Nihei experience
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I’ve been missing my 210 since I sold it.
Forgive me father, for I have sinned… the price was too crazy
Forgive me father, for I have sinned… the price was too crazy
Yeah, I ended up getting it and a handle.
I was a bit slow on the draw, but a Shinkiro was ~35% off at Bernal combined with their F yeah Friday. Guess I’ll be getting a Sumiiro instead…
This Kono Sumiiro is one of the sharpest knives out of the box, next to Yoshi's.
Shinkiro is a monster. I got a heavier one, thick spine but the grind is close to the best I’ve tried. Rivals TF in cutting performance (with only minor geometry adjustment BTE).
It’s true that it’s very roughly finished, but that fits squarely in my wheelhouse. It’s definitely not up to FF level of konosuke with the sharp edges and wheel-scratch bevels. I don’t have a problem with this as I like to do the choils and spine myself.
That steel is on par, maybe better than Takeda AS. Feels a bit softer, and definitely softer than TF’s. Not necessarily a bad thing as it’s quite easy to sharpen and work on. There’s a crispiness to it, easier to deburr than other AS I’ve tried. Not to mention the iron is real tasty in terms of workability and detail.
Really, really cool knife with few frills (really only one) - great steel, excellent grind. A kind of unknown gem if it’s you’re style.
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I have the Sumiiro, (had) the Kaeru, and have the Konosuke YW. The YW was the first of these, made by Yoshi in White 2. This is one of the flat out best cutters I own period and I never see anyone talk about it. I know it's made by Yoshikane, but the grind is a little thinner and it's an absolute smoker.
I got the Kaeru next and it's a different but awesome beast. Just a lovely convex grind with fantastic food realease. It was a good cutter, not the best, but very good, but its food release is next level. You don't get the endorphins when cutting with it, but I would think it would be about as good a front line grind as I could imagine. I got in a thinning mode shortly after this purchase and it was gone before I could fall in love.
The Sumiiro, I got the Ai and Om version, has been really excellent and a joy to use. The grind isn't quite as stellar as the YW's, but Nihei's SLD is fantastic. His and Masashi's SLD are the top of the heap. I love a beautiful burnt chestnut handle too, and theirs is well executed. Just a great package all around. I had it out last night on some butternut squash and it was slaying it quite competently.
I got the Kaeru next and it's a different but awesome beast. Just a lovely convex grind with fantastic food realease. It was a good cutter, not the best, but very good, but its food release is next level. You don't get the endorphins when cutting with it, but I would think it would be about as good a front line grind as I could imagine. I got in a thinning mode shortly after this purchase and it was gone before I could fall in love.
The Sumiiro, I got the Ai and Om version, has been really excellent and a joy to use. The grind isn't quite as stellar as the YW's, but Nihei's SLD is fantastic. His and Masashi's SLD are the top of the heap. I love a beautiful burnt chestnut handle too, and theirs is well executed. Just a great package all around. I had it out last night on some butternut squash and it was slaying it quite competently.
Thanks. I need to go buy some butternut squash now because I don’t remember ever using my Sumiiro for that. I want to see it perform against my reigning butternut squash slayer, the 240 Shibata Koutetsu.
plantgainz
Well-Known Member
Butternut squash was part of my test and it performed admirably, totally agree. Just won't use it to peel the skin, too delicate to risk, sometimes that skin can be very hard.
sumis
Senior Member
i don't find the sumiiro delicate at all. on the contrary. at least not more than any other gyuto in rotation. sure, it's very thin behind the edge, but that's default for any great gyuto, right? the way the tip whispers through produce, the super-close-to-but-not-quite-effortless cutting feel, long-flat profile (but w/o yoshi blunt stop), all in combination with a 4mm spine and an authoritative blade forwardness: this gyuto ticks all my boxes simultaneously for all-round prep and slicing duty.
then again, the steel is really hard, so i guess i shouldn't push my luck by peeling butternut squash.
i care less about theoretical differences between different steels than about individual knives, and i have to say that my particular nihei sld is probably the edge i touch up least frequently. it is suspiciously rare that i bring it to a bbw, a 2–4k SG, or similar.
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then again, the steel is really hard, so i guess i shouldn't push my luck by peeling butternut squash.
i care less about theoretical differences between different steels than about individual knives, and i have to say that my particular nihei sld is probably the edge i touch up least frequently. it is suspiciously rare that i bring it to a bbw, a 2–4k SG, or similar.
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plantgainz
Well-Known Member
When I say delicate I mean that high hardness+flexing nail edge make the knife potentially fragile on some tasks. It's not a sumiiro issue, but of every knife with similar characteristics (Yoshi, Toyama, koutetsu to name a few I have). I have once chipped badly a shigeki Tanaka ginsan gyuto on probably the hardest squash skin I've ever seen, even though hardness and edge are not at sumiiro level. I have a trusty sugimoto stainless chinese cleaver for most of my hard tasks: nothing seems to break that edge and stays sharp surprisingly well, and cuts beautifully.
