Gisele (wanring - long winded and pic heavy)

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mpukas

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Gisele
With so many things so right, if there is anything not quite right, it’s easily overlooked.

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That’s pretty much sums up how I feel about this new knife from Yusuke, a 240mm stainless steel KS clone gyuto, by way of Keiichi Omae and his Blue Way Japan eBay store.

A brief background;

It’s no secret that I’m huge fan of Yusuke knives sold by Keiichi Omae through his eBay store, Blue Way Japan. I bought my first Yusuke knives looking to try a carbon laser without breaking the bank. I soon discovered that the Yusuke knives are not a budget line with some trade-offs and compromises. They are indeed some of the best made knives out there, rivaling other brands that are highly regarded.

A few months ago, I informed Keiichi there was a buzz going around about Yusuke knives. He is not a member of any forums that I know of, and he was pleased to hear of the favorable praise. During that time there was also a buzz going around about the beloved Masamoto KS knives, and how it was being cloned by other makers and sellers.

I had a back and forth e-mail conversation with Keiichi suggesting he and Yusuke produce a KS clone with the features that we westerners like in a knife. A stiffer blade with little flex (which means a blade slightly thicker than most lasers), distal taper to have a thin tip, a flat edge for about the first half of the blade road, then a slight rise to the tip, stainless or at least semi-stainless steel (not only to reduce maintenance but some believe stainless steel have better edge retention, especially when cutting acidic foods), thinness behind the edge for better cutting ability, convex grind for food release, higher HT for better edge retention,

One of the ideas was to make a knife that was a little more sturdy than the lasers we’re accustomed to in the low and sub- 2mm range that have some flex, especially towards the tip, and feel whippy. Thinness behind the edge was a key factor when making the knife thicker at the spine. I was told that Yusuke works with 3mm stock, and the thickest knife they could make is 2.8mm after grinding and finishing, which I thought was fine.

So, after several months, Yusuke produced a prototype and Keiichi graciously gave me the opportunity to purchase it. I jumped at the chance. To say this knife has been a game changer for me would be an understatement. I thought I was fairly well educated and experienced with what Japanese knives have to offer. This knife changes everything. Yeah, it’s that good. I’ll try to break it down into manageable thoughts.

Specs (as from Keiichi)
length of blade (tip to handle)---249mm
length of cutting edge---237mm
total length---388mm
width at heel---47.5mm
width at 12cm for handle---40.5mm
thickness of spine above heel---2.8mm
thickness of spine at 12cm for handle---2.5mm
weight---approx 165gr
hardness---61 HRC
steel----Swedish stainless steel

Fit and Finish
That’s and easy one – it’s nearly perfect. I say nearly, because there may be some fault or flaw that I haven’t found yet. Everything is as it should be, and nothing more. The spine and choil are rounded. There are no grind marks from the rounding and finishing. The handle is perfectly straight both horizontally and vertically. There are no gaps or ridges between the collar and handle.

Handle
I now own four different Yusuke knives in different sizes and styles, and the handle on each it’s perfectly suited to the blade size and purpose. This knife being a 240 has a slightly smaller handle than my 270 gyuto. At first I was thrown off a little and wanted a bigger handle, but when I compared to entire knife to the 270, I now find the handle perfect for the size knife. It’s a simple ho wood handle and buffalo horn collar. It’s got a slight taper from the butt to the shoulders. Its octagonal shape that is slightly taller than it is wide, so it doesn’t twist easily in hand. It feels clean, simple and functional when using it.

Blade
The KS profile is so, so good. From the heel to the tip, every millimeter of edge is useful. The flat edge from the heel forward is not dead flat, but so flat that in use I don’t notice any curve to it. I have found that a blade that is truly dead flat can be difficult to use, as we’ve had a discussion about this. I have a kiri-gyuto that is dead flat on the edge, and it has an awkward ka-clunk to it when push cutting towards the heel. Not so with this knife.

The taper on the spine from heel to tip is not drastic. I’ll say the spine is perhaps a little thicker towards the tip than what we would normally expect from a laser, but as the spine drops to the tip it gets very thin and fine. This slightly thicker spine makes for a stiffer blade. If I use my 270 gyuto to lightly whack a garlic clove to break the skin, the tip will bend down and hit the board. Not so with this knife – it gives a satisfying solid thud and doesn’t flex. Sure there’s minimal flex, but compared to the 270, it’s much stiffer.

We always talk about how a knife has to have distal taper to be in the ball park of what we consider a good knife. But does it really? What does taper give – it gets thinner from heel to tip, therefore the tip will be finer and have less drag as it cuts. That is good, but taper also leads to e thin spine which can flex. I think this KS profile with its long, gradual drop to the tip produces a thin tip while maintaining a spine thickness with some stiffness.

The tip is especially nice. It’s like the tip on a paring knife. Sharp. Thin. Pointy. Sexy. Very useful for fine tip work.

The convex grind is great. It’s not so pronounced that it feel forced and unnatural. While I’ve had a few things occasionally stick to sides as I’m cutting, it does have considerable less stiction than other knives that I have. Potatoes to tomatoes, the convex grind pushes the food away in a noticeable way so that stiction is minimized and cutting ability is maximized. To me, every knife is going to have some degree of stiction; it’s just a matter of minimizing as much as practical without making the knife feel unnatural.

OOTB Edge
Yusuke knives have a reputation for having very good OOTB edges, and this knife is no exception. The initial edge would easily and cleanly shave arm hair but wasn’t what I would call scary sharp, a far cry from what I call Salty Sharp. None the less the edge was very practical for cutting food. And it still is. I’ve had this knife for about 6 weeks now, and it’s the off season for me so I’m not doing any private chef work, but I still cook two to three meals a day of varying levels of cutting requirements.

I have no idea how Yusuke sharpened this knife, but it’s quite something. To look at the bevels, they are not noticeable from the grinding on the sides. There is barely a hairline visible at the edge. I wonder if the knife was sharpened, then a final finish/grinding performed, and then the edge touched up prior to shipping. However it was done it’s been a very stable edge with no chipping. I did notice some rolling of the edge after the first several days of use.

I have not sharpened this knife yet, primarily because it doesn’t need it. But also, the knife is so pretty I’m in no hurry to scuff it up. So far I’ve taken it the MAC black ceramic rod 3 or 4 times – maybe once every 5-7 days. Three passes on each side, edge leading, heel to tip, and three passes on each side, edge trailing, tip to heel, and then deburr in champagne cork. This stainless steel responds very well to the rod.

On the white #2 Yusuke knives, the rod leaves a very aggressive, rather toothy edge that has too much bite and really doesn’t feel sharp, yet cuts acceptably in a pinch. This steel, and how it was sharpened, responds to the ceramic rod with a very smooth clean edge that easily shaves arm hair.

I’ve stropped it once on my 1micron boron-on-balsa, .5 micron chromium oxide-on-balsa and plain leather strop progression, and it left a very, very sharp edge, as expected.

What’s been remarkable so far is the edge retention. Again, I’m not sure if this is due to how Yusuke sharpened the knife, the bevel angle, or the HT of the steel. I’ve read posts where users say they have used their knife for several weeks with only touch-ups in between and can still shave, and pass crazy sharpness tests. Honestly, I’ve always been skeptical of reports like this, as it just doesn’t seem plausible to me (saying that however, I don’t discredit accounts of blades from masters like Devin Thomas and Bill Burke who are infamous for their edge retention), plus I hadn’t experienced it yet. Well, now I have, and I have a new standard for how long a good edge should last. The edge on this steel far outlives the edge on my white # 2, SG2 and even AS knives.

The edge is now getting to a point where it hasn’t responded as well to the rod, and I think it’s about time to finally sharpen it myself (for better or worse).

Steel
Yusuke uses a Swedish steel for their stainless knives, which is usually hardened to around 58 HRC. This knife is hardened to 61 HRC. As I’ve not sharpened this knife myself yet, I cannot comment on how it feels on the stones, how it takes an edge, etc. All I can say so far is that retention of the OOTB edge has been great, and it is truly stainless – the blade looks as good as the day I opened the box. I’ve intentionally left acids like lemon and lime juice on it, and nothing happened. No reactions to onions, cabbage, or any of the other usual suspects, which is refreshing after having to be wary of my carbon blades reacting and turning foods off-colored.

Performance
This is where it’s going to get a little hard for me. This knife cuts unlike anything else I’ve ever used, and it’s got qualities that leave me grasping for words to use to describe just how it cuts. To use a car analogy, let’s say my standard 270 white #2 Yusuke is a BMW M3 GTS. Sick track car, right? By anyone’s regard, this is a serious, respectable road eating machine. The new Yusuke KS clone is more like a McLaren MP4-12c. It’s just in a completely different world of performance.

Let’s face it, all of the usual descriptions about how a sharp Japanese knife cuts are getting old. “Cuts like buttah”, “Falls right through food like it’s not even there”, “Cuts everything I throw at it”, and the like are all quite stupid, really. Unless a knife is a big, fat dull pig, of course it’s gonna cut right through food. Just like a hot knife through cold butter.

This knife doesn’t just fall through food – for one thing the edge isn’t that sharp, and I like it this way. It’s got great feedback. It’s cuts well, very well. I think it’s got something to do with the convex grind in assisting with cutting. It almost feels like the convex faces part the food as the edge slices, releasing pressure on the sides of the blade. I’ve had it wedge in large, hard sweet potatoes, but then again what wouldn’t?

The profile is probably what I love most about this knife. Honestly, why aren’t more knives being made in this shape? It is just so good (maybe I said that before…). The low tip makes it easy to actually use the tip, yet there is enough curve that it rock chops equally well (yeah, I do that on herbs and garlic sometimes). The flat spot is great for push cutting. There is not a section of the blade that I find doesn’t work well for multiple functions.

Another factor that I think plays a role is that it’s stainless and does not have any patina on it. I think that on my carbon knives, the patina lends a small amount of drag as it cuts through food. Call me crazy and making up shite, but I think this is something that has a slight but noticeable effect.

Summary
What would I change about this knife, if I could, or were ordering a new custom? Not much. I prefer a knife that is a little longer and slightly taller at the heel, but in using this for the past two months I’ve become accustomed to it the way it is just fine.

I’ve been back and forth about the merits of a mono-steel vs clad blade. Originally, I was on the mono-steel side. Recently I had changed my opinion, thinking that clad blades had an edge, primarily because a knife can have a higher HT on the edge steel for a higher angle and better edge retention while maintaining ease of thinning with softer cladding. Now I’m not so sure.

I’ve had this knife for about 7 weeks now, and sharing it has been long overdue. I actually started writing this over two weeks. When I was looking for a pic of Gisele, my computer got infected with a virus. It corrupted my OS, and I had to reinstall. During the reinstall process, my hard drive failed, and I had to purchase a new. All of my data was safe as I use multiple back up sources. All in all I was down for about two weeks. See what I do for you guys?

Keiichi has informed me that he is planning on having Yusuke make more of these knives for sale, but he said it may take some time to get them produced. At this point, it may be sooner than later that he has them available.

If anyone has any questions or comments, let ‘em rip. Don’t be afraid to question or contest anything I’ve written – this is just my opinion and in no way resembles fact.

NOTE: I have no professional affiliation with Keiichi Omae, Blue Way Japan, or Yusuke. Or anyone else for that matter.

 
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The regular profile looks pretty curvy in photos - this looks much more appealing to me.
 
Wow, definitely seems more to my liking than the other Yusuke knives. Are these going to go into production?
 
Just for reference, here's my standard 270 white #2 gyuto when it was new OOTB. I've since taken some of the curve out of the blade. Still a great knife.

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The Yusuke attention to detail, especially in regards to handle construction, rounded and polished choil and spine, packaging, are definitely a notch above the likes of Konosuke and such... I've had three; miss them.

My one peeve of Yukes has always been the printed kanji, though.

Would love to see this side by side with a Masamoto KS; also would be interesting to have available a carbon version; and ebony handle; and thin version; wow the possibilities are endless! lol
 
Just a heads up that these are finally available f/ BWJ (I'm not gonna post the link - just head to ebay. It's the first knife listed in the gyuto seciton). He only has two listed as available. I'd love to see them go to members here, before they get knabbed up somewhere else.
 
Just a heads up that these are finally available f/ BWJ (I'm not gonna post the link - just head to ebay. It's the first knife listed in the gyuto seciton). He only has two listed as available. I'd love to see them go to members here, before they get knabbed up somewhere else.
nice. i just requested they make a few in carbon. they look like quite a bargain!
 
nice. i just requested they make a few in carbon. they look like quite a bargain!

Did the seller confirm they will make some white steel ones? Will they be the same thickness? (2.8mm sounds a little thick, it's thicker than the Masamoto KS for example).
 
he hasnt responded yet. if you have an ebay account and youre interested, you should request it too. blue way is pretty responsive to requests. i dont mind the thickness, i just wish they ran longer like 245-250mm instead of 237mm.
 
Did the seller confirm they will make some white steel ones? Will they be the same thickness? (2.8mm sounds a little thick, it's thicker than the Masamoto KS for example).

2.8mm thick spine comes from the max they can get out of 3.0mm bar stock. It's really not very thick. The extra thickness allows them to get a much better convex grind on the face, which results in this being a much, much better cutter than their standard gyuto which is in the 2.2mm range. It's also much stiffer.

If you're concerned about thickness vs cutting ability, check out the Kato reviews (if you haven't already). Those knives are in the 6mm range, and the guys that have them say they are the best cutters they've used. I'm not trying to convince you one way or another, just saying that thin knives do not necessarily cut better than thick knives.
 
i dont mind the thickness, i just wish they ran longer like 245-250mm instead of 237mm.

Keiichi has told me they are working on a longer 270 model. My guess is the blade length will be propotionate to the 240 version.

When I first got my 240, I thought it was a bit short in length and height for my taste. I'm prefer 270's and a little taller at the heel. Since I've been using it so several months now, I've grown accustomed to it and really appreciate the size for it's combination of precision and general utility. It's an extremely versatile knife that does almost everything well, from psuh cutting veggies to slicing proteins and everything in between. But for sure I'll get a 270 when it's available.

I've found that Keiichi can take 1 - 2 days to respond due to the time difference from Japan and his work load.
 
Did the seller confirm they will make some white steel ones? Will they be the same thickness? (2.8mm sounds a little thick, it's thicker than the Masamoto KS for example).
white versions will come out in 2-3 monthes. i hope 270mms come out around the same time.
 
Here's what he told me:

Will you offer this with an Ichii handle as well?
I've also heard on kitchenknifeforums.com that white steel and 270mm versions were in preparation, I'm also interested.

Hello,
Yes I will take an order for the knife with an ichii handle with $12 extra if you could wait a couple of months.
Also yes the white steel 270mm version are coming up in a couple of months(maybe in Jan).
Thanks in advance.


Has someone tried both the swedish stainless (which I think is 19c27?) and the white steel, with the Yusuke heat treatment?
I was planning to get the white steel, but if there's no major sharpness difference, stainless could be good too.
 
I reckon it's Sandvik 13c26 (equivalent to Uddeholm AEB-L). I would imagine the Swedish @ RC61 would have superior edge retention than white steel. As far as "sharpness" goes, you are the limiting factor.
 
Yeah I'd go stainless. I got a White #2 suji a while ago but that was before I realised he'd do stainless at 61 HRC. I know many people say hardness ain't such a big deal but for the amount of use my knives get I'd rather keep them higher than lower
 
I could no longer resist and just bought the blonde ferrule version.

I was looking for a high performing stainless knife for quite sometime as i'm getting sick of the sticky patina of some of my carbon knives. If the geometry of the yusuke is as good as claimed then i'll be super happy as i was about to comission a very expensive stainless custom. I love saving money.

I'll report back when it arrives.
 
No, it's currently in the hands of UK customs.
 
An update: these are no longer in stock, but I asked Keiichi who told me they would be available again within a couple of months (so end of January probably). This corresponds to the date he previously gave us for white #2 steel and 270mm versions.

He will also have two different thicknesses available: 2.2mm like the standard Sakai Yusuke gyuto, and the 2.8mm that was the only version available up to now, and which was reviewed in this thread.

I'm placing a pre-order for the 240mm stainless with Ichii handle, but I'm not sure which thickness to choose. Which would you recommend?
 
Having both a standard 270 white #2 gyuto and the 240 SS KS clone, I think the thicker knife is a much better cutter. I think it's primarily due to the grind - the extra thickness allows for more convexing on the blade face. The thinner knife may have a slight advantage in that because it's thinner it may slice through an item with less resistance, but I also find the thicker knife with greater convexing has a characteristic where it parts food rather than just slicing through it - kinda hard to describe.

The thicker knife also has much less of an issue with stiction.

I also find the KS profile to be much better overall, all around, than the standard profile, so that also plays into my findings on it being a better cutter.

Good for you for getting one - are you gonna get SS or carbon? You'll love it either way. Cheers! mpp
 
After comparing the thick yusuke to my suisin honyaki 270mm i much prefer using the thick yusuke to a classic laser. The only benifits i could find in the thin suisin was in chopping large hard things like turnips and massive onions etc. The thick yusuke with it's gentle spine to edge convex grind cut everything else with not only less effort, but with hardly any product sticking to the blade thanks to good but not excellent food release. The yusuke also had a better ballance, better feel than the laser. There was no getting to know the knife, it felt natural as soon as i picked it up. The stainless steel also got mighty sharp after a couple of strops of the original edge as well, almost carbon sharpness. Overall i would say this knife was a far better knife that the thinner version and worth the increased cost.

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Great to see you got your knife, and great to see another review of it. I'm relieved to hear that I'm not just in a little fantasy world of mine own... ;-)
 
FYI, it seems all of the new batch of Yusuke gyutos available at bluewayjapan have the KS profile, but with their standard 2.2mm thickness. The 2.8mm ones are still not in stock, but will be soon I hope.
 
Aphex,

just curious to see what your thoughts are on this stainless after using it a couple months later. I'm very interested in scoring one with the blonde cap as opposed to the black. looks real nice
 
Aphex,

just curious to see what your thoughts are on this stainless after using it a couple months later. I'm very interested in scoring one with the blonde cap as opposed to the black. looks real nice

Two months on and it's still up there with my very favourite knives. It cut's through most things with such little resistance. The only down side i can see is the fact that food release isn't as good as what i would like.
 
perneto, im not sure which new gyutos your talking about but i made some inquiries about a couple of the new lasers w/extra hardness and keichi told me theyre actually just the regular profile.
 

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