Or: "Three Gyutos Enter, No Gyuto Leaves! (so far)"
I've been meaning to put together a quick head-to-head comparison of three of the most frequently recommended reasonably priced knives that come up in discussion around here. Obviously there are many other great knives in the $250 or less price range, but as they get mentioned again and again in threads like What's your favorite 240mm Gyuto under $300 I put it on my knives to-do list to obtain all three and then do a direct comparison of these makers. So... here we go!
The Contenders
Yoshikane 210mm SKD Gyuto
Vendor: Epicurean Edge (stock ca 2019, bought secondhand elsewhere)
Weight: 124g
Spine at heel: ~3.2mm
Heel height: 46mm
Length: 214mm
Balance point: +27mm from heel
Handle: D-shaped ho
Mazaki 210mm white #2 Gyuto
Vendor: CleanCut (2019 version, bought secondhand via BST)
Weight: 174g
Spine at heel: 4.5mm
Heel height: 50mm
Length: 219mm
Balance point: +18mm from heel
Handle: octo keyaki
Wakui 240mm white #2 Gyuto
Vendor: Epicurean Edge (purchased direct in 2021)
Weight: 177g
Spine at heel: 3.1mm
Heel height: 49mm
Length: 244mm
Balance point: +33mm from heel
Handle: octo ho
Just to clear up the baseline for each of these knives, the Wakui is reasonably close to fresh from the box, whereas the Yoshikane has been sharpened several times and thinned once before I received it. And the Mazaki has seen a couple light thinning sessions, been sharpened a number of times, been badly refinished, etc. Before the cutting comparison, all three knives were touched up on a Shapton Pro 2k. I'm not a super discerning sharpener but all of them are pretty easy to work with on the stones.
Choil shots (L: Mazaki, middle: Yoshikane, R: Wakui)
In Hand
Yoshikane: to start off--at just 124g, this sample is a lot lighter than the typical Yoshikane 210 (based on weights cited by others here). However, it doesn't feel flimsy, whippy, or insubstantial in hand. If I'm not mistaken, Kippington coined the term 'comfort laser' and that phrase seems apt for this knife. The spine is over 3mm out of the handle and over the heel, and tapers down over the first third of the blade before holding even up to the last ~1.5" closest to the tip. The balance point, for me, is very well placed, just in front of my pinch grip, which gives it a very nice just forward of neutral balance that's simultaneously nimble and aggressive. It's the shortest at the heel of the three at 46mm; I don't find this to be overly short in use but I certainly wouldn't want it any shorter. Another 2-3mm of height would be very welcome.
The hammered kurouchi finish is very smooth and comfortable in a pinch; aesthetically, it's a little less to my liking, but by no means badly executed. Like all three of the knives, the spine and choil are nicely rounded off and quite comfortable in hand. The D-shaped ho handle is perfectly comfortable and fairly nice as ho wood handles go, but feels just a little bit smaller than I'd like.
Mazaki: the most solid of the three knives in hand, the Maz comes out of the handle at over 5mm but tapers steadily down the proximate half or so of the length of the spine, holds an even thickness for a few inches, and then tapers down to a very thin tip in the last inch. As a consequence of this 'laser in the front, workhorse in the back' approach, the balance point is surprisingly far back, right at or slightly behind a pinch grip. This balance point translates to a very comfortable feel in hand, but also a less powerful feel than I'd expect for the weight.
The finish on this iteration of Mazaki's knives was rather unpolished, with a lot of remaining grinding marks on the blade roads. I took this as an invitation to practice thinning and mess around with (badly) attempting to refinish it... hence it currently looking like garbage. Someday I'll get around to refinishing it properly, I swear. The keyaki handle is a nice upgrade from ho wood.
Wakui: at the risk of comparing apples and oranges by looking at a 240 next to a couple 210s, the Wakui stands out as the most forward balanced of the three knives, with a balance point well in front of my pinch grip. It has the least distal taper of the three knives, with a quick taper from the handle to a little past the heel and then holding that width nearly the full length of the knife. The tip is also a little less thin than either the Maz or the Yoshi. At just a little over 49mm at the heel, it's tall enough to feel well proportioned, but I did ask EE for the tallest example they had in stock--others might come in a bit shorter.
The hairline finish on this knife is definitely my favorite of the three--to my eye it's both the best-looking and the easiest to hide marks from use. The stainless cladding did seem to pick up a bit of patina from use early on in one spot. As far as the handle goes, there's a small gap between the ferrule and wood portions of the handle; it's not noticeable in use but still a bit disappointing. The handle also feels just a little bit chunkier than I want, but for someone with bigger hands I bet it'd be just right.
continued...
I've been meaning to put together a quick head-to-head comparison of three of the most frequently recommended reasonably priced knives that come up in discussion around here. Obviously there are many other great knives in the $250 or less price range, but as they get mentioned again and again in threads like What's your favorite 240mm Gyuto under $300 I put it on my knives to-do list to obtain all three and then do a direct comparison of these makers. So... here we go!
The Contenders
Yoshikane 210mm SKD Gyuto
Vendor: Epicurean Edge (stock ca 2019, bought secondhand elsewhere)
Weight: 124g
Spine at heel: ~3.2mm
Heel height: 46mm
Length: 214mm
Balance point: +27mm from heel
Handle: D-shaped ho
Mazaki 210mm white #2 Gyuto
Vendor: CleanCut (2019 version, bought secondhand via BST)
Weight: 174g
Spine at heel: 4.5mm
Heel height: 50mm
Length: 219mm
Balance point: +18mm from heel
Handle: octo keyaki
Wakui 240mm white #2 Gyuto
Vendor: Epicurean Edge (purchased direct in 2021)
Weight: 177g
Spine at heel: 3.1mm
Heel height: 49mm
Length: 244mm
Balance point: +33mm from heel
Handle: octo ho
Just to clear up the baseline for each of these knives, the Wakui is reasonably close to fresh from the box, whereas the Yoshikane has been sharpened several times and thinned once before I received it. And the Mazaki has seen a couple light thinning sessions, been sharpened a number of times, been badly refinished, etc. Before the cutting comparison, all three knives were touched up on a Shapton Pro 2k. I'm not a super discerning sharpener but all of them are pretty easy to work with on the stones.
Choil shots (L: Mazaki, middle: Yoshikane, R: Wakui)
In Hand
Yoshikane: to start off--at just 124g, this sample is a lot lighter than the typical Yoshikane 210 (based on weights cited by others here). However, it doesn't feel flimsy, whippy, or insubstantial in hand. If I'm not mistaken, Kippington coined the term 'comfort laser' and that phrase seems apt for this knife. The spine is over 3mm out of the handle and over the heel, and tapers down over the first third of the blade before holding even up to the last ~1.5" closest to the tip. The balance point, for me, is very well placed, just in front of my pinch grip, which gives it a very nice just forward of neutral balance that's simultaneously nimble and aggressive. It's the shortest at the heel of the three at 46mm; I don't find this to be overly short in use but I certainly wouldn't want it any shorter. Another 2-3mm of height would be very welcome.
The hammered kurouchi finish is very smooth and comfortable in a pinch; aesthetically, it's a little less to my liking, but by no means badly executed. Like all three of the knives, the spine and choil are nicely rounded off and quite comfortable in hand. The D-shaped ho handle is perfectly comfortable and fairly nice as ho wood handles go, but feels just a little bit smaller than I'd like.
Mazaki: the most solid of the three knives in hand, the Maz comes out of the handle at over 5mm but tapers steadily down the proximate half or so of the length of the spine, holds an even thickness for a few inches, and then tapers down to a very thin tip in the last inch. As a consequence of this 'laser in the front, workhorse in the back' approach, the balance point is surprisingly far back, right at or slightly behind a pinch grip. This balance point translates to a very comfortable feel in hand, but also a less powerful feel than I'd expect for the weight.
The finish on this iteration of Mazaki's knives was rather unpolished, with a lot of remaining grinding marks on the blade roads. I took this as an invitation to practice thinning and mess around with (badly) attempting to refinish it... hence it currently looking like garbage. Someday I'll get around to refinishing it properly, I swear. The keyaki handle is a nice upgrade from ho wood.
Wakui: at the risk of comparing apples and oranges by looking at a 240 next to a couple 210s, the Wakui stands out as the most forward balanced of the three knives, with a balance point well in front of my pinch grip. It has the least distal taper of the three knives, with a quick taper from the handle to a little past the heel and then holding that width nearly the full length of the knife. The tip is also a little less thin than either the Maz or the Yoshi. At just a little over 49mm at the heel, it's tall enough to feel well proportioned, but I did ask EE for the tallest example they had in stock--others might come in a bit shorter.
The hairline finish on this knife is definitely my favorite of the three--to my eye it's both the best-looking and the easiest to hide marks from use. The stainless cladding did seem to pick up a bit of patina from use early on in one spot. As far as the handle goes, there's a small gap between the ferrule and wood portions of the handle; it's not noticeable in use but still a bit disappointing. The handle also feels just a little bit chunkier than I want, but for someone with bigger hands I bet it'd be just right.
continued...