Kirin Hamono vs. Takamura Hana?

A friend of mine found a Kirin Hamono santoku in a shop. He asked me about it, whether it was a good knife, and maybe a good deal as well. My research found the knives featured in the links below. Without commenting on the vendors, can anyone tell me why these knives are so similar? I mean, they appear identical. I think the core steel with each may be R2 or R4 vs. SG2. From what I can find, each is a superb knife with fine steel. Any intelligence on this front would be greatly appreciated.

http://new.uniquejapan.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/R4_damascus_chefs_knife.jpg

http://thechoppingblockco.co.uk/products/takamura-hana-170mm-santoku

Cheers,

Jack

Never heard of Kirin Hamono, fRom my understanding SG2 and R2 are The same thing Pretty much

Looks the same to me. Does Kobe Steel make an R4?

Takamura does a lot of oem work, and this knife seems very takamura to me.

pkjames said:

Takamura does a lot of oem work, and this knife seems very takamura to me.

Click to expand...

I agree...the salesmanship on the linked "unique" page really rubs me the wrong way though....

Sorry to awaken a dead thread, but I got a chance to use the Kirin Hamono 180 mm Santoku (Takamura Hana) last night. I was at a dinner gathering with friends, one of whom just bought the Kirin and wanted to show it to me. The hostess where we gathered is a great cook, but has lousy knives in horrible shape. She asked me to carve the standing rib roast. I slide a few of her blades across the crust with no effect whatever. My friend ran to his car to get the Takamura -- not an ideal choice, but it had a nice OOTB edge. The little knife went through the beef like butter. If I see a deal on one of these in a 210 or 240 gyuto, I'm going to get one. It had superbe fit and finish. Behind the edge was thin, but not too thin. The OOTB edge was nice and toothy. The handle looks great, but is a little slippery.

Cheers,

Jack