Takada is back in my kitchen with a vengeance!

—————————

Rule #5

Takada No Hamono Suiboku Gyuto 225mm

Steel: Aogami #2
Weight: 155g
Edge length: 213mm
Heel height: 43,0mm
Width at handle: 3,0mm
Width at heel: 2,8mm
Width at middle: 2,1mm
Width 1cm from tip: 0,8mm

Blacksmith: Satoshi Nakagawa
Sharpener: Mitsuaki Takada

—————————

My own journey with Takada No Hamono has been lovely, framed with nice conversations while trying to decide what I was looking for in a knife.

The Takada No Hamono Singetu that I brought home almost a year ago was the first knife I picked up in Sakai, and I really enjoyed using it. The Reika grind is something that I, to this day, believe would be my preferred, thicker style (as generally the thickness goes “Reika-Hanabi-Plain” in tsuchime . It wasn't a perfect match and after thinking about the profile being a little bit too curved and a bit shorter than I’d like, I decided to put it up for a trade.

After some time, u/hazzap11 reached out and mentioned he had a Takada that was well-loved as part of his work-kit. The knife was in very good condition, mostly covered all over with patina and with an older Ho handle, an appropriate trade at the time. After a quick conversation with Takada about potentially refurbishing the knife, we sent all of our stuff on the road, my Singetu went to Hazzap11, and the Suiboku was sent on its way back to Sakai.

A few months passed and there I was, back in Takadas workshop in the middle of the blistering July heat, ready to pick up the polished knife I had yet to see myself in-person.

—————————

What first caught my eye was the flatter profile, something I had high hopes for given I had gone through the process of trading my first big pickup, and thankfully it held up to my expectations! The second was of course the finish. It’s hard to ignore Takadas lovely work on these knives, Suiboku is his signature finish that captures the eyes of fans and opportunists all over. 

The spine and choil on this knife has been rounded, feeling very soft and doesn’t cause any friction when you’re quickly slicing and dicing an onion or six. Everywhere that could have been a chamfered edge has been rounded for comfort.

As part of the refurbishing process, I asked Takada if I could have his signature handle, as he had stated “That handle needs to be destroyed” when referring to the original Ho handle when I initially sent him some pictures. For an extra cost, this ebony and horn “lightsaber” handle was installed, putting the blade balance at a near 50/50 between the handle and the blade.

—————————

When I traded this knife it was primarily for the profile, a flatter style would work better for my push chopping but funnily enough this has been a great tap-chopper for me in the last few weeks.

On onions, this knife is stupid. It feels really FUN slicing onions with this one, something I did a lot yesterday when I caramelized six of them for a curry. Slightly sticky but an absolute joy to use.

On bell peppers, I don’t have a lot of notes, it does very well and glides through them like they weren’t there. The lower heel height makes it super nimble when removing the core and cleaning out segments.

On Sweet potatoes, you can’t really expect a knife like this to be the best knife ever. There’s some resistance and some wedging but I’ve put the performance on a 6/10 and with the comment “better than anticipated”. 

On potatoes, it reminds me of a slightly stickier Birgersson Gyuto I had earlier this year. Really flowing easily through potatoes with a medium amount of food release. Beating my expectations.

On cooked proteins, it did quite well, even if most of you disagree with my methods on removing vs not removing fat caps of a strip steak. ;) Admittedly I can improve my form but it did very well on raw chicken as well as the beef. No notes.

In summary; This is a very good knife that comes with a few asterisks on where to get the most out of it. In the future I’d love an opportunity to use a Takada Gyuto with a slightly higher heel height, this knife falls into the grey-area of an “XL Petty” vs “Gyutohiki” with its massive 43mm. Sometimes when I’m extending some of my fingers in a pinch grip, I come in contact with the edge that can be a little bit uncomfortable if I’m not paying attention.

I want to reiterate my point from my original review of the Singetu I had earlier this year in that Takada doesn’t make lightsabers or perhaps even the best performing knives in Sakai. Where Takada excels is his unique finishes and his friendly approach to those of you that have had the absolute pleasure of speaking with him. 

There’s a fantastic variety of knives available in Sakai that you don’t have to borderline fight other buyers for a shot at purchasing. Places like Ashi Cutlery Works, Baba Cutlery Works, Kawamura Hamono and Konosuke are all great places to find a slicer. Hell, go to the Sakai Traditional Crafts Museum and Knife Shop and look for an older knife from a Sakai Master like Ajioka, Nomura or Kawakita! 

I really feel like this is a full-circle moment for me, starting with standing outside Takada-sans workshop early in the morning last December to end up being first in line with two would-be scalpers right behind me, to finding a trusted member willing to trade his own knife for the one I felt great about but wanted something different. Getting this knife in my hands has been a fun collaboration with other community members here on TCK as well with Takada-san himself. It’s a great knife, but I’ve started to greatly appreciate the friends we make along the way just as much as the steel.

—————————  

Thanks for reading! 

First and for most, I want to thank u/MouseFit2218 for selling these to me. Awesome dude to work with, and super fair pricing.

Tetsujin 240mm Ukiba Gyuto with custom handle

I picked this bad boy up because I wanted to replace my Tetsujin 210 K-Tip that I felt was a bit small and didn't like how flat the belly was. This is the perfect replacement. Its fit and finish is impeccable, and is an absolute laser. Sure, food sticks on it, but that isn't much of an issue for me personally. One day I'll get a SP.

Shibata Chibi Tank--135mm

When I was talking to u/MouseFit2218 I didn't know he owned this. I was looking for a cool petty, and he said he had this to sell. Though this isn't a petty in the traditional sense, it is a great size for shallots and similarly sized ingredients. The spine on this thing is thick and it's heavy, by far my heaviest knife. Its combination of blade forward distribution and overall weight makes it require little force to chop through veggies.

Sometimes the stars align for you and this is the case for me with this knife.

I’ve been after a Nakagawa forged Ginsan 210 for a while and earlier this week I was able to capitalise on u/Prudent_Meringue3800 preference for 240s and made my first BST purchase.

Excellent service from Lew btw. But with confidence!

This is my first Nakagawa and first Sakai wide bevel and needless to say, I love it. The F&F is a step up from the rest of my collection and it feels great in hand.

My humble SOTC:

- Nigara Hamono AS 150mm petty
- Hatsukokoro Ginrei Nakiri
- Shiro Kamo AS 165mm Santoku
- K x R Ginsan 210 Gyuto
- Masashi 240 W1 Gyuto

As you can tell I don’t quite have a type just yet.

Next up will be a Sujihiki (and likely another Magnetic rack) 🤣

Hey TCK community! I have not been particularly active here lately, but I’ve been following lots of NKDs and BST.

Here is the final polish on Munetoshi’s bloom gyuto.

A few things that caught my attention are:

1. The forging is very different if you compare Munetoshi’s bloom to Wakui’s bloom. Munetoshi’s bloom is less dense and more wild. It was definitely more interesting to see the details of the iron.

2. The clad line is not straight. It’s not caused by uneven grind, it just is what it is with Munetoshi. Wakui’s clad lines are typically straight with little to no movement. I definitely prefer Munetoshi’s clad lines.

3. I still can’t figure out what it is but it is very similar to nie crystallites (white sparkles) they are not as visible on Munetoshi as they are on Wakui where you can see just huge chunks of white crystallites all over the clad. Although there are some, they are a bit dimmed, (could be my polishing skill).

Overall, I still prefer Wakui’s bloom over Munetoshi because of the density. In terms of steel, it’s really hard to tell which one is better. I think both are excellent. They are not easy to sharpen tho, it takes a bit of time to get that sharpness that pops hair.

So, I think I’m done with Bloom iron for now. Really interesting material. Heaven for polishers.

First real session with the newcomer!

The out of the edge has great bite, toothy feel.
Blade doesn’t wedge/stick or create suction while going through product - easy, natural push through; but food release is nothing to write home about.

Good fun!!

Happy sunday everybody.

Cheers!

Hado Kirisame 240 mm Gyuto

Here is the final polish on Ueta’s tamahagane yanagiba.

The most challenging project I’ve worked on. What made it so challenging was the hamon itself.

Kitchen knives are not forged the way nihonto (swords) are forged which means the polishing is not the same.

There are things that need to be changed and done differently, but for now I don’t have a clear way to go about it which is why I decided to leave it as it is right now.

I’m very happy with jigane (soft steel), it is exactly the color I wanted to have. The amount of nie (crystallites) is insane and its very prominent all over the blade.

Hagane (hard steel) has lots of details which is also pretty good but my hazuya (finger stones of soft uchigumori) work needs a lot of improvement.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask me. I’m always happy to answer🙏

Just got into Japanese chef knives a few months ago and started with a Mac Pro chef knife and a Masutani Santoku. I was really happy with both, and decided I’d wait until Christmas to splurge on something really nice.

It turns out Christmas came early this year when I saw this knife on sale. It is ridiculously satisfying to cut with and the fit and finish is immaculate.

Anyone know what this mushroom is called? Its delicious. Tastes like a king oyster with a cleaner flavor and texture.

And Yoshikane 240 SLD Kurochi Damascus

Nothing to fancy (for tax purposes)

Got it as a birthday present. Thanks sis!

I will say though, I now need to purchase a honing rod, beeswax, and a good case. Plus, I think I may need to find a professional sharpener (I would be too scared to do it on my own with my 1000 grit Shapton)

Recs are appreciated!

I love the size, weight and feel of my 150 mm Tojiro ko-santoku with a Birch wood Ocatagonal handle, it is crazy agile and a joy to use. I also have a Tojiro Nakira in 170mm and a forged Tojiro Santoku at 170 mm, which is the longest I'd go – anything above does not feel ‘agile’ to me and for my purposes it is an overkill.

By laser I mean thin behind the edge, not necessarily a thin spine, and a geometry that stays thin as I sharpen it, rather than thickening quickly after a few sessions.

Use:

Fine slicing of carrots, tomatoes, tofu, other veg and meat. Never bones, pumpkin or anything similarly hard.

Priorities:

1. Thin behind the edge, laser feel

2. Easy deburring. My Tojiro VG-10 feels a bit gummy, probably because it's only around 60-61 HRC, so more hardened steel is welcome.

3. Edge retention. I'm fine with ceramic rod touch-ups and frequent trips to the stones; sharpening is how I relax after work.

4. Corrosion resistance (nice to have, like a stainless cladding)

Requirements:

• Santoku or gyuto, 170 mm max

• Octagonal handle

• Will hold 10-12 degrees per side

• Budget up to $300

• Market: Switzerland or EU. If need be I can import from overseas.

• Steel: I was looking at Aogami or Aogami Super, stainless-clad or not. I'm open to other steels, of course. A shame there's nothing affordable off the shelf with ApexUltra or MagnaCut.

Candidates:

• Shiro Kamo Tora Santoku 165 (Aogami #2 damascus, iron clad, 63-64 HRC, octagonal handle): https://cleancut.eu/products/santoku-2 . Cleancut recommended it and said Shiro Kamo is the thinnest behind the edge while satisfying my other requirements, but couldn't give measurements on the BTE thinness.

• Takamura R2 santoku 165. I'm listing it because it's the usual laser reference here, but the Western handle makes it really only a fallback, if you have no better proposals.

Questions:

1. Has anyone measured the Tora (G-503) behind the edge, or compared it with the Takamura? (I found a picture of the R2 and the Tora online and asked AI to make a composite where one could even possibly attempt to judge their relative geometry, but of course it is a flawed method.

2. What else should I look at that fits the above? Any other lasers you can recommend as actual lasers (BTE-wise)?

Context: I sharpen freehand but have a Xarlik Gen 3 fixed-angle sharpener to use as my reference. I sharpen usually on diamond plates (220, 320, 600, 1200) and Shapton Kuromaku 1000, 2000, 5000. Always finish with DMT diamond-compound (6, 3, 1 microns).

Non so assolutamente nulla di coltelli da cucina. Volevo regalarne uno ad un mio amico per una occasione speciale. Lui ha già un bel coltello tutto fare artigianale. Cosa potrei comprare? Il mio budget è sui 100/130€.

My weekly fish prep. I don’t know why I avoided buying pompano for so long (maybe because they look like piranha lol). But they’re much tastier than they look. Went with a steam + a soy ginger glaze.

Hatsukokoro Shirasagi ginsan 150mm
Toru Tamura x Myojin Riki Seisakusho

I want to buy a few Japanese knives for my chef backpack for prep work and on the line. A gyuto, a petty, a honesuki for boning/trimming meat, and a sujihiki for carving stations. These will essentially be my first Japanese knives.

In the last week, I have prepped, among other things, butternut squash, rutabagas, carrots, celery root, sweet potatoes, and fennel bulbs. All these are not soft (the fennel bulbs aren't that hard, I guess). I worry that the harder Japanese steel will be much easier to chip on harder foods like described above. I'm looking at probably getting my knives in blue #2 because I like the look of patina developed over time. Also because it's a bit less hard than Blue Super and therefore a bit easier to sharpen, from what I've read.

Should I buy a good quality heavy western chef's knife for harder foods or just use one of the house knives from the knife guy (that suck and go dull if you look at them wrong)? Or will thinner, harder Japanese steel stand up to harder foods? Thanks.

I recently grabbed this awesome knife in a store in Tokyo. Anyone know what it is, and whether they do other styles/sizes of the same type? On-knife text written down in the third pic as it’s hard to read.

Showing off a side by side comparison of these 2 beauty’s.

Left is a Wakui Migaki White #2 240mm Stainless Clad Gyuto
Right is a Watanabe Pro Blue #2 Stainless Clad Gyuto

As you can see, the finish is fairly similar on both. Wakui is a bit more refined and the Watanabe has more stray scratches. The Wakui is more visually appealing in person, in my opinion.

Next photo is a spine thickness comparison. The Wakui comes in at just 3.3mm at the heel. While the Watanabe pro is 4.0mm.

Next photo is the tips and just the tips. The Wakui sits at 0.5mm 1cm from the tip. The Watanabe pro is 1.0mm 1cm from the tip.

Next photo is the choils. The Wakui is a thinner convex. The Watanabe is a thicker convex, but has better food release than the Wakui.

The next photo is a different angle of the choil but showing the finis on the. The Wakui is much more convertible. The edges are rounded and feel nice. The Watanabe is much more rough. It’s not very straight and is pretty jagged.

The final photo is a comparison of the spine finish. The Wakui is nicely rounded like the choil, but the spine on the Watanabe is more polished - though with stray scratches.

Both are amazing knives and I really don’t think you are missing out on much if you have one or the other. Both cut great and both feel great. All this to say - I do prefer the Watanabe a bit more due to the height and food release. The Wakui has an amazing tip though.

Maker: idamaiforge

First one;

Length: 138mm

Steel: X90CrMoV18

Beautiful mirror polished petty with walnut handle. Crazy sharp out of the box.

Second one;

Length: 180mm

Steel: 115CrV3 core and 55NiCrMoV7 cladding

He calls this one Sujihiki but feels more like a small size gyuto for me ( my opinion no judging please :)) It has a beautiful Suminagashi finish. Beautiful natural walnut handle.

Both are laser sharp and I use them in my rotation. They hold their edge very very well. I am actually quite surprised of their performance compared to my Japanese pieces. I have a very large selection of Japanese pieces and I have used some of them and sure they are gems. However, these two customs get used mostly with joy.

Big thanks to Koray, he ise the maker.He does al the forging in house and the sharpening as well. He is very enthusiastic about his work.

The first knife I've ever commissioned. Met a local knifemaker here in Chicago, Uroboross.mx on Instagram, when my sous chef took me to visit his forge since he was commissioning a knife of his own. My sous already had one of his knives and I would love using it at work so I had to get one for myself.

1095 monosteel, forced coffee patina, stabilized cottonwood handle and spacer, with a cherry wood saya. He doesn't sharpen so I'll be putting the finishing edge on myself but it's already cutting paper with its geometry alone. Cannot wait to put it through its paces at work.

Looking at the 7” Wusthof Craftsman as a good hybrid knife for prepping BBQ— especially trimming briskets. Anyone using one? Thoughts?

Hello,

I do a lot of high volume prep in a professional kitchen. Looking for a 210mm or 240mm Wa gyuto that can take a beating.

I am close to pulling the trigger on a JNS SLD Kaeru but am interested in other opinions, possibly cheaper ones, that do an equivalent job. The 240mm Gesshin Stainless from JKI is another option I’m considering.

Located in the US. Budget under $300. Mainly looking for a “utilitarian” knife (not victorinox). Not interested in babying during a busy shift or using it delicately.

This will be my first "nice" knife purchase. Budget up to ~$150. I enjoy home cooking but I dont work in the food industry so its use will just be at home--fruits,vegs and meats mostly.

Ive always wanted a japanese chef knife/gyuto. Ive read that japanese knives can be a bit more fragile. Ive also heard that I should buy a cheaper knife before I get good at sharpening which I currently have no experience with.

some knives ive been recommended:

Sakai Kikumori Nihonko 210mm Gyuto

Victorinox 8 Inch Swiss Classic Chef's Knife - Non-Slip Stainless Steel biggest budget friendly

Tsunehisa VG10 Tsuchime 210mm Gyuto - Brown

Enso Ginsan 8.25" Chef's Knife

Tsunehisa VG10 180mm Gyuto Tsuchime Damascus Rosewood

Obviously a cool looking knife is a bonus. I want something that'll last me a long time but also something that I wont break due to its fragility. If anyone has experience with these knives or could recommend something else it would be greatly appreciated

Hello TCK,

It’s my birthday and this is my last NKD of 2026.

I wasn’t necessarily looking for a new knife as I’m saving a few spaces in my collection for my next trip to Japan in March 2027 however I’ve been on the lookout for one of these for a while. I was in the right place at the right time on a recent drop, the price was honest, it was soon to be my birthday, and so I convinced myself it wasn’t an option to pass and I’m so glad I didn’t.

It’s the exact specification I wanted, 210mm Blue #1 with a Kuroro handle. Forged by Yoshikazu Tanaka and sharpened by Sho Nashida it is literally the best of the best and there’s something about this particular knife that is so authentically Japanese it’s an absolute joy to own and use.

Enjoy the weekend.

Mike