Shigefusa (Tokifusa Iizuka)

I realy spent way more then should have on this knife... but it is totaly worth it. This one came with a custom spalted maple handle by Daniel O'Malley (http://www.bladegallery.com). The current wait time on a Shigefusa knife is some time around a year... This special one of a kind knife was a series of collaborative knives by Shigefusa and Daniel O'Malley.

Shigefusa (Iizuka Tokifusa and his two sons) is the one of the most famous
houchou (Japanese style chef's knife) blacksmith in Japan. Shigefusa has
trained under the famous tamahagane razor maker Iwasaki Shigeyoshi for 10
years, and before he became independent he received several months of
training by another very famous swordsmith Nagashima Munenori by the
recommendation of Iwasaki-san. By the age of 38 he had already been
celebrated as the best houcyou maker in Japan. The beautiful poished look of
Shigefusa knives are acheived by applying the special Japanese sword
poishing technique creating the hazy polished look. Now with his two full
grown sons beside him, Shigefusa has achieved an unrivaled state as a
houchou maker. I can take orders for all Shigefusa knives and tools. If
you are interested in knives that aren't shown on the HP, let me know
what
you are after, and I'll get back to you with price and the waiting time. (http://www.geocities.com/soatoz/hamono/Shigefusa/Shigefusa_Santoku.html)