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Tojiro DP Gyutou arrived

post #1 of 4
2/18/09 at 5:17pm
Thread Starter 
OK...just opened my new Tojiro Gyutou. Beautiful knife. I got the 8" version. From the research I was able to do, it looks like this knife uses carbon steel wrapped in stainless/stain-resistant steel. It felt a little heavier than I was expecting, but definitely much lighter than my 8" Henkls and maybe equal to my 10" Mac. It arrived razor sharp and great packaging. I will use it more a little later tonight and tomorrow with more info. to share.

But one thing I already notice is that if I use the pinch grip, my fingers just barely fit between the cutting board and handle--which makes me wonder whether my knuckles will be hitting the cutting board if I am mincing/rocking the knife. But so far, the handle fits very well in my hand.

So for the fun stuff...although I won't have to worry about this right now, the directions for sharpening this knife literally say to keep a disposable chopstick's distance between the end of the blade and the whetstone. Best guess, 6 degree angle? I usually get two different types of disposable chopsticks...one thick, one thin. My Mac says to use a 10 degree angle. Guess I'll just have to bust out the disposable chop sticks and see which is best. Hmmmm...:lol:
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post #2 of 4
2/20/09 at 8:13pm
Thread Starter 
OK...I have used this for a couple of days now. And yes, I really like it!

I started with dicing a white onion. No tears! No, I didn't dice faster than normal...rather, the knife just glided through the flesh of the onion. Also, since the knife is thinner than my standard Henkls, I could slice through very easy.

I then cut up some green onions. I was more than surprised to see that the knife cut through the stack of onions even with extremely minimal pressure. I did a fine dice of carrots tonight. I could tell that I had to use some more pressure, but again, not as much pressure needed, and I was able to accomplish a noticeably finer cut that I normally would otherwise. Also diced celery, same results.

Finally, I diced some tomatoes. It glided right through, but the blade did not catch the skin as quickly as my other knives. The tomato was pretty soft, but my other knives seem to catch the skin better. I have my theories on this, but before I divulge, I want to try the new knife on a bunch of tomatoes first.

I still haven't chopped parsley yet (to see whether my knuckles scrape the board) but so far, no problems. And again, it fits my hand nicely. But I can see someone with big hands or prominent knuckles having a problem. I think the key thing that I want to test is see how well it keeps its sharpness, and how easy/hard it is to sharpen at home.
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post #3 of 4
2/21/09 at 11:57am
Tojiro DPs are made with something called "warikomi construction." That means a sheet of steel is bent into a "U" with another piece of steel forced in the middle of the "U." The sandwich is heated and hammered (forge-welded) into a single piece, which is then heat treated for hardness.

The middle piece (the part that gets sharpened) is some sort of Swedish steel, either stainless or very near stainless -- Tojiro won't release it's exact identity or formulation. In any case, it's got enough chromium in it that you don't have to worry about staining or rust with even minimal care and cleaning. It's hardened to right around 60 HrC. The outside layers are soft stainless. They're so high in chromium you might say they're "very stainless," like a dive knife.

Considering how hard the middle layer is, Tojiro's sharpen relatively easily; take a decent edge; and hold the edge very well. I've sharpened DPs on India and Arkansas stones, but you're asking a lot from them. Waterstones are a lot faster. The best simple edge for the knife is probably 50/50 symmetry, flat bevels on both sides, at around 15* or maybe a trifle less. If you can double-bevel 15*/10* is better still.

You can sharpen the knife asymmetrically up to whatever limit the laminated construction and face bevels will take -- which means you probably can't take it past 75/25 if that far. IMO, there's not much benefit to be gained anyway.

If you're planning on learning to freehand sharpen with waterstones, it's a world in itself. Caveat, it's going to cost a few bucks going in. The next best alternatives in terms of quality and versatility are rod guide systems (EdgePro, Lansky, etc.). One of the Japanese specific Chef's Choice machines is also a good choice.

It's a bad idea to try and sharpen on a ceramic or diamond "steel." You'll almost certainly end up with a very rough edge and take a lot of knife in the process. So, stay away from sharpening rods. Honing rods on the other hand... The knife can be steeled ("honed" on a rod) profitably, but the user must steel it properly or runs the risk of chipping the knife. That means, no more than four or five alternating strokes per side; with the edge laid on the steel gently enough not to make a clang. Unfortunately, there's no consistency in terminology. Sharpening, honing, rod, steel -- the terms can mean anything. If you're interested, I recommend the Idahone fine ceramic. They're available from a lot of etailers, including "Japanese Knife Sharpening."

A proper "pinch grip" should roll your knuckles to the side so they're not in danger of smacking the board with all but the narrowest blades. Considering that the Tojiro gyuto, even the little 21cm, has a fairly high heel, you've got me wondering with your "knuckle clearance" concerns. Do me a favor and describe your grip in detail.

BDL
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post #4 of 4
2/24/09 at 9:29am
Pretty sure it's Sandvik 19C27. 13.5% chromium making it just barely stainless.
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