# Sakai Takayuki Syousin Sakura 240mm Gyuto now in stock



## pkjames (Jan 6, 2015)

As my previous post
(http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/s...ng-the-Sakai-Takayuki-Syousin-Sakura-Wa-Gyuto), I introduced my first custom gyuto, the Sakai Takayuki Sakura wide bevel line. I was expecting to formally launch it before the Christmas but the shipment was stuck at the mighty Australian Customs for more than 10 days and I finally got them on Christmas Eve! Ironically, the big box was clearly unopened when it arrives which means the Customs didn't even bother opening it up to have a look, and just let it sat for almost 2 weeks! 
I assume that most of you have forgotten what the knife is about, so I am re-launching / re-introducing the knife once more 

Knife available: wide-bevel Wa Gyuto in both traditional shape and kiritsuke shape, currently available in 240mm only. 210 / 270 will be offered in the near future. 
Material / Construction: Blue 2 core san-mai
Handle: African ebony handle, buffalo horn ferrule with silver nickel spacer.







*Detailed spec:*
Regular shaped gyuto:
Weight: 246g
Total Length: 387mm
Blade Length: 232mm
Height: 51.2mm
thickness above heel: 3,1mm
thickness at mid of spine: 2.4mm
thickness at 1cm from the tip: 0.97mm

Kiritsuke shaped gyuto:
Weight: 242g
Total Length: 387mm
Blade Length: 232mm
Height: 46.5mm 
thickness above heel: 3.2mm
thickness at mid of spine: 2.3mm
thickness at 1cm from the tip: 0.9mm



Let me go into a bit more details about what is so cool about this Syousin Sakura series: 

*About the blade*
Forged and sharpened by the best smith in Sakai. Syousin represents the best possible workmanship. To qualify for the Syousin badge, both the bladesmith and sharpener have to be highly regarded masters. For this particular Syousin Sakura, the bladesimth is Master. Suogo Yamatuka and the sharpener is Master. Norikatsu Nishimura. Both of them are among the elite group (currently less than 30) of the Dentou Kougeishi (Traditional Craftsman, &#20253;&#32113;&#24037;&#33464;&#22763. Basically, you know that you are getting a blade that comes with a guaranteed workmanship. The blade is hand sharpened by Nishimura san back in Sakai using natural stone, and thanks to the extremely thinness behind the edge, you could expect the OOTB edge is quite pleasant to use. 





The regular 240mm Gyuto 





The engraving




The choil shot


You can read more about the Dentou Kougeishi here (Japanese). 

*About the F&F*
Usually, knives produced in Sakai, even by the best guys, do not automatically mean the best fit and finish that we, the KKFers, pay particular attention. For instance, the spine and choil are likely not rounded nor polished. The handle is sometimes installed rather badly. Apart from the QC problem, is perhaps due to that the Japanese chefs traditionally do not care too much about these aspects. For Syousin, we specifically asked for the top F&F. For example, spine and choil are rounded and polished in all Syousin knives. In fact the choil of the Sakura has some of the best work that I have seen. 





*About the handle*
I also want to take time to talk about the handle that comes with the Sakura. As a keen woodworker, I am often quite picky about the detail of the handle, such as the wood, the finish, the straightness after installation. I particular dislike the through mortise and tenon joint employed by the traditional Japanese WA handles (uneven tenon), and the burn in process can sometimes ruin the knife entry point to the handle (badly burnt). I much prefer the custom handles that we often seen here in KKF made by our own hobbyists and pro craftsmen. I wanted something like those. As a result, after closely working with a handle manufacturer that are willing to listen and accommodate our requests for the past few months, I am proud to offer you the K&S semi-custom handles. 
Why I call it "Semi-custom"? Well, they are manufactured accordingly our specifications (custom) and are made in batches (semi). So while I may not have a unique handle for each individual knives, I do offer these handles to you, which are normally only seen in ultra high-end Japanese 
kitchen knives, and I offer them with K&S / Syousin quality: blind mortise and tenon construction ensures the knife entry to the handle is a neat slot; the polish job is insanely neat (no polyurethane) and use the best wood that I can get my hands to. 





Standard handle that comes with every Syousin Sakura Gyuto





Neatly installed handle with blind mortise and tenon construction





Designs of K&S Semi-custom handles, you will see them fitted in various K&S knives

*Accessories / Packaging:*
Comes with an elegant black knife pouch and presented in a Kiri wooden box. Saya will be offered in the future (price is likely to go up as well).






*Price:*
So I have said enough about how good the Syousin Sakura is, and how proud I am able to finally offer this line to you. How about the price?

*AU$490 / US$399* shipped worldwide via DHL. They are available now with limited quantity. It is even cheaper for those who signed up to receive my 5% discount. I will start a passaround for both the traditional shape and kiritsuke shape gytuo, please check out the other thread. 

*And they are available now
http://www.knivesandstones.com/syousin-sakura/*


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## Mucho Bocho (Jan 6, 2015)

Really nice knives James. Very tasteful semi custom handles too. At this price I'm sure you'll sell these quick. I'm a huge fan of wide double bevel knives and these are about the nicest I've seen. Personally I'd jump at the chance to be in a passaround for the standard tipped model. I have a couple of wide Double bevel Kono. ginsans that are my favorite and would be curious how these compare.


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## marc4pt0 (Jan 6, 2015)

Yeah I just picked up a 240 gyuto. Couldn't wait for the pass around nor risk them selling out. Gorgeous looking knives here.

And if there's a chance to get mine with the blonde ferrule and end cap I'd Greatly appreciate it! Wasn't too sure if that could be an option.


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## XooMG (Jan 6, 2015)

I'd get one but my budget is too stretched now. They seem very nice.


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## johnstoc (Jan 6, 2015)

These look great! What material is the cladding?


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## Geo87 (Jan 6, 2015)

Wow James these are really nice! Seems like a pretty decent price too as always. Love the handles. As you said the f&f looks top notch!


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## Mangelwurzel (Jan 6, 2015)

James these do look superb. I'm a lefty and from the choil photo, it looks like the grinds are fairly asymmetric in favour of right handers. Do you see any problems in lefties using these? I'd imagine the food release wouldn't be quite as good as it is for righties.


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## glestain (Jan 6, 2015)

Limited run?


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## jimbob (Jan 6, 2015)

Congratulations James. You have put together a great package, next knife on my hit list!


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## larrybard (Jan 6, 2015)

Am very interested, but also a lefty, so would like to hear response to prior query by Mangelwurzel. Also, any options as to handles, or are they currently only as pictured on your website?


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## Chefu (Jan 6, 2015)

Wow, looks like a great package. F&F, knife specs, handles. You shouldn't have these in stock for long I would think. Would love to get some feedback on usage once someone gets one.


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## pkjames (Jan 6, 2015)

Mangelwurzel said:


> James these do look superb. I'm a lefty and from the choil photo, it looks like the grinds are fairly asymmetric in favour of right handers. Do you see any problems in lefties using these? I'd imagine the food release wouldn't be quite as good as it is for righties.



I am not a lefty so I can't tell 100%, but from my observation, the grind is actually rather close to 50/50 with a small emphasize towards the right hand use.
Here is the choil for the kiritsuke shaped gyuto





here is the back side of the blade, showing the wide bevel as well, but the back side is a tiny bit flatter (less convexity) than the front.


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## pkjames (Jan 6, 2015)

marc4pt0 said:


> Yeah I just picked up a 240 gyuto. Couldn't wait for the pass around nor risk them selling out. Gorgeous looking knives here.
> 
> And if there's a chance to get mine with the blonde ferrule and end cap I'd Greatly appreciate it! Wasn't too sure if that could be an option.



Thank for the quick order Marc, it was the first one! 
To answer the handle availability question, at this stage, all the handles are black horn. There are future plans to to offer more choices including australian ringed gidgee, blonde horn ferrule, australian hardwood burls, but it is worth to note that all these stuff are really hard to come by and I can't afford to make them in big batches. It will have to be special orders later down the track as we are still trying to meet the demand of our standard lines first. 

That said, I know that you like the blonde ferrule Marc, and the second one in this pic is probably what you after. I have one of this as sample and it is for a 270 gyuto. I will keep it for you


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## schanop (Jan 6, 2015)

FWIW, I wrote a short (p)review for these Syousin Sakura gyuto and kiritsuke as well as Syousin blue #1 honyaki gyuto here:

http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/s...yuto-sanmai-gyuto-and-kiritsuke-ryoba-preview


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## marc4pt0 (Jan 6, 2015)

Um, I love you?


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## malexthekid (Jan 6, 2015)

marc4pt0 said:


> Um, I love you?



Haha, suckered in for the next purchase already.


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## schanop (Jan 6, 2015)

marc4pt0 said:


> Um, I love you?



Gotta plan for another knife for February 14th :shy:


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## Marcelo Amaral (Jan 7, 2015)

James, is it possible that you send one of those knives to Brazil using a mail service that is not DHL or FedEx, but it is still tracked? Thanks!


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## pkjames (Jan 7, 2015)

Marcelo Amaral said:


> James, is it possible that you send one of those knives to Brazil using a mail service that is not DHL or FedEx, but it is still tracked? Thanks!



that is an absolute yes 

James


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## marc4pt0 (Jan 7, 2015)

malexthekid said:


> Haha, suckered in for the next purchase already.



If by _suckered_ you mean finally getting what I want and have been looking to acquire for quite some time, then yes. 

Totally, 100% suckered. 

Booya


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## pkjames (Jan 7, 2015)

johnstoc said:


> These look great! What material is the cladding?



Just saw this. Sorry for the late reply, it is carbon clad.


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## pkjames (Jan 7, 2015)

pkjames said:


> Just saw this. Sorry for the late reply, it is carbon clad.



i mean iron cladding :bigeek:


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## pkjames (Jan 8, 2015)

received another shipment of handles but blades are still not here!


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## marc4pt0 (Jan 14, 2015)

pkjames said:


> received another shipment of handles but blades are still not here!
> 
> 
> View attachment 25927



Yeah, I'd like that handle on my 270...Please?

And I was able to break on the 240 today. Nothing shy of Amazing- Everything I wanted the Fujiyama to be


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## pkjames (Jan 14, 2015)

marc4pt0 said:


> Yeah, I'd like that handle on my 270...Please?
> 
> And I was able to break on the 240 today. Nothing shy of Amazing- Everything I wanted the Fujiyama to be



Not the ebony one anymore? I just placed the order for the blonde+ebony one but looks like it is now your ex girl friend :bigeek:


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## marc4pt0 (Jan 14, 2015)

Yeah that list is quite long actually. But How Could I Resist That Sexy Handle Above??!!

On another note, I have to say great work on this line of Knives. I was pretty excited when I saw the initial conversation on these and thought for certain I would be let down as my expectations were so high. Now after spending a couple hours with this gyuto I can safely say that expectations were not only met but completely blown away. 
I may get excited easily, but seldom does that excitement stick around. This line has definitely surpassed the bar and has me more than just _excited._

So cheers, James! Great work!!


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## bob_loblaw (Jan 15, 2015)

marc4pt0 said:


> Yeah, I'd like that handle on my 270...Please?
> 
> And I was able to break on the 240 today. Nothing shy of Amazing- Everything I wanted the Fujiyama to be



Looking at buying perhaps a Kono Fujiyama Blue #2 or this knife. Could you expand a little more on what was missing in the Fujiyama?


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## marc4pt0 (Jan 24, 2015)

This knife (the one I have at least) has a taller heel, thicker spine, taller profile, better performing geometry and more robust handle.
The first thing I cut with mine was parsnip, which was hardly a challenge for this knife. Then I diced rutabaga. And that's when I was blown away. The knife just literally whisped through the root veggies, no resistance, no wedging and no sticking at all. Same with celeriac and carrots. Apples and onions. 
The Fujiyama might have a little more pizaz aesthetically, but for my money I'm staying with the Sakura


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## pkjames (Feb 15, 2015)

Handles handles handles.

Fresh arrived, Available as an upgrade for the Sakura. 
Double or triple silver nickel spacer with horn ferrule, matched with the exotic Australian ringed gidgee.


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## Geo87 (Feb 15, 2015)

Nice! How much extra $ ??


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## pkjames (Feb 16, 2015)

Geo87 said:


> Nice! How much extra $ ??



US$120 for the white horn double spacer
US$150 for the black horn triple spacer


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## pkjames (Feb 16, 2015)

made a little short video about the handles.
[video=youtube;5daU07NP9yY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5daU07NP9yY[/video]


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## marc4pt0 (Feb 16, 2015)

These look fantastic, James. Looking fwd to that 270!


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## pkjames (Feb 16, 2015)

marc4pt0 said:


> These look fantastic, James. Looking fwd to that 270!



210 is heading to me, i could only 270 is not too far away! :bliss:


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## marc4pt0 (Feb 17, 2015)

Woop woop!


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## XooMG (Feb 17, 2015)

Can't wait to see the 210. Some of those handles are lovely too. I have one handle made from ringed gidgee and it's an excellent wood.


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## pkjames (Feb 20, 2015)

someone scored this baby today


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## marc4pt0 (Feb 20, 2015)

Someone is going to be more than pleased soon


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## heldentenor (Feb 22, 2015)

Had a lot of fun playing with both the standard and kiritsuke-tipped gyutos at the Midwest Knife Gathering yesterday. These things are really well finished and cut better than any Japanese knives at similar price points that I've handled. I'll be placing an order soon. 

Thanks for letting us play with these, pkjames!


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## toddnmd (Feb 22, 2015)

Looks great! 


pkjames said:


> someone scored this baby today
> View attachment 26443


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## pkjames (Feb 23, 2015)

heldentenor said:


> Had a lot of fun playing with both the standard and kiritsuke-tipped gyutos at the Midwest Knife Gathering yesterday. These things are really well finished and cut better than any Japanese knives at similar price points that I've handled. I'll be placing an order soon.
> 
> Thanks for letting us play with these, pkjames!



Thanks for having me onboard the show:hungry:


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## 420layersofdank (Feb 24, 2015)

Whoa whoa whoa! James! 210s now in stock??? please pm me if they are because i have a couple questions regarding comparisons between the 240 and 210. Btw the black and ringed gidgee handles are making me sweat with rage!!!!SO +#&"&'? Sexy!!!!


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## pkjames (Feb 24, 2015)

420layersofdank said:


> Whoa whoa whoa! James! 210s now in stock??? please pm me if they are because i have a couple questions regarding comparisons between the 240 and 210. Btw the black and ringed gidgee handles are making me sweat with rage!!!!SO +#&"&'? Sexy!!!!



yup, blade arrived yesterday. i should be able to put something together very soon  stay tuned!


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## XooMG (Feb 24, 2015)

pkjames said:


> yup, blade arrived yesterday. i should be able to put something together very soon  stay tuned!


Argh. I have terrible timing!


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## Tanalasta (Apr 25, 2019)

Has anyone compared the Ginsanko to the non Ginsan versions ? I couldn’t find much searching the forums


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## labor of love (Apr 25, 2019)

The ginsanko is a thicker blade. Sorta like Sakai Takayuki ginsanko line.


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## Midsummer (Apr 25, 2019)

All of the syousin sakura knives have detailed measurements on James site including weight and spine measurements in three places and grams for finished knives. I am not clear what you mean by "non standard version"



Tanalasta said:


> Has anyone compared the Ginsanko to the non standard versions ? I couldn’t find much searching the forums





My impression from James site and Mark's site is that Sakai Takayuki uses the same smith for both the Syousin Sakura(blue and ginsan) and the "high end" Sakai Takayuki dammy ginsanko. They are substantial blades.



labor of love said:


> The ginsanko is a thicker blade. Sorta like Sakai Takayuki ginsanko line.


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## Tanalasta (Apr 25, 2019)

Apologies. Perils of typing on an iPhone. I meant Ginsan vs The carbon steel / iron clad Sakura. I hadn’t realised they were slightly different but should have expected variation. 

Guess i’ll find out when I receive it what I think.


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## Midsummer (Apr 25, 2019)

Which one did you get?


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## labor of love (Apr 25, 2019)

@Midsummer I’ve only used the ginsanko. But if you refer to the Sakura passaround thread you’ll see that it’s universally considered to be a pretty thin blade. The ginsanko version isn’t at all.


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## Tanalasta (Apr 25, 2019)

http://www.knivesandstones.com/sakai-takayuki-syousin-gin-sakura-wa-gyuto-240mm-ginsanko/

It was the only Sakura in 240mm gyuto in stock. Did much debating and went for the Sakai Takayuki Sakura over the Sukenari powdered steel or Tanaka Ginsan options.


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## Midsummer (Apr 25, 2019)

Yea, I have used the ginsan's from this line as well as the ST dammy line. I have not tried the blue#2 that's why I suggested he look at the spec's to compare.


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## Midsummer (Apr 25, 2019)

Tanalasta said:


> http://www.knivesandstones.com/sakai-takayuki-syousin-gin-sakura-wa-gyuto-240mm-ginsanko/
> 
> It was the only Sakura in 240mm gyuto in stock. Did much debating and went for the Sakai Takayuki Sakura over the Sukenari powdered steel or Tanaka Ginsan options.



I will be very interested in hearing your opinions. I think they are under appreciated, but I am a home cook. Labor who works in a professional environment had his impression.


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## Chicagohawkie (Apr 25, 2019)

Tanalasta said:


> http://www.knivesandstones.com/sakai-takayuki-syousin-gin-sakura-wa-gyuto-240mm-ginsanko/
> 
> It was the only Sakura in 240mm gyuto in stock. Did much debating and went for the Sakai Takayuki Sakura over the Sukenari powdered steel or Tanaka Ginsan options.


I’ve had all three and I’d say the Tanaka is the best of the bunch!


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## labor of love (Apr 25, 2019)

There’s also a Takayuki ginsanko 270mm in bst that is priced very very low.
Hawkie, did you ever try Sakura blue steel?


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## Chicagohawkie (Apr 25, 2019)

Yes, but the kono blue 1 and 2s were better overall IMO. Much thinner than ginsan though.


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## labor of love (Apr 25, 2019)

Chicagohawkie said:


> Yes, but the kono blue 1 and 2s were better overall IMO. Much thinner than ginsan though.


I was hoping I didn’t misspoke when I said the ginsanko Sakura was thicker than the blue version.


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## Chicagohawkie (Apr 25, 2019)

labor of love said:


> I was hoping I didn’t misspoke when I said the ginsanko Sakura was thicker than the blue version.


Ooooohhhhhhh noooooooo. You were spot on. I almost feel James should be more upfront about how thick those ginsans really are.


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## Tanalasta (May 4, 2019)

Received the Ginsanko Sakura Syousin.

It is indeed a monster of a knife ... blade heavy with a hefty ebony handle to match. A beautiful wide-beveled knife and will be interesting to see if I have the skill(s) to sharpen it when I eventually have to.

As it is, it is the sharpest knife I've ever seen out of a box, rivalling the Toyama. Sliced straight through raw protein and tomato with the least effort of any knife I own. I now know what a really, really sharp edge is!

The fit and finish are superb.

I'm still unsure of the balance and weight. It feels more like a slicer than a chopper given the heft. But it is something different to the other gyuto I own.


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