A beautiful and high performance knife at a great price! I was SO happy to find these, and I sold out my first two batches almost immediately mostly to chefs in some of the top restaurants around Montreal, and the feedback so far has been fantastic! These knives really are very sharp, with excellent construction quality and they look just spectacular with the layered steel, hammered finish and gorgeous wood-grain "pakkawood" handle (NOT plastic or molded like so many low-cost knives you'll see in stores).
If you like the damascus layered steel look but don't like the artificially high prices by domestic knives and kitchen stores, this is a truly excellent choice. You get a super sharp and long-lasting VG-10 steel cutting core (this is a very hard steel, with a Rockwell hardness of approximately 60), with a 17-layer hammered stainless steel surface and a beautifully finished pakkawood handle (made of wood so it has that nice wooden feel and look, but it is impregnated with resin/epoxy so it won't absorb water or warp or crack -- an excellent material!). This makes an excellent choice as an all-around knife. I use a santoku at home now for virtually all my cooking and almost never pull out a chef's knife unless it's for something where I really need the extra length (like for cutting a whole pizza in one chop).
Review from my professional chef customer R. Abanes from Delta, BC: "Paul, I received the Sakai Takayuki knife last Friday. My friends & I immediately put it to work (prepping veg, fish & line duty). Everyone who saw it was impressed with its beauty, I'm very impressed with its surgical accuracy. Thank you so much for your impeccable service. You have my recommendation to anyone who's in the market to buying a knife (even if its not Japanese they're looking for)."
Comes in a beautiful gift box.
I'd recommend the fine ceramic hone (see below) for regular/daily maintenance of the edge. As with any knife, use the hone regularly and you'll keep the edge in good shape for a LONG time before you need to think about doing any serious "re-sharpening" or real grinding and refinishing of the edge.
NOTE: This knife is sharpened 50/50 (equally on the right and left side), so it's easy to maintain and fine for right or left hand use. |
|
