Ryusen blazen sg2

How would you rate ryusen blazen compared to other sg2 knives?
Including both japanese and western handles

My only basis for comparison is with the Asai PM sold on Epic Edge and for me the Blazen blows it away. Better keenness, edge retention and fit and finish. Asai is very good but Blazen is a cut above.

ChefCosta said:

My only basis for comparison is with the Asai PM sold on Epic Edge and for me the Blazen blows it away. Better keenness, edge retention and fit and finish. Asai is very good but Blazen is a cut above.

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Thanks for replying.

Interesting question.
I was always wondering how sg2 knives compare, edge retention, sharpen ability etc

ryusen's heat treatment of both vg-10 and sg2 are rather unique... there are some benifits and some downsides. They tend to be better feeling in sharpening than other heat treatments, i feel like they take a crisper edge as well. They are a bit more time consuming in the sense that the steel feels harder though. And, they do tend to be a bit more brittle, so you will want to be more uptight about bone contact and lateral forces against the edge.

I have a couple Ryusen Epicureans SG2 sold by Epicurean Edge--I call them Blazens in a party dress. I suspect they are similar in behavior. I agree with everything Jon said. I find them very easy to sharpen, and they hold the edge for a long time. They are prone to being chippy if you aren't careful with bones or seeds (like apples). It seems like if you give them a little touch up pretty regularly with a ceramic rod the chipping is not bad. Mine have become hand-me-downs for my husband, and he loves them. If you drop them tip first in to the sink you get to learn about tip repair.

I've been very happy with the performance of my 270 Blazen. It does seem to take a slightly crisper edge. I haven't ever experienced any significant chipping. Geometry is very nice. Thin where it needs to be and thicker at the spine.

I've always been curious about the Blazen as well. I have only used R2 in the form of a laser but the current blazen look to be thin behind the edge with a bit of body in the midsection. More curious about the grind than the steel itself though.

I have one blazen (old batch) with friction fit saya and two bui Rei zen (a batch similar with the photos on epicurean edge ) with magnetic saya.
You can tell at many points how the bui rei zen is improved.
I can’t ask more than the bui rei zen/blazen version.
The knives are perfect in every aspect.

Gyuto's in R2 I have experience with:
takamura/Ryusen/Blazen R2 - Uchigumo 240/ Ryusen 240/ Takamura Red handle 210 & 150
shiro kamo R2 (240)
Shiraki R2 (240)
Mr. Itou R2 (210)
Kramer R2 (210)

Shiraki is the softest for easy sharpening. Edge holding goes to the takamura bros with the kamo/itou very close behind. its probably a grind reason that the takamura is better, thinner grind means less pressure on the board.

Kramer kinda seems like its somewhat more difficult on the stones and doesnt keep the edge as long. Probably because im so careful when im on the stones because of where the bolster is and the Damascus. Also its a flat grind so has more of an axe feel so pressure on the board is always in excess, as my mother likes to put her hand on the spine and drive into the board.

Use able edge for me is 20-30 hours and stops cutting tomatoes with no dimple after about 1-2 hours i would say. (very similar to Blue super)

My mother in law has her 210 takamura and has been using the 3k edge i put on for over a year on a vegan diet with a lot of chopping, and only the occasional honing rod. I should mention that I raised the bevel angle to be able to withstand the abuse/ hard plastic cutting board and ceramic honing rod. And the steel accepts the ceramic rod very nicely. Not sure about too much of a heat treat difference between the Takamura lines.

In closing:
I would recommend the Ryusen over the Kramer (Better Grind, handle on kramer is nicer admittedly )
I would recommend the Ryusen over the Mr. Itou ( fit and finish is better and more consistant)
I would recommend the Ryusen over the Shiro Kamo (ryusen has a thinner grind, I also always feel Damascus when cutting.)
I would say tie with Ryusen over the Uchigumo because again i "feel" the damascus BUT its is so SO SO damn beautiful.
I would say its a tie for the Shiraki and Ryusen. Really depends on what your looking for. I really enjoy the classic profile and grind from Sakai.
Again Tie between Ryusen and takamura red handle, depends on what your looking for, you get what you pay for through the takamura line up.

Nice detailed post Lucas!

Do you have the newer Blazen or the older one? I have used neither but from my understanding at one point they were a laser and they are now not? I get confused with this specific knife. Seems that at one point it was made by/with Takamura and also if you look it also seems there are different stores with different versions of basically the same knife? Idk...

Thank you all for answers. I am really into buying sg2 steel knives yet i didnt try any but the takamura

K813zra said:

Nice detailed post Lucas!

Do you have the newer Blazen or the older one? I have used neither but from my understanding at one point they were a laser and they are now not? I get confused with this specific knife. Seems that at one point it was made by/with Takamura and also if you look it also seems there are different stores with different versions of basically the same knife? Idk...

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The blazen were never super thin... i've used both older and newer versions (as far back as when they were still doing collaberative work with takamura and the blazen steel was sg1). The original blazen were made collaberatively with Ryusen and Takamura, but they split off later with regard to blazen production. The one takamura made after that was thinner, but then takamura stopped making them.

Also, there is a lot of older stock ryusen stuff out there... they changed the way they were doing business a couple of years ago, and a lot of current inventory at many (but not all) places are from before that time (either sitting in wholesalers inventory or at the stores for that period of time)

JBroida said:

The blazen were never super thin... i've used both older and newer versions (as far back as when they were still doing collaberative work with takamura and the blazen steel was sg1). The original blazen were made collaberatively with Ryusen and Takamura, but they split off later with regard to blazen production. The one takamura made after that was thinner, but then takamura stopped making them.

Also, there is a lot of older stock ryusen stuff out there... they changed the way they were doing business a couple of years ago, and a lot of current inventory at many (but not all) places are from before that time (either sitting in wholesalers inventory or at the stores for that period of time)

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Thank you for the clarification!

JBroida said:

The original blazen were made collaberatively with Ryusen and Takamura, but they split off later with regard to blazen production. The one takamura made after that was thinner, but then takamura stopped making them.

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Thank you. I had no idea they were different production houses.
Can you break down the structure of these companies? I thought they were all a conglomerate in relation to the Takefu village "style". Though I was under the impression that the takamura was a team that produced Blazen/ryusen and other branded knives.
But were away from the typical conglomerates in takefu but still a team much like masakage "team" and the Samurai/Saji/Shiro "team".

No... there is the takefu village, which is a separate entity, where many craftsmen from the area work together. But Ryusen and Takamura are standalone companies that are separate from that and eachother, located in a slightly different area from the knife village. Ryusen has been producing their own knives for quite a long time, and used to be one of the larger OEM makers until a couple of years ago, when the decided to focus on building their own brand and stopped all OEM work. They run a roughly 18 person workshop, where quite a bit is done by hand. They are entirely unrelated to takamura.

Thanks to everyone who posted, my curiosity is finally satisfied 🤩

By the way there are also Ryusen Blazen stones, or at least there used to be

Jon, Thank you.

Very odd though.
you have the takamura blazen.
http://takamurahamono.jp/series/series01_3.html

and the Ryusen blazen
http://ryusen-hamono.com/products/products_bz.html
http://www.knivesandstones.com/ryusen-blazen-gyuto-210mm-sg2-bz-104/
http://www.japanesechef.com.au/blazen.html
http://www.epicedge.com/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=181

Im guessing these "blazens" are the crossover NOS products before Ryusen went on their own?

None-the-less all fantastic blades. Really recommend them to anybody considering one.

i dont think the takamura ones are even being made anymore

Thanks for sharing your insights on this sometimes confusing topic Jon.

Who wants to loan me a new blazen? They sound awesome.
Haha