Help me Choose a 210mm Gyuto from Mizaki, Yoshikane, Wakui, and Hinoura

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Don't over think it, just get one and start to use it, if you don't like it, it is easy to sell or trade here. Every option you have there are very good value for the money.
 
Best value for
I have both a Hinoura KU and Mazaki. owned a Yoshi about 9 year ago. My rec would be Mazaki, tallest knife, best blade geometry.

And it’s the best value for price - super sharp OOTB and you can get them now, but maybe not in a few months - he is a maker whose knives are getting rarer and rarer

great knife and at below $300, hard to beat this kind of artisan craftsmanship that you get with a Mazaki - here is a 240 mm Gyuto from CKC that I got 2 weeks ago. I just used it yesterday, and it’s fantastic - amazing distal taper and has some heft


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Best value for

And it’s the best value for price - super sharp OOTB and you can get them now, but maybe not in a few months - he is a maker whose knives are getting rarer and rarer

great knife and at below $300, hard to beat this kind of artisan craftsmanship that you get with a Mazaki - here is a 240 mm Gyuto from CKC that I got 2 weeks ago. I just used it yesterday, and it’s fantastic - amazing distal taper and has some heft

Huh???? Rare? He's making a thousand knives a day and he's only 17 yrs old. :cool:

Yoshi FTW
 
Huh???? Rare? He's making a thousand knives a day and he's only 17 yrs old. :cool:

Yoshi FTW

not rare as in kato - but rarer in the sense there only 2-3 sites that have any new 2020 stock

only CKC, Knives and stones, and K&S 2 new blues are sold out, Knifewear is old stock, and clean cut is old stock too - and the weight on the clean cut knives is less than 200 gems - very unmazaki.

hence the term rare - increasingly harder to find new stock

since he is evolving, the newer stock seems to be better, flatter, and feedback is that its improved. Though some still prefer the bull-nose

but you are right, it’s not rare as in shig etc.
 
I had 3 put of the 4. Yoshi was the sharpest but low heel height was undesirable to me.

Hinoura KU and Mazaki Nashiji surface finish looks very similar, i’d call them even. Mazaki spine was too thick, without the Kato grind spine to edge, it wedged in watermelon hard! My Mazaki cladding also had a puke yellow patina, gross looking. My pick among the three would be Shinoura.






Hinora

owned a Yoshi about 9 year ago.
 
I had 3 put of the 4. Yoshi was the sharpest but low heel height was undesirable to me.

Hinoura KU and Mazaki Nashiji surface finish looks very similar, i’d call them even. Mazaki spine was too thick, without the Kato grind spine to edge, it wedged in watermelon hard! My Mazaki cladding also had a puke yellow patina, gross looking. My pick among the three would be Shinoura.






Hinora

owned a Yoshi about 9 year ago.
Perhaps you'd like Masashi? They've got some Yoshi influence and taller. Can also get them in a profile that doesn't look like a torpedo.
 
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Hinoura KU is really light. On my Hinoura, some of the KU has already faded, and its hard to tell the difference between KU & patina.

The Mazaki thickness is only at the spine leaving the handle. If you grab by a pinch grip, the knife feels thin, on par with the Hinoura.

the bevel on Mazaki is taller. As a result, you get less wedging.

The ichi handle on the Hinoura is nicer, but the ho on the Mazaki is not bad.

last, the Mazaki is a lot taller, making my big hands
 
When you say light, you mean less than 180 grams? Thats what the Hinoura knives are weighing in currently (in stock)?




View attachment 85529Hinoura KU is really light. On my Hinoura, some of the KU has already faded, and its hard to tell the difference between KU & patina.

The Mazaki thickness is only at the spine leaving the handle. If you grab by a pinch grip, the knife feels thin, on par with the Hinoura.

the bevel on Mazaki is taller. As a result, you get less wedging.

The ichi handle on the Hinoura is nicer, but the ho on the Mazaki is not bad.

last, the Mazaki is a lot taller, making my big hands
 
I just got a tsuchume Wakui stainless clad white #2 240mm from K&S and I can tell you I haven't been that impressed with a knife close to that price point ever! I have knives from every maker you listed. The Wakui has beautifully rounded spine and choil. Terrific finish. Mirrored core steel. Sick grind. Super thin tip and edge. I couldn't recommend any knife higher.
 
I meant the kurouchi finish on the Hinoura is light

Here are knife weight:
Hitohira Kikuchiyo Kyuzo White #2 Kuro Gyuto 210mm: 145 grams
Mazaki White#2 Kuro Nashiji Gyuto 210mm: 196 grams

Hinoura is lighter in weight, but not noticeably so. Both knives weight balance point is right at the pinch point so it they both feel light
 
I just got a tsuchume Wakui stainless clad white #2 240mm from K&S and I can tell you I haven't been that impressed with a knife close to that price point ever! I have knives from every maker you listed. The Wakui has beautifully rounded spine and choil. Terrific finish. Mirrored core steel. Sick grind. Super thin tip and edge. I couldn't recommend any knife higher.

inhave hread the same re Wakui from other fiorum members

here are some quotes:
”Yeah I havent really tested it yet on anything like potatoes...and its nothing special with cooked proteins either. But it does a fantastic job on all kinds of veggies. Im very happy with the knife. I usually carry multiple gyutos for work anyway, Wakui seems to shine whenever I need real fine cuts/brunoise or fine veg slicing. The edge is thin enough to where Im not going bother using it at all for tougher tasks. I was surprised how great it was for carrots. Some food sticks from time to time, but it doesnt bother me.”


Got my wakui and I have to say it's a super knife.! Thin, light, tall just my cup of the 😄”

“I gotta say I got my 270 in today and I think it's a silly good knife for the money.”

apprentice of Yoshikane and people really like his knives
 
I just looked at wakui gyuto from k & s and it is amazingly similar (almost twin) to my kochi from jki.:oops:
 
I was very underwhelmed by my older mazaki, but I tried one of the newer ones and it was a fantastic performer, much different, much, much better.

This has been my experience with Mazaki as well. Picked up a new batch 240 KU gyuto from ckc and it is a very good knife. He is definitely getting better.
 
This has been my experience with Mazaki as well. Picked up a new batch 240 KU gyuto from ckc and it is a very good knife. He is definitely getting better.
Glad to hear this as I've got a ku240 from ckc arriving in 10 days
 
After much deliberation, data collection, analysis and winging it, I went with a Yoshi bunka 165mm nashiji skd from Ckc. Since I have a chef knife I'm happy with, I figured my first knife should be something different. Thank you for all the help. I went with SS since I do want to cut onions with it. And my understanding is that SKD is fairly easy to sharpen. And I have heard mostly good things about Yoshi.
 
Skd (Skd-12) is a semistainless steel rather than fully stainless. Should be fine with onions (hell, I cut onions with my Mazaki white2, which has a very reactive cladding). The exposed core steel will slowly patina. FWIW, I tend to quickly rinse or wipe the blade after cutting acidic foods such as onion.
 
not rare as in kato - but rarer in the sense there only 2-3 sites that have any new 2020 stock

only CKC, Knives and stones, and K&S 2 new blues are sold out, Knifewear is old stock, and clean cut is old stock too - and the weight on the clean cut knives is less than 200 gems - very unmazaki.

hence the term rare - increasingly harder to find new stock

since he is evolving, the newer stock seems to be better, flatter, and feedback is that its improved. Though some still prefer the bull-nose

but you are right, it’s not rare as in shig etc.
Any idea about these. Can’t tell it new or old and not sure if legit. Looking for one of these but everywhere seems out of stock. Japanese Chef Knife Mazaki Naoki White 2 Black Nashiji Gyuto 180-240mm Japan(IF_6D936C17)★
 
I own a Yoshi that I'm really happy with. I owned a Mazaki and I loved it, but I find it very particular. You love it or you hate it.
 
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