The listing from Hitohira (from whom I purchased): https://hitohira-japan.com/products/cma-000-096?_pos=111&_sid=43c5b024a&_ss=r&variant=33438998855815
Just in. Still not a ton of real world info on these so figured I would share my thoughts after a half day of testing, sharpening, and polishing. I was interested in the Jiro offerings when first introduced, but was hunting other blades at the time. Fast forward a few months and I almost had a heart attack when checking the prices again. So as you might imagine I was pretty stoked to stumble upon this heavily discounted gyuto, the only flaw being that some core steel was poking through the iron cladding.
Purchase Experience: I know that some folks have "thoughts" about Hitohira and the way they do business, but my experiences have always been nothing short of stellar. After purchasing this knife Hokuto sent me a note making sure I was OK with the flaw in the cladding, along with sending a few extra pictures up close. He went on to say that if this knife looked OK to me they would discount the price further as I have been a supporter from the beginning. Pretty floored by this level of customer service, considering I ended up saving over $200 on what was a cosmetic flaw. I purchased late Wednesday evening, and had the knife in hand today - Friday afternoon. Crazy fast shipping from Japan, absolute perfect packaging, and the box was beautifully gift wrapped. Hokuto included a nice handwritten card. In the past he has dropped in fun gifts and extras. Top shelf all the way.
Steel: I initially figured the steel might be just "ok". I have an early Mazaki and the heat treat is most definitely "off", leading to poor burr formation and removal, crappy feeling sharpening, and substandard edge retention. In actuality Jiro-san did an incredible job here. Moderate hardness, with very fine grain structure. It came sharp enough with well set bevels, but was begging to be taken to the stones. In record time I produced a crisp edge with excellent bite. The steel gives supreme feedback when sharpening. I'm placing it in the top three, along with Heiji carbon and TF white #1 in terms of ease/joy of sharpening. I have not gotten to use it for long enough to really speak on edge retention, but so far seems slightly above average for white #1. I was not expecting the steel to be this good.
Profile/Performance/Grind: A generous flat spot for over 1/3 of the blade, yet the tip is high enough to rock without digging in the board. This knife has my ideal chef knife profile and will rock, G&G, chop, push or pull cut to suit your needs. The balance point is way far back, and reminds me of the heavy german knives I first used as a young line cook. While very different from the rest of my forward heavy Jknives it is a welcomed change. This knife excels at the Guillotine and Glide, the weight from the handle pulls the knife down to complete the cut with just the slightest prompt from your wrist. Different, but very nicely balanced. The spine is crazy thick above the heel, but displays the most graceful distal taper of any knives I own (Kato, Shigefusa, Masamoto KS included), ending in a very, very thin tip. If you check the pictures from the link above you will see a definite right hand bias in the grind. I experienced good food release, although some ingredients managed to stick to the wide bevel. Ghosts through onions and assorted softer veg, with just a little bit of cracking on big horse carrots. Surprised how easily it went through sweet potato. Haven't cut any meat with it yet. I was impressed in this category.
Fit and Finish: Given the "rustic" look, I was expecting much more rough F&F. Spine and choil are eased and comfortable out of the box. Handle is very well made and has been sanded smooth, no gaps or shenanigans like on my Yo TF handles. The knife is very comfortable using a variety of grips, despite it's weight. The Kanji is deep and attractive with a cool 3D effect. It's dope that these are finished on bench stones. I couldn't help but run it through a quick progression to see how it would polish up. Shapton glass 500, Shapton pro 1500, unknown iromono, finished on a Shobudani tomae. Damn I've never had a Jknife polish up so beautifully without putting in the hours. Obviously a lot of time is spent finishing these knives by hand. Once again, color me impressed.
Final Thoughts: I was looking for something "different". I picked this up on a whim for the chance to test one out fully expecting to list it on BST afterwards. A fun fling perhaps. Something with which one can shake things up before returning to the humdrum of everyday kitchen life. But no - this is a keeper. It's stupid heavy, but feels nimble. It looks rustic, but is so refined (one could say it's elegant, despite the rough appearance). I love that the number of the knife is hand engraved on the side in Kanji. The certificate with calligraphy done by Jiro is literally so nice I wouldn't think you crazy for wanting to have it framed (I just might). I am really surprised and impressed by this knife, and absolutely think that Jiro is one of the blacksmiths to keep an eye on. It is clear that a lot of heart, soul, and thought went into the making of this blade. We'll see if things change but so far this one is really resonating with me. It has the same level of "presence" that my Kato's, Shig's, and Heiji's have. That indefinable, but immediately understandable spirit of quality and craftsmanship. I don't group Jiro in with such highly esteemed blacksmiths lightly - there is much more here than hype.
Just in. Still not a ton of real world info on these so figured I would share my thoughts after a half day of testing, sharpening, and polishing. I was interested in the Jiro offerings when first introduced, but was hunting other blades at the time. Fast forward a few months and I almost had a heart attack when checking the prices again. So as you might imagine I was pretty stoked to stumble upon this heavily discounted gyuto, the only flaw being that some core steel was poking through the iron cladding.
Purchase Experience: I know that some folks have "thoughts" about Hitohira and the way they do business, but my experiences have always been nothing short of stellar. After purchasing this knife Hokuto sent me a note making sure I was OK with the flaw in the cladding, along with sending a few extra pictures up close. He went on to say that if this knife looked OK to me they would discount the price further as I have been a supporter from the beginning. Pretty floored by this level of customer service, considering I ended up saving over $200 on what was a cosmetic flaw. I purchased late Wednesday evening, and had the knife in hand today - Friday afternoon. Crazy fast shipping from Japan, absolute perfect packaging, and the box was beautifully gift wrapped. Hokuto included a nice handwritten card. In the past he has dropped in fun gifts and extras. Top shelf all the way.
Steel: I initially figured the steel might be just "ok". I have an early Mazaki and the heat treat is most definitely "off", leading to poor burr formation and removal, crappy feeling sharpening, and substandard edge retention. In actuality Jiro-san did an incredible job here. Moderate hardness, with very fine grain structure. It came sharp enough with well set bevels, but was begging to be taken to the stones. In record time I produced a crisp edge with excellent bite. The steel gives supreme feedback when sharpening. I'm placing it in the top three, along with Heiji carbon and TF white #1 in terms of ease/joy of sharpening. I have not gotten to use it for long enough to really speak on edge retention, but so far seems slightly above average for white #1. I was not expecting the steel to be this good.
Profile/Performance/Grind: A generous flat spot for over 1/3 of the blade, yet the tip is high enough to rock without digging in the board. This knife has my ideal chef knife profile and will rock, G&G, chop, push or pull cut to suit your needs. The balance point is way far back, and reminds me of the heavy german knives I first used as a young line cook. While very different from the rest of my forward heavy Jknives it is a welcomed change. This knife excels at the Guillotine and Glide, the weight from the handle pulls the knife down to complete the cut with just the slightest prompt from your wrist. Different, but very nicely balanced. The spine is crazy thick above the heel, but displays the most graceful distal taper of any knives I own (Kato, Shigefusa, Masamoto KS included), ending in a very, very thin tip. If you check the pictures from the link above you will see a definite right hand bias in the grind. I experienced good food release, although some ingredients managed to stick to the wide bevel. Ghosts through onions and assorted softer veg, with just a little bit of cracking on big horse carrots. Surprised how easily it went through sweet potato. Haven't cut any meat with it yet. I was impressed in this category.
Fit and Finish: Given the "rustic" look, I was expecting much more rough F&F. Spine and choil are eased and comfortable out of the box. Handle is very well made and has been sanded smooth, no gaps or shenanigans like on my Yo TF handles. The knife is very comfortable using a variety of grips, despite it's weight. The Kanji is deep and attractive with a cool 3D effect. It's dope that these are finished on bench stones. I couldn't help but run it through a quick progression to see how it would polish up. Shapton glass 500, Shapton pro 1500, unknown iromono, finished on a Shobudani tomae. Damn I've never had a Jknife polish up so beautifully without putting in the hours. Obviously a lot of time is spent finishing these knives by hand. Once again, color me impressed.
Final Thoughts: I was looking for something "different". I picked this up on a whim for the chance to test one out fully expecting to list it on BST afterwards. A fun fling perhaps. Something with which one can shake things up before returning to the humdrum of everyday kitchen life. But no - this is a keeper. It's stupid heavy, but feels nimble. It looks rustic, but is so refined (one could say it's elegant, despite the rough appearance). I love that the number of the knife is hand engraved on the side in Kanji. The certificate with calligraphy done by Jiro is literally so nice I wouldn't think you crazy for wanting to have it framed (I just might). I am really surprised and impressed by this knife, and absolutely think that Jiro is one of the blacksmiths to keep an eye on. It is clear that a lot of heart, soul, and thought went into the making of this blade. We'll see if things change but so far this one is really resonating with me. It has the same level of "presence" that my Kato's, Shig's, and Heiji's have. That indefinable, but immediately understandable spirit of quality and craftsmanship. I don't group Jiro in with such highly esteemed blacksmiths lightly - there is much more here than hype.
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