Japanese Knives gesshin ittetsu user experiences?

Kitchen Knife Forums

Help Support Kitchen Knife Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

labor of love

https://www.teruyasu.net/products/
KKF Supporting Member
Joined
Dec 15, 2011
Messages
11,065
Reaction score
7,204
these knives dont seem to get talked about quite as often as some of jons other stuff on the forums, i did some searching and i couldnt find much feedback. could anybody with experience with the gyutos, particularly with the hon kasumi http://www.japaneseknifeimports.com...ttetsu-270mm-white-2-hon-kasumi-wa-gyuto.html tell me about how your user experience? any pros or cons? how the knife felt in hand? thanks. from what i gather these knives sound like nice san mai knives with really thin grinds.
 
I'm glad you brought up ittetsu. I've been wondering about them for some time now myself. Doesn't look like anyone has any input. The honyaki's on Jon's website look awesome.
 
i wanted to bump this thread one more time before i pick up the phone and call jon myself. i suppose if i pull the trigger ill write a review, because besides a very dated bieniek review there is hardly any mention of this knife on this forum :(
 
I have the 180mm white #2 wa petty and absolutely love it. I cannot comment on the gyuto but there is nothing that I don't like about the petty. It takes a screaming edge and is not difficult to sharpen. I cannot comment on the edge retention as I use it for detail work as much as possible so it does not see much board contact. The reactivity is not bad at all either which is nice. If you have any more questions do not hesitate to ask
 
@laboroflove you know where to find me when you're ready to talk ;)

I used to the compare feature on the jki website and compared the ittetsu gyuto to a few other gyutos ive used/owned (heiji, gengetsu, ginga, kochi,). just a couple of lingering questions remain. ill give you a call soon.
 
how does that compare feature work for you? I'm curious about how some of these things are playing out.
 
the products comparison list shows side by side your various spine thickness measurements(by the handle, above the heel, halfway between blade, 1cm before tip). so its cool for me because i can tell in terms of spine thickness ittetsu is closer to gesshin ginga gyuto as opposed to gengetsu, kochi, heiji etc...
specs dont tell the full story but atleast i can get an idea of how drastic the taper is from handle to tip. also comparing weights of different knives side by side is fun too. ittetsu's weight is around 180grams, ginga 130 grams, and gengetsu is 217grams.
my favorite spec is the blade thickness halfway between spine and edge. according to the comparisons ittetsu is thinner ground halfway than gengetsu, kochi and heiji(obviously) but not quite thin as gesshin ginga.
the product comparison feature actually answered most of my questions. if you suggested this feature more often to your customers you may save yourself some time by not needing to answer so many emails :)
the only questions i really had left were concerning steel hardness(is it closer to gengetsu white steel or ginga white steel) and the stiffness of the blade. since gesshin ittetsu is san mai and a little thicker than gesshin ginga i was expecting/hoping it would be a stiffer blade too.
 
Do not feed the troll/fool...

The grind on that Gesshin Ittetsu looks fantastic, frankly.
 
And....now Ittetsu 240mm hon kasumi gyuto is sold out. Im pretty sure Jon's choil shot was the driving force behind that one.
 
F&F ; geometry ; stiffness, edge retention, maintenance etc...
I'm trying to decide between the kagekiyo ginsenko Sujihiki (after a slicer) or the ittetsu Yanagiba (mostly for sashimi).

I'm leaning towards the sujihiki for versatility.

There's also the Ginga line. SO many options!
 
Well, to be honest there’s different lines of kagekiyo knives with different levels of finish at different prices so I wouldn’t make a generalization about them. Ittetsu are usually quite thin, have a cool frosted looking finish, I really dig their handles. Ittetsu come taller at the heel than many gyutos, steel does have above average edge retention for wh2. Seems to be pretty stiff, but not as stiff as something like kochi. I like Ittetsu a lot.
 
Last edited:
Anyone else try ittetsu? I've handled them, but I wonder if they feel can feel on the too thinner side. For reference, I'm totally fine with and use thinner knives Ashi Hamono knives and thicker ones like Heiji.

Also any other cool things about the steel?
 
I own, and very frequently use the single bevel petty. It’s a fantastic knife - definitely one of the thinnest and lightest I own though. It’s very easy to sharpen and deburr too, which is nice.

It’s pretty sturdy too for its grind and weight, though I definitely babied it for a while until I got used to it. I’m the type who abuses my knives so I usually prefer heavier knives with thicker grinds. It was really nice to find such a thin, lightweight performer where I didn’t think I was going to break the tip or chip it every time I used it.
 
I owned (and just recently sold) the single bevel petty. It is a work of art and was obviously made by a very skilled craftsman with an eye toward detail. The fit and finish was the best I'd ever seen.

I really liked that knife, but had so few uses for it I passed it on. I'd get another ittetsu in a heartbeat.
 
Probably doesn't count but my Gesshin Ittetsu honyaki is one of the best knives I own. Grind and profile are amazing, steeps feels great on stones, nice handles and great finish. The only knock is that it's on the short and low side as it is more common with Sakai stuff.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top