Takeshi Saji experiences and opinions.

[Perverockstar]

For a while I've been wondering about Saji san's offerings yet I have not pulled the trigger on one.

How are they performance wise compared to, lets say, an Itou? I know that many people say that Saji's F&F shows a little bit of "wabi-sabi", but that doesn't bother me if the performance is good and the knives are still consistent.

Any particular shape/size you believe works best with his kind of work?

I make this last question give that I find that some particular shapes from some specific shapes perform better at certain tasks than other offerings from the same artisan/series . I guess I'll make another thread for discussing more about this last thing.

Anyway, thanks!

 

[Infrared]

I have two of his rainbow damascus knives. A 180mm bunka and a 240mm gyuto with a western handle

Potatoes stick to them like glue and they wedge significantly on carrots. Okay at cutting onions.

Kind of surprised at how poorly they performed considering how good his apprentice's knives are.

 

[Perverockstar]

I have two of his rainbow damascus knives. A 180mm bunka and a 240mm gyuto with a western handle

Potatoes stick to them like glue and they wedge significantly on carrots. Okay at cutting onions.

Kind of surprised at how poorly they performed considering how good his apprentice's knives are.

That bad, uh? I honestly was not expecting that!

 

[Delat]

I've heard mixed reports. Most feedback was that they're thick and wedge-prone, but I saw a few more recent posts saying they're now thinner.

 

[GorillaGrunt]

Who’s the apprentice? Yuta Katayama?

 

[birdsfan]

I had a 240 rainbow damascus western handle with blue core. The spine was slightly more than 2 mm at the heel. It was not all that wedgy, though I could certainly feel the dammy drag and as stated, food release was not great. My biggest complaint was the height. IIRC it was something like 45 mm. And of course, it was waaaaay to pretty to put through the beating of a pro kitchen

 

[Matt Jacobs]

I have always wanted one but have not pulled the trigger mainly due to the heal height. I would be miserable. I have probably held half a dozen or so of the rainbows and all felt too thick to me. Not terrible behind the edge but a strange convexity that was over exaggerated and felt like they would wedge terribly.
That along with the price has held me back on this one.

 

[Infrared]

Who’s the apprentice? Yuta Katayama?

Yes.

 

[Perverockstar]

It is also interesting to me that he is one of the very few smiths that offer knives with SRS13 core.

I asked a co-worker about some feedback on his "diamond" damascus Saji but he hasn't even tried it after almost 6 months.

 

[Delat]

Yu Kurosaki made a run of rainbow Damascus last year if that's what caught your interest with Saji (I have a santoku on BST). His stuff is in the laser category for me.

 

[mpier]

I have a 170 Nakiri rainbow Damascus blue#2 that I bought last year when it was a pretty good deal. I like the weight being on the heavier side, it has a fairly flat grind so it doesn’t wedge and cuts well. There are some low spots on the edge though and the cladding just doesn’t really look that great to me, it’s hard to explain but it’s just not refined enough. Like others have said food release sucks and the heal height is short. I do like it but I don’t love it and for the price they are at now there are better options. Honestly if I had to do it again I would get something without the bling that is a better cutter but I still don’t regret it.

 

[GorillaGrunt]

Yes.

Glad to hear his are good! I’ve had my eye on one.

 

[Infrared]

Glad to hear his are good! I’ve had my eye on one.

They're extremely thin if that makes a difference.

 

[Perverockstar]

Yu Kurosaki made a run of rainbow Damascus last year if that's what caught your interest with Saji (I have a santoku on BST). His stuff is in the laser category for me.

Not particularly, but I still think that it is a pretty finish on the cladding. I might consider one in the future, for sure. What was the core steel for those?

 

[Delat]

Not particularly, but I still think that it is a pretty finish on the cladding. I might consider one in the future, for sure. What was the core steel for those?

The one I bought was VG10, not sure if he had other core steels available for that line.

 

[ahhactive]

It is also interesting to me that he is one of the very few smiths that offer knives with SRS13 core.

I asked a co-worker about some feedback on his "diamond" damascus Saji but he hasn't even tried it after almost 6 months.

I have his diamond damascus R2, western 270 gyuto, its pretty great!,food release is decent, haven't seen any wedging on any product, then again i won't take it to a dense squash

 

[Jeff]

I have two of his rainbow damascus knives. A 180mm bunka and a 240mm gyuto with a western handle

Potatoes stick to them like glue and they wedge significantly on carrots. Okay at cutting onions.

Kind of surprised at how poorly they performed considering how good his apprentice's knives are.

I have a 240 Gyuto rainbow VG-10

It is a box queen. … lives in it’s box and probably best suited for cutting boxes open.

Yes, it looks pretty, but it totally lacks any performance. geometry is awkward and unflattering. fit & finish is “rustic” at best.

Overall it is the most disappointing knife I own … including beaters cheap big box store knives.

 

[blokey]

I respect his effort to putting out visually stunning knife but as cutting tools they are not on par with others in the same price range.

 

[Jeff]

I respect his effort to putting out visually stunning knife but as cutting tools they are not on par with others in the same price range.

Tactfully stated.

 

[HansCaravan]

Interesting to read about the dissatisfied Saji users. I have a Karin 240mm gyuto and it gives my Biggerson a run for the money in the cutting department. Great f&f as well, so I'm wondering if certain lines are better than others?