Togiharu Knife Passaround!

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Korin_Mari

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Hi everyone!
After a bunch of tips and pointers from all of you (thank you very much), I asked the managers for a knife passaround and they were fine with it. :D

For this knife:
media.nl


Please PM me if you would like to try out the Togiharu G-1 210mm chef knife. I would like to have 10 users try out this knife and leave feedback and criticism. It would be nice to have some reviews written on the website, if you don't mind going out of your way. :)

Both home and professionals are welcome, please indicate which you are.

Rules:
1. Only sharpen if you're confident in sharpening knives.
2. Please do not keep for more than a week, then ship to the next person.
3. Forum regulars only please.
4. If the knife gets damaged along the way, please let me know. I will have it fixed and send it to the next person.
5. All participants are responsible for the shipping and full insurance.
6. Please ship back to me to the Korin address when you're all done passing it around. :)

If there are many people interested, I will be happy to continue the passaround even after 10 people. But please ship it back to me anyways, so I have can it resharpened.

A few other things I'm thinking about passing around... Opinions?
1. Mizuyama sharpening stones (Which grit would be best? May be a double sided one?)
2. Cedar paper (I know its not the right season anymore)
3. Donabe pot (Since its getting cold.)
 
Would be interesting to compare to the Masamoto VG...I'm in!
 
How about out one of those small grills? I suspect that there are several of us who would be interested in trying one out before buying.
 
How about out one of those small grills? I suspect that there are several of us who would be interested in trying one out before buying.

Oh thats an awesome idea! I'll add pieces of binchotan (Japanese charcoal), so guys can try everything together. :D
 
I would like to give the Togiharu a shot. pm incoming.
 
Are you guys talking about the small tabletop ones or the big tabletop ones?
 
The current list for the Togiharu Passaround:
1. Zwiefel
2. heldentenor
3. Crothcipt
4. tk59
 
It arrived yesterday in perfect condition. I've inspected it--with my meager abilities--and made a quick meal. Will work with it for a couple days more then post a review and maybe photos.

Thanks Mari!
 
I'd like to be added to the pass around if that's ok.
 
It arrived yesterday in perfect condition. I've inspected it--with my meager abilities--and made a quick meal. Will work with it for a couple days more then post a review and maybe photos.

Thanks Mari!

Great! Thanks for letting me know. Just so you know, the knife is in out of the box condition. :)
 
I purchased a Mizuyama 6000 a couple years ago on Master Sugai's advice. I've been very pleased with it. That might be a suggestion?
 
Ive been pleased with both of my mizayuma...1k and 5k (maybe 6?)....not confident enough to sharpen this before send it to the next tester though. :(
 
Ive been pleased with both of my mizayuma...1k and 5k (maybe 6?)....not confident enough to sharpen this before send it to the next tester though. :(

No worries. If you think it needs to be sharpened, please send it back to me. I'll take care of it, before shipping it off again. Thanks though! :)
 
I purchased a Mizuyama 6000 a couple years ago on Master Sugai's advice. I've been very pleased with it. That might be a suggestion?

Oh yea! Thats a great idea. We have the double sided stones too, so people can test out two grits.

Thanks for the suggestion. :)
 
I'll be getting this in the mail to heldentenor tomorrow.

I spent two days with it. Don't have a lot of comments. it's very similar to my masamoto VG gyuto. Very similar profile, grind, steel, handle, and performance. I'd have been just as happy with the togiharu as an introduction to jknives as the masamoto....and think it would make a great workhorse for either home or the line (not that I've ever worked one).

Could use a rounded spine though....just like the masamoto :)
 
Knife arrived today safe-and-sound (thanks, Zwiefel!). Haven't cut anything with it, but the fit and finish is better than the other knives in its class that I've used (Kikuichi TKC and various strains of Fujiwara). It also feels heftier and more substantial--but by no means heavy. I'll give a more full report once I've cut some stuff with it, but my initial impressions are positive.
 
Review of Togiharu G-1 210mm Gyuto

This knife is on its way to the West Coast, where tk59 can give it a much more thorough review that I could. I did put it through all of the tasks for which I usually use a gyuto, and compared it to a Hiromoto AS and a Marko Tsourkan 225mm suji. Where applicable, I'll also compare it to what I view as its close competitors, the Fujiwara and the Kikuichi/Ichimonji TKC. I've used both of these knives for substantial stretches, but do not own either at the moment, so I couldn't pit these head-to-head.

Out of the box: The Togiharu came with what appeared to be an 80/20 right handed edge. Fit and finish were solid (no gaps in the handle, nice satin finish on the blade) but not spectacular--the spine was not eased in the slightest and I could feel it putting pressure on my hand after a bit of cutting. The dimensions of this knife were also markedly different from its competitors, both of which I have used at 210mm. The edge itself was consistently ground, even, and very toothy--a better OOTB edge by a noticeable margin than either the TKC or Fujiwara (both of which I've used out of the box). While the Togiharu feels light and nicely balanced in the hand, it measured at 225 on the edge and had a much higher heel than either the TKC or the Fujiwara, both of which feel like small knives. Overall, this knife looked and felt well balanced and well designed.

In use: I used this knife to cut mirepoix, brunoise garlic, dice potatoes, and (just for fun) sliced some Roma tomatoes with it, trying to use as little pressure as possible. Alongside the Hiromoto, the Togiharu really shone on carrots and celery, where its thinner profile led to less wedging and more contolled, feedback-driven cutting. The extra height of the Togiharu--the Hiro is one of the shorter gyutos out there--makes a noticeable difference on longer push cuts and would help people who rock chop with the heel (I don't). In contrast, the Hiro releases food much better, and it outperformed the Togiharu in fine tip work (the garlic) and annihilated it in the potato cuts. The potatoes--and to a lesser extent the garlic--reveal that the Togiharu really struggles with food release, but I recall the same frustration about the Fujiwara and TKC. The Togiharu did surprisingly well in the tomato cuts, not quite passing the pierce test but cutting with no downward pressure and only the slightest of forward movement. I only used it for a week, but I did not notice appreciable edge diminution and did not touch it up--so tk59 is getting the factory edge, reduced by two users' worth of wear.

As a reference, the Tsourkan practice suji destroyed all of these tests. It does not stick or wedge at all, has excellent food release, and a great grind that makes it thin behind the edge and yet easy to maneuver with no stiction. Then again, a Tsourkan requires you to wait and pay more than twice as much--sometimes, you do get what you pay for.

Bottom line: I really liked this knife and would be curious to see how its lower priced Inox and Moly siblings performed. Since those are more directly competitive price-wise with a TKC, CarboNext, or Fujiwara, that comparison would tell us a lot about who is making the best entry level gyuto for people who want something better made than a Tojiro. The problem that the G-1 line faces is that it's competing directly in price with JKI's Gesshin Ginga (the Gesshins are a bit more expensive) and bluewayjapan's Sakai Yusuke lines--both of which come with higher hardness and with geometry that many users really love. That said, this is a well made knife, I enjoyed using it, and would certainly recommend it to people looking for a western handled starter gyuto or to people looking for a travel knife when they want to leave their customs/higher priced factory knives at home.

Thanks, Mari, for the chance to play with this for awhile!
 
I'll be getting this in the mail to heldentenor tomorrow.

I spent two days with it. Don't have a lot of comments. it's very similar to my masamoto VG gyuto. Very similar profile, grind, steel, handle, and performance. I'd have been just as happy with the togiharu as an introduction to jknives as the masamoto....and think it would make a great workhorse for either home or the line (not that I've ever worked one).

Could use a rounded spine though....just like the masamoto :)

Thanks for your review! :D
Yes, I tend to recommend the Togiharu G-1 to customers who like the feel of the Masamoto VG line. They are pretty similar, but according to Mr. Sugai the Togiharu line is made a little thinner. Both are great knives, but the Masamoto knives tend to be better for grunt work and volume. The Togiharu is slightly better for precision.
 
Review of Togiharu G-1 210mm Gyuto

This knife is on its way to the West Coast, where tk59 can give it a much more thorough review that I could. I did put it through all of the tasks for which I usually use a gyuto, and compared it to a Hiromoto AS and a Marko Tsourkan 225mm suji. Where applicable, I'll also compare it to what I view as its close competitors, the Fujiwara and the Kikuichi/Ichimonji TKC. I've used both of these knives for substantial stretches, but do not own either at the moment, so I couldn't pit these head-to-head.

Out of the box: The Togiharu came with what appeared to be an 80/20 right handed edge. Fit and finish were solid (no gaps in the handle, nice satin finish on the blade) but not spectacular--the spine was not eased in the slightest and I could feel it putting pressure on my hand after a bit of cutting. The dimensions of this knife were also markedly different from its competitors, both of which I have used at 210mm. The edge itself was consistently ground, even, and very toothy--a better OOTB edge by a noticeable margin than either the TKC or Fujiwara (both of which I've used out of the box). While the Togiharu feels light and nicely balanced in the hand, it measured at 225 on the edge and had a much higher heel than either the TKC or the Fujiwara, both of which feel like small knives. Overall, this knife looked and felt well balanced and well designed.

In use: I used this knife to cut mirepoix, brunoise garlic, dice potatoes, and (just for fun) sliced some Roma tomatoes with it, trying to use as little pressure as possible. Alongside the Hiromoto, the Togiharu really shone on carrots and celery, where its thinner profile led to less wedging and more contolled, feedback-driven cutting. The extra height of the Togiharu--the Hiro is one of the shorter gyutos out there--makes a noticeable difference on longer push cuts and would help people who rock chop with the heel (I don't). In contrast, the Hiro releases food much better, and it outperformed the Togiharu in fine tip work (the garlic) and annihilated it in the potato cuts. The potatoes--and to a lesser extent the garlic--reveal that the Togiharu really struggles with food release, but I recall the same frustration about the Fujiwara and TKC. The Togiharu did surprisingly well in the tomato cuts, not quite passing the pierce test but cutting with no downward pressure and only the slightest of forward movement. I only used it for a week, but I did not notice appreciable edge diminution and did not touch it up--so tk59 is getting the factory edge, reduced by two users' worth of wear.

As a reference, the Tsourkan practice suji destroyed all of these tests. It does not stick or wedge at all, has excellent food release, and a great grind that makes it thin behind the edge and yet easy to maneuver with no stiction. Then again, a Tsourkan requires you to wait and pay more than twice as much--sometimes, you do get what you pay for.

Bottom line: I really liked this knife and would be curious to see how its lower priced Inox and Moly siblings performed. Since those are more directly competitive price-wise with a TKC, CarboNext, or Fujiwara, that comparison would tell us a lot about who is making the best entry level gyuto for people who want something better made than a Tojiro. The problem that the G-1 line faces is that it's competing directly in price with JKI's Gesshin Ginga (the Gesshins are a bit more expensive) and bluewayjapan's Sakai Yusuke lines--both of which come with higher hardness and with geometry that many users really love. That said, this is a well made knife, I enjoyed using it, and would certainly recommend it to people looking for a western handled starter gyuto or to people looking for a travel knife when they want to leave their customs/higher priced factory knives at home.

Thanks, Mari, for the chance to play with this for awhile!

Oh my goodness, thank you so much for your thoughtful review. It's fantastic. :D

May I ask what you mean by geometry though? Do you mean the shape and bevel?

You might actually be able to use the Inox and compare the two. I'm going to see if I can passaround a few more things, so I will keep you posted. Again, thank you so much for you review!
 
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