Single bevel gyuto?

[blokey]

I have seen quiet a few of them now, the idea sounds kind weird, but how do they work in real life?

Hatsukokoro | Shirasagi White #2 Gyuto 240mm | Modern Cooking

The Shirasagi (White Egret) 240mm Gyuto is simply put, a beautiful single bevel workhorse.

moderncooking.com

Yoshikazu Tanaka

Traditional Japanese Knives Handcrafted by Master Yoshikazu Tanaka

www.razorsharp.com.sg

 

[esoo]

If I gave you $500 which knife are you getting?

I just changed my mind due the the Single Bevel Gyuto thread. Now I want a 240mm Tenshu single bevel gyuto...

www.kitchenknifeforums.com

 

[Pisau]

I'm not much of a window-shopper, but this thread is the fourth time I found "single bevel gyuto" in 24hr. First, a 210mm Tanaka W2 at miura, then 180-240mm Myojins at KnS, 210mm Hitohira Togashi B1 (sold out at protooling), so there's definitely a market for sb gyutos.

Then I found this:



Translation:

Mr. Hasebe of Seirin in Hamamatsu is very particular.
He uses the amazing technique of boning a 2.5kg hamo* and cutting it at 0.5mm intervals (^^).
The normal bone cutter** is too thick, so he uses a kiritsuke [gyuto?] knife with a slightly smaller blade .

*pike conger
**hamo-kiri

It's definitely a thing...

 

[esoo]

A true kiritsuke is supposed to be a single bevel knife to my understanding.

 

[Pisau]

That's my understanding as well. The true one being single bevel and the kiritsuke "gyuto" is the double bevel variety. The nenox above is a true kiritsuke, yet it's used for honekiri (repeated push slicing motion) like a gyuto.

 

[Ochazuke]

My pet peeve...

Single bevels tend to sacrifice the greater edge stability that double bevels have for increased acuteness of their basic geometry. That's why most single bevels don't have a whole lot of board contact. You can use them with board contact and people certainly do, but it's not nearly to the level of a gyuto. I don't characterize how to use a single bevel by the type of cutting motion (like push or pull cut) but rather the style of cutting and cuisine you're doing - i.e. sogizukuri, hirazukuri, etc.

I've cut a lot of hamo. Even though you're cutting through "bones" it's not like a chicken bone or something incredibly dense. A push cut, despite a hamokiri being a single bevel, is appropriate due to the repetitive nature of the task and that it's essentially a very small motion just to sever the bones enough to make it palatable. Shucks, sometimes I slice hirame sashimi with a push cut just to accommodate the tendons.

My basic point is that double bevel gyuto are designed to handle more abuse than single bevels. While they can't take the abuse of a Dexter or whatever, they are designed to handle more board contact and tougher ingredients than single bevels. If you try to use a single bevel gyuto like a double bevel gyuto you'll just end up with chips and damaged edges. If you try and used a single bevel gyuto like other single bevels like a yanagiba, usuba, or deba you'll probably just wish you had one of the more classic shapes.

Basically - name any dish or cuisine you'd want to make using a single bevel gyuto and I can tell you why a regular gyuto or traditional knife would better suit that purpose.

 

[captaincaed]

You're right to ask. They don't. I don't think anyone has ever found a use case where that knife does the job better than any other.

 

[Greasylake]

I have yet to see a single bevel gyuto that didn't just make me think it was a mioroshi deba

 

[Ochazuke]

In general, people have really weird notions of single bevel use. Maybe from the myriad youtube videos of people who were never properly trained? Here are some of my basic examples:

- "usuba is only for in-hand work" - I actually think of all the single bevels, usuba sees more board work. Certainly not to the same level or in the same style as a gyuto... but usuba are used for way more than just daikon katsuramuki.

- "deba being used as a cleaver" - I hate this one the most. The only people who use a deba like a cleaver are people who have never been trained in how to use a deba. If you need to cleave, buy a cleaver. Deba is a slicing knife. When you need to cut thick spines, there are gaps in the spinal discs that trained fish butchers know how cut through without using any force. There's absolutely no need to use a heavy chop to go through a spine. There's no problem using it to go through softer rib bones (though even that isn't always necessary). Even slicing fish heads is no problem with good technique. The geometry and weight are ideal for bulk processing - hence the shape. Just cuz it has a thick spine doesn't mean it's meant to be a heavy handed chopper.

- "kiritsuke is a combination of yanagiba and usuba and while it can do both jobs it excels at neither of them" - actually this one is true. I just wish there weren't so much confusion between the single bevel and double bevel versions. They're two totally different knives and I wish they had different names.

That being said... I'm also a firm believer in doing what works for you. So if anyone likes using their yanagiba to butcher fish or just thinks a single bevel gyuto is really cool and wants one, more power to them.

 

[DitmasPork]

I have seen quiet a few of them now, the idea sounds kind weird, but how do they work in real life?

Hatsukokoro | Shirasagi White #2 Gyuto 240mm | Modern Cooking

The Shirasagi (White Egret) 240mm Gyuto is simply put, a beautiful single bevel workhorse.

moderncooking.com

Yoshikazu Tanaka

Traditional Japanese Knives Handcrafted by Master Yoshikazu Tanaka

www.razorsharp.com.sg

I’d love a single bevel gyuto, a friend of mine got one and digs it. Although, being a lefty, not many choices to choose from, so haven’t pulled the trigger.