Saburo Knives.... Who knows?

[Bakwa]

I a guy came to me who buys and sells knives. He doesn't know anything about this one and I'm stumped as well.

Does anyone know anything about Saburo of Japan?
This knife reads "Model SKTA1 Hade made by Saburo - Japan" and then has a "2E877" which I'm not sure if it's some obscure steel or a serial number.

Found two ebay adds where dudes are selling the exact knife. One in mint condition and the other well used and modified.
https://www.ebay.ca/itm/Vintage-Sab...m=323565211047&_trksid=p2047675.c100009.m1982
https://www.ebay.ca/itm/Old-Handmad...vival-Ninja-/302878776709?hash=item4684fb5d85

If anyone knows anything about the knife maker or this particular model, it would be cool to know; if anything just to let the dude know what he has.

 

[Sergeua]

Looks like the black coating comes off easy.

 

[george65]

looks like a Frost or Parker

 

[HappyDaddy]

OP - You need to find an alternative way of posting a pic of the knife. Linking to an eBay sale isn't allowed here. Just sayin'... B Bakwa

 

[GIRLYmann]

looks like a Frost or Parker

I couldn't agree more.
In fact there are "saburo" signed certificates of authencity

It smells like a marketing ploy.
Seriously can't decide if it's to be taken seriously ;-)
Who knows, perhaps the producs may actually have been made in japan.
But this entire saburo knife designer entity is pretty fishy...

 

[KenHash]

I agree that it is fishy. These "Saburo" knives are of the Guttman import quality level of 1980s Seki knives. No one in Seki I spoke to knew of any knifemaker "Saburo" which is a fairly common first name. These knives pop up on Japanese auction sites as "Vintage 1980s US knives made by Saburo Japan". There is zero information on the actual maker. There is nothing to suggest that they were not made in Seki factories. So until I uncover any new information, my theory is that some US importer (customer service in Dallax TX) contracted with a second/third tier factory in Seki to produce this line, came up with the idea of using "Saburo" as a Japanese knifecraftsman name. For all I know that could have been the factory foreman's first name. There has been some suggestion that there is a connection with the Maxam brand, which marketed many hunting knives and kitchen knives (under the name maxamedge) during the 1980s. Maxam still exists as a knife brand under B&F System Inc. an Importer although it's not known if they always owned Maxam or bought the name later. It also coincides with the same time period that while Jim Parker (and later Frost) contracted mostly with cheaper level makers, he did contract with well known Seki Knifemakers like Ichiro Hattori and Tak Fukuta to make the Parker Custom Series knives. And the ones that Hattori made were often signed "By Ichiro". So it may have been a marketing ploy to ride that wave. And of course the Rambo inspired survival knife craze.