I've had both of these for a little while, and thought I should throw up some pics (well the Sakai for now).
First off the Fujiwara 210mm Gyuto for my wife. I have to say I'm impressed with this knife, at 210mm it feels like a toy since I'm used to my 240mm Yoshihiro but I like it a lot more then I thought I would. F&F is pretty good, and OOTB sharpness wasn't to bad either. All in all this is a great sub $100 that I would recommend to anyone getting into the hobby (over a Henckel that is). Plus my wife really likes it and that's all that matter in the end :biggrin:
Now the Sakai Yusuke Swedish SS 240mm Gyuto, let's just say my Yoshihiro is feeling a bit neglected. This is not a kitchen knife, it's a work of art. It was packaged very well, with the handle and blade both wrapped individually as well as a little tip protector. It just felt like this knife was made just for me (with the harder steel and custom ebony handle I guess it kind of was). F&F on this knife is ridiculously good, I can't find a single thing to complain about. The handle to bevel to blade is flush and perfect, I found myself going back to my knife drawer for days just to pull it out and admire its beauty. The handle feels like glass (I'll get some pics of the handle up) which I know may not be for everyone but I don't find it slippery when wet which is obviously good considering how insanely sharp this thing is. I sliced tomatoes thinner then I thought was possible the day I picked it up as well as carrots, peppers and butternut squash. Everything was effortless, minus some minor wedging on the massive butternut squash but it was nothing compared to the Yoshihiro or Fujiwara. All in all I can't say enough good things about the Sakai or Koki who was great to deal with. The first pic is compared to my Yoshihiro, I can't imagine if I would have opted for the thinner version how thin it would have been.
First off the Fujiwara 210mm Gyuto for my wife. I have to say I'm impressed with this knife, at 210mm it feels like a toy since I'm used to my 240mm Yoshihiro but I like it a lot more then I thought I would. F&F is pretty good, and OOTB sharpness wasn't to bad either. All in all this is a great sub $100 that I would recommend to anyone getting into the hobby (over a Henckel that is). Plus my wife really likes it and that's all that matter in the end :biggrin:
Now the Sakai Yusuke Swedish SS 240mm Gyuto, let's just say my Yoshihiro is feeling a bit neglected. This is not a kitchen knife, it's a work of art. It was packaged very well, with the handle and blade both wrapped individually as well as a little tip protector. It just felt like this knife was made just for me (with the harder steel and custom ebony handle I guess it kind of was). F&F on this knife is ridiculously good, I can't find a single thing to complain about. The handle to bevel to blade is flush and perfect, I found myself going back to my knife drawer for days just to pull it out and admire its beauty. The handle feels like glass (I'll get some pics of the handle up) which I know may not be for everyone but I don't find it slippery when wet which is obviously good considering how insanely sharp this thing is. I sliced tomatoes thinner then I thought was possible the day I picked it up as well as carrots, peppers and butternut squash. Everything was effortless, minus some minor wedging on the massive butternut squash but it was nothing compared to the Yoshihiro or Fujiwara. All in all I can't say enough good things about the Sakai or Koki who was great to deal with. The first pic is compared to my Yoshihiro, I can't imagine if I would have opted for the thinner version how thin it would have been.
