new flipper-style knives with tanto blade designs lack the elegance that yours exhibits.
The others are gorgeous as well - too pretty to use!
The craftsmanship on that Koji Hara is second to none!

[Madmarco]

You should be proud of your Hara, Kim, what a stunningly beautiful knife! It's quite different from other knives I've seen made by that Master.
The only information I can supply about your Tanto folder is that I've seen a few of them sold in AAPK stores and ebay, and they go for US$125.-$150.
The model in my pictures was acquired from Brent in his AAPK store "Luvstag", and it's stamped "PARKER CUT. CO." on the front tang, etched "Eagle Brand Cutlery" in a banner held by a flying bird in it's beak on the blade, and "SURGICAL STEEL/MADE IN JAPAN" stamped on the rear tang.
I also noticed that your knife has a forward lock where mine has a back lock and of course, different covers. The pull on our 2 knives appears to be identical.
US$125. and remains one of my favorite knives!

[Madmarco]

Thanks, Kim!
I like your reasoning regarding antique store shopping, I've acquired many of my knives based strictly on how they look and then found information on them later. My initial gut-feeling about any knife is usually the deciding factor for me purchasing it.
There are plenty of outside links that eventually lead to AAPK and we're glad you found one, so yay! lol!

[Sharpnshinyknives]

I'd like to see a picture of the Koji Hara Buck knife that you have.

The other Japanese made knives I have are these Takeshi Saji maki-e art Gyuto knives with Damascus steel. I have one other folding knife that was purchased from an antique store, but we don't know who the maker is, it's stamped Japan on the tang and it has scrimshaw art on it.

I have one of these also. The rainbow damascus is second to none.

[Sharpnshinyknives]

William Henry likes to keep that information to themselves. But that sure looks like one from Master Koji Hara to me. It reminds me of several of his older ones from a few years ago, where he used that same gold process on these. I posted one of these earlier this year or last year that had a jade background. It was also very high priced.
If you are looking to collect more Japanese knives, then you can look through this Japanese knife thread and find a lot of good ideas at all different prices. If you are looking for these high dollar knives, you probably already have the best in your collection.
A.G. Russell had a lot of great knives made in Japan. Moki and Mcusta make some of the finest out there. Master Hattori made many great knives. Master Seizo Imai made a lot of great knives as well, he has been deceased since 2014 so his knives are a bit harder to find, except for the knives he made for Parker and those don’t hold much value for collectors. There are several other great knife masters that make knives in Japan. Finding good slip joints made by these masters is harder than finding fixed blades.
I think you and I have a lot of the same taste in knives. I had Moki make two different custom Kronos models for me in the ANZ-433 and the ANZ-533 sizes. These are in my store here on AAPK. Below is one picture of one of the Moki’s I had done most recently, I can’t find my pictures of the Lapis Blue version. Below that is the jade WH I referenced.

[Sharpnshinyknives]

I'd like to see a picture of the Koji Hara Buck knife that you have.

The other Japanese made knives I have are these Takeshi Saji maki-e art Gyuto knives with Damascus steel. I have one other folding knife that was purchased from an antique store, but we don't know who the maker is, it's stamped Japan on the tang and it has scrimshaw art on it.

Here you go. This is a knife I chose to use so it’s a little dirty unlike my collectible knives.

[Madmarco]

Nice to meet you Marco!

Same here, Kim!