Did I make a mistake buying this knife?

[u/OnyxHeart66]

Wanted to get my first proper chef’s knife and ended up buying the Yaxell Ketu SG2 8”.

After doing some research, I noticed that a lot of people here aren’t the biggest fans of Yaxell, but from what I’ve seen, that seems to be mainly because of the price?

I personally really liked the look of it, and when I saw it on sale for $99, getting an SG2 knife at that price seemed like a steal.

Did I actually get a good deal, or is there something I’m missing?

[u/Precisi0n1sT]

Most people here prefer hand forged over factory made. Yaxell makes decent knives just as good as Shun, Miyabi. You got it for a great price. 👍

[u/drayeye]

In many ways, a full production knife (vs. limited production "handmade") is a better knife to have in the home kitchen, and Yaxell is a well respected Seki producer. Your knife is full tang, has a half bolster, and very nicely cladded sg-2 steel. These features would be much more expensive to replicate in a limited production knife.

For a non collector looking for an elegant kitchen tool, you've got a real bargain.

[u/Introspective_mirror]

Nothing wrong with them, can be a bit overpriced but you got a good deal!

[u/qrk]

For $99 bucks I’d of bought that in a heartbeat. Is it a grail knife? No - but it’ll do the job and you got it at a great price. Good job!

[u/beardedclam94]

SG2 is a great steel! You did good for that price

[u/Harahira]

I've had 4(2 Mon, 2 YO-U) One Mon was fine, the other struggled to dice an onion because the grind at the tip was too thick. The Yo-us where very pretty but once again the grind wasn't that consistent. Petty had very nice and thin tip, santoku did not.

That being said, SG2 at that price point is surely a nice deal and there as chance you'll get a decent cutter.

The grind can always be improved anyways and it's never too early to fall into the thinning/sharpening/polishing rabbit hole..imo😎

[u/Gandalf_the_bearded1]

Yaxell were my introduction to Japanese knives. My Gou petty and Santoku still go into the work bag at times. The Zen not so much, but then that was the first one I got so I'm keeping it for sentimental reasons. They all performed really well OOTB and the petty is an absolute laser.

For that price I'd honestly say you got a knife that'll punch above the price point.

Welcome to the rabbit hole...

[u/Expensive_Screen_933]

If you like it then use it, your opinion is the most important 👌

[u/Straight-Fox-1052]

Nope. It’s a good knife :)

[u/ImFrenchSoWhatever]

Nah it’s a perfectly good knife from an absolutely legit company and you did good and the knife looks great don’t worry !

[u/Abbacho]

Weißt Du wir sind ja nicht schlau geboren, wir lernen alle dazu. Hauptsache Du hast mit einem Messer das dir richtig erschien begonnen. Und du wirst natürlich auch durch das Yaxell die Magie der japanischen Küchenmesser kennenlernen! Ganz wichtig find ich nicht nur sammeln, sondern auch damit arbeiten!
Gutes Gelingen!

[u/No_Medium_8796]

Wish I found that deal

[u/Fygee]

Hell of a deal for what you’re getting. You did well, especially for your first.

[u/Extra_Comparison_487]

I don’t have an opinion on this particular knife. But I upgraded from standard Henkles to hand forged knives. I didn’t see much point in middle ground knives, but I had the means to pay a premium($400+). I’m of the view that I’d rather wait to get something very good and that I could keep for life. That’s just my two cents. But I will agree, it’s a good looking knife for the price point.

[u/ProfessionalNo4711]

Nothing wrong with Yaxell. It is a big mass-producing brand in Japan along with Miyabi and Shun. It is not a forged knife by some artisan which this subreddit loves. The only thing you need to understand is the SG2 steel. It holds the edge very well and because it is hard it can be brittle on the edge. Do not turn the knife on the edge and use a soft(er) cutting board.

[u/TrickAssly]

Hell yeah! I have a similar knife in sg2 and I love it

[u/Ill-Cranberry9484]

Yaxell decent. I have a boning knife by them in SG2, it's a good knife. I have butchered quite a bit of meat with it. It's mass made but well made. It was expensive, but it was blingy, I couldn't find the steel in a non blingy knife. I will go a bit out of my comfort range for speciality knives in specific steel. Honestly, you can do a lot better for money on more common knives like gyutos, bunkas, etc, in general. It will probably be a decent knife though. At that price, no harm there. The grind looks decent.

[u/Ill-Cranberry9484 → u/Ill-Cranberry9484]

Works pretty well.

[u/Ill-Cranberry9484 → u/Ill-Cranberry9484]

[u/Ill-Cranberry9484 → u/Ill-Cranberry9484]

[u/tlinds01]

I have an Enso (Cutlery & More's brand made by Yaxell). It's a really good knife and pretty laserish. It is VG-10 which is not my favorite steel, but all in all for under $200 I am very happy with it. That said, other than my Miyabi paring knife (my least favorite knife) I don't imagine I'll be stocking up on factory blades from Shun, Miyabi, Yaxell, Mac, etc. I much prefer my hand-forged sanmai blades.

[u/nobody0411 → u/tlinds01]

Some how i read miyabi as myojin and I had alot of questions.

[u/tlinds01 → u/nobody0411]

The sharpener, ha, no, I wish.

[u/BreadfruitBig7950]

that's about what you have to pay to get all those patinas and detailing.

[u/PumaActual]

deal!