Sujihiki • 260 mm • VG2 / VG10 steel • western handle made of black micarta • for left and right hand use

Features of the Coreless series

Unlike a damascus blade, consisting of a Hagane (core) and Jigane (outer layer), this coreless series is constructed of a double monosteel structure, of 70 layers of VG10 and VG2 steel that are forged together to the cutting edge. 2 types of steel on the cutting edge ensures a long retention of sharpness. The handle is made of micarta. Micarta is a linen/cotton layer glued with a resin that is cured under high pressure. Extremely resistant to heat and roughens slightly with use, provides a good grip and does not become slippery.

There are very few knife makers who can process coreless steel. Besides Takayuki, Ryusen and Zanmai also belong to this group.

Elwin de Veld about the knives of Sakai Takayuki

We usually start our trips to Japan in Osaka, from where we take a Shinkansen ( a bullet train) to Seki, in Gifu prefecture. We start in Sakai, in south of Osaka, where we always recieve a warm friendly welcome from Aoki san and Ogawa san from Sakai Takayuki. In recent years the customers in our shop have been asking for special Japanese traditionally forged knives: Yanagiba, Sakimura, Kengata: all the names of models which are used in Japanese kitchens for preparing various sorts of fish. Sakai Takayuki is my key which opens the door to the world of traditional Japanese knives and to top it all, their product range is targeted for the western market. For making of the traditional Japanese knives Sakai Takayuki employs the best of the best: Itsuo Doi and Kenji Togashi, among others. The blacksmith Yamatsuke san, with his stable hand on the Kaiten Toshi (Japanese water stone), is a guarantor of an exceptionally sharp finish. Sakai Takayuki buys lots of their steel from the Aichi steel (their headquarters are situated close to Nagoya) and works among other with carbon steel shirogami white and aogami blue. A nice detail: the colours in the names of the steel have nothing to do with the colour of the steel itself- it's just the colour of the packing in which the raw steel is being stored in the factory. The western models are manually finished at the company's quarters in Osaka (sharpening), but largely manufactured in Seki, in Gifu prefecture. The finish and the quality is sublime- just what we can expect from Takayuki.