Takayuki Asks a Question

[js0930]

So I own a Takayuki mirror finish damascus gyuto and petty in VG10, a Takamura Chromax gyuto, bought a Kanehide PS60 240 for my parents vacation home and bought my little brother a Takayuki TUS gyuto for Christmas last year. So I’ve ended up almost by accident buying a lot of knives in the weird little niche the Gramd Chef occupies. Out of all of these knives, the Grand Chef is to me the least attractive appearance wise. I’m sure AEB-L is great, but frankly so are the steels on every other knife I mentioned and they’re more fun to look at. I think Takayuki is far better than they get credit for (and their knives I have used are a nice step up from Tojiro on grind and fit and finish) but the Grand Chef just doesn’t speak to me and isn’t that half the fun?

[RamenMonster69]

So when I first decided to start building up my collection beyond some family hand me down J-knives, I almost bought one of these because the 10 inch version was on display sale from another vendor 2 years back. I had actually just gotten three new knives from the kappabashi in Japan as a birthday gift and bought myself a kasumi chef knife, and did not yet have a crippling addiction. At the time I thought a lot of Shun, and the kasumi was similar but slightly cheaper. When I went to the Japanese knife shop in the city I live but was a little out of the way I was super impressed with the knife. I decided though since I had just bought the Kasumi in the same size not to buy it, however, I would say its a knife that got me to rethink my mindset about what a knife should be, away from bells and whistles and more towards grinds and performance. That said, I ended up learning more and going with more hand made knives and started to really prefer carbon steel knives.

For people who buy as many knives as I do (or in many cases on this forum a lot more), I don't see what role this knife plays in the typical forum member's. As I recall its a great all around stainless performer. But people here tend to have multiple gyutos specializing in rolls. That kasumi knife, which was the highlight of my collection, is now my backup knife at my mom's house for when I'm visiting.

To me where I 100% would have bought the knife is to highlight it for when I'm ready to buy the first 100 dollar plus knife. It feels way better in the hand than all the William Sonoma brands. Maybe it would be helpful on the site to have a section that specializes in education and new stuff for people who want to upgrade their home kitchen to high end knives, but aren't ready for the super high end / high maintenance stuff. Not just this brand but educate people on basically Shun/Wusthoff alternatives who do the right google search?

[Kalaeb]

I thought at one time they made a wa grand chef...but it still would not entice me to buy it. It is swimming in a sea of "like" knives and there is no differential component only misuno gets alot more air time.

Heck, put a white Corian or red faux bone handle on it, charge triple and it may get more traction.

[lsboogy]

As stated before - aesthetics are a big part of what we purchase. I have a few AEBL knives, but they are all wa handled and none have a bolster or laser etched English language label (knife I have been using as my near only knife is a Richmond Ultimautum AEBL thinned by another forum member for months). It's not the steel, not the profile, not the grind, but a try at "big box store" knife that makes it a downer here. I'm done spending money at WS - don't try to compete with them -'beneath you Mark and Sue. When Takayuki makes a blade for this site rather than WS, he will,have a better time here.

Time to get some coffee and hollandaise rolling - but I'll let Jen sleep till 8:45 or so. Coffee at 7:30 is a great thing Sunday morning - get the egg water going about 8:30 - salmon benes for the best part of my life are on order - capers rinsed and ready to go

[Altadan]

Apparently there used to be a Wa-handled 240 version with stamped (? or perhaps screened) kanji.
Looks very, very handsome, actually.

https://youtu.be/HVycH2SXtyw

What happened to it? Did it fare well or ill?

[Qapla']

My friend from Takayuki put a question to me and I want to have you guys answer it. His question is: Why don't I sell more of the Grand Chef series? They have:

Good Steel
Good Handle
Good blade Grinds
Good Fit and Finish
Good Price

I told him the English Label was a turn off to many of my enthusiast customers and a nice Kanji only logo would be much more attractive to you guys.

What do you think? Am I giving good advice to him?

I'm in the minority here (I am 100% in favor of Western handles and synthetic materials; I really dislike Japanese handles and legacy-tech materials like wood) and kanji vs. other text means little to me (I've seen plenty of kanji in my life; kanji are no big deal to me at this point). To me I already happen to have other gyutos in that range, so I'm not in the market for another one at this time. I've also heard rumors that some AEB-L makers aren't using the steel to its potential; is this one of them?

[nakneker]

Apparently there used to be a Wa-handled 240 version with stamped (? or perhaps screened) kanji.
Looks very, very handsome, actually.

https://youtu.be/HVycH2SXtyw

What happened to it? Did it fare well or ill?

Nice find Dan, I’d be curious too. Looks like Takayuki did produce what many of us are suggesting now at one time.

[rayl1234]

Hmm -- I'm surprised the Wa version was tossed.... it does have better curb appeal. I guess we all must be off-target with the diagnosis.

[G8trwood]

I also like western handles but japanese/french shape in chefs knives. Have a few knives in AEB-L, but they are 62-63. 60-61 just leaves too much performance lost. Looking at BD1N for my next knife.

[ken123]

I think the English is a bit of a turnoff. Perhaps calling it Takayuki GC would be more subtle. Of course the medical field thinks of GC as an abbbreviation for Gonoccus the bacteria causing Gonorrhea so this might not be the best choice. Engraving the Kanji or even a large stamp would be a plus. I wouldnt do more than that

Ken