Tojiro shirogami wa gyuto 21 Cm.

Hi everyone.... I got this Tojiro about a month ago and I wrote a post about it but it was a new knife, now after a few weeks of professional use I can give a more detailed opinion about this great and affordable knife. I like everything but the fact that they are very easy to stain/rust, and the gritty feeling of the blade, the black part feels harsh sometimes while cutting and specially when you're wipping the blade to clean it. This last part can be solved by sanding the blade, it will take a nice silver color (That anyway is going to be stained very soon) and you'll forget about that gritty feeling. The Tojiro knives from this series come also with a very basic and rustic handle, wich for my paticular taste need to be sanded a bit and then getting some laquer or tru oil finish, that way you avoid ugly stains that the wood will take by absorbing liquid, name it sweat from the palm of your hand, or other liquids from the produce/meat, beef, fish, seafood or poultry. Actually I think that sealing the wood with the laquer or tru oil gives also a sanitary advantage by making the knife handle non absorbing and easier to clean, not to mention that it looks better too. I gave it 3 coatings of tru oil and it's great, and so far I've washed it hundreds of times and the handle still has a great shiny and clean look. The knives feel great when cutting and get scary sharp easily, but the gyuto gives some "too thick" feeling, I haven't measured the spine but you can see that is thick, and when I cut with the Mac and I switch to the Tojiro, I inmediately feel that I'm working with a thick knife, but that's not a biggie. On the positive side, you get a knife with good ergonomics (not great but good) easy to get very sharp, and with good edge retention for only $60 U.S.D. For me it was my first carbon wa gyuto, my first experience with a wa handle and I'm OK with the knife, not my favourite but I think that it's a great tool for $60 bucks. And I'm sure that for somebody that has the habit of wipping and then drying the knife every single time, inmediately after each use, it's a great knife. What I do to keep it very clean is to wipe it after each use, then I rinse it with VERY hot water for a few seconds, then I dry it with a paper towel while still very hot, and that way, the little amount of humidity that the paper didn't dry, will evaporate BC the blade is hot, then I rub some cooking oil and put it in the saya for good night. Next day the knife will be pristine... But that will not last very long Long story short: Pros: Great edge, edge retention, good ergonomics, excellent "training wheels" for somebody that wants to get seriously into carbon knives, and it gives a pleasant cutting experience, Besides the service from the vendor (CKTG) is excellent. Cons: High maintenance, and very basic handle with plastic ferrule. But a gyuto for $60?... I think that it's a great deal, with this knife I discovered that I'm not that much into carbon knives, so, take my review with a pinch of salt coming from somebody that doesn't have the habit of wipping dry the knife every time I use it. Best regards. Luis