# Help me identify an Aritsugu Kyoto (Nishiki Market) Gyuto



## musclenerd (Aug 15, 2019)

I was just gifted an Aritsugu Kyoto Gyuto knife from a friend. It was just collecting dust at his house and I ended up inheriting it. Yes I know lucky me, good friend.

Here's my dilemma and the help I need. My friend has been sharpening this gyuto as a single bevel as that's what he (thinks) it came set as. I'm under the impression that Gyuto, as a western style knife should have a double bevel. If i'm right, and it's been wrongly sharpened as a single bevel, should i take it into a knife professional to get the edge re-set? I'm comfortable sharpening my own set of single bevels, but if this knife hasn't been treated well, i'm thinking starting fresh with a professional is probably a good idea.

My friend purchased it personally from the Aritsugu store at the Nishiki Market in Kyoto. (Not Aritusugu Tokyo / Tsukiji market).

Here are some photos of the knife in case this helps with identification.


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## benuser (Nov 18, 2010)

A choil shot would be most helpful. 
Most Japanese double-bevelled knives are strongly asymmetric. Right face convexed, left one almost flat, edge off-centered to the left. 
When sharpening you want the right bevel to form a continuous arc with the blade's face, ending at the very edge. As for the left side, all you do is making a small bevel, probably at a much higher angle, to balance friction on both sides and reducing steering as much as _you_ need. Common figures are an angle of 10-12° on the right side, and 15-20° on the left.
I start sharpening the right side with thinning at the lowest angle. That will abrade from about 1cm (3/8") from the edge if the knife has thickened by some neglect.
I aim for 0.2mm thickness above the edge, 0.5mm at 5mm from there and 1mm at 1cm.


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## musclenerd (Aug 15, 2019)

benuser said:


> A choil shot would be most helpful.


Does this help?


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## benuser (Nov 18, 2010)

Sure! It confirms it's a strongly asymmetric blade, as the left side (right on the photo) is almost deadly flat. Don't expect even bevels on these! There's a left bevel, but hard to see. If your friend sharpened it as a single bevel he will have only deburred the left side. I would start in this case by giving the left bevel one pass at the existing angle and see if that raises a burr on the right side. Once that's done, perform normal sharpening on the right side as I've described: starting far behind the edge, raising the spine little by little until the very edge has been reached and a burr got raised.


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## benuser (Nov 18, 2010)

After playing with my mobile camera functions. 
A very simple Masahiro VC 180 gyuto, strongly asymmetric. No single bevel, double bevelled. See what I mean by the bevel forming one continuous arc with the face.


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## benuser (Nov 18, 2010)

Here the same idea, but both less extreme and more obvious as it is a much thicker knife. Choil of a Misono yo-deba 165.


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