Ittetsu brand? Good Sanjo workhorse?

[deskjockey]

I have been watching JNS in the EU for a Wakui Kaeru Workhorse off and on for a good while. Looking at the Ittestus from a distance, they appear to be similar. These look like they may be a good option to the out of stock Kaeru options.

I am looking at one coming up for sale with a July 4th discount that has my curiosity up. Being stainless clad "tool steel" SLD suggests this in not the semi-stainless SLD/SKD steel but, I have been led to believe this steel isn't super prone to rust so, it isn't super demanding for use in a home kitchen.

How do one these in a Gyuto work on soft and hard produce? Will it slice ripe tomatoes or fruit without crushing it? How does it work on things like Sweet Potatoes and similar tough produce? Is it a good choice for primarily "heavy" work while retaining the ability to whip up a salad or fruit plate?

TIA!

 

[Chang]

Are you looking at the workhorse or the regular one? Because they're very different knives.

 

[Jovidah]

From what I've seen Ittetsu is another one of those brands that basically just rebrands stuff from other makers. So I think the Ittetsu name covers stuff from several different makers. The Ittetsu SLD stuff looked like it's from Tadafusa to me, but I could be completely and utterly wrong on that guess.

 

[deskjockey]

The knife is listed as:
Location: Sanjo City, Niigata
Construction: San Mai
Cladding: Stainless
Edge Steel: SLD
HRC: 61-62 Edge

It looks like this may be an OEM manufacturer or Tadafusa based on the hammer pattern.

 

[kpham12]

Yeah, these are OEM knives sold under a ton of different names. Thick out of the spine, tapers to a couple mm in front of the heel and holds it until it tapers at the tip. Decently thin BTE for a factory knife. Good heel height, around 51-52 mm for a 240mm gyuto. Shinogi isn’t too low so it cuts fine on most things, but it’s still a wide bevel so if you’re cutting a bunch of giant sweet potatoes, you’ll feel when you hit the shinogi and probably get at least some wedging. Assuming a good heat treat, SLD is a nice stainless, or at least functionally stainless, for lots of tomatoes and other produce with waxy skin. Won’t hold an edge as long as a PM steel, but keeps its bite well, even on plastic boards. Good knife for the price, especially if you like the hammered pattern. You can search “Niigata SLD” on YouTube for vids of the same knife with a different handle.

 

[deskjockey]

Are you looking at the workhorse or the regular one? Because they're very different knives.

Workhorse to compliment a laser.

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

Yep, the brand is sold at a variety of places and I think there's different makers of the different lines. SHARP sells them as both the X-Hammer line (like shown above) and Kurouchi.

I have an X-Hammer bunka in SLD. Although not the gyuto you're asking about, in general terms, my example is a well made knife and I like the steel.