Bernal Cutlery Recommendations - What do you think?

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heymac08

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Location
Bay Area, CA
Hi all,

So I just talked to Bernal Cutlery and we narrowed down my potential Gyutos to the following:

Konosuke 210mm SLD 'Sumiiro' Gyuto
Jikko 200mm R-2 Powder Steel Kiritsuke Tip Gyuto

I'm having a hard time figuring out which one I like more... anyone have any experience with either, or anything I should consider before deciding?

She also suggested the following for me:

Konosuke 270mm Iron Clad/Shiro 2 Slicer
Pallares 8" Bread Knife
Tojiro 150mm R-2 Powder Steel petty

What are your thoughts? Should I still schedule some time to talk Jon at JKI or are these knives a good deal for what they are?

Thanks in advance!
 
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The "guy in S California"? I don't think I've ever heard of Jon being referred to quite that way. If that's who you're referencing then by all means you should. Time on the phone with any of the JKI staff is always time well spent.
 
The "guy in S California"? I don't think I've ever heard of Jon being referred to quite that way. If that's who you're referencing then by all means you should. Time on the phone with any of the JKI staff is always time well spent.

Hahah sorry, I'm not near a computer and couldn't remember the acronym of his store or his name, just his location. I'll give him a call too.
 
Bernal is great, especially for bread knives.
That Tojiro R-2 petty is killer for the price.
JKI is always worth talking to...
 
JKI has deepest knowledge of Japanese knives, no doubt.
Bernal is different. Josh started out refurbishing vintage European knives. His first store was a pop up one block from an excellent butcher shop (Avedano's) that processed whole beasts by hand with no power tools. Some of the early sharpeners were butchers by trade.
He then moved to his own space shop across the street from Tartine and they all ate a lot of baked goods.
As such Bernal have a much deeper interest in all kinds of knives.
Their knowledge of vintage European, butcher and bread knives is second to none.
Both special shops in their own way...
 
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The Konosuke (Nihei) SLD looks sweet and comes with saya if you’re into that. He’s a Yoshikane disciple- good taper and generous flat spot (push/pull/chop). Holds a good edge, high-ish hrc (64?) and Reasonable to sharpen.

<buy now>

disclaimer I don’t have one but I have a Nihei bunka on the way and own some Yoshi.

Of course lots of options in that price range- If you consider stainless clad carbon... here we go
 
Jon at Japanese Knife Imports has been great for me. I don't have experience with Bernal but heard they're good also.
 
The Sumiiro I have in a 210 and it’s fabulous. That SLD lasts for a bit, is great to sharpen, but the best part for me is the Nashiji/kurouchi finish on it. It feels very “tight”; I don’t know quite how to describe it but it has one of my favorite tactile feel of any knife in a pinch grip. It’s definitely a lighter weight knife and I personally love my 240FT weighing in at around 120g but compared to that the sumiiro is almost hefty.
 
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