Saki vs Tanaka vs Itou R2

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bamin

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I was wondering what is the differences in the R2 gytuos made by these three. Honestly, the ironwood offerings from Saji and Tanaka look exactly the same to me in photos. I looked around but couldn't find a satisfactory answer in the forums.

Thanks
 
Geometry, profile, heat treat, fit and finish are a few things that come to mind.
 
Been wondering myself...there really hasn't been much said about them. Was considering a Saji but nobody seems to know much.
 
I have an R2 Saji gyuto, but no experience with the others. I like the knife, but it needed a bit of work out of the box (the front half of the blade was significantly thicker behind the edge than the back half; spine and choil not rounded). Ideally this was just an isolated case, but if you do purchase it, I would ask Koki/Mari for an inspection prior to shipment.

The blade profile is pretty flat, spine is thin (just a bit over 2mm), the blade is pretty tough (compared to the other powdered steel knives I have) and edge retention seems to be very good (it went through 7 months of nearly daily home use without sharpening or stropping). Stiction isn't a big issue with my knife; wet potatoes might stick to the blade but they're pretty easily removed (I've had some other knives where they were essentially glued to the blade).

If you get the deep etched damascus iteration of the knife, you might notice that the cuts don't feel as smooth as they usually do. Personally, I didn't like this and polished it to a near mirror finish.

If I were to go back, I'd probably choose the Tanaka based on Theory's videos and Tanaka's reputation for making very good cutters.
 
I have several Itou's but never tried the others. The R2 takes and holds the best edge of any knife I've owned, bar none. It's a breeze to sharpen and the damascus is killer. The stag handles are surprisingly comfortable even for long prepping. The fit and finish are outstanding.

If you like the profile, geometry and bling you can't do better.
 
So Tanaka and Itou have better fit and finish compared to Saji. JCK puts a Tanaka 240m gyuto at 2mm thick and 230g vs. Saji at 2.4mm thick and 288g. Itou's are also 2.4mm thick.

What is the Tanaka's and Itou's grind like? From Theory's videos stiction is minimal.

Also, do Tanaka, Saji, and Itou all start with the same prefabricated damascus R2?
 
Tanaka is pretty thin behind the edge. Even more so on his Wa handled knives I believe.
 
I have Tanaka R2 210mm damascus gyuto with rosewood wa handle. The knife is very thin - it weights only 130g. Edge retention is very good indeed. F&F is excellent. The deeply etched damascus does help to reduce stiction. Since the blade is very thin - there is not much 'room' left for a more complex profile (like S or such) that could be used to further improve stiction reduction.
 
Where can you find the wa handled gyutos? Thanks.
 
Awesome thanks! I always forget about Tosho.
 
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