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Making rounded spines after #549 knives…
 

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Gavva said:
Hi folks!
Recently, I was lucky enough to snag a Wa gyuto 210 #549 (actually 216x61) from Stay Sharp. As I own an older Yo 225 gyuto #424, I was pleasantly surprised that the spine and choil was nicely rounded off in this new one. It is more comfortable to pinch grip for sure.

I want to compare notes with anyone who might have purchased one recently. Is this an old thing with his knives but only the Wa handled ones or is this a fairly new “evolution” of Jiro’s work?
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Ah you were the one, I was close behind you ... ;):cool:
 
SWF said:
I tried to finally grab a 210/225 wa-gyuto ... their website is so lousy slow you need to be lucky to click at the right time.
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Oh, I thought you got the other one they sold. Yup. I was just lucky with the no lag transaction that day. Just keep trying!
 
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I'm moving to consolidate my collection of knives down a bit over the next few weeks/months, so here's some brief thoughts on the three gyutos I owned side-by-side before a few make their way to a new home!

Jiro #229 240mm:
  • 242 x 54 mm
  • 318g
  • Significant convexity all the way up the knife. Good for stiction compared to what I’m used to (although I don’t really care about this in terms of performance), but a bit wedgey on the hardest produce.
  • Steel feels very hard - I haven’t used a mono steel or Honyaki to compare to, but it felt a little more resonant to me in use.
  • OOTB edge was not great, but steel was very responsive on the stones and produced a burr very very quickly - reminiscent of Y Tanaka W#1.
  • Really long flat spot for the last 2/3rds of the knife, but without the dead stop heel that you often get with this kind of profile which normally keeps me away. Super nice, genuinely lovely in use.
  • Height is great, balance is great, weight is great imo.
  • I can understand why some people don’t like this older profile - it’s a bit wedgey towards the heel, however it has a profile that to me is very unusual for J knives, and much more common in the western knife arena. Let me explain; Whilst it is common for some J knives to have a tapered spine from heel to tip, in my experience the grind running along the edge and primary bevel normally features a much more subtle taper. In this Jiro, the maximalist taper from spine to tip is represented in the grind at the edge too, giving you a meaty heel that can be used with confidence when ploughing through a large volume of prep, and a super thin edge that can be used for the most delicate or fine work without having to swap knives. In use, it feels like the maker’s intention was to combine the benefits of a workhorse and a pure laser together into one knife.
  • I think the grind on this knife is a solid execution of that concept, and whilst #307 is the better pure cutter, I personally find this one slightly more interesting because it does something a bit different from all the other J-knives I own.

Jiro #307 240mm initial thoughts:
  • 244 x 56 mm
  • 293 grams
  • As already alluded to, this thing is a completely different beast to #229. On comparing the two, it became fairly obvious to me why there is no settled consensus on Jiro knives. They are the same model, but are completely different; it’s impossible to define a general review of a Jiro knife’s performance, it really depends on what model you’re buying and the grind Jiro was using at the time.
  • I think it could be useful to start adding a descriptor denoting the style of grind on each Jiro (similar to the ‘laserpony/workpony/workhorse’ descriptors we use for Kippington) when discussing performance and individual experiences, to help map performance against each grind in his evolution.

Jiro #459 255mm Gyuto:
  • 252 x 60 mm
  • 305g
  • The grind on this is much more akin to #307 than #229, suggesting that Jiro has settled on a less severe taper in the grind from heel to tip over time, compared to the chunky heel/super thin tip on my earlier copy. It’s a better overall performer but less versatile and in some ways, interesting - it loses a touch of uniqueness compared to other j-knives. I also think the earlier grind helped save the balance point on the heavy-handled yo >240 gyutos from falling behind the pinch point, but it’s not a problem on this larger length.
  • Performance is really great imo, the steel is hard and holds an edge quite well, and the the geometry is sufficiently convex to provide better food release that most of my knives (only challenged by my low-bevelled westerns, which come with their own trade-offs). It’s worth noting that whilst the spines on these modern Jiros still come quite thick, they perform more like convex lasers bte imo.
  • The tip on this is so thin that it is a bit delicate, and there’s no way I would mindlessly slam away at food prep without paying some attention.
  • I haven’t noticed any KU loss yet, but we all know about that anyway…
 
Currently running my three main knives as Jiro. A yo 255 Gyuto, wa 270 suji, and wa 210 suji. The gyuto is very unique in use… extremely tall and thin behind the edge. I like it overall, but I’m definitely having to adjust my technique to accommodate the absurd height.
I’ll end up posting some more thorough impressions on here once I’ve used all the knives for a bit.
 
Jiro’s knives are getting heavier. Latest 225(#566) yo handle out of StaySharpMTL weighs 291g. Appears to have rounded spine and choil. Compared to 225 (#424) at 251gm. Big boi lovers might find this interesting. My 216mm (#549) Wa gyuto is already 244gm without the full tang.
 
Gavva said:
Jiro’s knives are getting heavier. Latest 225(#566) yo handle out of StaySharpMTL weighs 291g. Appears to have rounded spine and choil. Compared to 225 (#424) at 251gm. Big boi lovers might find this interesting. My 216mm (#549) Wa gyuto is already 244gm without the full tang.
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Jeez, that’s a lot for a 225.

I wonder how much of that weight is in the handle and tang? And what the balance point is…
 
Logan A. said:
Currently running my three main knives as Jiro. A yo 255 Gyuto, wa 270 suji, and wa 210 suji. The gyuto is very unique in use… extremely tall and thin behind the edge. I like it overall, but I’m definitely having to adjust my technique to accommodate the absurd height.
I’ll end up posting some more thorough impressions on here once I’ve used all the knives for a bit.
Click to expand...
That Jiro 270mm western suji you have in BST looks gorgeous btw.
 
Gavva said:
Jiro’s knives are getting heavier. Latest 225(#566) yo handle out of StaySharpMTL weighs 291g. Appears to have rounded spine and choil. Compared to 225 (#424) at 251gm. Big boi lovers might find this interesting. My 216mm (#549) Wa gyuto is already 244gm without the full tang.
Click to expand...

I had purchased (and returned) Jiro 241 - a 225 at 291g so the weights haven't really changed.
 
Wow, the variety in the weights. Good to know about other people’s Jiro’s. Retailers, like StaysharpMTL provide no other info aside from length and height when posting prior to the drop. Wish they would though. It’s like crapshoot.
 
Gavva said:
Wow, the variety in the weights. Good to know about other people’s Jiro’s. Retailers, like StaysharpMTL provide no other info aside from length and height when posting prior to the drop. Wish they would though. It’s like crapshoot.
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If they list the number, all the knives are up on Hitohira ahead of time.
 
OwlWoodworks said:
Maybe someone can educate me, is the difference here that he is using a different finish for the kurouchi and using wrought iron instead of his usual “soft iron” I see it listed as by retailers?
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Looks like his normal finish with wrought iron instead of his normal soft iron, yeah. Looks good. I'm sure some polisher could get more out of that wrought though for sure
 
jedy617 said:
Looks like his normal finish with wrought iron instead of his normal soft iron, yeah. Looks good. I'm sure some polisher could get more out of that wrought though for sure
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Looks like a more organic and defined shinogi compared to his usual grind too.

I wonder how insane the pricing will be 🫣
 
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