Sakai Takayuki 33 layer Damascus Santoku

Performance

Much like the incredibly popular Moonlit Waves range, the 33 layer damascus is a solid and well made knife and the level of sharpness straight out the box is good although with a small amount of extra honing with a ceramic rod you would be able to bring the edge up to an excellent level of sharpness should you wish.

Day to day performance is great and the solid feel of the well finished handle makes it a knife that performs solidly across a range of chopping tasks.

Beauty

We really like the octagonal wa handle and it works well with the high polished finish of the blade and the exposed layers tapering down to the cutting edge.

Comfort

The octagonal wa handle is comfortable whether you're left or right handed and the blade balance is good throughout the range making it easy to perform a wide range of cutting and slicing jobs in the kitchen.

Durability

he blade is sharp out of the box and is a good performer although we would definitely recommend taking up the option of honing it further with a ceramic rod to make it laser sharp.

The steel in the 33 layer damascus is harder than Western knives (approximately 61HRC) and will retain its edge well and with regular honing will perform excellently for many years.

The handle construction and fit is extremely solid and well finished.

Ease of care

The stainless steel cladding makes this nice really easy to care for by protecting the cutting edge steel (VG10 in this instance) from rusting. The handle being wood should not be immersed in water so its the usual ritual of use, wipe, dry and store. Easy!

Value for money

Excellent value and a perfect introduction to Japanese steel and blades or a great additional knife for your collection. There's not really much to fault with the entire range at the price and we're happy to recommend and use them at home any time.