Today I'm selling my Tanaka Yohei 240mm (really 227) gyuto in White #1, with a wenge monowood octagonal handle. I'm selling because I sell all my knives after a few months, as many of you know from my frequent BST posts. It's a great performer. The White #1 steel forged by Yoshikazu Tanaka is awesome, and takes a killer edge with little effort. Retention seems reasonable, but what do I know since I only cook at home. It's a thin convex grind, reasonably 50/50 I think, done by the sharpener that Hitohira calls `Yohei', in their usual tradition of using pseudonyms from the movie "Seven Samurai". Moves through food well, has pretty decent food release for such a thin knife. The handle is more comfortable than I thought it would be, at least after sanding the sharp corners. It feels really good in the hand.
Specs
227 mm heel to tip
49 mm tall at the heel
161 g
White #1 core with iron cladding
Wenge monowood octagonal handle
Price and Condition
I'm asking $380 shipped in the CONUS. I paid $425 (including taxes and shipping) when I bought it new from Strata Portland at the end of April. Since then, it's been sharpened maybe 3 or 4 times, mostly by me and probably once by @labor of love. It had a completely nonexistent edge OOTB (like, no bevel at all, just dull convexity), so the first sharpening was not a touchup. I don't think it has seen anything lower than 2k stones since, though. The finish is a bit different than OOTB. The mirror core is scratchier (although once it patinas I'm not sure you'll notice), and I smoothed down the awful bead blasted finish on the iron. There was a ton of drag OOTB pushing the knife passing through food, and a few smudges and reacted-on fingerprints: a bit of 1200/2000 grit sandpaper and flitz has tamed it. I also sanded the edges of the handle. OOTB, they were sharp enough to cut! You don't cut with the handle!
Specs
227 mm heel to tip
49 mm tall at the heel
161 g
White #1 core with iron cladding
Wenge monowood octagonal handle
Price and Condition
I'm asking $380 shipped in the CONUS. I paid $425 (including taxes and shipping) when I bought it new from Strata Portland at the end of April. Since then, it's been sharpened maybe 3 or 4 times, mostly by me and probably once by @labor of love. It had a completely nonexistent edge OOTB (like, no bevel at all, just dull convexity), so the first sharpening was not a touchup. I don't think it has seen anything lower than 2k stones since, though. The finish is a bit different than OOTB. The mirror core is scratchier (although once it patinas I'm not sure you'll notice), and I smoothed down the awful bead blasted finish on the iron. There was a ton of drag OOTB pushing the knife passing through food, and a few smudges and reacted-on fingerprints: a bit of 1200/2000 grit sandpaper and flitz has tamed it. I also sanded the edges of the handle. OOTB, they were sharp enough to cut! You don't cut with the handle!
Last edited:
