Casaluz
Senior Member
Since I am relatively new to the forum and still learning, I decided to contribute a bit of data for your enjoyment. I have been following the advice of a few members to whom I am grateful, in particular chinacats, keithsaltydog, and rottman. I wanted to compare a few knives and this is the first chapter; 3 gyutos.
1) The first gyuto is a Gesshin Kagero 240 mm in cladded powder steel that I purchased from Jon at Japanese Knife Imports. He recommended it based on my priority towards edge retention. I did not know much about knives then (I still do not) and trusted his guidance. It turned out to be a wonderful suggestion. The edge retention is spectacular, and beyond that I particularly love the tapered handle (it is the only yo-gyuto I own) and the feel of the knife; it has a great balance, it feels substantial (I have learned that the lasers are not my favorites) and yet it performs wonderfully. The more I use it, the greater it is my affection for it.
2) The second gyuto is a Yoshimitsu Wa-Gyuto Damascus Blue steel II in 240 mm that I purchased from Takeshi Aoki at Aframestokyo. A few factors influenced me, the first one is the writings of keithsaltydog regarding knives made out of tamahagane steel (Yoshimitsu is known for making their own tamahagane), the second was reading about the Yoshimitsu brothers and their training in knife making, and the third was seeing what I feel it is a beautiful combination of kurouchi finish and a damascus layered finish below the shinogi. I love the knife and how it performs.
3) The third gyuto is familiar to many of you, but I did not have the opportunity to handle until recently when I received directly from Japan; a Masamoto KS wa-gyuto in 240 mm. I actually received a couple of years ago a custom order of a Masamoto KS sujihiki in 270 mm that was one of my first knives and still is one of my favorites. From the experience with it and the many references to the uber-famous KS gyuto I decided to get one since I really liked the profile. After some research since I could not get one state side I figured out how to get one directly in Japan thanks to a couple of postings in the forum and know it is here.
I made a few profile drawings in graph paper to compare them. The scale in the drawings is ~6 mm per edge of the squares in the paper with the profiles following a scale of 1:1 as you can see in the pictures. From here onwards I will designate the Gesshin Kagero as GK, the Masamoto as KS, and the Yoshimitsu Damascus as YD.
1) Hawatari measurement (length)
a. GK is 240 mm
b. KS is 255 mm
c. YD is 246 mm
2) Ago to Spine measurement (tall)
a. GK is 48.05 mm
b. KS is 48.75 mm
c. YD is 48.05 mm
3) Thickness measurement at neck-spine
a. GK is 2.65 mm
b. KS is 2.55 mm
c. YD is 3.78 mm
4) Thickness measurement at mid-spine
a. GK is 1.58 mm
b. KS is 2.06 mm
c. YD is 2.43 mm
5) Thickness measurement at tip-spine
a. GK is 0.30 mm
b. KS is 0.22 mm
c. YD is 0.22 mm
6) Total Weight and weight/length calculations
a. GK is 220 gr giving ~.92 gr/mm (biased by being a yo-gyuto)
b. KS is 179 gr giving ~.70 gr/mm
c. YD is 177 gr giving ~.72 gr/mm
7) Angle of Hamato towards Kissaki at Ago (Heel to Tip at Chin) with horizontal
a. GK has an angle of 4 degrees, increasing to 10 degrees at mid blade
b. KS has an angle of 4 degrees increasing to 7 degrees at mid blade
c. YD has an angle of 2 degrees increasing to 7 degrees at mid blade
8) Percent of rise of Kissaki from horizontal at Ago to horizontal of Mune (rise of tip from horizontal at heel to horizontal defined by the spine at neck)
a. GK kissaki rises ~65%
b. KS kissaki rises ~66%
c. YD kissaki rises ~56%
As you can see, the YD has a lower rise angle and kissaki than the GK and KS. Here are some pictures and profile comparisons
1) The first gyuto is a Gesshin Kagero 240 mm in cladded powder steel that I purchased from Jon at Japanese Knife Imports. He recommended it based on my priority towards edge retention. I did not know much about knives then (I still do not) and trusted his guidance. It turned out to be a wonderful suggestion. The edge retention is spectacular, and beyond that I particularly love the tapered handle (it is the only yo-gyuto I own) and the feel of the knife; it has a great balance, it feels substantial (I have learned that the lasers are not my favorites) and yet it performs wonderfully. The more I use it, the greater it is my affection for it.
2) The second gyuto is a Yoshimitsu Wa-Gyuto Damascus Blue steel II in 240 mm that I purchased from Takeshi Aoki at Aframestokyo. A few factors influenced me, the first one is the writings of keithsaltydog regarding knives made out of tamahagane steel (Yoshimitsu is known for making their own tamahagane), the second was reading about the Yoshimitsu brothers and their training in knife making, and the third was seeing what I feel it is a beautiful combination of kurouchi finish and a damascus layered finish below the shinogi. I love the knife and how it performs.
3) The third gyuto is familiar to many of you, but I did not have the opportunity to handle until recently when I received directly from Japan; a Masamoto KS wa-gyuto in 240 mm. I actually received a couple of years ago a custom order of a Masamoto KS sujihiki in 270 mm that was one of my first knives and still is one of my favorites. From the experience with it and the many references to the uber-famous KS gyuto I decided to get one since I really liked the profile. After some research since I could not get one state side I figured out how to get one directly in Japan thanks to a couple of postings in the forum and know it is here.
I made a few profile drawings in graph paper to compare them. The scale in the drawings is ~6 mm per edge of the squares in the paper with the profiles following a scale of 1:1 as you can see in the pictures. From here onwards I will designate the Gesshin Kagero as GK, the Masamoto as KS, and the Yoshimitsu Damascus as YD.
1) Hawatari measurement (length)
a. GK is 240 mm
b. KS is 255 mm
c. YD is 246 mm
2) Ago to Spine measurement (tall)
a. GK is 48.05 mm
b. KS is 48.75 mm
c. YD is 48.05 mm
3) Thickness measurement at neck-spine
a. GK is 2.65 mm
b. KS is 2.55 mm
c. YD is 3.78 mm
4) Thickness measurement at mid-spine
a. GK is 1.58 mm
b. KS is 2.06 mm
c. YD is 2.43 mm
5) Thickness measurement at tip-spine
a. GK is 0.30 mm
b. KS is 0.22 mm
c. YD is 0.22 mm
6) Total Weight and weight/length calculations
a. GK is 220 gr giving ~.92 gr/mm (biased by being a yo-gyuto)
b. KS is 179 gr giving ~.70 gr/mm
c. YD is 177 gr giving ~.72 gr/mm
7) Angle of Hamato towards Kissaki at Ago (Heel to Tip at Chin) with horizontal
a. GK has an angle of 4 degrees, increasing to 10 degrees at mid blade
b. KS has an angle of 4 degrees increasing to 7 degrees at mid blade
c. YD has an angle of 2 degrees increasing to 7 degrees at mid blade
8) Percent of rise of Kissaki from horizontal at Ago to horizontal of Mune (rise of tip from horizontal at heel to horizontal defined by the spine at neck)
a. GK kissaki rises ~65%
b. KS kissaki rises ~66%
c. YD kissaki rises ~56%
As you can see, the YD has a lower rise angle and kissaki than the GK and KS. Here are some pictures and profile comparisons
