Tsubaya Takada no Hamono

[Southpaw]

So I’ve come up with a pretty large collection of Takada no Hamono knives, two Suiboku gyutos one Damascus clad, a petty, an HH Sujihiki and then I have a Tsubaya branded Reiki.

The Reiki stand out completely from the rest of my knives as it is SIGNIFICANTLY THICKER.

I was wondering if any of you have a Tsubaya Suiboku or a regular Reiki so I can figure out if the reiki is supposed to be a workhorse grind Takada no Hamono (although it’s prob as thick as my Kato or Shigefusa gyutos) or if all Tsubaya branded Takada no Hamono were thicker.

 

[Southpaw]

To illustrate my point

That’s Kato, Reika, amd Suiboku

 

[ModRQC]

My Reika (210mm) had more body than my Yohei for sure. Not sure I'd call it workhorse but your argument made a picture of both choils pop in my mind instantly. AFAICR it was not especially thicker than regular higher end Sakai at spine - something like 3.5 I guess. But it was a much fatter hamaguri than the bulk, not unlike some of their wide bevels can be but then again tend not to.

 

[ModRQC]

I'm sure I don't have to label them.

Edit: and at one point I was discussing it and some folks came forward with Yoheis that were generally thinner than mine, which seemed to be on the fatter side of these.

 

[zizirex]

The Old Shiraki/Nakagawa is always thicker than the Newer Tanaka version.

I have the Original HH extra thick from early 2020, it is still labelled as Shiraki blacksmith at that time. the edge retention blew Tanaka any day any time. 46mm, 3.5mm+ at the spine.

 

[Southpaw]

The Old Shiraki/Nakagawa is always thicker than the Newer Tanaka version.

I have the Original HH extra thick from early 2020, it is still labelled as Shiraki blacksmith at that time. the edge retention blew Tanaka any day any time. 46mm, 3.5mm+ at the spine.

Wait what? I have one of the earlier Suiboku by Nakagawa and it is just a thin as my Tanaka/Takada knives (Fujiyama, Hitohira Yohei (actually are thicker), Damascus Suiboku, HH forged by Tanaka) Are you talking about just Reika ?

My Reika (210mm) had more body than my Yohei for sure. Not sure I'd call it workhorse but your argument made a picture of both choils pop in my mind instantly. AFAICR it was not especially thicker than regular higher end Sakai at spine - something like 3.5 I guess. But it was a much fatter hamaguri than the bulk, not unlike some of their wide bevels can be but then again tend not to.

So I’m calling it a Workhorse compared to other Takada no Hamono knives (and just all my other Sakai origin knives)

 

[ModRQC]

Yeah I was saying I wasn't sure I'd call mine that. You can call yours however you want. As I said your argument instantly made the souvenir of it pop in mind still.

 

[zizirex]

Wait what? I have one of the earlier Suiboku by Nakagawa and it is just a thin as my Tanaka/Takada knives (Fujiyama, Hitohira Yohei (actually are thicker), Damascus Suiboku, HH forged by Tanaka) Are you talking about just Reika ?

So I’m calling it a Workhorse compared to other Takada no Hamono knives (and just all my other Sakai origin knives)

I see, maybe just mine that is extra thick, not the Reika.

 

[ModRQC]

That’s not a Reika.

 

[sackhoi]

iirc I wanted to buy the Reika at Carbon 1-2 year back because it was cheaper than other Takada knives, read into some reviews and someone did say that reika is thicker so I skipped on that for that reason

 

[zizirex]

Here are my old Takada 240 Thicccccc ver.

No the reika, My Reika is newer by Tanaka.

 

[Southpaw]

I see, maybe just mine that is extra thick, not the Reika.

That’s not a Reika.

Yes that’s not a Reika. Also share a choil shot so we can see! I love that Kasumi you put on, reminds me of my Shigefusa I hit with Uchimigori

 

[yaox009]

I can add another data point here as I have the 210 version of both Reika and Damascus, and both are not from Tsubaya. I can confirm that Reika is definitely thicker, and the Damascus is a laser. The Reika does have better release compared to the Damascus.
My wife's comment is that she feels Reika is heavier to use than the Damascus (though they weight almost the same with 1g difference).

 

[MowgFace]

Takada has some Iron clad non-Suiboku (HH series) that are generally sub 47 heel height. Looks like one of those.

Bernal had them:
https://bernalcutlery.com/collections/takada-no-hamono-hh

 

[Choppin]

I can add another data point here as I have the 210 version of both Reika and Damascus, and both are not from Tsubaya. I can confirm that Reika is definitely thicker, and the Damascus is a laser. The Reika does have better release compared to the Damascus.
My wife's comment is that she feels Reika is heavier to use than the Damascus (though they weight almost the same with 1g difference).

View attachment 232216View attachment 232217View attachment 232218

f**ck that Reika choil looks sweet... thin and thick in the right places

 

[superworrier]

I can add another data point here as I have the 210 version of both Reika and Damascus, and both are not from Tsubaya. I can confirm that Reika is definitely thicker, and the Damascus is a laser. The Reika does have better release compared to the Damascus.
My wife's comment is that she feels Reika is heavier to use than the Damascus (though they weight almost the same with 1g difference).

View attachment 232216View attachment 232217View attachment 232218

Dammy has the ebony handle so prob adds at least 10g if not 20

 

[yaox009]

Dammy has the ebony handle so prob adds at least 10g if not 20

Absolutely. Blade wise, the Reika is noticeably heavier than the dammy. The ebony handle actually makes the knife’s balance point a bit backward.

 

[Carbonara]

Takada has some Iron clad non-Suiboku (HH series) that are generally sub 47 heel height. Looks like one of those.

Bernal had them:
https://bernalcutlery.com/collections/takada-no-hamono-hh

I have a 210mm from that line and it’s 50mm tall . I think Bernal had them made extra tall

 

[madmotts]

I just posted to Fujiyama FT thread but I confirmed that the kasumi vs suiboku are generally speaking dull finish vs mirror finish with Mitsuaki Takada. Now I do think he spends way more time on the suiboku (2 knives a day!). So there’s gotta be more going into it as well. The Reika is his thickest grind because he’s preserving the hammer marks (how he explained). For those that do, We’re really quite lucky to own one of his knives just based on the amount of effort put into his work and low volume of product available.

 

[Jaylilly74]

I have a Takada 210 suiboko blu2 supposed Nakagawa forge with tsubaya kanji under 3mm spine. Not what I would call thick at all. Thin to medium to me. Somewhat of a convex grand and I can say I have two blu 1 Tanaka forged Suiboku 240 gyuto I and they are about the same thickness, but have a much flatter grind.

 

[Choppin]

I have a Takada 210 suiboko blu2 supposed Nakagawa forge with tsubaya kanji under 3mm spine. Not what I would call thick at all. Thin to medium to me. Somewhat of a convex grand and I can say I have two blu 1 Tanaka forged Suiboku 240 gyuto I and they are about the same thickness, but have a much flatter grind.

is this like 200x40mm at the heel? seems like a great line knife

 

[Jaylilly74]

is this like 200x40mm at the heel? seems like a great line knife

It is, Its edge is 195mm heel 42m. I grab it all the time when I don’t need a 240.

 

[labor of love]

I’m interested in signing up for Tsubaya Takada restocks if that’s even a thing on their website but I’m having difficulty finding Tsubaya Takada gyuto product page. Anybody see it? Or do they just take the product page down after they sell out?

 

[HL99]

I’m interested in signing up for Tsubaya Takada restocks if that’s even a thing on their website but I’m having difficulty finding Tsubaya Takada gyuto product page. Anybody see it? Or do they just take the product page down after they sell out?

I think they used to have the listing up even when sold out (although I don't know if they had restock notifications). But after this recent batch they seem to take down the product page after it is sold.

 

[nhb22]

I’m interested in signing up for Tsubaya Takada restocks if that’s even a thing on their website but I’m having difficulty finding Tsubaya Takada gyuto product page. Anybody see it? Or do they just take the product page down after they sell out?

What I heard is they are short staffed and no one has the time to take pictures and post this kinda knives on the website. If you go in person, they most likely have some. When I went in December, they had 3 210 dama and 2 240 B1 in the back.

 

[labor of love]

Okay thanks guys