Kiritsuke tipped gyutos

Who uses them and how often?

It's funny because this knife was the one that I thought would be of no interest (read novelty) but strangely it speaks to me.:viking:

I just received one in a passaround and I think I'm falling in love even though I've only used it once. The profile is close to perfect for me as I enjoy a fairly flat blade. The low tip doesn't seem to be an issue (get in the way) for most cuts I make which would've been a big concern.

My first question is--is this a novelty or do people like to use them? If you have one in your kit, does it get broken out for normal prep or do you reserve it for certain tasks?

The one I'm using is a 240 and while that is my standard gyuto length, this feels just a bit short. So next question would be for those that have them what length do you prefer in relation to your other knives? In other words is this a knife that needs to be a bit longer?

Finally, while the tip does not seem fragile, it looks like I would break the tip every second or third use (I promise to be careful James). Is this a legit concern or do they break no more often then any other knife?

Cheers

The K tipped gyutos I've handled have had very fragile tips. I like very thin tips on knives, so that is saying something.

Jim, I currently have three k-tipped gyutos, and have had 2 others. I like them for several reasons...the flater...ish profile, the thin tips (you've never truly scared the **** out of an onion until you've pointed a k-tip Gesshin Kagekiyo at one), and of coarse they just look bad ass:viking: .
I'm guessing a normal tip would be more versatile in a pro kitchen. As a home cook, who needs versatile anyway?

As to breaking the tip...don't rock n' chop, and don't stab the tip into the board. Otherwise you'll be fine.

Be well,
Mikey

Amen to the kagekiyo onion killer, miss that knife! I agree, if you only had one knife, a gyuto would be better, but who has one knife? It excels at pull cuts, where a bit more length would be handy i think.

Funny you bring the k-tip up, Jim. Butch and I were just chatting on the phone a couple days ago, and couldn't help but talk about how k-tips are popping up again. I get it, because they look aggressive and even more masculine than a regular gyuto.
As for how they work/which situations they work in, etc. As always, I'd have to say that this is specific to the individual. I think of them as gyutos, but with k-tips....

2 words, ONION DESTROYERS!

They definitely look badass. I yet to try one

Not sure if I can help with your questions but I agree that Kiritsuke's definitely look great. I was extremely close to purchasing a 240mm Kono HD2 Kiritsuke last week as a first J-knife, to the point where I had entered in my CC numbers but hesitated last second and bought a Gyuto instead simply because I'm familiar with European knives and the Gyuto is more versatile IMO.

Regarding your observation about length, I would agree. To my layman eyes I see a Kiritsuke as love child between a sujihiki and Banno Bunka ....good length to slice (where 270mm would be good) with a profile suited to push cutting and some chopping. Also suitable for tip work, but unwieldy due to size.

With that said, I feel that a banno bunka and sujihiki would do everything a Kiritsuke would do, only better, although I'm still tempted to a try a Kiritsuke and test my theories.

my DTN k-tip 240 gyuto has slowly stolen my heart. I now have to come up with a reason to use something else. I'm fond of the extremely (maybe that should be in bold, underlined, and blinking) thin tip. I was worried about fragility as well but I've had it for coming up on two years and haven't had a single spot of trouble. My biggest concern about the tip at this point is that it's so thin and flexible, I worry about maintaining the profile when I sharpen.

I had thought that the k-tips were all about the aggressive styling, but due to the blade geometry, the tip really is functionally different. I'm still trying to talk myself out of getting a kagekiyo...if I fail it will be carbon/k-tip.

Good for Fish fabrication, that tip gets through skin very easily. I've used both a ktip gyuto and a single bevel kiritsuke for a lot of the same rough tasks and have never broken a tip

I have two Banno Bunka that I'm really fond of, but not much experience with a K tip. From a traditional standpoint, do they have different intended uses?

Namaxy said:

I have two Banno Bunka that I'm really fond of, but not much experience with a K tip. From a traditional standpoint, do they have different intended uses?

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Kiritsuke in general is a multi purpose knife. a k tip can chop like a gyuto, slice like a suji, and do fine tip work (lol) like a petty....hard to tourne with though

I'm really looking forward to this pass around. I love the look of the k tip and also the wide bevel. I found myself wondering about the same questions regarding the k tip.

This thread is hurting my head. JONNNN!?!

chinacats, I asked in another thread, but have u since used the knife a bunch? just wondering on the creativity of the knife, since it is carbon clad right?

CoqaVin said:

chinacats, I asked in another thread, but have u since used the knife a bunch? just wondering on the creativity of the knife, since it is carbon clad right?

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No, and today won't see much use either. I've got some time over the next two days and plan on some fairly heavy (home) use

I wasn't too sure how to answer about the creativity until I realized that you were probably auto corrected which happens to me all the time. As to reactivity, the knives arrived with a small amount of patina and a small amount of use has added to that. That said, it it is very manageable and working on a nice blue tint. My impression is that they are not very reactive compared to most carbon of the carbon I use (a mix of a wide variety of carbon).

Ok thanks and you know l meant
Reactivity, stupid autocorrect

mkriggen said:

Jim, I currently have three k-tipped gyutos, and have had 2 others. I like them for several reasons...the flater...ish profile, the thin tips (you've never truly scared the **** out of an onion until you've pointed a k-tip Gesshin Kagekiyo at one), and of coarse they just look bad ass:viking: .
I'm guessing a normal tip would be more versatile in a pro kitchen. As a home cook, who needs versatile anyway?

As to breaking the tip...don't rock n' chop, and don't stab the tip into the board. Otherwise you'll be fine.

Be well,
Mikey

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+1

I have a Gesshin Kagekiyo K-tip Gyuto in Blue and love it. I use it, just as I would use a regular gyuto.

The profile is flatter than a regular Gyuto so it's not a rock chopper, as mkriggen wrote, but it's great at everything else. FYI - it is different than other K-tip Gyutos because of its grind, and I've not owned another K-tip Gyuto. But, I also have a non-K-tip Kagekiyo in Ginsanko and the two are different.

mhlee said:

+1

I have a Gesshin Kagekiyo K-tip Gyuto in Blue and love it. I use it, just as I would use a regular gyuto.

The profile is flatter than a regular Gyuto so it's not a rock chopper, as mkriggen wrote, but it's great at everything else. FYI - it is different than other K-tip Gyutos because of its grind, and I've not owned another K-tip Gyuto. But, I also have a non-K-tip Kagekiyo in Ginsanko and the two are different.

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Thanks! How would you say the grind is different? I've not tried a Kagekiyo (on the list) but the only thing I know about the geometry is that they are very thin.

Cheers

chinacats said:

Thanks! How would you say the grind is different? I've not tried a Kagekiyo (on the list) but the only thing I know about the geometry is that they are very thin.

Cheers

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There's one for sale in the BST with a choil shot (I know that's not the end of the story on grind, just saying there is a pic handy )

chinacats said:

Thanks! How would you say the grind is different? I've not tried a Kagekiyo (on the list) but the only thing I know about the geometry is that they are very thin.

Cheers

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The K-tip Blue is thinner behind the edge, and thinner higher up from the edge than my Ginsanko Gyuto, especially at the tip. The K-tip also has a slightly longer edge, is flatter, heavier, and has a slightly concave grind behind the edge. I didn't have time to really determine what kind of grind my Ginsanko has to verify whether it's convex, flat, or concave. Regardless, they're both awesome cutters.

i would love to try a k-tip gyuto due to their flatter profiles, but they are all too narrow! tall gyutos are hard enough to come by..

panda said:

i would love to try a k-tip gyuto due to their flatter profiles, but they are all too narrow! tall gyutos are hard enough to come by..

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Takeda's k-tip is fairly tall.

Yeah I really wanna try one too now lol. Thanks guys. Any suggestions on a cheap one to test the profile? Was thinking the tojiro ITK for a project. The spine is 4mm, 200 or so grams and 50ish mm height doesn't sound bad at all. Sand off finish, rehandle, thin behind edge and done.

Geo87 said:

Yeah I really wanna try one too now lol. Thanks guys. Any suggestions on a cheap one to test the profile? Was thinking the tojiro ITK for a project. The spine is 4mm, 200 or so grams and 50ish mm height doesn't sound bad at all. Sand off finish, rehandle, thin behind edge and done.

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Unless it's full of overgrinds and then not simply "done".

Geo87 said:

Yeah I really wanna try one too now lol. Thanks guys. Any suggestions on a cheap one to test the profile? Was thinking the tojiro ITK for a project. The spine is 4mm, 200 or so grams and 50ish mm height doesn't sound bad at all. Sand off finish, rehandle, thin behind edge and done.

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And then fight to passivate the cladding (or have it taint your food).

Depending on your definition of cheap, you could try this one http://www.epicedge.com/shopexd.asp?id=91652 . With the 10% forum discount you're looking at just under $200 +shipping.

mkriggen said:

Depending on your definition of cheap, you could try this one http://www.epicedge.com/shopexd.asp?id=91652 . With the 10% forum discount you're looking at just under $200 +shipping.

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I love those hammered Yoshikanes, they are excellent knives.

Zwiefel said:

There's one for sale in the BST with a choil shot (I know that's not the end of the story on grind, just saying there is a pic handy )

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Ya Chinacats....check out that choil....

The grind is flat from shinogi to primary edge, nice to polish up because its so even.

chinacats said:

Unless it's full of overgrinds and then not simply "done".

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Lol yeah true. I wasnt too concerned about that as they are $70 on amazon would have been a cheap way to test the profile. However postage costs make them much more than that so they are out of the question anyway.