Originally Posted by
T-Mar
Katakura produced the Silk brand in everything from entry level, right on up to custom frames. I don't see anything special here, outside the chrome finish. Tubeset label mentions CrMo but not butting, so it's almost certainly plain gauge, which would be lower mid-range, assuming it is 1979. Serial number will tell us the exact year.
I've just talked to Mr Sugiyama, the maker of this frame At the time, around 1979, Japanese frames were only really made for the Japanese market. Katakura produced larger frames for US Service personnel, due mainly to the proximity of the factory to Yokota air base. The only Japanese double-butted tubing available was for Japanese sized frames, the biggest size being 55 or 56 cm. Over that, the only tubing they made was 'single-butted', as Mr S calls it.
The difference between regular and custom frames at Katakura Silk was that the former was made on an assembly line while the latter was each made entirely by one person, a 'master frame maker', in the case of this frame, Mr Sugiyama. There's nothing entry-level about it.
I suppose the question is, 'Would you prefer to have a hand-made frame in single-butted tubing or an assembly-line frame in double-butted?' Might be a good subject for a thread of its own...