Konosuke YS vs Konosuke SKD vs Gengetsu

[warriorsfan]

Hi. I know a friend who is really into Japanese knives, and he's been looking at getting a thin-middleweight Gyuto to add to his set. However, the pandemic has hit him hard, so any plans for that were put on hiatus for the moment, but as his birthday is coming up, I thought I would get him a nice surprise. The three options listed above are all knives that I've came across that I think would fit into what he wants. The YS and SKD seem fairly similar, and some research leads me to believe they both are made by Yoshikane, and out of the two, the YS probably would be more to his taste looks-wise. So the final decision comes down to the YS and the Gengetsu. What are some of the differences between them, and which one would you personally prefer?

EDIT: As much as I'd like to fill out a questionnaire, I really want to keep it a secret, and he'd obviously figure out what's going on. Hopefully, the knives I've listed gives you a good idea into what he's into, and feel free to ask me about any clarifications. Thanks a bunch!

 

[Checkpure]

There is a YS in the BST, i'd get that as I think they are sold out else where.

 

[chiffonodd]

I've owned several gengetsu 240s and one gengetsu 210. Mix of w#2 and semi-stainless. Never owned a kono YS but I've been drooling over pictures for some time.

The knives seem to have a lot of similarities, as you've noticed. Both are sanjo midweights, which generally means a bit of meat on the spine with an aggressive taper both spine-to-edge and longitudinally. Both also have a nice flat spot and a tip that, while not a KS, is still relatively pointy in the general scheme of things. Both should also clock in at about 165 grams.

Cosmetically, the kono has more going on with the hammered/KU finish. It is a truly beautiful knife. But the gengetsu is not to be discounted in this department. The clean finish on the blade paired with the roasted chestnut handle is also quite beautiful in a simpler, perhaps even classier way.

But there does appear to be a functional difference as well. Comparing photos of cross-sectional geometry, it appears to me that the kono is thicker at the spine and tapers more aggressively toward the edge. So you might think of the kono as an "exaggerated" version of the gengetsu. Will it perform better? Depends on the product.

As for steel, it's a bit tough to compare because I don't think that the steel is published for either of these knives. But the kono is either SLD or SKD, I'm sure, and the gengetsu semi-stainless probably is also. Hrc is probably comparable, but if one is harder, my assumption is that it would be the kono. Still, both are probably in the range of 62 - 64 hrc.

Bottom line, I don't think you can possibly go wrong with either. If it were me, I'd make the decision based on current availability and cost. Or cosmetics if that's your thing.

Good luck!!

 

[Jason183]

Grind almost the same, the rest just personal preference, different looking finishes. For aesthetic, Konosuke is your pick, but there’s also downside to it, liked few others have mentioned, the shiny polish finish near the edge combined with semi wide bevel flat grind is very sticky when cutting some wet ingredients, it also happens to me when I cut carrots, I want to cut fast but it won’t allowed me to cause of the stickyness, but when cutting sticky rice rolls and sashimi, it’s amazingly smooth, doesn’t feel any drag when compared to Nashiji finish.

I haven’t try gengetsu but IME JKI’s knives are well designed for professional cooks( stainless Migaki finish+burnt chestnut handle), for price/performance I go for JKI knives.