Master Saji has now been making knives for over 50 years and has become highly experienced in his art. He is also a good businessman, who is sensitive to market trends and aggressively tackles the challenges of working with new steel materials and developing his own original knife designs.

Recently, after testing and evaluating a very reputable Powdered Metallurgy High Speed Tool Steel, called “R-2” (by Kobelco), he decided to produce an exciting new range of traditionally hammer-forged Damascus kitchen knives using this modern ‘super steel’.

You may know that we already sell some R-2 kitchen knives that are produced by popular Japanese custom knife makers, such as “Mr. Itou”. Many of our customers have told us that they are very happy with the high cutting performance and outstanding edge retention of their R-2 knives, so we were keen to see Master Saji’s R-2 Damascus knives.

So that a choice is available for customers, Master Saji has developed two different blade finishes for these R-2 Custom Damascus knives.

One version is a dark R-2 Damascus blade, which features a crisp and vigorous Damascus pattern. These knives are fitted with Stag Bone handle scales and polished stainless steel bolster and rivets, which match the energetic style of the Damascus blade.

The other version has a more delicate and elegantly patterned R-2 Damascus blade, which is beautifully mirror polished. These knives are fitted with Desert Ironwood handle scales, polished stainless steel bolsters and decorative Mosaic pins, which match the warm colors and natural figuring of the Ironwood.

If you are the type of person who demands maximum edge retention and excellent cutting performance, we highly recommend these R-2 custom Damascus knives from Master Saji.

To suit a variety of cutting tasks, these fine Custom Damascus knives are available in a total of 7 different blade types. Each knife comes in a special Japanese Kiri wood (Paulownia tomentosa) presentation box that is lined with soft red velvet.