# Choosing a great 1st gyuto



## granada762 (Oct 10, 2012)

Jeff Mayville here.

I hope for some fresh feedback. Here goes.

I love to cook above average dishes. I am fussy with all I do. Cooking has to be pleasing to the eye and feel good preparing. I love quality and will pay for it. I also am hooked on sharpness of knives. I'm still learning and want to feel some great quality in a gyuto. I have a cheap Henkels and Chicago and they work well after my sharpening. (I'm no pro yet) I love the damascus look of a knife, but the quality has to be there too! I won't trade on quality or look. Not much selection in Toronto. Internet seems best, but I can't feel a picture 

Here are 2 choices of beautiful knives. $184 for a set. Yoshihiro Gyuto and Petty or $172 for a Hattori Gyuto. Both seem top notch.

Any feedback would be wonderful.

*YOSHIHIRO*

VG-10 Hammered Damascus Set Gyuto & Petty Japanese sushi chef knife

-Grade Hammered Damascus Blade Length -
-Knife Style Gyuto & Petite set Bolster Material Stainless steel
-Blade Material VG-10 Hand Hammered Damascus HRC (Hardness Rockwell C scale) 60
-Handle Material Wood 
-Edge Angle Double-Edged Origin Made in Japan $184.00

or

*HATTORI*

HD-7 Damascus Gyuto Cutting edge length: 210mm Total Length: 335mm Blade Thickness: 3mm

Blade Width: 46mm

Handle Length:118mm

Total Weight:192g

$172.00

Thank you for taking the time.

Jeffrey Mayville.

Brampton Ontario Canada.

[email protected]


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## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

Both knives are VG-10 san-mai and both have a LOT of cosmetics.  Hattori does F&F (fit and finish) very well.  I don't know Yoshihiro well enough to comment.  Hattori's san-mai VG-10 used to be less chip prone than many other manufacturer's versions, but I imagine the others have caught up by now.  And again, I can't comment on Yoshihiro particularly. 

The wavy "damascus-look" patterning on both knives and the tsuchime hammer marks on the Yoshihiro do not contribute to performance in any way.  Furthermore, the patterned layers (jigane) are very soft and tend to scratch.  Unfortunately, the scratches cannot be buffed out at home.

VG-10 is a good alloy which sharpens and holds an edge fairly well; but has some durability issues.  A few years ago VG-10 was considered something of a miracle, but time has changed the assessment,  It's now one of the better but no longer one of the best knife alloys.  It's a bit chippy, a bit coarse on the stones, problematic on a steel (chips), and can be a bit difficult to deburr (chips).

If you want a san-mai VG-10 you can get significantly more bang for the buck with a Tojiro DP than just about anything else.  While the Tojiro is a very plain looking knife, it's functionally as good or better than anything else of its type. 

You might also want to consider the Kagayaki CarboNext -- a semi-stainless (not VG-10!) knife sold only by JCK.  It's  a high performing, great value knife.  On the downside it may require an expert sharpener to establish the initial edge (JCK often ships CNs dull), but is a cut above the other knives in terms of edge taking, sharpening and holding, and has a very nice profile.  

I see you're looking at "sets," which is fine as far as it goes.  If I were buying separates I wouldn't invest a penny in cosmetics on a petty -- they take too much abuse.

Hope this helps,

BDL


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## rdm magic (Apr 16, 2012)

Id just like to say that although the carbonext I got was shipped very dull (and I paid extra for the sharpening; don't bother unless you want a 70/30 bevel and can't form one) I managed to get it very sharp. I don't class myself as a great sharpener, on the low end of good maybe. It is very easy to get sharp though.


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## granada762 (Oct 10, 2012)

I just figured that 2 good knives for a good price might be better than one good knife, to which I may need to buy a petty later. I also find that I appreciate a good looking knife (good working too!) will make you want to pick it up more. More use more practice getting good with it. 

From a musicians perspective. I know I've had great sounding banjos that look crappy and great sounding banjos that look good, and I always seem more excited to grab the prettier one! Workmanship is always 1st in anything I buy, but look is always next.

If I had 2 cars that performed the same, one was a rust bucket and the other a gem, which would you drive?

Now if I had a pretty knife that didn't work well, I would never pick it up either  

Thanks for all your help.


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