Any opinion about Hiromoto honyaki gyuto.

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Marcelo Amaral said:
I imagine the knives might vary a little bit, being made by hand and all.
I have a great time with knives and stones when sharpening and cooking. Even with this hiromoto issue, i'm still happy with the kind of polished edge this knife can sustain. Honyakis are awesome.
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:D yes and it just comes right back after the slightest sweep across a stone :D
 
I haven't put mine to the stone yet. Still with factory edge and I have been using it exclusively since I got it. Its awesome.
 
wind88 said:
I haven't put mine to the stone yet. Still with factory edge and I have been using it exclusively since I got it. Its awesome.
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:D another fellow canadian with a hiromoto :D where abouts? :D
 
I have a sujihiki, that I have never used. It is different than the gyuto,
it doesn't have spinal taper at all, different knife for a different use.
A short funny story about it, I asked Koki if Master Nagao can send me a photo of himself with it.
Koki replied that many had asked autographs on the box or photos, but Master never does that.
I replied with a mail, as to why I understand it and respect it, based on my grandmother and father, a little older and a little younger than Master's age. They were both doing artistic jobs, but their seriousness dictated only photos of their products. They accepted photos only with family and staff..
And some extra things about people of that generation.
I don't know if my mail moved the Master, or Koki did his best, or a little of both, but suddenly, I got the photo [emoji173]️
 
supersayan3 said:
I have a sujihiki, that I have never used. It is different than the gyuto,
it doesn't have spinal taper at all, different knife for a different use.
A short funny story about it, I asked Koki if Master Nagao can send me a photo of himself with it.
Koki replied that many had asked autographs on the box or photos, but Master never does that.
I replied with a mail, as to why I understand it and respect it, based on my grandmother and father, a little older and a little younger than Master's age. They were both doing artistic jobs, but their seriousness dictated only photos of their products. They accepted photos only with family and staff..
And some extra things about people of that generation.
I don't know if my mail moved the Master, or Koki did his best, or a little of both, but suddenly, I got the photo [emoji173]️
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That's pretty awesome, great story.
 
After sharpening it even with my crappy sharpening skills, it felt much better. Also changing the way I hold it so the rougher spots don't push against my finger also helped.
 
Last week I used and abused my hiromoto honiyaki. I cutted crusty soredough bread, 10 kg onion,3 sides of smoked pancetta, lot of carrots 🥕, zucchini, etc....
Well the knife it s still sharp and there are no signs of chipping.
So far the thinnest tip in all my knives and definitely the only laser knife in my collection that I am sure I will never sell!!
Mine it s the bolsterless version.

1492384395531.jpg


1492384411966.jpg
 
I have a fairly new 270mm bolstered version gyuto. It has a flat profile for just over a half of the blade , with a gentle curve up to a middle height tip. The tip is quite thin. It feels well balanced and the balance point is just at the pinch grip.

Fit & finish was indifferent. The handle and tang are fine. The spine and choil were both pretty sharp (not any more). The blade polish looked like it had been left half done. There was an area of almost mirror polish but the rest of the blade had a much lower level of polish, with very prominent vertical buffing striations. I did polish it up but I need a lot more time and effort to completely get rid of those striations. I don't know if I can be bothered given how easily it patinas (it looks quite good with a grey- blue patina). The knife did not arrive sharp. Fortunately this was very easy to fix. SS3 describes it as "sharpening like butter" and I think that this is a good description. I'm not an expert sharpener but I could put a very sharp edge on it and deburr very easily.

The grind is assymetrical, with moderate convexity on the left and more substantial convexity on the right. At the choil, it looks thicker behind the edge than any of my other Japanese knives.

Performance is what you would expect from the grind. It's not a laser like push cutter, but slicing is very good and the heel does perform well in harder food. Food release is good but not great. With it's thin tip, it deals with onions well. Performance in softer foods like zucchini and eggplant is fairly good.

The knife does have that monosteel "loud" feeling on the board. I do feel the food I'm going through and the board itself much more than with a san mai. At first I found it disconcerting but as I've gotten used to it, I think it is helping to refine my technique. I have felt this with other honyakii and other monosteel knives. I realise that the engineering science behind this is contentious- I'm just reporting what I'm perceiving.

The knife feels robust. No fragile edge sensation with poorly executed cuts in tall hard food.

Edge retention has not really been tested. I haven't had to think about sharpening again yet but I've only been using it intermittently.

I think this knife would be at home in the hands of a pro on the line, where its reasonably good food release and robustness would aid rapid prep. I enjoy using it with its honyaki feel, good balance and good (but not excellent) food release but don't expect laser-like push cutting from it. I'm not sure if this is because I got one of the thicker grinds or if that's just how they are.
 
Nemo said:
I have a fairly new 270mm bolstered version gyuto. It has a flat profile for just over a half of the blade , with a gentle curve up to a middle height tip. The tip is quite thin. It feels well balanced and the balance point is just at the pinch grip.

Fit & finish was indifferent. The handle and tang are fine. The spine and choil were both pretty sharp (not any more). The blade polish looked like it had been left half done. There was an area of almost mirror polish but the rest of the blade had a much lower level of polish, with very prominent vertical buffing striations. I did polish it up but I need a lot more time and effort to completely get rid of those striations. I don't know if I can be bothered given how easily it patinas (it looks quite good with a grey- blue patina). The knife did not arrive sharp. Fortunately this was very easy to fix. SS3 describes it as "sharpening like butter" and I think that this is a good description. I'm not an expert sharpener but I could put a very sharp edge on it and deburr very easily.

The grind is assymetrical, with moderate convexity on the left and more substantial convexity on the right. At the choil, it looks thicker behind the edge than any of my other Japanese knives.

Performance is what you would expect from the grind. It's not a laser like push cutter, but slicing is very good and the heel does perform well in harder food. Food release is good but not great. With it's thin tip, it deals with onions well. Performance in softer foods like zucchini and eggplant is fairly good.

The knife does have that monosteel "loud" feeling on the board. I do feel the food I'm going through and the board itself much more than with a san mai. At first I found it disconcerting but as I've gotten used to it, I think it is helping to refine my technique. I have felt this with other honyakii and other monosteel knives. I realise that the engineering science behind this is contentious- I'm just reporting what I'm perceiving.

The knife feels robust. No fragile edge sensation with poorly executed cuts in tall hard food.

Edge retention has not really been tested. I haven't had to think about sharpening again yet but I've only been using it intermittently.

I think this knife would be at home in the hands of a pro on the line, where its reasonably good food release and robustness would aid rapid prep. I enjoy using it with its honyaki feel, good balance and good (but not excellent) food release but don't expect laser-like push cutting from it. I'm not sure if this is because I got one of the thicker grinds or if that's just how they are.
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mirrors exactly my thoughts on my 270 as well. love the generous flat spot!
 
I ordered a 240 today as it seems to be a great mono steel at a reasonable price. Going to be my 3rd Hiro. I want to put a new western handle on it when it comes in.

Im waiting to get my 240 AS knife back from John... had the knife sitting around since I bought it new and never used it. I do use my petty all the time.
 
People keep buying them and JCK seems to still be in stock.

Makes me confused given the reports of people being told that there are only a couple left.
 
Nemo said:
People keep buying them and JCK seems to still be in stock.

Makes me confused given the reports of people being told that there are only a couple left.
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I was told there was five left and that was a while back. I imagine there has been at least five purchases since then that people here have bought that we know of...
 
khashy said:
I was told there was five left and that was a while back. I imagine there has been at least five purchases since then that people here have bought that we know of...
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oh.. I hope that there is more left and I dont get the last one... as that me the one everyone rejected.
 
sergeysus said:
oh.. I hope that there is more left and I dont get the last one... as that me the one everyone rejected.
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there as been no returns as far as I'm aware, so you should be alright. It's a good blade you'll like it and actually it will grow on you even more as you use it.
 
khashy said:
there as been no returns as far as I'm aware, so you should be alright. It's a good blade you'll like it and actually it will grow on you even more as you use it.
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thanks! Im sure I'll love it. Got my tracking number..... so it is in stock.
 
For the people who bought it recently, did anyone get the newer version where the characters are printed on instead of engraved?
 
I got one like that but I decided to exchange it so I never tried it. I was told that's the newer version and the tang is stainless.
 
I am expecting the knife thats on the website photos... so I hope that is what comes in the mail.
 
jkao said:
I got one like that but I decided to exchange it so I never tried it. I was told that's the newer version and the tang is stainless.
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What exactly were you told?
There is a new batch out?
 
I bought a 240 roughly over a month ago and it was exactly the same as the pictures on JCK.

I believe it is with stainless tang as well.
 
wind88 said:
I bought a 240 roughly over a month ago and it was exactly the same as the pictures on JCK.

I believe it is with stainless tang as well.
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appreciate that comment. Cant imagine that there would be honyaki produced with a stamped kanji and JCK not putting that info on the site.
 
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