takayuki blue #2?

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Anybody use this knife and have an opinion about it? It seems interesting on paper...monosteel blue#2 / laser-ish. Someone had asked the question a while ago and i still haven't seen much input. i came across it when someone pointed to the newly arrived (and gone) yusukes on blueway. I tried to find reviews/opinions to no avail. i think the closest i got was "...gets screaming sharp". which i guess is the first step...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Japanese-Sakai-Takayuki-Blue-Steel-Gyuto-Knife-240mm-/380852486172?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item58ac93c01c

:scratchhead:
 
I think most people that like blue steel prefer wa handles and thats why there seems to be very little feedback on this knife. Its just not a big seller.
 
that's a good point.
do you think it's a general preference for wa's or the combination of yo on a light blade that makes the difference? members do seem to lean towards wa handles but i sometimes see some yo love in the form of Hiromotos, Carbonext / tkc etc and a decent amount of customs.
Those of you who've handled laser wa's and their counterpart laser yo's find there to be a big difference? i suppose that a 60 to 70% lighter knife would make a big difference. balance point moves back on the yo etc...
anybody prefer a yo laser to a wa laser?
 
that's a good point.
do you think it's a general preference for wa's or the combination of yo on a light blade that makes the difference? members do seem to lean towards wa handles but i sometimes see some yo love in the form of Hiromotos, Carbonext / tkc etc and a decent amount of customs.
Those of you who've handled laser wa's and their counterpart laser yo's find there to be a big difference? i suppose that a 60 to 70% lighter knife would make a big difference. balance point moves back on the yo etc...
anybody prefer a yo laser to a wa laser?

I would never choose a Hiromoto, TKC, etc. over my Gesshin Ginga, and I've owned a Hiromoto and currently own a real TKC.

One thing to think about is the point of reference people have when they state their opinion. They may be recommending the only knives they've used.

I much prefer a wa handle because of the balance and ease of switching grips and hand position on a wa handled knife vs. a western handled knife. And I used to be a devoted western handled knife person. Now, I rarely consider buying a western handled knife.
 
I'm curious as to where you picked up on the idea that it's a monosteel blade. I didn't see it called out on the linked page.
 
I'm curious as to where you picked up on the idea that it's a monosteel blade. I didn't see it called out on the linked page.

I'm wondering this as well.
From the pictures, it looks like a mono-steel knife.
Perhaps the cladding was done to completely cover the sides so that the core is only revealed on the edge bevel? Seems highly unlikely especially for a knife this thin.
 
I'm curious as to where you picked up on the idea that it's a monosteel blade. I didn't see it called out on the linked page.

the linked page states: Blade--- Double-Beveled Yasuki AoKouNo.2(Blue No.2 Steel) made from iron-sand/Hitachi Metal. For clad knives, blueway usually explicitly states that the knife is clad (eg for tojiro dp - Blade---Double-beveled Cobalt alloy clad 13 chrome stainless steel)
 
yes, someone in the previous thread i mentioned said they confirmed monosteel with Keichi at blueway. I double-checked with a rakuten seller (last week) who in turn confirmed it with the maker.
i may just have to pull the trigger on this one out of pure curiosity...
 
Here is the catalog page from a while ago if anyone is interested.

0022.pdf
 
Well, I pulled the trigger on it during the thread and it showed up today. For those who are curious, here some stats on it before it gets used:
- it weighs in at 192g
- spine above heel is 2.11mm
- height is 45.6mm
- blade length is 238mm

pics:
aoki2-1_zpse220729d.jpg


(for reference) vs 240 takeda
aoki2-3_zps6b300472.jpg


vs 10" nogent sab chef's
aoki2-4_zps54069224.jpg


choil
aoki2-2_zps185d5474.jpg


not a lot of distal taper
aoki2-5_zpsc612599f.jpg


did you guys know it was made in Japan? :bigeek:
aoki2-6_zpsd3edd6af.jpg


- Although the Takeda is particularly high, I would consider this knife short.
- f&f is so-so. It's definitely getting a new handle.
- the choil shot doesn't show how obviously "right-biased" this knife is. Compare how tall the bevel is on the first photo vs the last. No matter, it'll get re-set first thing tomorrow.

I'm hoping to get you some more impressions once I put it through some paces. This knife will most likely benefit from some tweaking. I think it'll be a good little project knife
 
Thanks Andre It does look small for a 240mm.I've had Masamoto's on the smaller side.After some thinning behind the edge they were good cutters.
 
Anymore thoughts about this knife, Andre S?
 
Takeda looks like a monster, in a good way, in comparison :)
 
hey,
I generally am having a positive experience with it. It's been a bit crazy here, so I'll try to get into a bit more detail in the next few days (photos and all). I'll say that I've been using more than expected...
 
I look forward to hearing more. I love blue 2 but wonder how this knife performs in it, edge taking, holding, geometry and stuff.
 
I’ll admit that I was a bit disappointed when the knife first arrived because its height was similar to my 270 suji. Even though I was looking for a knife that complemented my other chef/gyutos pictured, this one still felt short. Two other characteristics I was looking for; a steel that I hadn’t previously used and toughness (looking for a Jknife that could take a beating).

First, I re-handled it. Stock handle was one of those strange light, cheap feeling stained woods that a few makers use. But, I was hoping/expecting to do this work. It stayed without a handle (in my shop) a bit longer than I had hoped for, hence part of my tardiness in reviewing it. I used olivewood, copper and white spacers and copper rivets. I took the opportunity to try a curvy coke bottle shape handle. See images below.

I rounded the choil and spine and very lightly thinned the blade (until very, very slight convex). Then, I put an edge on it with Dave’s core set (which, btw, make me chuckle out loud every time I use…works sooo well for me:thumbsup:)

Performance.
First, I’m a home cook, so it doesn’t see the abuse that a lot of members’ knives see. However, my goal was to use this knife exclusively until review. Actually, goal was to use it until it stopped splitting hairs. I’d say that the knife’s been used about two out of every three days during the past month. It saw a lot of broccoli, carrots, tomatoes, onions, garlic, chicken, beef etc. I didn’t baby this knife. It saw a lot of hard (sometimes not so elegant) chopping on plastic cutting mats:O.

It’s very reactive, but nice patina akin to my sab (I tried capturing in photos without much luck). Because of its size (light, thin, short), I would consider it (not surprisingly) very nimble. However, I can now see why some people lament the thinness of lasers; there doesn’t seem to be enough steel to create a geometry that’ll push food away from the blade. There’s some stiction, but it’s not too bad.
This blade takes a screaming edge and keeps it. I’ve seen this described before; assume the first edge = 100%, it quickly dropped to about 95% sharpness and is maintaining it. It’s been a month and still splitting hairs:D. That’s impressive considering that my technique is probably fine at best, the knife is seeing plastic boards and my wife’s used it a few times. She’s having a hard time breaking from tearing food away in a twisting motion that stems from years of using bad knives. That method has definitely produced some chipping on AS and white #1 (sanmai) blades that I have. This knife shows no signs of chipping.

So, even though the shape wasn’t inspiring to begin with, I like using it more than expected. I suppose one could call it a gyutihiki, or sujioto. And, because of that, I would consider it a very good multitasker … It will probably keep me from reaching for my suji a few times. That also means it’s not excellent at any one task. It reminds why i like the sab profile and weight so much.

Ideally, it would be taller and more blade heavy. A Wa handle would be nice as well. I’d be curious to know what someone with more shop skills than me could do to make it perform better.

If I had to re-do it, I’d definitely get a 270.
But man, this is one scrappy, tough knife that takes and keeps a wicked edge. Perfect gyuto? nah. Great? probably not. But it definitely deserves its place in my lineup.

a-1_zps2f44ffab.jpg


a-3_zps2ecf9961.jpg


a-2_zpsea1bb916.jpg
 
Andre thanks for taking the time to do this write up. Your handle looks amazing, really beautiful work. Sounds like this knife is exactly what I thought it would be which males me want to get one.
 
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