Moritaka 240mm Gyuto in AS and rosewood handle

[gyutoguy]

CKTG.com has a Moritaka 240mm ayogami super gyuto for ~$200.

This knife caught my eye. I've never owned or used a moritaka. Are they any good?

[jaybett]

You just tripped the two biggest land mines on the forum. CKTG and Moritika.

The fit and finish on Moritaka, is hit and miss. Probably more miss then hit. They have a tendency to over grind the edge, creating a hole. Often times it can't be seen until the knife has been sharpened a few times.

One of the issues with CKTG, is that the owner and a few of his sycophants, think that the problem with Moritaka was created out by people who are not friendly to him or his site. The over grind has been documented by multiple users, so it is a real problem.

The Moritakas that I own, all have been excellent cutters. They are easy to sharpen and take a very keen edge.

Would I buy another one? Yes. If you have concerns about getting a possible lemon. I'd send it to Dave to have him check the knife out. If its bad send it back.

Jay

[mkriggen]

Dude, you don't know how complex that question is. To really get the answer your looking for you need to set aside an hour or two, make yourself a drink, and do a site wide search for "Moritaka". Not being sarcastic, there's a lot of info out there, some contridictory, and if you don't checkout all of it you'll only get part of the story. Did this myself not long ago when I was thinking about buying a Moritaka AS kiritsuke/gyuto. I never did make a decission, was saved by a Yoshi on B/S/T. Happy hunting

[gyutoguy]

Dude, you don't know how complex that question is. To really get the answer your looking for you need to set aside an hour or two, make yourself a drink, and do a site wide search for "Moritaka". Not being sarcastic, there's a lot of info out there, some contridictory, and if you don't checkout all of it you'll only get part of the story. Did this myself not long ago when I was thinking about buying a Moritaka AS kiritsuke/gyuto. I never did make a decission, was saved by a Yoshi on B/S/T. Happy hunting

Hm, thanks for the info. If you wanted a new gyuto for ~$200 for personal home use, what would you get? I currently have a Fujiwara 240mm FKM, and I do enjoy using it. I'm looking for something with a Wa-handle/d/octogonal handle that gets stupid sharp on stones.

[gyutoguy]

You just tripped the two biggest land mines on the forum. CKTG and Moritika.

The fit and finish on Moritaka, is hit and miss. Probably more miss then hit. They have a tendency to over grind the edge, creating a hole. Often times it can't be seen until the knife has been sharpened a few times.

One of the issues with CKTG, is that the owner and a few of his sycophants, think that the problem with Moritaka was created out by people who are not friendly to him or his site. The over grind has been documented by multiple users, so it is a real problem.

The Moritakas that I own, all have been excellent cutters. They are easy to sharpen and take a very keen edge.

Would I buy another one? Yes. If you have concerns about getting a possible lemon. I'd send it to Dave to have him check the knife out. If its bad send it back.

Jay

Thanks Jay, I kne wabout F&F probelms, didn't know about the grind problems. What would you buy for ~200 in terms of a good gyuto that takes a stupid edge?

[mkriggen]

Thanks Jay, I kne wabout F&F probelms, didn't know about the grind problems. What would you buy for ~200 in terms of a good gyuto that takes a stupid edge?

This might interest you http://www.ebay.com/itm/Japanese-kit...#ht_5614wt_960 It sure interests me

Read this first to avoid supprises http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/sh...ht=metalmaster

[echerub]

Mmm... just something to add to this. I love Shigeki Tanaka's and Hideyuki Tanaka's knives in blue steel, but the ginsanko gyuto that I got is not up there for me. The edge was a little wavy, but still very usable, and the steel isn't particularly nice to sharpen.

(Then again, I learned on another ginsanko knife that the Takenoko works wonders, but I didn't put the Tanaka gyuto on the Takenoko - I was too lazy that day to bring out that stone.)

I'd recommend going with one of the blue hagane gyutos rather than the ginsan one.

[mkriggen]

and these, I haven't tried them but a lot of the members have very good things to say about them http://stores.ebay.com/BluewayJapan/...=p4634.c0.m322

[bikehunter]

You just tripped the two biggest land mines on the forum. CKTG and Moritika.





Jay

And, by far, the most annoying, for those of us long time members with no dog in this fight.

[Timthebeaver]

Ignoring the grind issues, the cladding on the Moritaka AS is crazy reactive once the protective lacquer is gone. Rust magnet.