If you ask me, get it. I use the gyuto and the santoku professionaly for a month now, I love them, From all of my knives, they are my favourite knives.
Dont ask me why, that feel...
Personally, if I could keep only one knife, it would be the Hiromoto Honyaki gyuto 24cm, so I am subjective.
I rounded the spine to a pinch grips length, made them mirror polished up to a degree with diamond paste, cut salmons 5-6 kg central bone with both - no problem, gyuto fell on the floor- fortunatelly no problem, once it gets some patina you see parallel waves through the length of the blade.
When you hit the blade with your finger, the sound I hear, comes only from my Hiromoto honyaki and the Sukenari honyaki, no other knife.
By far my favourite, I am thinking of getting a third gyuto and a second Sujihiki. Not sure yet.
It has pretty small hamon, at a previous thread I wrote that Master Nagao did a good job at flattening a harder blade, I had written it because I thought it logical then, after that I found a thread, that If I understood it correct Mr.John Broida, backs it up
http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/s...-Monosteel/page3?highlight=singatirin+honyaki
post #28
Western handle, metal bolster, perfect balance for the 24cm gyuto. As you saw there is a better 'money wise' case, the western handle without bolster
Sharpens easily, gyuto has great distal taper, thin geometry, left side almost flat-if not flat.
Sujihiki has almost no distal taper, no flax at all. For different use than the gyuto. Also wider hamon.
All of these info, based on the batches that I got.
Keep in mind though, that Honyakis have limitations, they need delicate use, in order not to crack as I have read, but I cant help you, better ask someone experienced
