Low heel gyuto profile for lefties

[dsk]

Curious to hear from the other southpaws, what are our best options for symmetry and sub 50mm heels? I've generally favored taller sanjo knives (many makers seem to provide the best neutral grinds) but lately I've been wanting something short.

Most interested in lefty user feedback on yoshikane, but red handle/chromax 210, nihei, kagero, are also of interest. Pretty much anything in pm or semi stainless.

 

[CiderBear]

@labor of love is a fan of the Shigehiro gyutos from CKC

 

[NO ChoP!]

Ikeda has a low heel. Also, although asymmetrically ground, It is not flat, and can be evened out with a single thinning session.

 

[labor of love]

If I was in your shoes I’d grab a kono YS or SKD Yoshi for semi steel.
My answer is always going to be the same, just ask the vendor if he has what you want with lefty friendly grind.
Things like Mizuno are a no go but Koki politely tells you this upfront.
I’ve used quite a bite of Yoshikanes and never had a problem.
Takamura doesn’t seem to be a problem but I’ve only used 2. Can’t comment on the other stuff because I haven’t tried those brands.

 

[Corradobrit1]

Ikeda's seems to have a lefthanded bias but not sure if thats deliberate

 

[labor of love]

Yeah-I’ve seen plenty of ikeda knives with lefty friendly choil shots...but at the same time Bernal told me no dice when I was close to grabbing a Honyaki. Or atleast the grind would need an adjustment. Maybe this is only with regards to the Honyakis though.

 

[esoo]

Older HD2? My new HD2 210 is 49mm at the heel and nicely symmetric. The older ones were shorter, but not sure about symmetry

 

[M1k3]

Takamura?

 

[dsk]

Older HD2? My new HD2 210 is 49mm at the heel and nicely symmetric. The older ones were shorter, but not sure about symmetry

Ah yeah hd2 was definitely looked at as well.

Takamura?

No doubt I'll have to pick one up eventually, maybe a chromax if cktg puts it on sale for like 100 bucks again as I'm not super hot for lasers.

Overall seems yoshikane gets a thumbs up which is good. It seems to hit most of my criteria. Only thing holding me back before was heel height bias but that's out the window now.

 

[M1k3]

Ah yeah hd2 was definitely looked at as well.


No doubt I'll have to pick one up eventually, maybe a chromax if cktg puts it on sale for like 100 bucks again as I'm not super hot for lasers.

Overall seems yoshikane gets a thumbs up which is good. It seems to hit most of my criteria. Only thing holding me back before was heel height bias but that's out the window now.

Black Friday.

 

[labor of love]

Get at Craig @carbon for a yoshi. I always ask in advance before I order from him about lefty stuff.

 

[zizirex]

I have 240 from Takada no Hamono, pretty thick on the spine (>3.5mm), but around 46mm heel. It is slightly more right-hand bias, not because of the grind but the choil polishing.