C-Grind honyaki gyuto US passaround

[SylvainM]

Hi all,

As promised a couple of weeks ago, here is the time for a passaround in the US (yet another frenchie sending knives your way you'll think ).

As for my EU PA (still on going), I'm happy to get any (constructive) feedback on any topic, with a small focus on food release if possible as I try to finetune my C-grind to get a good compromise between the cut and food release.

Knife specs :
- Gyuto forged in 1.2442 steel (1.15% carbon - 2% tungsten), approx 64 HRC, honyaki
- C-grind, right handed
- 220x57 mm, 205 mm cutting edge
- 3.2 mm thick at the handle
- Weight 175 gramms
- Handle is bog oak with natural chestnut bolster

Rules :
- US and Canada members only, accounts above 6 months
- Target is 10 participants, right handed if possible (because of the grind, lefties would probably not enjoy it)
- 500 € value insurance shipping, any damage or loss will be the responsibility of the participants
- 1 week testing period, vegs and proteine alike but no bones please
- Moderate to advanced sharpening skills required : no thinning unless agreed with me upfront, sharpening permitted if you are confident enough but only 1k and up, have a go at stropping first - this is to avoid the last participant to end up with a paring knife
- Feedback to be posted in this thread at the end of the testing along with at least one pic of the knife to assess its condition before next one gets it
- Blade will come back to me at the end of the PA to assess how it handled it, then I'll see what I do with it


Please post your interest in this thread along with your location (state and city) so I can organize things. The idea is to ship the knife to the first tester within the next few days.

 

[ian]

I’m in. Boston, MA.

 

[timebard]

Interested! SLC, UT.

 

[cooktocut]

Also interested!

Cape Coral, Florida

 

[fortheloveofmoar]

Also down!!!
Wausau, Wisconsin.

 

[Just a DK]

Jesus must hold strong... all these honyaki passarounds I know if I hold one Next person will most likely not get it...

 

[SylvainM]

Jesus must hold strong... all these honyaki passarounds I know if I hold one Next person will most likely not get it...

Come on, I'm sure you can do it If this is the one you refer to, Guirec and I are friends, no competition here, just twice the fun

 

[brimmergj]

Definitely interested in tagging along! Looks like a great profile.
Located Bennington, Vermont.

 

[pitted_soul]

Lafayette, GA. I am in!

 

[Homechef]

In! Cincinnati, Ohio

Thanks!

 

[Matt Jacobs]

I love grinds like this, I'm a lefty so I'm out but I will be following to hear the feedback.

 

[SylvainM]

I love grinds like this, I'm a lefty so I'm out but I will be following to hear the feedback.

Sorry for this - I considered doing a left grind but feared not to have enought participants. Also I'm a righty myself and would like to test the knife myself at the end of the PA to see how it handled it

 

[Matt Jacobs]

Sorry for this - I considered doing a left grind but feared not to have enought participants. Also I'm a righty myself and would like to test the knife myself at the end of the PA to see how it handled it

no apologies needed, right hand is definitely the better way to go for getting enough testers.

 

[Hockey3081]

Hi all,

As promised a couple of weeks ago, here is the time for a passaround in the US (yet another frenchie sending knives your way you'll think ).

As for my EU PA (still on going), I'm happy to get any (constructive) feedback on any topic, with a small focus on food release if possible as I try to finetune my C-grind to get a good compromise between the cut and food release.

Knife specs :
- Gyuto forged in 1.2442 steel (1.15% carbon - 2% tungsten), approx 64 HRC, honyaki
- C-grind, right handed
- 220x57 mm, 205 mm cutting edge
- 3.2 mm thick at the handle
- Weight 175 gramms
- Handle is bog oak with natural chestnut bolster

Rules :
- US and Canada members only, accounts above 6 months
- Target is 10 participants, right handed if possible (because of the grind, lefties would probably not enjoy it)
- 500 € value insurance shipping, any damage or loss will be the responsibility of the participants
- 1 week testing period, vegs and proteine alike but no bones please
- Moderate to advanced sharpening skills required : no thinning unless agreed with me upfront, sharpening permitted if you are confident enough but only 1k and up, have a go at stropping first - this is to avoid the last participant to end up with a paring knife
- Feedback to be posted in this thread at the end of the testing along with at least one pic of the knife to assess its condition before next one gets it
- Blade will come back to me at the end of the PA to assess how it handled it, then I'll see what I do with it


Please post your interest in this thread along with your location (state and city) so I can organize things. The idea is to ship the knife to the first tester within the next few days.

I’m in! Roseland, NJ

 

[SylvainM]

I’m in! NJ

Cool thanks - Can you tell which city in NJ so I can organize the route ?

Thanks

 

[Mikeadunne]

In Los Angeles ca

 

[bermuda_chub]

In! NYC. Design looks beautiful, and been dying to try a honyaki. Under six months, but if you’re willing to make an exception, I promise to take good care of the knife and write a highly readable review.

 

[nhb22]

I’m in. NY, close to NYC.

 

[Gshep91]

In! Southern California

 

[SylvainM]

All,
Here we go, that's 12 of us, which seems to be about right
@Gshep91 can you please give me an approximate city so I can arrange the tour ?

I will organize the route and let you know the order. I hope to send the parcel tomorrow

 

[SylvainM]

Hi all,
Did my homework and arranged the order to try and make the posting transit as short as possible (I assumed this made sense, let me know if not !).
Here would be the order : @ian > @brimmergj > @bermuda_chub > @nhb22 > @cooktocut > @pitted_soul > @Homechef > @fortheloveofmoar > @timebard > @Mikeadunne > @Gshep91 > @WildBoar

I have put @WildBoar at the end as the idea is he gets it for the KKF ECG on July 14th. If everybody keeps the knife around one week we should be just in the right timing - let's see how it goes along the path.

If anybody has any objection please feel free before the parcel gets sent to the first participant Happy to adjust along the way if need be of course.

Thanks all for showing your interest anyway ! I usually make laser-ish blades and this PA is good way to get feedback and improve this C-grind geometry that I wish to make a bit more... Actually thinking out loud : would that make sense passing around not one but two knives ? I.e. this C-grind and another one of my more standard build ? I'm guessing there wouldn't be any particular objection ?

 

[cooktocut]

Hi all,
Did my homework and arranged the order to try and make the posting transit as short as possible (I assumed this made sense, let me know if not !).
Here would be the order : @ian > @brimmergj > @bermuda_chub > @nhb22 > @cooktocut > @pitted_soul > @Homechef > @fortheloveofmoar > @timebard > @Mikeadunne > @Gshep91 > @WildBoar

I have put @WildBoar at the end as the idea is he gets it for the KKF ECG on July 14th. If everybody keeps the knife around one week we should be just in the right timing - let's see how it goes along the path.

If anybody has any objection please feel free before the parcel gets sent to the first participant Happy to adjust along the way if need be of course.

Thanks all for showing your interest anyway ! I usually make laser-ish blades and this PA is good way to get feedback and improve this C-grind geometry that I wish to make a bit more... Actually thinking out loud : would that make sense passing around not one but two knives ? I.e. this C-grind and another one of my more standard build ? I'm guessing there wouldn't be any particular objection ?

No objection, but I think you forgot my buddy @Hockey3081

 

[SylvainM]

No objection, but I think you forgot my buddy @Hockey3081

Oups, my mistake. Added him just after @nhb22 and before you.
@Hockey3081 sorry for the miss

So corrected order is :

Order	Member	State	City
1	@ian	Boston	Massassuchets
2	@brimmergj	Bennington	Vermont
3	@bermuda_chub	NYC	NY
4	@nhb22	NYC	NY
5	@Hockey3081	Roseland	NJ
6	@cooktocut	Cape Coral	Florida
7	@pitted_soul	Lafayette	Georgia
8	@Homechef	Cincinnati	Ohio
9	@fortheloveofmoar	Wausau	Wisconsin
10	@timebard	Salt Lake City	UT
11	@Mikeadunne	Los Angeles	California
12	@Gshep91	Los Angeles	California
13	@WildBoar	Washington DC

 

[Gshep91]

Oups, my mistake. Added him just after @nhb22 and before you.
@Hockey3081 sorry for the miss

So corrected order is :

Order	Member	State	City
1	@ian	Boston	Massassuchets
2	@brimmergj	Bennington	Vermont
3	@bermuda_chub	NYC	NY
4	@nhb22	NYC	NY
5	@Hockey3081	Roseland	NJ
6	@cooktocut	Cape Coral	Florida
7	@pitted_soul	Lafayette	Georgia
8	@Homechef	Cincinnati	Ohio
9	@fortheloveofmoar	Wausau	Wisconsin
10	@timebard	Salt Lake City	UT
11	@Mikeadunne	Los Angeles	California
12	@Gshep91	Los Angeles	California
13	@WildBoar	Washington DC

I’m in Murrieta, CA but doesn’t change the order! @Mikeadunne is roughly an hour from me

 

[SylvainM]

Hi all,
Here we go : the parcel has been posted this morning to @ian .
In there you'll find a second knife for testing, as previously mentionned - hope you'll like it. Same rules apply obviously in terms of maintenance and sharpening. The steel is 125SC on this one.
Can't wait to get your feedbacks
Have a nice WE

 

[SylvainM]

Last message before your reviews I promise - As a matter of interest, here is the second knife I included in the PA. Blade is 125SC, 200mm, about 2mm thick at spine from the top of my head. Hope you'll find some interest.

Enjoy !

 

[ian]

Thanks very much to Sylvain for volunteering the two knives for the PA! I used them for a week and sent them off to @brimmergj on Thursday morning.

First of all, I've corresponded a bit with Sylvain over the past few days, and I'd just like to say that he's been so friendly and communicative, and that he's genuinely interested in our opinions and preferences as users. I imagine that communicating with him regarding a custom would be a smooth and fulfilling experience.

As to the knives, I liked them a lot! They're very attractive, as you can see above in his pictures and in the photos I'll post below. The weight is perfect for me, with a nice forward balance. They cut smoothly, and the handles are both attractive and comfortable. The profiles are both a bit too flat for me near the heel, especially the laser, which I think has a very slight recurve, but in any case the real point of the PA was to give Sylvain a useful comparison of the two grinds when in use.

I liked the weight of the C-grind knife, and felt that it moved very smoothly through softer and/or shorter product. Food released seemed quite good, although I didn't have a chance to test it out quartering potatoes or anything. (Someone should do that.) When cutting cucumber slices rapidly, the slices moved around less than with the laser, which was great.

I think overall I slightly preferred using the C-grind to the laser. That said, I only sharpened the C-grind knife (less than 1 minute on a Shapton 2k, less than 1 minute on a coticule). Probably for an accurate comparison I should have given both the same edge.

This current example of the C-grind is perhaps a bit thicker behind the edge than it could be, and the ridge between the main concavity and the part of the blade near the edge is pretty tall and close to the edge, so the knife can struggle going through harder product. It had trouble splitting apples in half and cutting leeks crosswise, but that's not too surprising for a food release knife. Also, the fact that the back side of the knife is much flatter than the front side means that it steers to the left when you're cutting through tall product. All this is totally manageable, but personally my ideal version of the grind would be a little more symmetric and thinner behind the edge, just to make the knife more of an all-rounder rather than a specific food release knife. Those of you who like using 5 knives to cut an onion (or those of you who cut 50 pounds of potatoes every day) may disagree, and prefer a knife adapted well to a certain task. In any case, I'm sure Sylvain can make many versions of this grind that satisfy all our particular desires.

I'm looking forward to seeing more knives from him! Thanks again @SylvainM for the opportunity to use the knives!

 

[brimmergj]

Great write-up @ian
The package just arrived and the knives are in great shape. This is going to be a fun week!

 

[brimmergj]

Apologies for my late than preferred review.

First and foremost, thanks to @SylvainM for offering the pass around of his work, and even a bonus blade to play with.

Aesthetics
For my style of cutting, I tend to favor flatter profiles and these would fit right into that group. I didn't weigh or measure either knife, but I felt the size and weight were very proportional for each blade. The dark handle and KU has a certain rustic elegance which I find very appealing. The handles were both quite comfortable and natural feeling. I found I preferred the handle on the laser as the C-grind has a larger bevel on either side that made gripping slightly less comfortable for myself.

Cutting/In-use
Each knife arrived sharp and cut very well. Between the two blades, I found myself gravitating towards the laser for a few reasons. I enjoyed the C-grind; it had a good assertive heft to it that was pleasant and it definitely helped with separation. Separation wasn't magical or perfect, but was good with the ingredients I tend to use. A few slices may slide up the face, but would tend to fall off once they got to the concave. With taller and more dense product, the separation was more noticable, but so was the thickness behind the edge. Definitely not a bad thickness, but compared to the other blade, it was noticeable. I rather liked the cutting feeling it produced and together as a set, I felt the blades complimented each other quite well. If the C-grind were to be the only blade, I could see myself thinning behind the edge a bit.
With the laser, I preferred the slightly better cutting ability and found that I much preferred the balance when compared to the C-grind. When using either blade for a while, things were great. When I would switch frequently from blade to blade, I found that the forward balance of the C-grind would cause a slight bit of irritation in my wrist. It would only be for a minute after switching from the laser, but it was noticeable every time I moved to the other blade.

Again, @SylvainM , thank you so much for volunteering to do this pass around and for being so patient with my review. The blades are an absolutely fantastic pairing together and would be great as individual blades as well.

 

[SylvainM]

All,
Here is a quick update.
First thing first, thanks to @ian , @brimmergj and @bermuda_chub for their testing and the time and energy they put into it.
The knives have just been shipped to @nhb22 - Hope you'll have fun with them
Have a good day all !
Sylvain.