What's the deal with Sakai Kikumori?

Kitchen Knife Forums

Help Support Kitchen Knife Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

tdh2106

Active Member
Joined
Jan 11, 2020
Messages
44
Reaction score
30
Location
Seattle, WA, USA
I had Sakai Kikumori recommended as a beginner knife, but was a bit confused when I started to dig in. Lots of good looking product, but the pricing ranges from low to high. The high price options surprised me (they offered a Y Tanaka x Mirohiro at one point!). So, the first question is whether this line is best used as a starting point or an ending point? If it matters, I'm interested in a starting point that is a used carbon beater that I can work on sharpening, and my desired ending point is high performance without having to deal with scarcity and collector pricing -- so, ~Kagekiyo rather than ~Konosuke Fujiyama.

My second question is how to tell who worked on the blade? They seem to have several offerings with Y Tanaka as the blacksmith, but they are less forthcoming on the identity of the sharpener. Take for example this listing for a petty:
https://bernalcutlery.com/collectio...kiritsuke-petty-stainless-clad-aogami-1-ebony

Feel free to ignore these specific questions and just answer generally -- what's the deal with Sakai Kikumori?
 
Sakai Kikumori is a distributor (tonya) for Sakai knifemakers. Their lines will differ wildly based on that factor. Other similar distributors are Sakai Takayuki, Hatsukokoro, Konosuke, Baba Hamono (ie. Kagekiyo), and Hitohira, but there are many in Japan. The vast majority of knives, especially exported ones, are made to order for a distributor.

AFAIK, the Yugiri line is sharpened by Myojin, hence the high price on that petty, since it's a Y.Tanaka x Myojin, much like the Konosuke FM you mentioned.

Where a sharpener isn't listed, it's safe to assume it's sharpened either in-house (I don't know if Kikumori has any) or by a bulk sharpening company.

The higher the price point, the better the fit & finish and consistency the distributor is asking for. Blades that don't hit the highest standard will probably be sold as part of a cheaper line rather than trashed.
 
Back
Top