First Look Masamoto AEB-L Wa-Gyuto 240mm

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bamin

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Look what showed up in the mail today! I haven't used it yet but I figured I would put up pictures for everyone to see first. I have put it alongside the Masamoto Honyaki Wa-Gyuto for comparison. They are pretty much the same, the differences are:

1. AEB-L is slightly taller than the honyaki (49mm vs ~49mm)

2. AEB-L is slightly thinner at the spine (3mm vs 4mm)

Keep in mind that these measurements were taken with a ruler not a caliper.

Other things that I have noticed is that the AEB-L has a little flex in the blade whereas the honyaki has none. Comes with an asymmetric edge that seems pretty decent OTB. The saya for the AEB-L (identical to the honyaki saya) does not hold the knife by friction since the opening is too wide, might have to get a pin and drill a hole. Fit and finish are what you would expect, the spine and choil are both rounded.

That's all I can think of for the moment.

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For the spine shots, the AEB-L is on the right. For the choil shots the honyaki is above the AEB-L.
 
Where did you find this?

Korin, they have 2 more in stock in the store and are planning to bring them in as a regularly stocked item. You can also get the 15% off right now.
 
If you look at the bevel on the AEB-L at the tip, it is larger than the bevel as it extends to the heel. Would you call this a sharpening mistake?
 
If you look at the bevel on the AEB-L at the tip, it is larger than the bevel as it extends to the heel. Would you call this a sharpening mistake?
i think it's deliberate and it's how masamoto sharpens their knives. my vg petty came like that. probably a little helpful considering ootb tips are usually on the thick side.
 
Yeah Mark, I just looked Too, no such luck. I will keep an eye out for the next round. I DO love some AEB-L and I have ALWAYS wanted a Masamaoto.
 
I worked with Wendy Yang at Korin. If you call she will be able to help you out since they aren't on the website.

I have so far just cut up a bell pepper really quick with the knife but I liked it. Once I have more time to play with it and give it a sharpening I will make an update with my impressions.
 
i think it's deliberate and it's how masamoto sharpens their knives. my vg petty came like that. probably a little helpful considering ootb tips are usually on the thick side.

Cool, the only other Masamoto I have is the honyaki gyuto and I couldn't remember if it was like that too.
 
It's identical to a KS. If you have a KS, the geometry is the same. The only visual difference, other than the lack of patina with use, is that it is stamped with an 'S' on the left hand side of the blade at the tang in front of the handle. It's obviously asymmetric. One side of the blade is completely flat. The other is convex ground.
 
It's identical to a KS. If you have a KS, the geometry is the same. The only visual difference, other than the lack of patina with use, is that it is stamped with an 'S' on the left hand side of the blade at the tang in front of the handle. It's obviously asymmetric. One side of the blade is completely flat. The other is convex ground.

The KS I have (bought used, but not thinned along the faces of the blade) appears to be very slightly convex ground on the right side (looking down the spine to the tip). I would not go so far as to say that my KS is clearly asymmetrically ground, it's closer to flat (which the previous owner noted as well).

Members have previously commented that there is a significant amount of variation between KS knives. Perhaps the grind is one of the things that there is a lot of variation with.
 
I would not go so far as to say that my KS is clearly asymmetrically ground, it's closer to flat (which the previous owner noted as well).

It's the same answer I give to everyone. Take a ruler. Hold it up against one side of the blade. It will sit FLUSH against the ruler indicating that the blade face is flat. Then put the ruler against the other side of the blade and observe how the convexity curves away from the straight ruler edge. This is an obvious asymmetric grind. Only the eye is fooled due to the thinness of the blade. But the ruler will reveal the asymmetry.
 
And is it definitely a 100% copy of the carbon KS?
 
A good suggestion greasedbullet gave me was to use google to search rakuten, and it works like a charm. Just google; global rakuten masamoto....the translations are somewhat sketchy on that sight, though.

Good deals on Shigefusa and Yoshikane can be found as well....
 
Found one in "original Sweden steel with an odd black and white photo...
 
my concern, honestly with the aeb-l KS would be that, traditionally, stainless wa-gyutos are only hardened into the high 50s. Yusuke and Ashi, etc make Hrc 61 knives specifically upon request from Keichi and Jon. Even suisin's IH line is an even 60 and from what i understand they are doing a pretty great job with their HT. I don't get the impression Masamoto is the kind of company that is aggresively watching overseas knife trends. Of course, this is all speculation and HRC isn't the end all anyways.
 
Marc4pt0, that's it...

Seller Yamakawa...must google masamoto, then enter his store to find it.

In very rough translation it was confirmed this is a stainless gyuto....

I pm'd chefdog the link...
 
my concern, honestly with the aeb-l KS would be that, traditionally, stainless wa-gyutos are only hardened into the high 50s. Yusuke and Ashi, etc make Hrc 61 knives specifically upon request from Keichi and Jon. Even suisin's IH line is an even 60 and from what i understand they are doing a pretty great job with their HT. I don't get the impression Masamoto is the kind of company that is aggresively watching overseas knife trends. Of course, this is all speculation and HRC isn't the end all anyways.

I think this is the key statement. I don't doubt for one second that the HRC61 Sakai knives are in that ballpark, but HRC numbers have often been misrepresented in the past (and still are). If the knife performs, it performs. Remember the craze/hype of the Aritsugu A-type (purported HRC 60-61) and it's mystery steel with legendary toughness and edge holding?. Then someone actually got one tested = 58-59 HRC.
 
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