Gyuto profile review - Help needed

[RDalman]

Never handle heavy, neutral or forward works better.

lightweight: 100-140g for 210mm
Midweight: 140-180g for 210mm
Heavyweight: beyond

Just a ballpark. There’s no ultimate rule to what fits best to someone, but general trend is midweight-heavyweight and neutral-slightly forward on 210 and shorter, more forward still when longer. 30-40mm forward the heel is the usual ballpark for 240mm.

As a maker in a first time you need to take a stand as to what you think fits YOUR knife best; eventually, to listen and adjust to your customer base feedback.

Yes.. And it's ok to change preferences over time too

 

[ModRQC]

Yes.. And it's ok to change preferences over time too

Doing so eventually leading to KKF massdrop of RD's Honyakis... a chain of events that cannot be undone.

 

[captaincaed]

Hi,

Just wanted to follow up and close the loop on this build.

I have experimented with and learned a few things along the way. I kept things simple and utilitarian, e.g. handle and overall blade finish. I will make a better one next time around.

My wife asked if she could have it, so it is now in our kitchen.

This is good since I want to see how it performs and tweak as necessary.

I haven’t forgot or ignored that I agreed to send it for some testing by some of you, but I think a new one will be a better knife. I will keep my promise, just want to put out a better knife.

Thanks again for your great feedback along the way, really appreciate

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Nice work, always satisfying to see a project go to completion.
That is a super light knife, must be a real laser. Throw up a video cutting with it, show off a bit!

 

[Heli]

Never handle heavy, neutral or forward works better.

lightweight: 100-140g for 210mm
Midweight: 140-180g for 210mm
Heavyweight: beyond

Just a ballpark. There’s no ultimate rule to what fits best to someone, but general trend is midweight-heavyweight and neutral-slightly forward on 210 and shorter, more forward still when longer. 30-40mm forward the heel is the usual ballpark for 240mm.

As a maker in a first time you need to take a stand as to what you think fits YOUR knife best; eventually, to listen and adjust to your customer base feedback.

Thanks again, I appreciate your feedback and everybody’s else.

I like the categorization in terms of weight in relation to length figures, excellent!

I’m working on defining my own interpretation based on what I have learned, it will show in my next build and I plan to share it once completed.

 

[Heli]

Nice work, always satisfying to see a project go to completion.
That is a super light knife, must be a real laser. Throw up a video cutting with it, show off a bit!

Thank you, I appreciate your encouragement. Yes, looks like it is a really light knife based on the received feedback.

Is there a cutting test I should do?

Let me make another one or two knifes and I will make a comparison video on their progression. I have some ideas I’d like to implement and test.

 

[ModRQC]

Thanks again, I appreciate your feedback and everybody’s else.

I like the categorization in terms of weight in relation to length figures, excellent!

I’m working on defining my own interpretation based on what I have learned, it will show in my next build and I plan to share it once completed.

Add like 20-30g to each range for a ballpark for 240mm.

I think many KKF members would argue that heavyweight really starts above 200g, but that would fit with the fact that many KKF members prefer 240mm Gyutos. Figures aren't so important as the general idea though. I personally find 150g for a 210mm is still pretty lightweight. But my figures were based more on averaging all the J-Knives I shopped or own(ed) and how to best describe the distribution of weight from there. .

Have fun with the next one!

 

[Heli]

Add like 20-30g to each range for a ballpark for 240mm.

I think many KKF members would argue that heavyweight really starts above 200g, but that would fit with the fact that many KKF members prefer 240mm Gyutos. Figures aren't so important as the general idea though. I personally find 150g for a 210mm is still pretty lightweight. But my figures were based more on averaging all the J-Knives I shopped or own(ed) and how to best describe the distribution of weight from there. .

Have fun with the next one!

Great, thanks again!

 

[ModRQC]

Thanks to you to share with us. I didn't mean to be mean by any of it - saying we had covered a point already was not a blame, more of a reminder that more experienced users than myself had contributed to this question earlier in the post. @Barmoley was the one to bring up first that real blade heavy for shorter lengths is not ideal.

 

[captaincaed]

Thank you, I appreciate your encouragement. Yes, looks like it is a really light knife based on the received feedback.

Is there a cutting test I should do?

Let me make another one or two knifes and I will make a comparison video on their progression. I have some ideas I’d like to implement and test.

For a home cook, I think apples, carrots, potatoes ans tomatoes represent the four horsemen that bedevil knives.
Carrots for cutting vs cracking, potatoes from r food release, tomatoes for skin puncture/sharpness, and apples for some combo of all three.

I'm not sure what dish you make with those.... That's a problem for iron chef. Salad and mashed taters?

Edit: and yes sweet potatoes are a nice task too.

 

[Jovidah]

Sweet potatoes are another one you could add to the testing list that often distinguishes the boys from the men when it comes to knives.
If the knife is for yourself I'd say... cut foods you normally want to cut. No point trying to optimize it for stuff you don't eat, unless you're planning to eventually make knives for other people.

 

[Heli]

Thanks to you to share with us. I didn't mean to be mean by any of it - saying we had covered a point already was not a blame, more of a reminder that more experienced users than myself had contributed to this question earlier in the post. @Barmoley was the one to bring up first that real blade heavy for shorter lengths is not ideal.

No offense taken, thank you.

 

[Barmoley]

Weight and especially balance are all personal preference. As long as it works for you it is all good. Sounds like your wife likes it a lot and that matters a lot more than whatever some people on the internet tell you.

 

[Jovidah]

Weight and especially balance are all personal preference. As long as it works for you it is all good. Sounds like your wife likes it a lot and that matters a lot more than whatever some people on the internet tell you.

I think if I ever tried my hand on some knifemaking myself, this would be my main motivation: try to make something myself that's just right for me and whatever weird preferences I might have. It gives you the option to experiment and dial in on your preferences and truly fully finetune something to your own liking.

 

[Heli]

On a 180, neutral, at the heel, is good as getting blade forward is tough, limits the handle size and material a lot.

So if I understand you correctly from the sentence above, ideally you would still want a blade forward balance if not limited by handle material weight, correct?

Or do people prefer the balance at pinch grip with 180mm blades?

If not limited by anything, what most people prefer, what is most desirable. I understand that some things are preference, but what does the majority find “feeling just right”.

EDIT: For example I achieved a blade forward balance, purposely.

Thanks again,

 

[Barmoley]

You are right, my statement was mostly due to forward balance being difficult on shorter blades. You achieved it so no issue in your case, but you are still somewhat limited to handle size, material and construction. In general I prefer forward balance on any knife I use on a board, but I tend to hold shorter knives differently. For example on 220+ I use a deep pinch grip, but on shorter blades I still use pinch grip but pinching the neck more. This makes the blade feel longer, but also changes perceived balance and so balance around the heel works for these for me. With a shorter blade if I pinch deep I loose too much of the edge and also usually the perceived balance becomes too handle biased. I also mostly use different length blades for different tasks, so that also plays a role.

Basically, I think most prefer balance at pinch or slightly forward of it for general purpose gyutos of different lengths, but depending on blade length and handle, neck, choil construction and the type of pinch the location of the pinch might be different.

 

[Heli]

In general I prefer forward balance on any knife I use on a board, but I tend to hold shorter knives differently. For example on 220+ I use a deep pinch grip, but on shorter blades I still use pinch grip but pinching the neck more. This makes the blade feel longer, but also changes perceived balance and so balance around the heel works for these for me. With a shorter blade if I pinch deep I loose too much of the edge and also usually the perceived balance becomes too handle biased. I also mostly use different length blades for different tasks, so that also plays a role.

Basically, I think most prefer balance at pinch or slightly forward of it for general purpose gyutos of different lengths, but depending on blade length and handle, neck, choil construction and the type of pinch the location of the pinch might be different.

Great, thanks again.

So if I understand this correctly, you are adjusting to what feels comfortable to you in terms of balance, very interesting. You are in fact then solving any balance issues in a particular knife by altering grip point so it achives your desire balance.

So in conclusion, the ideal balance is always a bit forward and when not possible at pinch grip as a worst case scenario, would this be a fair statement?

Thanks again,

 

[Barmoley]

Great, thanks again.

So if I understand this correctly, you are adjusting to what feels comfortable to you in terms of balance, very interesting. You are in fact then solving any balance issues in a particular knife by altering grip point so it achives your desire balance.

So in conclusion, the ideal balance is always a bit forward and when not possible at pinch grip as a worst case scenario, would this be a fair statement?

Thanks again,

For me forward of the pinch is ideal for anything used on the board. I can adjust to some degree, but I'd rather not since, for longer blades, I like pinch grip where my middle finger is against the choil. I'll reference @Kippington again since I agree with most of what he says even though my preference is slightly different. Balance point on a gyuto checkout the whole thread for some more preferences.

 

[Heli]

For me forward of the pinch is ideal for anything used on the board. I can adjust to some degree, but I'd rather not since, for longer blades, I like pinch grip where my middle finger is against the choil. I'll reference @Kippington again since I agree with most of what he says even though my preference is slightly different. Balance point on a gyuto checkout the whole thread for some more preferences.

Thanks again! Went through the post, that’s exactly what I was looking for.

Your preference is also in line with the majority.

From my limited experience, I also enjoy a balanced, if not slightly blade bias balance with a pinch grip.

I will look to archive this in my next builds and if say I would want to change the balance towards the handle, it would be just a matter of adjusting the handle weight.

 

[stereo.pete]

@Heli would you mind sharing your workspace and tools? As someone who dabbles occasionally in blade craft, I'm always interested to see how other folks have their shops / tools set up.

Cheers!

 

[Heli]

Yes, no problem, I’ll take some pics.

In a nutshell, my basement is my shop... and more.

Thanks,

 

[stereo.pete]

Yes, no problem, I’ll take some pics.

In a nutshell, my basement is my shop... and more.

Thanks,

Thank you!

 

[Heli]

As promised, here it is, @stereo.pete.

yes, my QC employee.

Cheers,