Munetoshi gyutos anyone?

[Choppin]

JaVa - how about the cladding, in terms of patina and ease of sharpening? I would guess that thinning this knife would demand extra time/effort due to the soft SS cladding...

 

[JaVa]

The cladding is full SS. No patina there.

So far I've needed to thin only one of my SS clad knives (not the Itinomonn) and it was a bit of work due to the wear resistance of the softer SS cladding and the cladding was a bit grabby on the stones too. Not the best feeling.

But the protection and ease of mind the SS cladding provides is a good enough trade of for me to prefer the SS cladding over soft iron cladding. Just my personal preference though.

 

[StonedEdge]

The Itinomonn is very thin behind the edge and has a pretty thin geometry down by the cladding line and lower. The core steel also runs up fairly high so you won't need to thin it for a good while. I do wonder tho what it'll be like to thin it when time comes.

 

[labor of love]

is that an itinomonn?

I only use synthetics atm so i can't​ help you on that front. I feel like a skilled individual you get a nice looking contrast between the two steels even using finger stones or the sand paper method. The blade has horizontal scratch patterns (from sandpaper or maybe some kind of belt not sure?) so I guess that would play a factor in deciding how/what kind of finish you'd want to give it I assume.

Here are some hopefully helpful pictures from my crummy phone

 

[JaVa]

Looks just like my Itinomonn, except I have even darker patina even though I rinse and wipe it down after every use.

 

[TheCaptain]

Choppin,

If nothing else I have to thank you dude! When my hubby saw me pulling both knives out, he asked me what's going on, and I told him I was going to compare and review the Toyama and Mune for a fellow board member. He actually wanted to jump in and help (he's falling further down the rabbit hole himself - evil grin!!!)

So the below are a combination of two pretty decent home cook impressions (we both worked food service in college, hubby in a fine dining establishment, me as a short order/prep cook.

I'm having problems getting the pictures from the phone to my tablet, so sorry - they will all be uploaded at the end.
First - as we all know the Munetoshi has a more rustic, kurochi finish while the Toyama has the more polished, Kasumi finish. So yea, the Toyama looks nicer when you give it a once over.

Both measured 211mm from blade tip straight to the edge of the heel. Now the Toyama is curved a bit so you actually get a few more mm in cutting real estate, but not a big difference.

The machi (tang part into the handle) is where DH and I both got a surprise. The machi on the muni is about 16mm while the Toyama machi is about 8mm (curved blade on Toyama, difficult to measure with a cloth tape measure). This makes a pinch grip MUCH more comfortable on the mune and since DH has big hands it was a pretty big thing for him.

The Mune weighs in at 181 grams while the Toyama comes in at 179g. Not a big difference, you would think? Wrong!!! The blade on the Mune is heavier while the Toyama carries more weight in the handle. The makes the balance point on the Toyama about 15mm from the heel of the blade to my index finger. On the Mune that same measurement is about 30mm. That means the Mune is more weight forward in the blade, and at least it feels to me like the knife does more of the work for me. The husband (DH) couldn’t believe the small weight difference at first and tared the scale and re-weighed them three times with the same results. It was only when I showed him how to measure the balance point (scientific=NOT!) by balancing the knife on his index finger that he saw where the weight differences came out.

Now cutting, both performed equally well on onions, mushrooms, and kale. The mune had better food release (due to the Kurochi finish) but the Toyama was pretty good in this area as well. I felt like the Mune wedged a bit more in the onions, but DH didn’t feel a difference. On the other hand I believed the Toyama tip had an edge over the Mune when slicing an onion for dicing, but again DH thought both performed equally well.

Now I know your are not supposed to cut greens (kale) but lovingly tear them into bite size pieces by hand. I don’t have time for that **** so cut it is. The profile on both ensured cuts all the way through and the sharpness ensured no bruising of the greens (that I could detect at least).

I can’t tell you how they did on beef as I left the kitchen for 5 minutes, 5 MINUTES and DH pulled out our Tanaka Ginsan to cut the meat. Now in his defense I don’t take the Tanaka all the way up on my stones on purpose so the blade is a bit more toothy. DH knows this and we use this knife for meat and tomatoes.

So there are our impressions. As I’ve said many times, the Mune is IMHO one of the best bang for the bucks out there, especially if you like a heavier feeling, workhorse type knives.

Do I regret getting the Toyama? Nope! It’s like trying to compare a good wine to a good beer – both are enjoyable, just depends on what you’re in the mood for.

Hope this helps!

 

[TheCaptain]

Pictures from review

 

[daveb]

Capt,

Nice write up. Two questions beg to be answered.

What's Kale?

Is DH an Admiral or a Boatswains Mate?

:cool2::cool2::cool2:


(I quit on carbon Gyuto some time ago. The Mune may have me try it again.)

 

[StonedEdge]

is that an itinomonn?

Yes, it's the Stain-Less Kasumi 210 gyuto

 

[valgard]

@Captain very nice write up! I enjoyed reading it.

 

[TheCaptain]

Capt,

Nice write up. Two questions beg to be answered.

What's Kale?

Is DH an Admiral or a Boatswains Mate?

:cool2::cool2::cool2:


(I quit on carbon Gyuto some time ago. The Mune may have me try it again.)

Kale is a green leafy vegetable believed to be poisonous to most teenaged carnivores. However when introduced to the diet in small quantities, then gradually increased, a certain level of tolerance is usually developed.

And no, DH is not the Admiral. He's my first mate :wink:

 

[StonedEdge]

And here I was thinking that DH meant Designated Hitter

 

[Choppin]

Many thank's Captain, that was really helpful. I'm glad DH got into it as well! Haha

I guess I will order the Mune and keep the Toyama in mind as a future purchase. Will post my inpressions here when I have a chance.

 

[labor of love]

@choppin what size gyuto are you interested in purchasing?

 

[Choppin]

@choppin what size gyuto are you interested in purchasing?

210mm

 

[labor of love]

210mm

Find an itinomonn. Or a wakui. Or gengetsu.

 

[Choppin]

I like Wakui and Gengetsu as well, solid options. But the price point on Itinomonn and Munetoshi are too good to pass, so I'm currently focused on these two.

I actually have a WTB thread for an Itinomonn. Would love to get my hands on a western handle one, I know that would throw me off the price point but they look sooo good...

Find an itinomonn. Or a wakui. Or gengetsu.

 

[StonedEdge]

Wakui hairline or Kasumi Ithink they're called IIRC are very similar to the Iti

 

[panda]

i want to give a disclaimer. munetoshi is fantastic out of the box, but once it needs to be thinned, you start to lose that concave grind it no longer is the giant killer. so the shelf life of it at peak performance is not very long. but for light home use this should not be an issue for years.

 

[brainsausage]

(I quit on carbon Gyuto some time ago. The Mune may have me try it again.)

Thread derailment ahead: It might be due to my relative absence around here of late- but what's that about no carbon gyuto? Are you just swinging all Devin/Del/Mario as of late?!?!?!? (Can't think of what else would be worthy off the top of my head right now...) More power to you if that's the case.

 

[JaVa]

Wakui hairline or Kasumi Ithink they're called IIRC are very similar to the Iti

That's true, but there are a couple subtle differences. Itinomonn Stain-Less (semi SS) kasumi has a thinner and pointier (-better) tip and more continues distal taper. Better edge retention too. Wakui (W2 carbon) kasumi/hairline is about 2 mm taller and weighs slightly more. Is marginally easier to sharpen, but both are very easy.

Both are incredible sturdy middleweight cutters with great very thin behind the edge convex grinds, lovely profiles with long flat spots, good food release properties and flawless F&F. So both are great, but for me the Iti wins, but not by much. Both at about the same price point offer some of the best value around IMO.

 

[Mathias Z.]

I am curios about Munetoshi as well. Could anyone let me know how much does the 240 gyuto weight?

Mine is 212g 240mm ku finish, shiro 2

 

[Mathias Z.]

Please let me add a few more questions

I would be very interested how the Munetoshi compares to Toyama (in 240 size) and to some other knives, (e.g. Kochi, Itinomonn KU, hammered Yohikane SKD, etc.) in terms of cutting behaviour, center of mass, etc. I am lookig for a workhorse-ish knife that is thin behind the edge. I have Kato 240 workhorse at the moment and it is just bit too heavy and definitely too thick for everyday use for me (though it is a special knife - no question about that).

This would really help, thanks

food release is good, tip works fine on onions, carrots need some force - you can hear a little bit of cracking sound but when they are in half, they just cut fine. I like the knife, it has a real nice feeling when cutting, don´t own or tried a knife you mentioned but I would regard it as a workhorse knife - the grind is fine on mine too, the balance point is right in the middle of the 240 mm at least 4cm from the heel to the tip, it has a slight blade heavy feel, which I really like as the knife does the work for you. not a professional, just a foodie who likes japanese blades.

 

[Matus]

L

Mine is 212g 240mm ku finish, shiro 2

I had one in the mean time for about a year and sold it about a year ago

 

[minibatataman]

L
I had one in the mean time for about a year and sold it about a year ago

Hell in the meantime I got into knives, joint KKF, bought an uraku, sold it, bought a munetoshi and loved that, then sold as well

 

[Matus]

It is just plain funny when people overlook that thread has been dormant for a couple of years. @Mathias Z. - please don’t take it the wrong way, I appreciate your reply. We are just having a little fun

 

[Mathias Z.]

It is just plain funny when people overlook that thread has been dormant for a couple of years. @Mathias Z. - please don’t take it the wrong way, I appreciate your reply. We are just having a little fun

nice you are having fun on my behalf - you made me laugh! > on the other hand: some people read comments to grasp information on certain knives - so answers to questions might help. @minibatataman who led you into reading this thread - curiousity?

 

[minibatataman]

nice you are having fun on my behalf - you made me laugh! > on the other hand: some people read comments to grasp information on certain knives - so answers to questions might help. @minibatataman who led you into reading this thread - curiousity?

Yep.
Im a fan of munetoshi (except for the tip) and was curious
Was very confused when I saw that the posts were all years old untill I saw your comment near the end

 

[Carl Kotte]

I like mine so much I have to keep it. Actually, it’s so good that it’s half-converted my wife to using carbons. [emoji1305][emoji1303]

 

[minibatataman]

it’s half-converted my wife to using carbons. [emoji1305][emoji1303]

Ah the dream