# Saji Chukabocho



## hax9215 (Feb 11, 2012)

Took delivery of one of these JCK cleavers the other day,; will post detailed review later but first reaction is 

WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

WHEE! WHEE! WHEE! WHEE!

WHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!:bliss: 

Having issues with pictures.


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## Peco (Feb 11, 2012)

Congrats


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## HHH Knives (Feb 11, 2012)

hax9215 said:


> Took delivery of one of these JCK cleavers the other day,; will post detailed review later but first reaction is
> 
> WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
> 
> ...




LMAO!!  Thats awesome congrats! I would love to see the pictures. If you want to email them to me Ill post em for ya!


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## Candlejack (Feb 11, 2012)

You can use www.imgur.com (as well as alot of other sites, but imgur is my favorite.) to upload them, then just put the links in here. 

Either as they are or in between






I am interested in a Mr Saji Deba in stag horn, ginsanko 3. Not sure of the quality on it as i've been warned for cheap debas.


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## hax9215 (Feb 11, 2012)

Thanks for the site info, I am racing a deadline for online classwork but will investigate later. Cannot testify as to the debas, but this is the finest cleaver I have held in 30+ years. MaKe no mistake it is a HEAVY cleaver, but I was looking for a heavy to compliment my lite coming from JKI, I finally spent some money on upscale handmade cutlery and reviews will be forthcoming.

Hax CLEAVERS RULE!!!


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## Johnny.B.Good (Feb 11, 2012)

Damascus?

What color handle did you choose?

Congrats.

Oh, and get back to work on that assignment.


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## JKerr (Feb 11, 2012)

Congrats on the new loot. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts; I must admit, I've been lusting over one of Takeshi Saji's cleavers for ages now but I just can't bring myself to drop that much. Maybe I should sell some stuff :scratchhead:

On another note, I haven't used one of his debas but I have a 30cm yanagi from him (originally stag handle, but I knocked it off and put a regular d-shaped on it). F+F is pretty good for a cheap knife, spine and choil are nicely rounded, no gaps on my handle/tang. Edge was pretty crappy ootb but I basically bought the knife to learn how to sharpen and use yanagis so that didn't bother me much. I will say it's not as substantial compared to most yanagi, though I can't say if the debas are similar. FWIW my saji yanagi weights 173g and my Azuma 30cm yanagi is 228g, both with ho-wood handles of a similar size. Oh, I should mention, if think you may put a new handle on one, he uses A LOT of epoxy.

Cheers.


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## hax9215 (Feb 13, 2012)

+

Okay, here is the link from imgur.




+


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## hax9215 (Feb 13, 2012)

Cleaver Dimensions
Blade: 220 mm x113 mm
Blade width at heel: 3.125 mm
Blade width at tip: 1.5 mm
Weight: The site says 735 g; binding I do not have a really accurate scale but it 
feels every bit of 735 as this thing is heavy!

The first thing you notice of the box is the cleavers weight; I guess it's because I'm familiar with relatively light chromium-molybdenum-vanadium Trident knives that I am used to-this thing is definitely heavier for its size. The balance point is about one third of the way down the blade; when you pick it up you will notice it is a heavier knife but it is not tip-heavy the way a large French knife can feel. 

The handle is larger and thicker than I'm used to on a Chinese Cleaver, it really fills my hand up-like most Chinese cooks I do have smaller hands. The handle itself is wide enough that I found my middle finger wrapping around it comfortably, with the index finger out on the blade and my and 
thumb right over the edge of the bolster on the opposite side of the blade. 

The forward edges of the bolster like the spine and the choi have sharp edges, and will need to be rounded off. In my case, the handle and bolster filled up my and enough that the only place I really want to round off is the top part of the bolster where it joins the blade; I personally would like to file down a flat place perpendicular to the handle where my thumb can rest, but that is a matter of individual fit. 


As far as, I found it to be scary sharp right out-of-the-box. There is a video on this site of a man using a Chinese Cleaver and leaving his shoes at the door of his kitchen; he is much braver than I am. This is one of those knives that you will be afraid to use in tennis shoes. This thing is heavy and sharp enough to pose a significant risk to those of us on blood thinners! I got the green handle, I would have preferred the black micarta but it seemed to be unavailable. I intend to have itrehandled in california burl, so this is not an issue for me.

The Damascus itself is beautiful, with different shades of mottled gray patterns start against the shiny nickel silver layers covering the VG-10 core. It will remain to be seen how long this surface lasts, I don't know about reactivity vis-à-vis acidic foods such as tomatoes or citrus. 

As far as the blade itself, this thing is a beast! I cut up two cases of whole fryers for Saturday night&#8217;s fried chicken special, along with 5 quarts of diced vegetables for minestrone with no appreciable denigration to the blade; a few strokes on the strop and it was as sharp as otob. The edge retention is far superior to the Shun Cleaver I bought five years ago, I suppose the hand forging makes the VG 10 core stronger and facilitates edge retention capabilities but this is only supposition. It should be noted that I use a ISF rubber cutting board, I would be hesitant to do any hard chopping on a plastic or hardwood board. The blade itself is heavy enough that is hard to get that blinding fast "mushroom chopping" action, but you use heavier cleavers for cutting jobs like disjointing chickens, and larger, thicker vegetables like potatoes or carrots. No wedging with this blade! 

I'm overjoyed with the quality of this Cleaver. I reiterate, it is a larger and heavier blade but for chukbocho aficionados it is well worth the money. In a Chinese kitchen the cooks will have a thin bladed Cleaver, a larger heavier version and a long thin paring knife (petty), and that is their knife kit! In Bermuda, Thong Chai and his cooks would laugh at "Western man" carrying around a bag with 25 knives in it, particularly when I used a Cleaver as a line knife. I can absolutely recommend this knife, with the only caveat being want to use using it, you'll reach for your other knives less often!

Still working on pictures, sorry for the delay! Hax CLEAVERS RULE!!!


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## HHH Knives (Feb 13, 2012)

Here is a image of the beast!


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## hax9215 (Feb 13, 2012)

*I am interested in a Mr Saji Deba in stag horn, ginsanko 3. Not sure of the quality on it as i've been warned for cheap debas. * 

Don't know if the stag horn is real; I had planned to put a stabilized California burl handle on on mine so it was not an issue. For whatever my assessment is worth, cheap is NOT an adjective I would use with this cleaver, it is superior in quality to any cleaver (indeed any knife) I have held so far!

Hax CLEAVERS RULE!!!


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## Candlejack (Feb 13, 2012)

hax9215 said:


> *I am interested in a Mr Saji Deba in stag horn, ginsanko 3. Not sure of the quality on it as i've been warned for cheap debas. *
> 
> Don't know if the stag horn is real; I had planned to put a stabilized California burl handle on on mine so it was not an issue. For whatever my assessment is worth, cheap is NOT an adjective I would use with this cleaver, it is superior in quality to any cleaver (indeed any knife) I have held so far!
> 
> Hax CLEAVERS RULE!!!




It's real horn, just the finish of the blade i'm worried about. Aesthetically i don't care. As long as it's not bent. 
I'll be speaking with Koki about it and see what he can tell me when i have some more specifics.


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## hax9215 (Feb 13, 2012)

I guess it wpould depend on how much you use your cleaver, I have found the more I use it the more I use it. I have ordered this one and a medium-weight blade from JKI, this is my first venture into the custom knife world. The edge seems great to me, I can't imagine needing something much sharper but in all fairness I have not tried a custom single edge blade. This is a heavier cleaver, I intend to use it as a compliment to my lighter chukabochos, I believe it may be too heavy to use as your only cleaver.

Hax CLEAVERS RULE!!!


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## hax9215 (Feb 13, 2012)

Congrats on the new loot. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts; I must admit, I've been lusting over one of Takeshi Saji's cleavers for ages now but I just can't bring myself to drop that much. Maybe I should sell some stuff :scratchhead:

I guess it would depend on how much you use your cleaver, I have found the more I use it the more I use it. I have ordered this one and a medium-weight blade from JKI, this is my first venture into the custom knife world. The edge seems great to me, I can't imagine needing something much sharper but in all fairness I have not tried a custom single edge blade. This is a heavier cleaver, I intend to use it as a compliment to my lighter chukabochos, I believe it may be too heavy to use as your only cleaver.

Hax CLEAVERS RULE!!!


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## Still-edo (Feb 13, 2012)

Nice Cleaver! Am I safe to say there aren't all that many damascus cleavers out there?


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## hax9215 (Feb 13, 2012)

Not that I have seen, and I am looking! Believe me, it cuts better than it looks!!!

Hax CLEAVERS RULE!!!


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## malacara (Feb 13, 2012)

Congrats on your new cleaver!! :thumbsup:


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## HHH Knives (Feb 13, 2012)

More pictures!!


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## hax9215 (Feb 13, 2012)

Many thanks to Randy at HHH for helping me to post pictures!

Hax CLEAVERS RULE!!!


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