# Some beautiful knives



## mark76 (Dec 3, 2014)

Tonight I was again at the physical shop of Japansemessen.nl . I was there to exchange my Masakage Kosihi 170 mm bunka for a 210 mm Koishi gyuto. This Masakage Koishi line has such a nice distal taper that I felt I required a gyuto to make optimal use of it for onions and alike. (I am thinking of getting a Kurosaki Bunka knife instead if I want a bunka. This has a very similar profile and grind to the Masakage Koishi - they both come from the same stable - but the Kurosaki is just a tiny little thicker at the tip.)

Anyway, this is my new Masakage Kosihi 210 mm gyuto (not my own pic):





The reason for posting this message is that I saw two very beautiful knives (apart from the Koishi's). Too beautiful for me to buy them (my kitchen knives actually get used), but interesting nevertheless. The first one is a Takamura Uchigumo Suminagashi Santoku:





The picture doesn't really do justice to the damascus. This damascus is some of the most beautiful I've every seen. It is also clearly on top of the core steel. And where there isn't damascus, the knife is polished extremely well. But you pay for this quite heftily. And if you've seen the knife irl, you definitely will have a hurdle to overcome when you want to use it. To me it seems more like something to show off.

All of the Takamura R2 knives are really very thin. For example, this Mikagi gyuto is about the thinnest knives (together with a Carter) I've ever seen. And this one is fairly priced, so it should be a good user. It may be not fully hand made (it looks like it was made from steel plates), but nevertheless it should be a great performer.





I've also heard great things about the Takamura Hana line (which are supposed to be even thinner), but these were not available.

And finally a very special knife by Konosuke. It's got special polished flower-like figures in the damascus. These figures may wear off with time or even rust (I don't know). but this knife surely look very beautiful.





I've bought none of these knives, but just wanted to show you how beautiful some J-knives can be!


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## AllanP (Dec 3, 2014)

Nice post

I've thinking about buying a Takamura, especially since the price is actually really good for the steel type. How does it cut


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## pleue (Dec 3, 2014)

I just got a takamura 270 gyuto. Have to say I am quite a fan so far. Put a bit of a micro bevel on it as it was super thin and acute behind the edge and have been beating on it for some time now without any marked decrease in sharpness. Edge out of the box was great, edge retention is thus fantastic so far, I really like the profile, felt good on stones in my limited experience, the balance of it is fantastic (forgot what a bit of weight in the handle feels like after using wa's for so long), and it's a very beautiful blade as you know. I'd recommend it for sure. It can be a drawer queen if you like but it feels like a nimble workhorse. Sorry for the crummy pic, edge has some glare that makes it looked chipped or something


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## AllanP (Dec 3, 2014)

damn, that's one ***** beautiful looking knife.

I was more looking at the non Damascus version of the R2 gyuto with the red handle that go for as low as 160 bucks


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## mark76 (Dec 4, 2014)

Plueue, you picture does the knife more justice. I was struck by how polished the blade is where there isn't any damascus. But the damascus has to be seen in person, no picture does it justice...


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## XooMG (Dec 4, 2014)

AllanP said:


> damn, that's one ***** beautiful looking knife.
> 
> I was more looking at the non Damascus version of the R2 gyuto with the red handle that go for as low as 160 bucks


Red handled version seems to be a good knife. I like the 210mm more than the 180mm due to weight/balance, but they are both competent knives.


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## MrOli (Dec 4, 2014)

I'll stop there if I happen to be in the Netherlands, their stock looks awesome!


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## CoqaVin (Dec 4, 2014)

do they speak english do you know?


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## King_Matt (Dec 4, 2014)

where did you get that saya from?


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## pleue (Dec 4, 2014)

It comes with the knife, seems like ho wood I would guess or something similar that's been lacquered


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## mark76 (Dec 4, 2014)

CoqaVin said:


> do they speak english do you know?



Yeah, they speak English. Their website, which uses Google translate, is a bit rotten, but the owner speaks English well. (As all Dutch do  ).


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## mark76 (Dec 4, 2014)

AllanP said:


> Nice post
> 
> I've thinking about buying a Takamura, especially since the price is actually really good for the steel type. How does it cut



I haven't tried it. But it is very thin. Thinner than my Suisin Inox honyaki and, I think, on par with my Carter. I wanna know as well how it cuts, so if anyone with a Takamura reads this...


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## King_Matt (Dec 4, 2014)

I love takamura's, they are so pretty but so expensive


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## Ruso (Dec 4, 2014)

King_Matt said:


> I love takamura's, they are so pretty...



lus1:


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## dreamwalker (Dec 4, 2014)

pleue said:


> I just got a takamura 270 gyuto. Have to say I am quite a fan so far. Put a bit of a micro bevel on it as it was super thin and acute behind the edge and have been beating on it for some time now without any marked decrease in sharpness. Edge out of the box was great, edge retention is thus fantastic so far, I really like the profile, felt good on stones in my limited experience, the balance of it is fantastic (forgot what a bit of weight in the handle feels like after using wa's for so long), and it's a very beautiful blade as you know. I'd recommend it for sure. It can be a drawer queen if you like but it feels like a nimble workhorse. Sorry for the crummy pic, edge has some glare that makes it looked chipped or something



Yo Pleue,

This one is on my dream list, do u mind PM me about where do you get it from?

Thanks
Mike


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## kevpenbanc (Dec 5, 2014)

mark76 said:


> I haven't tried it. But it is very thin. Thinner than my Suisin Inox honyaki and, I think, on par with my Carter. I wanna know as well how it cuts, so if anyone with a Takamura reads this...



I have a 210 Takamura hana gyuto and it cuts really nice.
I also have a 270 hattori HD, 240 tanaka blue 2, 240 tadatsuna white 2 and 210 moritaka AS.
The Takamura is my pick of them, the best balanced - at least for my taste - and cuts at least as good if not better than any of the others.
Just feels 'right'.

Looks pretty good too


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## mark76 (Dec 5, 2014)

Thanks, kevpenbanc! Have you been able to compare your Hana to the plain R2 line (Mikagi)? I don't care too much about the damascus on the Hana, but I read that the Hana is even thinner than the plain R2.



King_Matt said:


> I love takamura's, they are so pretty but so expensive



Well, they're definitely not cheap, Matt. But the plain R2 (Mikagi) sells for EUR 199. This is also not the most expensive knife there is...


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## XooMG (Dec 5, 2014)

My Takamura red 210 pleased me enough that I jumped for a 180 as well. In hindsight, I might resell the 180 but it's with Dave Martell getting a rehandle. They cut very well but I'm not a fan of the balance of the 180...the blade is too light so the balance is pretty much on the front taper of the bolster, which is a bit lifeless for such a light knife. With a heavier knife, a neutral balance feels very nice, but with a light knife, it has no presence or assertiveness. Still, it cuts well. Not extraordinarily thin behind the very edge, but very respectable at 5mm and 10mm from the edge.

It's currently being challenged by another 180mm R2 blade I chanced upon:






The 210 is still one of my favorite knives though.


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## kevpenbanc (Dec 5, 2014)

mark76 said:


> Thanks, kevpenbanc! Have you been able to compare your Hana to the plain R2 line (Mikagi)? I don't care too much about the damascus on the Hana, but I read that the Hana is even thinner than the plain R2.



No, haven't compared the two lines.


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## King_Matt (Dec 5, 2014)

Thx for the info mark, its the same just with different handle and blade? Where in EU could i get a good deal?


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## mark76 (Dec 5, 2014)

King_Matt said:


> Thx for the info mark, its the same just with different handle and blade? Where in EU could i get a good deal?



I watched the Takamuras at the physical shop of Japansemessen.nl . I happen to live within ten kilometers of this shop, so I could visit them in person. The knives there are fairly priced and if you live in the EU you don't pay import taxes and shipping charges are fair. And their customer service is very good.


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## XooMG (Dec 6, 2014)

mark76 said:


> Thanks, kevpenbanc! Have you been able to compare your Hana to the plain R2 line (Mikagi)? I don't care too much about the damascus on the Hana, but I read that the Hana is even thinner than the plain R2.


I don't know where you read that, but from what I've seen, Hana is thicker at the spine and the bevel looks thicker too.

[video=youtube_share;bLNxxMv3g6s]http://youtu.be/bLNxxMv3g6s[/video]


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## mark76 (Dec 6, 2014)

Thanks for that video, XoomG! It surely is a beautiful knife. Normally I don't care for the bling-bling, but this damascus looks beautiful.

And if there is anyone who can do a comparison of the different Takamura lines... highly appreciated!


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## King_Matt (Dec 7, 2014)

has anyone used the website chubo before? they sell takamura's for quite "cheap":knife:


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## kevpenbanc (Dec 7, 2014)

King_Matt said:


> has anyone used the website chubo before? they sell takamura's for quite "cheap":knife:



yup.
even got a handwritten note thanking me for the purchase.

Would happily purchase from them again - actually got my eye on one of their knives


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## Sporks (Dec 11, 2014)

mark76 said:


> Anyway, this is my new Masakage Kosihi 210 mm gyuto (not my own pic):



That is one beautiful knife!


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## TB_London (Dec 11, 2014)

Picked up a takamura 270 sg2 Damascus when I was in Japan. Really nice knife, great cutter


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## bigblowfish (Dec 14, 2014)

I got one of the takamura's too. One of the sharpest I'd used and very easy to sharpen.


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