If you are a regular to our site you will know that we love finding unusual blades, blacksmiths, and applications of the knife making art. One look at this blade is all you need to see that we have succeeded at finding another of these unique knives.
This is a butcher-style knife but with a twist. It looks like a fat scimitar or an upside-down santoku. Or maybe the offspring of an encounter between the two! The unusual upswept tip and the very flat edge profile result in a knife with a very different look and feel on the cutting board. We think it would make a killer tool for breaking down sides of beef or for folks using it for barbecue competitions who want to show off!
The core steel is the ever-popular Hitachi Blue #2 high carbon alloy. It is clad with a softer iron to protect and dampen the blade. The cladding is applied in the san-mai style where the outer layer, or jigane, is only on the face and not wrapped over the spine. As such it needs care with drying and cleaning. It will corrode if not given this attention. The cladding has a really well done brushed satin finish which highlights the polished Blue steel edge. The simple traditional octagonal handle is constructed from yew wood with a fine buffalo horn ferrule. Overall execution of handle and blade is of the highest order.
Made by the illustrious blacksmith Itsuo Doi, this is a knife of unusual design made with extraordinary finesse.Brand Name: Sakai Takayuki
Blacksmith: Itsuo Doi
Construction: San Mai, Hammer Forged
Cladding: Soft Iron
Edge: Blue #2
Edge Grind: Double Bevel, Even (see photo)
Knife Type: Kogetsu (Gyuto)
Handle: Yew Octagonal
Ferrule: Black Buffalo Horn
Saya: Included
Weight: 8.1 oz (230 g)
Edge Length: 242 mm
Total Length: 403 mm
Spine Thickness at Base: 3 mm
Blade Height: 55 mm
This is a butcher-style knife but with a twist. It looks like a fat scimitar or an upside-down santoku. Or maybe the offspring of an encounter between the two! The unusual upswept tip and the very flat edge profile result in a knife with a very different look and feel on the cutting board. We think it would make a killer tool for breaking down sides of beef or for folks using it for barbecue competitions who want to show off!
The core steel is the ever-popular Hitachi Blue #2 high carbon alloy. It is clad with a softer iron to protect and dampen the blade. The cladding is applied in the san-mai style where the outer layer, or jigane, is only on the face and not wrapped over the spine. As such it needs care with drying and cleaning. It will corrode if not given this attention. The cladding has a really well done brushed satin finish which highlights the polished Blue steel edge. The simple traditional octagonal handle is constructed from yew wood with a fine buffalo horn ferrule. Overall execution of handle and blade is of the highest order.
Made by the illustrious blacksmith Itsuo Doi, this is a knife of unusual design made with extraordinary finesse.
Reviews
1 review(s) WRITE A REVIEW (Reviews are subject to approval) Atypical but surprisingly versatile and easy to sharpen, March 27, 2026Posted By: Weldon
I never gave this knife a second thought due to the profile. I am more of a push-cutting, gyuto kind of guy and this seemed suited for butchery and rock chopping (it can do that too). Then I read a review on one and was compelled to try it.
The knife ison the big side. While made in Sakai, it is a full 240+mm in length with a pretty girthy, well-made handle. The full kasumi finish is very nice and consistently applied.
Cutting was surprising. First, it push cuts very well. The arc of the belly seems to be all sweet spot and makes contact easily without too much alteration to my typical cutting motion. It is all thin bte, but not nail flexing, but cuts like a thinner knife. This thing murders dense, fibrous sweet potatoes and winter squashes. The geometry is the star of this show imo. Yamatsuka's skill is on full display; combining atypical profiles with superb hamaguri grinds.
I thought sharpening was going to be awkward, but the way the belly is ground, it sharpens surprisingly naturally when I got to that blade area. The belly's arc seems to match or compliment other angles in sharpening and it almost feels like sharpening a standard gyuto.
I never gave this knife a second thought due to the profile. I am more of a push-cutting, gyuto kind of guy and this seemed suited for butchery and rock chopping (it can do that too). Then I read a review on one and was compelled to try it.
The knife ison the big side. While made in Sakai, it is a full 240+mm in length with a pretty girthy, well-made handle. The full kasumi finish is very nice and consistently applied.
Cutting was surprising. First, it push cuts very well. The arc of the belly seems to be all sweet spot and makes contact easily without too much alteration to my typical cutting motion. It is all thin bte, but not nail flexing, but cuts like a thinner knife. This thing murders dense, fibrous sweet potatoes and winter squashes. The geometry is the star of this show imo. Yamatsuka's skill is on full display; combining atypical profiles with superb hamaguri grinds.
I thought sharpening was going to be awkward, but the way the belly is ground, it sharpens surprisingly naturally when I got to that blade area. The belly's arc seems to match or compliment other angles in sharpening and it almost feels like sharpening a standard gyuto.
