I used the Glestain this week at work for prep mainly and it saw a little action on the line too. first off, it was a much smaller and lighter knife than i imagined it would be. according to JCKs website the 240 weighs around 270 grams...it certainly didnt feel that heavy to me, but ive been using alot of cleavers lately so maybe im getting more comfortable with bulkier blades...in any event it didnt feel bulky at all, it was quite nimble all around. JCKs site also says the height at the heel is 49 out of the factory, KFED already ackowledged that he probably lost a couple mm off the heel and since im used to much taller gyutos(55-53mm tall 270mm lengths) i had to go through an adjustment period with the glestain, basically a full shift of work before i really became comfortable with it. let me just say first of all, that im a 100% percent carbon guy with exception of a couple of minor forschners and a petty knife. ive become quite used to touching up my edges daily so with this knife considering its smaller size and its stainless steel and its bolster were all things i dont usually prefer. thanks to KFEDs lefty thinning job and the edge retention of the blade itself, i have new found interest in stainless. i used this knife for 4-5 days or about 8 shifts at work and i didnt need to touch it up once. to put that into perspective the edge retention was around 5 times better atleast than several of the hitachi steels, vintage sab steel and a few other carbons i use regularly....not only that but the edge it held was very keen.
The second thing that really impressed me was the food release. as the blade fell through food, the food would lay motionless on the cutting board as if the knife had never touched it in the first place. this might not sound like a big deal but when youre doing very repetitive tasks like cutting gallons of stirfry veggies(peppers, onions, mushrooms) the excellent food release helps you finish the job quicker because youre not constantly cleaning food off your blade and the food isnt really moving on the board so much as you cut, which allows you to focus more on making consistent cuts.
Im not too crazy about the end cap or whatever and i think overall the knife is a little too stylized for my tastes. But that didnt bother much of the shun crowd that i work with to take notice. usually i work with something that has a ho wood or sab handle and this glestain impressed them visually much more lol. Unfortunately, aesthetics are pretty important to me(i suppose im more of a traditionalist) and i just couldnt get over the handle end cap, the blocky bolster and the dimples. So i guess that makes me a vain person, but atleast im honest right?
The bottom line is that the knife was a treat to use, and my only regret is not sharpening it once because it didnt require it. thanks again kfed.
