Blueway's got a new batch of Sakai Yusuke SS

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V1P said:
Hi everyone, guess who bought the only 240mm ebony handle with buffalo horn spacer and collar from this batch :happymug:
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That's a good looking handle, but for some reason, I think the ebony wood might add a good ounce or more to the weight of the knife when compared to magnolia/ho wood. I'm taking a keen look at this knife.
 
Korin is having a sale this month, I can't remember if its 10% or 15%, but after discount you could just go through them instead, the prices are real close if I'm not mistaken.
 
Just picked mine up at the Post Office this AM.

Lovely knife. The sound of the steel, even just through the handle as I hold it- makes me want to rush home and start cuttin' stuff up :doublethumbsup:
 
did you get any information about the heat treatment on the masamoto aeb-l ?
 
I'm mildly curious as to why Yusuke is reportedly low on stock atm. Could it be because so many retailers have jumped on the bandwagon and ordered big? Or are they running the inventory down for another reason like next big batch coming in.
 
I'm mildly curious as to why Yusuke is reportedly low on stock atm. Could it be because so many retailers have jumped on the bandwagon and ordered big? Or are they running the inventory down for another reason like next big batch coming in.
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it would be probably more attributed to the fluctuating exchange rate and they're probably holding on to their stocks til it stabilizes a bit more. but that's just me.
 
franzb69 said:
it would be probably more attributed to the fluctuating exchange rate and they're probably holding on to their stocks til it stabilizes a bit more. but that's just me.
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I would have thought that the majority of Sakai Yusuke's business is domestic. I wasn't referring to Bluewayjapan the eBay seller.
 
I have been using this knife for the last few days. Quite a pleasure... lightweight belies it's strength. A real multi purpose tool. I love the tip and the flatter profile. Nice feel of the handle. The additional blade thickness is a comfort as my usual hamfisted technique doesn't seem to phase it. Sharp and pretty, right ootb. Cuts onions, carrots, tomatoes, salmon; smooshes cloves of garlic for peeling. Love the sound of this steel as it works. Very nice, so far no issues.

Cheers,

RW
 
I've got Yusuke fever too. Just picked up a 210 and 240 in Flat stainless 61hr and a 300mm Suij. the other knife is the Special thin white #2


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franzb69 said:
it would be probably more attributed to the fluctuating exchange rate and they're probably holding on to their stocks til it stabilizes a bit more. but that's just me.
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Having watched Bluewayjapan's inventory for a few years now, I would say that this is not true as far as Bluewayjapan is concerned.

From what I've seen, if Keiichi has knives, he'll sell them. Even when the yen was super strong against the dollar, which would have been the best time to pull inventory and hold stocks since his profit margin would have been much smaller even with his price increase over the years, he consistently had inventory of most of the knives he carries to this day.
 
tripleq said:
I was just in Japan and made a stop at the SY store in Sakai ... I asked why the stock was low and I didn't really get a straight answer but I was assured that new stock would arrive in 'several weeks'
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I would guess that you were the only blade pilgrim you saw when there. Correct? That could be why - not too many people pop around into the shop/public displays. First, these days Sakai is just a conventional suburban district with little for visitors and, second, partly because of this few people come round and walk into the knife destinations.

For example, I've been to the Hamono Museum - twice - the only other visitors I saw were tour groups of middle-aged folk, mostly women, doing a mandatory stop in the ground floor for non-knife souvenirs. The knife shop upstairs (big variety of stuff to buy) is basically a sleepy loft, and my impression is if a visitor arrives it'll be one of the highlights of the day.

To reference another thread where seeking out and visiting the makers was discouraged by a rather prominent member, seems to me that there could be a lot more to do in these places. In the Hamono Museum there is no one to talk to to tell you of places to visit, no knife geeks at all. The actual hamono stuff is even hidden up in the upstairs floor. In Sakai or Kyoto, where there are loads of people still involved in the trade, there are no tours or mentions in the tourism lit. In Kyoto you're told to go to Aritsugu in Nishiki and that's it. I wonder but doubt if it's different in Seki or Sanjo.

Blacksmiths and bladesmiths might not be used to or trained to deal with visitors, especially foreign, but seems that more could be done to promote these traditional crafts and industries in Japan. (Lots is done for other industries in contrast.)

Anyway, sorry. My feeling was that there are few visitors to the SY shop, and so stocking the shelves wasn't a priority. I think there's an office in the back, and the paperwork and sales there are probably what the guy there works on. (Met him, he's the owner.)
 
It's kinda annoying that Keiichi has such little stock. I know he took a break a while ago but for a while he was adding a load of new different Sakai Yusukes almost every week. I think their popularity is probably just the reason for the lack of stock, with Konosukes being so expensive now I think the Yusukes are commonly recommended and word has spread
 
Keiichi is a preferred Yusuke merchant for sure. They keep him in the supply chain for some reason. Perhaps he has some personal connection--total conjecture. It is true that he only gets a few knives at a time.

Agreed Mhlee. Keiichi sells the Yusuke lasers he has in stock instantly. I like my Y as much as my Kono's. I wish we could get Y to engrave the Kangi. Y just won't do it. The Kangi on Kono's is so pretty. Reminds me of a Samurai warrior in motion.

Steven, right on. Zwiffel came by with the Masamoto KS 270 to compare to the Yuke W2 240's profiles. They weren't the same, although its hard to compare a 240 and a 270 length blades. The steel felt harder on the board with the KS, I only had it for a few hours with it but there's a reason that knife has a following. It's Bitchen for sure.
 
Can anyone compare a Yusuke to one of their Konosuke HD's? I know the steel is different, but they're in a similar class in my book. The F&F of Konosuke has been much maligned lately
 
Mucho Bocho said:
Steven, right on. Zwiffel came by with the Masamoto KS 270 to compare to the Yuke W2 240's profiles. They weren't the same, although its hard to compare a 240 and a 270 length blades. The steel felt harder on the board with the KS, I only had it for a few hours with it but there's a reason that knife has a following. It's Bitchen for sure.
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Completely agree with all of this. I have to get a KS at some point just to have one...
 
Bram said:
I would guess that you were the only blade pilgrim you saw when there. Correct? That could be why - not too many people pop around into the shop/public displays. First, these days Sakai is just a conventional suburban district with little for visitors and, second, partly because of this few people come round and walk into the knife destinations.

For example, I've been to the Hamono Museum - twice - the only other visitors I saw were tour groups of middle-aged folk, mostly women, doing a mandatory stop in the ground floor for non-knife souvenirs. The knife shop upstairs (big variety of stuff to buy) is basically a sleepy loft, and my impression is if a visitor arrives it'll be one of the highlights of the day.
L
To reference another thread where seeking out and visiting the makers was discouraged by a rather prominent member, seems to me that there could be a lot more to do in these places. In the Hamono Museum there is no one to talk to to tell you of places to visit, no knife geeks at all. The actual hamono stuff is even hidden up in the upstairs floor. In Sakai or Kyoto, where there are loads of people still involved in the trade, there are no tours or mentions in the tourism lit. In Kyoto you're told to go to Aritsugu in Nishiki and that's it. I wonder but doubt if it's different in Seki or Sanjo.

Blacksmiths and bladesmiths might not be used to or trained to deal with visitors, especially foreign, but seems that more could be done to promote these traditional crafts and industries in Japan. (Lots is done for other industries in contrast.)

Anyway, sorry. My feeling was that there are few visitors to the SY shop, and so stocking the shelves wasn't a priority. I think there's an office in the back, and the paperwork and sales there are probably what the guy there works on. (Met him, he's the owner.)
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Hey. Thanks for the response and no need for sorry. We're here to discuss!! :)

Iterestingly enough I wasn't the only blade enthusiast around. I met a few. One gentleman from Italy was carrying at least 4K of blades for himself and his co-workers. Mostly Tads. I believe the shops do a brisk business. Certainly enough to keep brick and mortar locations with fairly high overhead afloat. In the case of SY they have signs and displays in English. I would assume that enough English speakers pass through to justify the expense.

Yes, the person you met was the owner but he is the owner of the shop. Not the owner of the Sakai Yusuke brand (Coincidentally I beleive his name is Sakai but not as in SY. Different character if memory serves). He's an independent businessman. One has to remember that for the most part the shops are run by individuals and while they specialize in a brand, they are not owned by that brand. The shops don't exist for show. They exist to turn a profit and feed families. The reason why they didn't have a lot of stock is a matter of pure speculation. I brought up the point of the store's stock in response to the fact that online resources are having trouble meeting demand so all things are equal. I don't see any mystery there. Something must be going on higher up in the chain. On a business level I can't see a local representative tolerating a flood of knives shipping to 3rd party suppliers while not having any himself to supply his walk-in clientele. I doubt anyone is going to represent one brand exclusively without having some sort of supply agreement. On a side note, one shop owner indicated that they do fairly well supplying the local market of pros too so were not just talking tourists. COD phone sales are quite common. I actually just processed one myself through a Japanese national.

I doubt you would find anyone willing to provide you with info on various shops or makers at the museum. Lets call the place what it is. A tourist trap. More of a store than a museum IMO. Even if I'm partially right a partial tourist trap still requires tourists.

Beyond knives I though Sakai was a nice place with many historical points of interest. Enough for the city to have walking tour markers along the main thoroughfares anyway. I found a lot to see outside the shops and I ate well too.

As for the rest I'm not sure which post you are referring to so I can only offer this. I've been more than blessed where travel is concerned and as I see it, the more tourism you pour into tradition the worse it gets. I'm a J knife enthusiast and I do my part by buying the products and spreading the word. If I were a blacksmith and I knew my lineage had dried up or my tradition was otherwise dying I'd rather have it die without a bunch of clumsy tourists in my workspace.
 
as much as i want to pull the trigger on the masamoto aeb L instead, i just feel like im settling for something else when ive really had my eye on these yusukes for a year now. if anybodys interested in the masamoto aeb L, korin decided to start stocking them...and you can get 15% off this month too(korins annual sale). decisions decisions...
 
marc4pt0 said:
Are these up on his sight yet? Can't seem to find them yet. ..
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visually they should be identical to the white steel masamoto KS.
though korin hasnt stocked them yet, they are going to eventually. im guessing they recently ordered them so im not sure when its going to happen. but, you can use the discount regardless if they are in stock or not. the shipping at this point should take 2 weeks, atleast thats what i was quoted.
BTW ive gotten all my info from korin mari, shes been very helpful. i tend to ask alot of question lol. i recommend anybody thats interested to contact her. im still trying to decide.
 
The ones I saw are not the "flat profile". Did they sale that fast? I'm not looking for a 270 per se, but wanted to see one
 
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