# 210 vs 240



## uneunsae (Oct 27, 2016)

Hi everyone,

In the next couple of weeks I am going to pick up either a Masakage Yuki or Shimo gyuto and am wondering if I should spend the extra money on the 240mm.  Now, I never really considered the 240 in the past because I am quite small in general.  I'm used to a 8 inch so I'm a bit worried that a 240 might be unwieldy for me.  What got me interested in the 240 was seeing how much more flat blade there is on a 240 yuki.  I don't eat meat so will only be using the knife for veg so the flat blade is important to me.  I'm not buying a nakiri simply because this purchase is for my main kitchen knife that I will be using for several years until I'm finished with grad school and can afford more knives. The shimo seems to have even more of a flat profile than the yuki, so it might not be an issue with the 210. My cutting board is a 16 inch diagonal rectangle, but I will probably be buying a larger one simply because it's too small to finish some veg.

Thoughts on 210 vs 240 in these knives?


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## phatch (Mar 29, 2002)

Generally, the larger knife is more efficient and versatile after practice. In good technique, you mostly use the last half to 2/3 of the blade for most of your chopping of vegetables. So the larger knife gives you a larger sweet spot for the most common work as well. The larger knife is better for hard squash, melons and so on.  But the initial learning may be somewhat more work than with the shorter knife. It's a skill worth developing.

Beyond that, the larger blade has more forgiving angles. For example, when you're doing low cuts with the blade tip staying in contact with the board, the larger knife has a lower angle from the handle to the board than the shorter knife. For a short person, this means less cocking of the elbow and shoulders at odd angles. Not a tremendous issue, particularly, but something to think about. 

If your knife set up is Chef's, Petty, Parer, then you can switch between the larger Chefs and the smaller Petty and Parer as you choose for the task at hand, being comfortable and efficient.


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## uneunsae (Oct 27, 2016)

That information is extremely helpful!  The 240 seems like a better fit. Thank you for pointing out the angles and how they will make less work for my arm and shoulder.  I would have never thought of that!


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## foody518 (Aug 6, 2015)

If you are able to, consider waiting on the Masakage purchase until Knifewear has their February 15% off Masakage month
I don't know about the profile of the Shimo, but on the Yuki I am not sure I could consider it as having a proper flat spot going towards the heel of the blade. It's kind of curvy throughout. I'll try to remember to take a pic tonight, I have the 270mm


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## uneunsae (Oct 27, 2016)

A pic would definitely help.  Thank you!  

My only concern with waiting for the sale is having the knife I want go out of stock.  However, if I end up going for the shimo 240, I will need the sale to help me with cost.


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## foody518 (Aug 6, 2015)

You can contact Knifewear and see what they remember about what happened with their inventory last year. I think I recall that some things even restocked during the month


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## uneunsae (Oct 27, 2016)

Done. This is the reply:


> We will be having a sale for masakage items in February of 2017. And we will definitely restock our quantities beforehand, so I can say with relative certainty that we shall have lots of your knife in every location.


Looks like it will work out nicely.


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## foody518 (Aug 6, 2015)

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foody518


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Dec 2, 2016








Here's the Yuki 270mm. I'd say that at best you have less than 2inches, more like 1.5in or less, of edge in contact with the board at the least curvy part of this. Definitely some glide and just a little bit of rock-through needed to not accordion, more than I was used to compared to what I use more often


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## rick alan (Nov 15, 2012)

I use my 210 gyuto more like an usuba, so it's fine at 210.  But an all around knife should be 240-270.


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