Is the Tanaka-Kyuzo worth the price?

[Old Fashioned]

I see prices for the Tanaka-Kyuzo 240 Gyuto, Blue 1 Stainless clad, ranging in price from $660-$760 US. Curious of thoughts on the knife at this price point. I have a Hado 240 in Blue 1 Damascus. So same steel forged by same blacksmith. It's just sooo thin. Would this be more of a duplication?

 

[ahhactive]

gotta buy to find out. i think there's why most of us here buy knives. the hado is ridiculous thin already tbh

 

[blokey]

Maruyama from Hado apprenticed under Takeshi Yauchi, who are rumored to be Kyuzo, so I’d probably expect some similarities here. Tho Hado seems only have Damascus blue 1 Available while Kyuzo have more blue 1 options.
https://hado-knife.jp/en

 

[More_Gyutos]

Those two knives are actually pretty different, The Hado B1 is more convex grind, iron clad, while the T-K is high bevel, stainless clad. The profiles are pretty different as well, Hado is tall with a bit more belly. The Tanaka Kyuzo feels beefier and more authoritative and the Hado much more of a laser.

The Hado Junpaku is a much closer comparison although obviously not the same steel, but more similar in other aspects.

 

[Philly]

Those two knives are actually pretty different, The Hado B1 is more convex grind, iron clad, while the T-K is high bevel, stainless clad. The profiles are pretty different as well, Hado is tall with a bit more belly. The Tanaka Kyuzo feels beefier and more authoritative and the Hado much more of a laser.

The Hado Junpaku is a much closer comparison although obviously not the same steel, but more similar in other aspects.

I absolutely concur with you doctor..! That is a great explanation for someone to understand. The how what and why of this topic..! Right on nice

 

[Philly]

I must say that I collect Yoshikazu Tanaka blades because I feel like he is the OG and bomb ..! I have bin a chef 30 years now..! I use blades for 12 hours a day 6 days a week.! I have never used a Yoshikazu Tanaka blade that I didn’t absolutely love ..! I don’t have the hado blue one yet..! But HITOHIRA Tanaka knives are hands down awesome in my experience and opinion..! Bernal cutlery has kyuzo Tanaka blades on the website right now..! If you are in the industry you get 10% off everything..! I agree with everything that everyone else says about it too !!
Cheers happy cutting..!

 

[Old Fashioned]

Those two knives are actually pretty different, The Hado B1 is more convex grind, iron clad, while the T-K is high bevel, stainless clad. The profiles are pretty different as well, Hado is tall with a bit more belly. The Tanaka Kyuzo feels beefier and more authoritative and the Hado much more of a laser.

The Hado Junpaku is a much closer comparison although obviously not the same steel, but more similar in other aspects.

Thank you. I have a gyuto from the Hado Sumi line, but not Junpaku. The Sumi and Blue Damascus are very different.

 

[Old Fashioned]

gotta buy to find out. i think there's why most of us here buy knives. the hado is ridiculous thin already tbh

Yeah. A little too much so for my preference. At least for the gyuto

 

[Genghis_F]

Hi
Asking out of ignorance
Are the hitohira y Tanaka blades similar to the konosuke fujiyama fm’s?
If not how are they different performance wise
I’d assume there’s a big difference because of the sharpener

The promiscuity among Sakai Hamonos is really confusing sometimes
Am I incorrect in believing that the sharpeners use aliases at different houses?

I’m kinda team sanjo rn

Sorry if this is too basic

 

[superworrier]

Junpaku and Kyuzo are quite similar. I think Kyuzo has better finishing though (this is probably 99% cosmetic).
Honestly not sure if the B1D hado looks that convex to me... looks pretty similar to Junpaku to me, and almost looks concave here: (Hado Blue 1 Damascus Gyuto 240mm - Blade Only). I had one of the newer Junpakus with higher shinogi, similar to B1D.

I think only Hitohira uses aliases. For other shops, they will usually be unnamed instead.
The Tanaka-Kyuzo knives are different from Fujiyama FM, but it's a different style of blade. Wide bevel (Kyuzo) vs full convex (fujiyama FM). I think Kyuzo ones are a bit heavier too, feeling-wise, maybe more comparable to Tetsujin knives (same sharpener as FM).

 

[mockit]

If you are looking for something like a FM (Tanaka forged and ground by Myojin with thin convex profile) email KAMA-ASA KAMA-ASA. Another member suggested them and I have one on the way. You can use them as a Sakai middleman. The Kyuzo is a different animal. Same steel, but a beefier / flatter wide bevel. You are right to think that Sakai is confusing... I have stopped looking at the brands all together and just look for the smith and sharpener. Also on the list of people looking for a Tanaka x Kyuzo (not stainless). Ugh... what a sexy bevel.

 

[Genghis_F]

So is Tanaka x Kyuzo
Like the old Tanaka x Morihiro Fujiyama with old school wide bevels? I think they were referred to as FT(?)

 

[jedy617]

Kinda yeah. You can't go wrong with most any Y. Tanaka imo. If you can't get your hands on a FM, I think hado, kyuzo, kagekiyo, and takada are all in a similar league.

 

[superworrier]

Honestly I like Kyuzo less than other wide bevels. The shoulders are very hard (wider than the spine actually), which can cause wedging in harder ingredients. I don't think the food release is better than other wide bevels.

 

[superworrier]

The Kikumori Y Tanaka wide bevel is pretty good but similar to Hado. I have the AS one but I think the other steels look to have the same sharpener for the corresponding line.

 

[ethompson]

My experience is limited to one Tanaka x Kyuzo blade and I don’t get the hype besides the fact they look awesome - too thick at the shinogi and the grind is nowhere near as crisp as it looks.

 

[Mikeadunne]

So is Tanaka x Kyuzo
Like the old Tanaka x Morihiro Fujiyama with old school wide bevels? I think they were referred to as FT(?)

that is incorrect. you can check out omega's Fujiyama history thread for reference, just do a search for it

 

[madmotts]

I think they were referred to as FT(?)

I don't know what the Morihiro Fujiyama (letters) were, but i just visited Takada and he when he worked on Fujiyamas the "T" was him. From the source...

 

[esoo]

So is Tanaka x Kyuzo
Like the old Tanaka x Morihiro Fujiyama with old school wide bevels? I think they were referred to as FT(?)

There were no letters on the Kono Fujiyama done by Morihiro.

FT was ground by Takada

 

[Genghis_F]

I don't know what the Morihiro Fujiyama (letters) were, but i just visited Takada and he when he worked on Fujiyamas the "T" was him. From the source...

Thanks for the clarification!

 

[gentiscid]

Hado sharpener/polisher Maruyama was trained under Kyuzo for mastering the wide bevels.

 

[jedy617]

I highly recommended the hado junpaku or a kagekiyo for wide bevel

 

[jjlotti]

I have no trepidation in recommending this knife. Actual use? No hesitation through Bell pepper, tomato, onion, sweet potato proteins etc. The shoulders thing is rubbish....It's a wide bevel.........to me the stainless integrates nicely

 

[superworrier]

The shoulders thing is not rubbish. You can see on the choil shots the shoulder is wider than the spine for many (most?) of them. Most wide bevels are not like this. The one I had definitely did not plow through sweet potatoes. Unless you mean like a KT does.

Maybe it's tolerable for you or the shoulders are not as pronounced, but calling it rubbish is silly.

 

[ethompson]

The shoulders thing is not rubbish. You can see on the choil shots the shoulder is wider than the spine for many (most?) of them. Most wide bevels are not like this. The one I had definitely did not plow through sweet potatoes. Unless you mean like a KT does.

Every KT I’ve tried has had better cutter feel than my Tanaka Kyuzo despite being equally or more cracky on hard veg

 

[jjlotti]

I prefer something more in the 300g area for hard squash type stuff if that's what you mean. Not my knife for that. Chosera 3k edge, carrots, celery etc just whispers through it.....op asked if the knife is worth the price... I didn't pay quite that much... Tosho Knife... But I have never regretted having the hitohira, it's beautifully finished . Fan of the tahi? handle too, I have a fairly large hand and either like a big handle or a tiny one that just disappears. It's definitely the latter. Will put some calipers on it tomorrow to see further but optically and flat surfaces indicate pretty poker flat.

 

[cwk.v]

I feel like it's likely answered at this point, but I'll add a quick-ish answer.

I currently have variations of the knives mentioned here. Hado blue 1, various Tanaka Kyuzos (ss clad, extra height, etc.), and a KS FM (among a few other myojin ground knives). Comparing those 3 knives in general, I feel that they are uniquely different to me. Owning them, I don't feel like I'm overlapping knives.

As for the wide shoulder to the TxK, I agree with that for some, but not all of the ones I have. In my opinion, the grind varies a lot and I have plenty of photos to back that up

 

[Old Fashioned]

I appreciate your thoughts. Is the T-K as thin as the Hado Blue?

 

[bahamaroot]

The shoulders being wider than the spine would have absolutely nothing to do with the knife wedging. Put a 5mm spine on the Tanaka Kyuzo and that would not negate any wedging. My Tanaka Kyuzo glides through carrots, potatoes and cabbage. LOVE that knife! Paid $595 for it at Carbon, would I have given $100 more dollars for it than I did? Doubt it.
And mine is wider at the shinogi than the spine but doesn't seem to affect performance at all as far as I can tell.

 

[cwk.v]

I appreciate your thoughts. Is the T-K as thin as the Hado Blue?

If you are referring to the behind the edge, the Hados I have are thinner behind the edge