Next Up: Kochi Kiritsuke-tip Guyto Blue #2 240mm

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pitonboy

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Next passaround will be (assuming interest) will be the Kochi guyto with a kiritsuke tip, 240mm, Blue#2 steel from JKI. I think this is a great cutter, stiff spine, not a laser per se but a great knife. See Jon's site for more details.


Passaround rules as per usual, keep it a week or so, sharpen it if it needs it and you know what you are doing, ship insured. List will be about 15 tops, non-North American participants will be welcomed but will probably make a second list following the first one
 
Outstanding, thanks for another tremendous pass around.

Would love to put in for this one and get an up close look-see.

Thanks Pitonboy! :)
 
I would like to jump on this one as well.
 
Sorry, if you are interested, please PM me your mailing address.:O
 
You just beat me to doing a pass around with this knife. I don't think anyone will be disappointed with it, at least I'm not.
 
This is one of those knives that perform better than expected


You just beat me to doing a pass around with this knife. I don't think anyone will be disappointed with it, at least I'm not.
 
I will join on this one too, if you will have me.
 
I'd love to take part as well. Kochi's been on my radar for a while now.
 
Kochi Passaround list, In Order

obtuse
add
kalaeb
Gravy Power
GlassEye
EdipisReks
JasonD
ThEoRy
brainsausage
 
I received the knife yesterday. It feels very solid (rigid), hefty, yet nimble. The feel of the knife is amazing and the finish is pretty cool too. I will cut a bunch of stuff today to give it a good workout.
 
The knife will be on its way today. Sorry for the delay, I had a very busy week. I will post my experience as soon as I can. add, I will send you the tracking number when it's available.
 
Any chance I can join this pass around? I've been looking for my first $300+ knife and Kochi is at the top of my list. I'd love the opportunity to give it a test drive. Thanks!
 
Here are my thoughts of the Kochi.
Here's the quick summery, I think I'm going to buy one in the traditional gyuto shape.
Out of the box I was immediately impressed by the feel of the knife and the fit and finish. The knife feels very solid, yet not clunky. The kurouchi finish is very well done and the bevel is polished beautifully. All the usual creature comforts are there, rounded choil and spine. The toasted chestnut handle is very nice as well, it feels exceptional in the hand. As far as cutting goes, it's a winner. It moves through food as well as my Konosuke HD and Fujiyama gyutos. I cannot comment on sharpening, but the steel had a very nice edge and held it for as long as I had it (a week). My only complaint about the knife is the profile. There is a huge curve to the tip of this knife, this makes the tip very uncomfortable to use. I suppose it could be desirable if you did some serious rocking.

That's it for now
 
Aaron- the Kochi arrived here a couple days ago, safe and well packed, again! Thanks.

Ben- thanks a bunch for doing this.

Observations to follow...
 
Ben, thanks for the Kochi opportunity. :thumbsup:

OK, I'd list this one in the "mighty gyuto" category with my Yoshikane 240 as reference.

This is a badazz kitchen knife.
Large, solid, and some Japanese rustic mojo mixed with charmed refinement.

Stiff?
Oh, yeah baby. Proverbial railroad track stiff.
But this is a cutter by being fairly thin behind the edge.
Actually, I was expecting it to be a bit thinner there based on descriptions of these.

Very good performance on the board with various root veggies.
Soft tomatos, raw chicken breakdown, and fruits were also easily worked over.

Relatively thick at the top of the spine with a narrowing right off the handle, but after that... really not much distal taper along the top to speak of.

The profile tip makes this unique over the traditional gyuto.

A reverse tanto style point that, in theory, makes for a stronger tip for jab/stab cuts. Really didn't have a use for this until after the knife has been shipped out and wifey brought home a thick-rinded spaghetti (winter) squash... which would seem to have been an ideal use with the added strength at the tip to start the halving with a stab cut.

Well, either that or poking it into some sheet metal, which I think the Kochi could do with ease. :D

But the tip itself was also thin enough to be a useful worker on the board.

The knife held some nice cutting sweet spots.
Yes, the profile at the end does sweep a bit, forcing the rocking motion higher at the handle. But I didn't find it to be that distracting, just a bit of getting used to.

Another star was the nicely done, evenly polished bevel.

Fit/finish I'd deem good but not great in comparison to the Yoshi.
Spine is rounded but not evenly and the transition and step-down work to the Kiritsuke tip seemed a bit hurried. Perhaps some more time could have spent here.

Kurochi finish was even, not course or flaky, and appeared to be very stable.

Really liked the charred chestnut handle.
It is not fine sanded or filled- leaving a natural suface texturing that offers really good purchase even when moist.
Some black charring (?) did come off during periodic wipe downs. Perhaps the chestnut has been stained as well...
But the handle IS larger in diameter, quite Bunyanesque. Though it is proportional, imho, to the blade size/weight; it may not be to everyones taste.
A fingernail easily catches on the ferrule to handle meet up. The handle size and horn ferrule matchup could both be easily remedied with some simple DIY sanding.

Steel was lightly reactive and on the polished areas only.

Overall a very nice knife... it would seem the 210mm or 240mm would be seductive models in this line too- for folks looking at kurochi finished "mighty gyutos".

Knife was oiled up, though not sharpened and shipped last week to Kalaeb.
Seemed to hold it's edge just fine for the time I had it.
Came with some small areas of black patina and left with smattering of faint orange (sorry, out of scotch-brite pad).

Ben, a very cool knife and gesture. Thanks again! :knife:
 
Knife received, will use it for a few days then pass on to gravy.
 
In route to Gravy, due there by sat, Monday at the latest. Will post a quick opinion when I get a break.
 
kalaeb did you sharpen this? Either way I've learned I have a long way to go when it comes to putting an edge on the knife. It's screaming sharp compared to anything I'm currently working with. Truly awesome cutter. I have very limited experience so I can't really give nearly as comprehensive of a review, but I'll take one of these on my bench, probably in a 210 mm, any day.
 
kalaeb did you sharpen this? Either way I've learned I have a long way to go when it comes to putting an edge on the knife. It's screaming sharp compared to anything I'm currently working with. Truly awesome cutter. I have very limited experience so I can't really give nearly as comprehensive of a review, but I'll take one of these on my bench, probably in a 210 mm, any day.

Yes, I did a basic progression from shapton pro 2k to gesshin 5k, co balsa, and plain leather. I don't sharpen well, it was mostly the steel.
 
Knife arrived today, played with it for few minutes before I go to work.
 
hey GlassEye, i tried to send you my address, and your inbox was full.
 
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