Saya or other knife guard?

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jgraeff

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i am making a few purchases today and trying to decide if i should get the sayas for the knives or just get some plastic edge guards that i already use.

any comparison between them besides looks?
 
I like sayas, but I'm not sure I'd buy the plain ones at $30. The sayas I have came with the knife and the ones w/o sayas are stored with cardboard sheaths. Since I'm the only one that gets into my knife drawer the cardboard sheaths work ok.
 
The best are properly fitted sayas. They are relatively compact since they are made to fit a particular knife. Drawbacks are they are impossible to clean, as you knife shrinks, the saya will not fit. Bladesafes are great but are bulkier and don't fit very tall or long blades (max 10"). The third excellent choice is two magnetic strips bound by a plastic tape that snaps shut like a folder of sorts. The drawbacks to these are they will magnetize your blades over a long period of time and they are not as stiff so if you expect your knives to get roughed up while they are stored, they might not be the absolute best. Pretty much everything else I've tried sucks, imo. I guess generic sayas or okay but sometimes I do lose a little performance on my edges.
 
Ya in getting the konosuke hd gyuto n it has the option for one but its 30 bucks and I'm not sure of its worth it or not.
 
why not just get edge protectors, the plastic slip on ones that can be foiund almost anywhere. they're cheap, and come in alot of different profiles.
 
I like sayas. I've tried other things but they aren't quite as sturdy, I've dropped my knives quite a few times when getting out my my car and the sayas have saved them. I just like the look of sayas too, $30 seems reasonable to me
 
why not just get edge protectors, the plastic slip on ones that can be foiund almost anywhere. they're cheap, and come in alot of different profiles.

I'm not sure why people don't use these more for short term storage(I.E. carrying knives to and from work). You can clean them, just fold a paper towel, and push it through the guard end-to-end with something thin and flat.

I realized today, though, that mineral oil gets in there and doesn't like to check out. A saya(or any wooden sheath) is not just pretty, they really are the best. Just not as cheap.
 
why not just get edge protectors, the plastic slip on ones that can be foiund almost anywhere. they're cheap, and come in alot of different profiles.

Because they can scratch your knives up pretty bad. Also, they get loose over time. The chef knife ones are useless after a while; nothing will stay in them.

If you go this route, you're best off getting the slicer model in my experience (I have at least 6 edge guards). The Wusthof ones (I believe) have a felt lining. I imagine this will work better, but I recall people saying that the felt wears down and then you're left with an edge protector that can scratch your knives.
 
Because they can scratch your knives up pretty bad. Also, they get loose over time.

That's true, they do tend to scratch cladding. Just doesn't bother me. :knight:

Mine haven't gotten loose after 2 years, and they're just the Mercer ones from restaurant supply.
 
The third excellent choice is two magnetic strips bound by a plastic tape that snaps shut like a folder of sorts. The drawbacks to these are they will magnetize your blades over a long period of time and they are not as stiff so if you expect your knives to get roughed up while they are stored, they might not be the absolute best.

I have a set of these. (I chose to stay away from sayas because: a) for the price of one, I could buy enough Edge-Mags for almost all of my knives; b) the rather utilitarian-looking Edge-Mags don't scream "I have a fancy Japanese knife!" and are less tempting for a light-fingered kitchen mate.)

I recommend them because they're easy to clean and are an economical and scratch-free way of protecting knives in transit. Having dropped knives in these guards on several occasions, I've found them to be pretty sturdy. (I'd be more afraid of a saya cracking or denting.) The stiffness (or lack thereof) is not so much a problem because the magnets have a nice tendency to hold multiple guards together in a bundle. They've also never slipped off while inside a knife kit, which I've experienced with plastic edge protectors.

For me, the main drawback beside those you mentioned is that they're pretty heavy. The one I've got on my Masamoto HC 24cm gyuto (235g) weighs about 130g. If you have a knife kit full of these, that really adds up. Also, even the smallest size is too large for paring or petty knives unless you take a pair of scissors to them (which I understand is possible).

Incidentally, before I got the Edge-Mags, I'd read reports of possible rust issues. I haven't encountered problems with my carbon steel knives, but I can imagine if one might if one didn't dry the blades scrupulously and left them enclosed for several days.
 
I should have clarified. The slicer ones have been working fine as long as you don't put thick knives in them. If you put thick knives in them, they will open up and become loose. I put a 5 inch old Wusthof in a slicer edge guard and it started to get loose.

The chef knife edge guards open up no matter what's in them; you're best off using these for thicker knives. I have a 10 inch (I believe) chef knife edge guard for a Forscher Scimitar. The knife barely stays in it and it's the only knife that i've ever put in it.
 
I have a set of these. (I chose to stay away from sayas because: a) for the price of one, I could buy enough Edge-Mags for almost all of my knives; b) the rather utilitarian-looking Edge-Mags don't scream "I have a fancy Japanese knife!" and are less tempting for a light-fingered kitchen mate.)

I recommend them because they're easy to clean and are an economical and scratch-free way of protecting knives in transit. Having dropped knives in these guards on several occasions, I've found them to be pretty sturdy. (I'd be more afraid of a saya cracking or denting.) The stiffness (or lack thereof) is not so much a problem because the magnets have a nice tendency to hold multiple guards together in a bundle. They've also never slipped off while inside a knife kit, which I've experienced with plastic edge protectors.

For me, the main drawback beside those you mentioned is that they're pretty heavy. The one I've got on my Masamoto HC 24cm gyuto (235g) weighs about 130g. If you have a knife kit full of these, that really adds up. Also, even the smallest size is too large for paring or petty knives unless you take a pair of scissors to them (which I understand is possible).

Incidentally, before I got the Edge-Mags, I'd read reports of possible rust issues. I haven't encountered problems with my carbon steel knives, but I can imagine if one might if one didn't dry the blades scrupulously and left them enclosed for several days.

Those are them. I have a bunch esp for my longer blades. I haven't had anything rust except when someone else is packing blades wet in them, as you mentioned.
 
Thanks for all the info guys, i did end up ordering the saya but i am also going to some edge mags to replace some of the plastic guards i have now. I also do notice that get get looser over time and i have actually cut through a few of them.

the saya also wont fit in my bag i dont think however it might, but i do switch my knives out here and there so i will have the saya for longer storage and the edge mags for traveling should work out pretty well.
 
If I had sayas for all my knives, I'd use them exclusively. They are superior to any other travel storage in every way except price.
 
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