I’ve bought and sold a few since my last post but recently landed a couple I’m very happy with.
I originally wanted a Yoshi with as much heft as possible. I ordered a hammered finish that was too light (about 30 grams under the retailer’s listing) for my tastes but it cut like a Kotetsu... or better. I was convinced this was the knife I wanted but continued looking for an example with more weight. I emailed most venders that carry them and ordered the heaviest option available. Problem was, I had also ordered a Hinoura AS 240 during my Yoshi search and when it arrived I fell in love with it. I ordered a smaller Yoshi thinking I’d keep that one to have this maker in the drawer. I don’t know if I’ll keep either Yoshi now. They are the best cutters I have, period. The 240 glides through sweet potatoes like nothing. The Hinoura sticks in sweet potatoes and I nearly have to get a sledge hammer out to get the damn thing unstuck. But it has soul...
The Hinoura’s handle was nice enough but it was crooked and felt undersized for the knife. I ordered two different KnS options and installed the larger. The pic below shows the KnS 240 option, the original handle, and the KnS “Heavy Gyuto” option for anyone interested in comparing. For reference I masked off the before and after balance points. The knife came in weighing 219 grams with the original handle and sits at 243 with the KnS ebony handle. The balance point shifted back slightly but makes the knife feel slightly more nimble to me. I really like where it is now. I suspect that part of the sticking issue is the sandblasted Kasumi finish. Just got new stones in from JKI so I’ll be making my first Kasumi polish attempt this weekend!
We’ll see how long this one keeps me satisfied.
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