[QUOTE=vance hanna]Why? well, 23 yrs ago I was offered a wholsale distributorship. So I bought every one they made as a gift to myself.
Vance,
I must admit, I don't think I ever paid retail for any of my Masakini tools either. In '95 , when I had a storefront, I was getting them from their Masakuni office in California, which has been closed since about then I think. I kinda missed them for a while!
There seems to be a renewed supply of importers now carrying them if anyone cares to venture into their retail pricing!!!
Several years ago, during the ABS Denver symposium ( 97 I think) , there was a lady there selling her late husbands business stock with masakuni tools, old old pots, out of print books , etc. at the prices he had on them from MANY years before. Wow! It was a non-profit show!
Although most of my masakuni's from that show are the huge cutters which were less than wholesale costs when I had a store ( I don't have them all BTW
) there are still the odd smaller tools from my store. My favorite cutter ever and used for 95% of everything I do is the #2020 ( and 8220). What a tool. They are the only Masakuni tool I still sell. I own three of them and several sets of extra blades. My teacher, Keith scott, gave me an older one back in 85, I got a newer one with the softer red handles and, while at BSF show a couple years ago I bought one off another vendors table for $10!!!! There was this "WHOOSH" sound as my wallet jumped out of my pants. He was selling it for an old guy who was getting out of bonsai and had cut wire with it and he had dropped and broke one blade. It so happens that at that show they had a guy with a van outside repairing/sharpening tools ( A GREAT idea BTW) . I decided to ask about fixing them instead of using another set of blades. He said he could shorten both blades equal ( taking off about 1/2") , reshape and remove nicks from wire, then resharpen. iIasked how much....he said $2 and I heard that "whoosh" sound again!
Man, I could cut off an arm with those cutters!
The other thing I walked away from that show with was a hand made Kawamoto land and water pot...for a price I'm embarrassed to say!
Regards,
Dale