Sakai Yusuke Kandokoro

[fimbulvetr]

Anyone else see bluewayjapan's listing of a "SAKAI YUSUKE FORGED WHITE STEEL KANDOKORO MIGHTY WA-GYUTO" over on eBay? I was trying to find out more about this knife, but either my ability to coax information out of the googles is waning, or those darn googles don't know much.

I ask entirely out of curiosity and because the knife in question seems to be more of a workhorse where I'm used to seeing Yusukes tending toward the laser side of things.

 

[wind88]

Based on the specs spine is definitely thicker at the heel. It is rather expensive I guess is due to monosteel? I don't see any clad line from the pictures.

 

[labor of love]

Based on the specs spine is definitely thicker at the heel. It is rather expensive I guess is due to monosteel? I don't see any clad line from the pictures.

Yeah, I was looking for the cladding line too, which it doesnt seem to have. I guess its just a beefy monosteel wh2 knife. Not too many of those around. I really like that Sakai Yusuke "thicker blade""extra hardened" with ebony handle in stainless that was available for a while...Would love to score one of those in Wh2.

 

[fimbulvetr]

"Beefy monosteel wh2 knife" matches my take exactly. It sounds as though it ought to be a pretty good knife. Too bad I'm broke and a cheapskate and mostly really broke. I'm curious but not enough to sell all the blood I'd need to.

Still, this looked like a relatively unknown knife spotted in the wild. I figured that, even if no one knows anything, someone might have the money to spare and a willingness to review.

 

[echerub]

Has anyone else noticed that profile heights (heel height) has been steadily declining for gyutos amongst a number of makers lately? Maybe it's just the knives I happen to be looking at these days, I dunno. This one is a pretty low profile for a 240 gyuto.

For someone like me who likes something around the 50mm mark (or even a bit more), this is very clear deciding factor.

Anyhow, I was tempted but when I saw the heel height, unfortunately I will not be the one to test this one.

 

[labor of love]

Has anyone else noticed that profile heights (heel height) has been steadily declining for gyutos amongst a number of makers lately? Maybe it's just the knives I happen to be looking at these days, I dunno. This one is a pretty low profile for a 240 gyuto.

For someone like me who likes something around the 50mm mark (or even a bit more), this is very clear deciding factor.

Anyhow, I was tempted but when I saw the heel height, unfortunately I will not be the one to test this one.

Oh I noticed also...forgot to mention it. Way too narrow for me too.

 

[wind88]

I like my gyutos to be tall as well.

 

[daddy yo yo]

Same here! Received my Kochi 240 which I bought off BST a while ago. 53mm at the heel is exactly what I like!

 

[bkdc]

I like my 50mm+ at the heels myself too. Even for 210mm, I like about 48mm. The pro gyutos seem to take a meat-cutting bias with the narrower profile. I'm not a fan but I guess that's what the market dictates.

 

[jklip13]

From what I understand, Kandokoro is a fish butchery knife for large fish. It is basically a long Yo Deba but with a Wa handle

 

[James]

The 240 mm gyuto is 44 mm tall. That would be a decent height for a 210, but for a 240, I'd like another 4-5 mm at least. Height aside, it looks like a good knife, but unfortunately, it's competing against a lot of good knives at a similar price range (Gengetsu, Shig, Kato, Syousin Sakura).

Here are the listed stats for those interested

• Brand---Sakai Yusuke
• Blade--- Double-Beveled Yasuki ShiroKouNo.2(White No.2 Steel) made from iron-sand/Hitachi Metal
• Handle---Octagon Ebony with buffalo horn collar
• Blade Length---233mm(9.2")/from tip to heel
• Blade Length---245mm(9.6")/from tip to handle
• Total Length---385mm(15.2")
• Spine Thickness---3.6mm/at heel
• Blade Height---44mm(1.7")/at heel
• Weight---210gr(7.4oz)
• Hardness---HRC 61

 

[turbochef422]

44 is short but in a pro kitchen 46-48 is very versatile. I too like 50+ but one knife for all day I'll take that 46-48