That blue 2 kasumi is sexy!
Show your newest knife buy
- Thread starter Mr.Magnus
- Start date
Help Support Kitchen Knife Forums:
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2019
- Messages
- 3,542
- Reaction score
- 7,560
it's so good...I just wish it was a bit taller, like 46 on a 240 is a bit thin
I have small hands so 46 is good although I admit 50 is ideal.
There have been many pics of this gem ever since Steffen had it posted on his site. But hardly any mention of the saya. And I’ve been very curious about this interlocking saya Jazz.
Im not sure whether Steffen is still making knives available to the public, but I’ve been a fan of his for a while. What I’ve tried of his work have all been very impressive
I visited a local knife maker to drop off something (a project knife), and to pick up something for a favor to a friend. But when Henry showed me this knife, as much as I tried to fight temptation (and I REALLY TRIED!), I could not resist. A 230mm gyuto in spicy white 26c3 sporting some fantastic distal taper through its beautiful pointy profile.
The first pics show the blade in its original state. After some polishing and light etching, the beautiful hidden banding was revealed.
When I returned home there was a UPS package on the front porch. Inside it contained a nice blade from a very popular French maker I had bought from a buddy. When I tried both the Hyde and this other knife side by side, in my opinion, the Hyde came out as the obvious winner. Super impressed with its performance and its Billipp-like qualities.
And here are some pics of it post polish, and the must-have choil shot:
The first pics show the blade in its original state. After some polishing and light etching, the beautiful hidden banding was revealed.
When I returned home there was a UPS package on the front porch. Inside it contained a nice blade from a very popular French maker I had bought from a buddy. When I tried both the Hyde and this other knife side by side, in my opinion, the Hyde came out as the obvious winner. Super impressed with its performance and its Billipp-like qualities.
And here are some pics of it post polish, and the must-have choil shot:
Last edited:
Sukenari petty/suji 210mm in YXR7
Like the New Knives post? Check out this “Naughty Schoolboy” post. …
https://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/threads/like-a-naughty-schoolboy.44589/page-4#post-866275
Not only did Steffen’s blade rank among the top potato slap down cutters that I’ve tested … it blew away a Burke Custom costing five times as much … OK “blew away” may be an overstatement, because it was close but, the TX clearly out cut the Burke in my test.
Back to the saya …
I have figured out why Steffens left the highly overpaid glamour world of artisan Swedish Knife Maker. He took a contract from NASA for the Artemis program paying 142 million USD (since expanded to 215 million USD due to Covid induced complications) to produce a fast release enclosure for a cutting device used for emergency escape and adverse Alien interactions. Key to the success of Steffens bid was the absence of any machined penetration and locking device which could be hazardous to other equipment in a free floating micro gravity environment. I say good in ya Steffens.
Back to the saya. First its clear that the saya is an engineered device which is a good thing because Steffens happens to be one. A few pics to help …
First thing to note is that Steffens machines a notch (pad?) in the larger half of the saya. It’s a little bigger than the pad of your thumb.
Second, Steffens removes the filler strip of the saya adjacent to the thumb pad. The distance is carefully calibrated to provide just enough clearance to release the knife blade which is normally captured and retained in the saya by the notch.
An end view shows that the saya material is thinner and therefore more flexible than would normally be used in a saya.
The “downside” may be that the lesser clearance between the saya and the blade may introduce minimal horizontal striations (streaks) on the blade after prolonged use. Current testing using treated bovine containing material (leather) lining the saya would eliminate any striation creation (streaks) from repeated removal and insertion of the blade (knife sex).
So … there you go! The full skinny on Steffens “pinless” blade saya.
At last word Steffens is planning to take his “Steffens Fast Release” company public on NASDAQ with an initial capitalization of 1.7 billion dollars. He is recorded as saying that based on current guaranteed contracts with NASA he hopes to reduce the unit cost of his Fast Release Enclosures (saya’s) to 22 million USD each by the fall of 2028.
Good for Steffens … bad for kitchen knife nerds!
Epilogue … Astronauts on the ISS where the protection devices are receiving a trial are reportedly over joyed to have something they can easily obtain to cut open those stupid plastic bags they are expected to suck their short rib and potato dinners out of!
https://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/threads/like-a-naughty-schoolboy.44589/page-4#post-866275
Not only did Steffen’s blade rank among the top potato slap down cutters that I’ve tested … it blew away a Burke Custom costing five times as much … OK “blew away” may be an overstatement, because it was close but, the TX clearly out cut the Burke in my test.
Back to the saya …
I have figured out why Steffens left the highly overpaid glamour world of artisan Swedish Knife Maker. He took a contract from NASA for the Artemis program paying 142 million USD (since expanded to 215 million USD due to Covid induced complications) to produce a fast release enclosure for a cutting device used for emergency escape and adverse Alien interactions. Key to the success of Steffens bid was the absence of any machined penetration and locking device which could be hazardous to other equipment in a free floating micro gravity environment. I say good in ya Steffens.
Back to the saya. First its clear that the saya is an engineered device which is a good thing because Steffens happens to be one. A few pics to help …
First thing to note is that Steffens machines a notch (pad?) in the larger half of the saya. It’s a little bigger than the pad of your thumb.
Second, Steffens removes the filler strip of the saya adjacent to the thumb pad. The distance is carefully calibrated to provide just enough clearance to release the knife blade which is normally captured and retained in the saya by the notch.
An end view shows that the saya material is thinner and therefore more flexible than would normally be used in a saya.
The “downside” may be that the lesser clearance between the saya and the blade may introduce minimal horizontal striations (streaks) on the blade after prolonged use. Current testing using treated bovine containing material (leather) lining the saya would eliminate any striation creation (streaks) from repeated removal and insertion of the blade (knife sex).
So … there you go! The full skinny on Steffens “pinless” blade saya.
At last word Steffens is planning to take his “Steffens Fast Release” company public on NASDAQ with an initial capitalization of 1.7 billion dollars. He is recorded as saying that based on current guaranteed contracts with NASA he hopes to reduce the unit cost of his Fast Release Enclosures (saya’s) to 22 million USD each by the fall of 2028.
Good for Steffens … bad for kitchen knife nerds!
Epilogue … Astronauts on the ISS where the protection devices are receiving a trial are reportedly over joyed to have something they can easily obtain to cut open those stupid plastic bags they are expected to suck their short rib and potato dinners out of!
Bico Doce
aka Big Dice / Bocce Ballz / Big Douche
That is some high praise. So much so I reached out to see if I could get on his books. Thanks for sharing
coffeelover191919
Senior Member
The Tanaka with handle installed. I left a machi gap to get some flavor of konosuke. lol.
Also received this Takeda AS gyuto. It’s incredibly large, thin and light. 252mm*68mm. 150 gram. 2.5 mm thick at handle, 1.5 mm thick in the middle. The food release is as good as they say, but it’s a little wedgy as the bevel is only 6 mm wide but 1.05 mm thick. I might thin it on the left side for better cut and keep the right shoulder for food release.
Also received this Takeda AS gyuto. It’s incredibly large, thin and light. 252mm*68mm. 150 gram. 2.5 mm thick at handle, 1.5 mm thick in the middle. The food release is as good as they say, but it’s a little wedgy as the bevel is only 6 mm wide but 1.05 mm thick. I might thin it on the left side for better cut and keep the right shoulder for food release.
two of them really beautiful, the tanaka is interesting for me. i will wait for your notes
the takeda look very similar to mine. food release is outstanding but little wedgy, i wish it was heavier..
Yea it’s shocking to me that it’s so light for how big it is. The majority of this knife is less than 1 mm thick. Very unique knife.two of them really beautiful, the tanaka is interesting for me. i will wait for your notes
the takeda look very similar to mine. food release is outstanding but little wedgy, i wish it was heavier..
I'm not a collector really and I'm usually not into fancy knives but I couldn't resist this one:
Hitohira Tanaka/Yohei kiritsuke gyuto 240 blue #1 damascus clad.
With my limited needs as a home cook I couldn't justify the purchase of a sujihiki but this is somewhat in between a sujihiki and a gyuto, for slicing and delicate work but it can handle board work too. Edge length is 226 mm x 44 mm height, spine tapers from 2,5 mm to 1 mm, weight is 154 gram with the Taihei ziricote handle. So I guess this is laser territory. I think the damascus on this looks great, with the dreamy lamination line. I feel very honoured to own such a beautiful knife.
How will I keep that edge so shiny LOL? It's almost mirror polish.
Choil shot
It is easily the sharpest knife OOTB I've ever had.
Potato cutting test: no stiction whatsoever! I'm amazed.
Hitohira Tanaka/Yohei kiritsuke gyuto 240 blue #1 damascus clad.
With my limited needs as a home cook I couldn't justify the purchase of a sujihiki but this is somewhat in between a sujihiki and a gyuto, for slicing and delicate work but it can handle board work too. Edge length is 226 mm x 44 mm height, spine tapers from 2,5 mm to 1 mm, weight is 154 gram with the Taihei ziricote handle. So I guess this is laser territory. I think the damascus on this looks great, with the dreamy lamination line. I feel very honoured to own such a beautiful knife.
How will I keep that edge so shiny LOL? It's almost mirror polish.
Choil shot
It is easily the sharpest knife OOTB I've ever had.
Potato cutting test: no stiction whatsoever! I'm amazed.
SteeleWorks Tall Nakiri 167x63
Video
Pics
Video
Pics
Kaeru 270mm honyaki. Comes in 86.5G lighter than my Mazaki of similar size, so I’ll be interested to see how they compare as this is my first foray into a lighter gyuto
- Joined
- May 3, 2011
- Messages
- 9,786
- Reaction score
- 4,501
Robert Herder 'mini-yatagan', a peeling knife. Left face convexed, with a microbevel at some 60°. Right one deadly flat.
Oh hell this is on a whole new level. Mr. Lisch is royalty!!!
Congratulations!!
Alright so I wanted to post some more info/pics once I had a chance to collect myself 
A few months ago, I saw an IG video of David displaying one of his c lock chef knives. I thought it was super cool and absolutely had to have one. I reached out to him about it, but of course it was already spoken for. You can tell that he definitely enjoys making these knives for how challenging they are, and he eagerly agreed to make another in a few months. I requested a large blade, as thin as he could make it. I told him I wanted this to be one I grab for often, so it would have to be as performance forward as possible with an emphasis on cutting feel. After finishing it up, I told him I wanted a leather sheath made for it since it seemed fitting, so he sent it out to Paul Long. David told me multiple times that he’s convinced it’s the best chef knife he’s ever made. I’m in sales, so I scoffed and a little “yeah okay buddy” went through my head each time. Well now that I have it I’m sold. In the past, no matter how expensive the blade, I can almost always find little “flaws” or things I can gripe about upon close examination. They obviously don’t really matter all that much but I see them as imperfections. This knife is as close to perfect as I have found so far. Everything, from the weight, balance, feel and shape of the handle and bolster, profile of the blade… the Damascus cap on the end of the handle is so expertly fitted and finished I can’t even get my nail to catch on the seam anywhere I try, including the incredibly dimpled part I highlighted in pics. Impressive on every level.
I may have dropped the ball by not asking for some straps on the back of the sheath so I can slap this bad boy on my thigh like tomb raider.
A few months ago, I saw an IG video of David displaying one of his c lock chef knives. I thought it was super cool and absolutely had to have one. I reached out to him about it, but of course it was already spoken for. You can tell that he definitely enjoys making these knives for how challenging they are, and he eagerly agreed to make another in a few months. I requested a large blade, as thin as he could make it. I told him I wanted this to be one I grab for often, so it would have to be as performance forward as possible with an emphasis on cutting feel. After finishing it up, I told him I wanted a leather sheath made for it since it seemed fitting, so he sent it out to Paul Long. David told me multiple times that he’s convinced it’s the best chef knife he’s ever made. I’m in sales, so I scoffed and a little “yeah okay buddy” went through my head each time. Well now that I have it I’m sold. In the past, no matter how expensive the blade, I can almost always find little “flaws” or things I can gripe about upon close examination. They obviously don’t really matter all that much but I see them as imperfections. This knife is as close to perfect as I have found so far. Everything, from the weight, balance, feel and shape of the handle and bolster, profile of the blade… the Damascus cap on the end of the handle is so expertly fitted and finished I can’t even get my nail to catch on the seam anywhere I try, including the incredibly dimpled part I highlighted in pics. Impressive on every level.
I may have dropped the ball by not asking for some straps on the back of the sheath so I can slap this bad boy on my thigh like tomb raider.
Beautiful knife and excellent photography. What disturbs me the most is that I correctly guessed the maker from the handle and bolster without seeing this knife before. I am starting to think I might have a slight problemAlright so I wanted to post some more info/pics once I had a chance to collect myself
I may have dropped the ball by not asking for some straps on the back of the sheath so I can slap this bad boy on my thigh like tomb raider.
Currantly
Well-Known Member
Hey KKF!
I thought I would share something a little special with the forum... this is a Takamura Uchigomo 270mm that I picked up from @Elliot not too long ago. I was happy to find any Uchigomo but this one is definitely special in size, and the fact that the Kanji is gold-gilded. Super excited to be the new owner of this one. Cheers!
I thought I would share something a little special with the forum... this is a Takamura Uchigomo 270mm that I picked up from @Elliot not too long ago. I was happy to find any Uchigomo but this one is definitely special in size, and the fact that the Kanji is gold-gilded. Super excited to be the new owner of this one. Cheers!
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2019
- Messages
- 3,542
- Reaction score
- 7,560
Got this beauty in from the KnS blackfriday sale, thanks James!
Couple weeks late in posting this. had a shipping snafu and then was on the road so i only opened it last night. hitohira tanaka kyuzo blue 1 damascus with birds eye maple handle from Tosho. Its really stunning but not sure im keeping as it is thinner than I anticipated. still the balance is perfect and damascus is really gorgeous
Honerabi
Well-Known Member
Awesome knife! Damascus even down to the snap. Is it possible to inquire about ordering one? Thought I was done :-(Alright so I wanted to post some more info/pics once I had a chance to collect myself
I may have dropped the ball by not asking for some straps on the back of the sheath so I can slap this bad boy on my thigh like tomb raider.
This is the first knife I've ordered from him, but I did ask about another damascus pattern and potentially another future custom after this knife was complete. The answer I got was something along the lines of "I'll let you know when I feel like it". Which is fine, it just means he's one of the makers that prioritizes his creative process. Like I said though, he seems to really enjoy making these, so more than likely you'll just need to wait a couple months like I did.
