Saki Takayuki Garasuki
"A beautiful traditional Japanese knife that’s not much good for anything but processing geese or turkeys and for that it’s magic! Pretty sharp out of the box but raised to screaming sharp with a dozen passes on a leather strop. Flat kasumi blade road and polished hamaguri edge. My knife deviated from the norm by having a very shallow to almost flat Ura that will make future burr removal sharpening stone scratches more apparent. The joint between Ho wood handle and buffalo horn collar was also very apparent and obnoxious for a knife at this price point. The polished blade body also had a couple of rust pits that looked like dried water spots. Didn’t affect performance but didn’t help aesthetics either. Goose or turkey blood is very corrosive and can pit soft iron or white steel in minutes, as such, this knife is better for breaking down already dressed birds. I also tried it on charcuterie and cheese with the blade tending to wander. Definitely easier with a Bunka or Santoku which may be less expensive. My overall impression was of a once brilliant knife line that had dimmed due to lack of attention to detail. It was a good tool but a poor specimen. In fairness, I had the opportunity for an exchange but didn’t due to low stock and holiday hectics."
