Hitohira Togashi thread

Find deals on amazon
Advertise with us
Kitchen Knife Forums

Help Support Kitchen Knife Forums:

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

agp

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 2, 2012
Messages
450
Reaction score
158
Did not see a lot of Hitohira Togashi threads besides in buy/sell forums. Who actually has a Hitohira Togashi and uses it regularly? How does it cut and feel? How does it compare to common knives we can benchmark against? How long have you had it and how does it look now?
 
Got a link to the knife you're asking about. There seem to be a few different variants.
 
Corradobrit1 said:
Got a link to the knife you're asking about. There seem to be a few different variants.
Click to expand...

All Hitohira Togashis, these seem to be uncommon enough to warrant not specifying it down further.
 
Never handled one but they remind me a lot of the old school WB Kono Fuji's. Given the Togashi pedigree I'm sure steel HT is among the best.
 
I have a few Togashi-Tosa. I think the reference to Kono Fujiyama is correct - these knives, the grind, fit and finish, is immaculate. I am going by the recent “thicker” FM standard I got along with my Kaiju - Kaiju I still have to use - just staring at right now as it’s so purdy.

I had a Hitohira Togashi Stainless clad, but I sold it yesterday on BST - great knife, but I had a lot of them and needed space.

my other 3Togashi-Tosa are from Aoki Hamono, from Sakai. I have 3 Togashi-Tosa, all from Aoki Hamono:
Blue 1 240 Gyuto - 221gm
Blue 1 270 Gyuto - 280 gm
Blue 1 240 Honyaki, 268 gm

Have not used the Honyaki yet

these knives are some of the finest I have. The grinds are the best compared to anything and probably at par with Kaiju.

Today I cooked a simple pasta dish at home for family, was using the Togashi blue 240, saw your post, brought out the Denka and did some chopping side by side

they perform equally well, Togashi is heftier and feels more sturdy in the hand. The Denka is thinner, a great cutter too - enough written about it in these forums. But Togashi’s grind, polish, is a step above. Denka has other Features that have been written about all over KKF, so. I have nothing to add.

it’s not really a test between the two as I was only cutting some onions and herbs. But the feel factor - they are two very different knives - Denka heel height sets it apart I think over 55 vs. The 52 for Togashi-tosa

Can’t say enough good things about them - they are keepers and would have kept the stainless too - were it not for the fact that I am getting my 4th one - this one in Super-Aogami, custom ordered.
I guess the fact I am getting a 4th says it all😊

I recommend with no hesitation
 
They look pretty good, the way the profile “sweeps” towards the tip is sorta odd though. Might feel great on the board anyway. It’s something I’d definitely want to try before I buy.
 
RockyBasel said:
I have a few Togashi-Tosa. I think the reference to Kono Fujiyama is correct - these knives, the grind, fit and finish, is immaculate. I am going by the recent “thicker” FM standard I got along with my Kaiju - Kaiju I still have to use - just staring at right now as it’s so purdy.

I had a Hitohira Togashi Stainless clad, but I sold it yesterday on BST - great knife, but I had a lot of them and needed space.

my other 3Togashi-Tosa are from Aoki Hamono, from Sakai. I have 3 Togashi-Tosa, all from Aoki Hamono:
Blue 1 240 Gyuto - 221gm
Blue 1 270 Gyuto - 280 gm
Blue 1 240 Honyaki, 268 gm

Have not used the Honyaki yet

these knives are some of the finest I have. The grinds are the best compared to anything and probably at par with Kaiju.

Today I cooked a simple pasta dish at home for family, was using the Togashi blue 240, saw your post, brought out the Denka and did some chopping side by side

they perform equally well, Togashi is heftier and feels more sturdy in the hand. The Denka is thinner, a great cutter too - enough written about it in these forums. But Togashi’s grind, polish, is a step above. Denka has other Features that have been written about all over KKF, so. I have nothing to add.

it’s not really a test between the two as I was only cutting some onions and herbs. But the feel factor - they are two very different knives - Denka heel height sets it apart I think over 55 vs. The 52 for Togashi-tosa

Can’t say enough good things about them - they are keepers and would have kept the stainless too - were it not for the fact that I am getting my 4th one - this one in Super-Aogami, custom ordered.
I guess the fact I am getting a 4th says it all😊

I recommend with no hesitation
Click to expand...

How would you compare these to Konosuke or Masamoto in terms of feel and thickness?
 
labor of love said:
They look pretty good, the way the profile “sweeps” towards the tip is sorta odd though. Might feel great on the board anyway. It’s something I’d definitely want to try before I buy.
Click to expand...

it may be more Hitohira Togashi thats has the sweep, than the Aoki Togashi - see the pics:
This is Aoki Togashi:
C0CA0C8F-AA5A-40A6-8D92-F13FF8811121.jpeg
DF1066EF-7CE4-4AD2-A328-84E5008CB99B.jpeg
ED8A64AD-28D2-4F75-B707-183190497CA2.jpeg


And this is the Hitohira Togashi
 
agp said:
How would you compare these to Konosuke or Masamoto in terms of feel and thickness?
Click to expand...
I have the masamoto KS - completely different animal - that has more of a laser profile, even though it’s not a laser by definition. Masamoto is lighter, and much thinner

I would say the Togashi-Tosa is more of a 225 gm beast when compared to Masamoto. Togashi is hefty, convex, rather than a flat KS at 185gm

Kono - it depends upon which Kono - it’s the closest to the “thicker” Kono FM posted on Tosho right now. same weight, amazing grind, polishing and sharpening, just like the Kono - profile is quite similar, Kono may have a slightly different grind however, a bit flatter as I recall
 
I have the iron clad W1 240mm with the cherry handle. From memory it's around 230x50mm and ~195g. I've found that it's not as smooth dicing onions as my Makoto Sakura (R2 laser style gyuto), likely because it's not as thin at the tip and not as sharp. Mine wasn't particularly sharp out of the box and I haven't taken it to the stones so I'm keen to see what difference that makes. In all other respects though I'm preferring it over the Makoto. No wedging with smaller carrots (no root veg yet) and much better food release. The weight also feels really nice in hand. I was all about the lasers, but this and my Masakage nakiri are quickly changing my mind. I'm not sure if you can see from the pic, but the edge doesn't really have a flat spot, but stays fairly flat with a slight continuous curve from the heel until about the last 1/3 where it kicks up significantly. Seems to work for me.

Oh it's also very reactive. Wasn't used to that coming from stainless clad and even mono SK steel knives. I tried to force a bit of a patina early on by cutting a bit of onion and leaving the juice on for a minute or so before wiping and repeating. This was the result. Not sure if this is recommended or not, but it seemed to tame the reactivity a bit.

IMG_20200917_094517817.jpg
 
4wa1l said:
I have the iron clad W1 240mm with the cherry handle. From memory it's around 230x50mm and ~195g. I've found that it's not as smooth dicing onions as my Makoto Sakura (R2 laser style gyuto), likely because it's not as thin at the tip and not as sharp. Mine wasn't particularly sharp out of the box and I haven't taken it to the stones so I'm keen to see what difference that makes. In all other respects though I'm preferring it over the Makoto. No wedging with smaller carrots (no root veg yet) and much better food release. The weight also feels really nice in hand. I was all about the lasers, but this and my Masakage nakiri are quickly changing my mind. I'm not sure if you can see from the pic, but the edge doesn't really have a flat spot, but stays fairly flat with a slight continuous curve from the heel until about the last 1/3 where it kicks up significantly. Seems to work for me.

Oh it's also very reactive. Wasn't used to that coming from stainless clad and even mono SK steel knives. I tried to force a bit of a patina early on by cutting a bit of onion and leaving the juice on for a minute or so before wiping and repeating. This was the result. Not sure if this is recommended or not, but it seemed to tame the reactivity a bit.

View attachment 98882
Click to expand...

thats a beautiful knife, especially with the patina- I found that lasers do not have good food release and I shifted to heavier knives. Lasers feel really delicate - good for some tasks, but I prefer knives with more heft now - depending upon the taper, can do good tip work as well - my Y Tanaka from JNS is a good example, thin enough, but at 205 gm, also has some weight in the hand.
 
Thanks for sharing your experiences on the Hirohira Togashi knives. Learned a lot about these beauties.
 
RockyBasel said:
I have a few Togashi-Tosa. I think the reference to Kono Fujiyama is correct - these knives, the grind, fit and finish, is immaculate. I am going by the recent “thicker” FM standard I got along with my Kaiju - Kaiju I still have to use - just staring at right now as it’s so purdy.

I had a Hitohira Togashi Stainless clad, but I sold it yesterday on BST - great knife, but I had a lot of them and needed space.

my other 3Togashi-Tosa are from Aoki Hamono, from Sakai. I have 3 Togashi-Tosa, all from Aoki Hamono:
Blue 1 240 Gyuto - 221gm
Blue 1 270 Gyuto - 280 gm
Blue 1 240 Honyaki, 268 gm

Have not used the Honyaki yet

these knives are some of the finest I have. The grinds are the best compared to anything and probably at par with Kaiju.

Today I cooked a simple pasta dish at home for family, was using the Togashi blue 240, saw your post, brought out the Denka and did some chopping side by side

they perform equally well, Togashi is heftier and feels more sturdy in the hand. The Denka is thinner, a great cutter too - enough written about it in these forums. But Togashi’s grind, polish, is a step above. Denka has other Features that have been written about all over KKF, so. I have nothing to add.

it’s not really a test between the two as I was only cutting some onions and herbs. But the feel factor - they are two very different knives - Denka heel height sets it apart I think over 55 vs. The 52 for Togashi-tosa

Can’t say enough good things about them - they are keepers and would have kept the stainless too - were it not for the fact that I am getting my 4th one - this one in Super-Aogami, custom ordered.
I guess the fact I am getting a 4th says it all😊

I recommend with no hesitation
Click to expand...
Is this analysis just on the honyakis, or do you think it applies to the hitohira san mais as well as far as being a heftier workhorse type blade for those of us who may want to choose a non bank buster to try (well ok smaller bank buster)
 
nwshull said:
Is this analysis just on the honyakis, or do you think it applies to the hitohira san mais as well as far as being a heftier workhorse type blade for those of us who may want to choose a non bank buster to try (well ok smaller bank buster)
Click to expand...
Non-honyaki analysis- I have not used my honyaki yet. maybe I should use it this weekend
 
RockyBasel said:
Non-honyaki analysis- I have not used my honyaki yet. maybe I should use it this weekend
Click to expand...
Interesting. Maybe I'm misreading measurements or what you're saying, but I thought the togashi based on the CKC specs was about 2 something mms at the spine vs the Kaiju being 4? Are you saying thicker than advertised? The choil shots have always looks a bit thicker than the Hito Tanaka-Kyuzos.
 
I have a Aoki Hamono Togashi-Tosa knives. The Hitohira are more sweeping at the front end, and are also a bit thinner and lighter

For example, my Aoki 240 Togashi is 260 gm approximately and my Hitohira stainless clad blue was 225 gm.

That may explain the difference
 
And my Hitohira Togashi is 208 gm - so what I said was still valid, had my weights mixed up
 
Cool, worth looking into. Quick google suggests Aoki= Takayuki? Is this correct?
 
I think a pretty important distinction in the Togashi world is who the sharpener is. The wide bevels by Tosa and Kambei for instance are considerably thicker all the way around and heavier because of the cross-sectional geometry. The Yohei (honyaki) are a lot thinner. So it’s kinda two + different knife styles you’re comparing. The ku is at the top end of the scale as beefy knives go (250g). The Yohei honyaki are pretty thin (mine is 175g iirc). I mean that’s a 30% + swing. His treatment of steel is bang on, but there’s a pretty wide set of options after it leaves his shop.

Edit- I do realize that’s a pretty general interpretation but I hope it adds a little distinction without diving nauseatingly into specifics...
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top