Sakai Takayuki SK4, the Best Carbon Steel Knives for Chefs

I want you to think about your favourite knife—nope, not that one—not your prettiest knife, the one with the funky acrylic handle and beautiful raindrop damascus. I’m not talking about the one with the most romantic story either. I want you to think about the knife you use the most; the one that got you through culinary school and into your first kitchen, the one that makes you think about cooking with your grandma, and the one you used to teach your kid how to cut up a pepper for the first time. The one that has an awesome story that YOU wrote with it. We all have a knife that we will never part with, no matter what we acquire afterwards, and I think that the Sakai Takayuki SK4 line is that knife for a lot of people.

These beauties from Sakai Takayuki are built for someone who wants a no-nonsense-all-business workhorse and isn’t afraid of trying out carbon steel. When putting these knives together, Sakai Takayuki decided to use a single piece of SK4 carbon steel instead of using the more often seen san mai (three layers of steel) technique. This makes a knife that’s a touch more flexible and keeps the cost down while not affecting performance (sharpness and edge retention). SK4 blows the socks off of most stainless steels but comes with a very easy going price tag. The European-style handle is going to feel familiar to the hands of cooks and chefs in the west,  and the variety of shapes this line offers ensures that you grab the right knife for the job. One thing you might notice is that the knives are sharpened with a slight bias favouring the right-handed—it’s not enough to dissuade a lefty, like me, from using them but it's worth mentioning. Most folks won’t even notice the difference.

Let’s be honest, I could make a pretty good argument for filling your entire knife bag with these guys but I have a few favourites: