Thoughts on Kawachi

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robenco15 said:
Drew the black pen on my 210mm. Can’t say there is much of a difference.
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See to me, I see quite a bit of difference, especially in potential weight.

Going back to height, for me, that's again a use-case determination. If I want to use it as more of a gyuto, then I want it a little taller. If it's going to be more in-hand type stuff then I want it shorter. But then, for me, I don't really see a fit for a 180 petty. Too long for my uses in hand and often not tall enough for comfortable board work.
 
HumbleHomeCook said:
See to me, I see quite a bit of difference, especially in potential weight.

Going back to height, for me, that's again a use-case determination. If I want to use it as more of a gyuto, then I want it a little taller. If it's going to be more in-hand type stuff then I want it shorter. But then, for me, I don't really see a fit for a 180 petty. Too long for my uses in hand and often not tall enough for comfortable board work.
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Would be used more as a gyuto with work done on the board. I do like the height as 37mm and my knuckles are touching the board more than I’d like. Very good points.
 
robenco15 said:
But it doesn’t make me feel things like that Kawachi does and the difference is 0.2mm.
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So I guess the only thing I can really offer buddy is that I just try different stuff. Life is short and I want to try different things to know what I like. I won't spend too much money on an individual knife, I know that's relative, until I'm fairly confident in what I like.

In short, if you have the money, try it. Not sure where you're at but you if you don't like it, you can always sell it here.
 
HumbleHomeCook said:
So I guess the only thing I can really offer buddy is that I just try different stuff. Life is short and I want to try different things to know what I like. I won't spend too much money on an individual knife, I know that's relative, until I'm fairly confident in what I like.

In short, if you have the money, try it. Not sure where you're at but you if you don't like it, you can always sell it here.
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Amen. Life is short. May be shorter if my wife finds out I bought this knife, so I may wait a minute, but i think I’m sold.
 
labor of love said:
Anybody tried a Kawachi gyuto?
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I have. I own a 210 gyuto. I was pretty impressed by the performance. I have one on BST at the moment. It overlaps with my Kono Fuji White #2 or else I would keep it. Not sure specifically what you want to know about it. I think they are great knives and are worth consideration depending on your lineup.
 
robenco15 said:
Trying to wrap my head around actually needing a 7” knife. My Terayasu Fujiwara 150mm petty is around 5.75” so that makes sense as a petty under the Kagekiyo. I could see the 150mm not getting much use once I get the 180mm though, but how much use would the 210mm get? What a silly problem to have.
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A 180mm with some height (55-60mm) is my favorite, and my two most used knives are this size. If I need more than 180mm I skip right on past a 210 and go to a 240mm. I found this to be the case so much that I sold my only 210 Gyuto.
 
bradmacmt said:
A 180mm with some height (55-60mm) is my favorite, and my two most used knives are this size. If I need more than 180mm I skip right on past a 210 and go to a 240mm. I found this to be the case so much that I sold my only 210 Gyuto.
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I hear that. Do not like a very tall short knife. Doesn’t do it for me aesthetically. The 45mm height of the 180 may be perfect. Not sure I’d ever sell my 210 but get what you’re saying.
 
Millertime1111 said:
I have. I own a 210 gyuto. I was pretty impressed by the performance. I have one on BST at the moment. It overlaps with my Kono Fuji White #2 or else I would keep it. Not sure specifically what you want to know about it. I think they are great knives and are worth consideration depending on your lineup.
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How does it overlap with a Fuji? How are they similar? I’m just curious how it cuts and if it reminds you of any other knives you’ve used
 
labor of love said:
How does it overlap with a Fuji? How are they similar? I’m just curious how it cuts and if it reminds you of any other knives you’ve used
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To me, they both have thin slightly convex grinds just enough to provide good food seperation. Very similar performance when I compared them. I have a 210 Kawachi (JNS first batch) and the White #2 Fuji is 240 so the profiles are different. Interestingly, the Kawachi has a faux shinogi reminiscent of a Masakage Kujira.
 
bradmacmt said:
A 180mm with some height (55-60mm) is my favorite, and my two most used knives are this size. If I need more than 180mm I skip right on past a 210 and go to a 240mm. I found this to be the case so much that I sold my only 210 Gyuto.
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That makes sense to me. 240 for higher volume cooking, 180 for smaller portions. I’ve only kept one 210 - an ironclad Toyama just because it’s awesome 😎
 
Choppin said:
That makes sense to me. 240 for higher volume cooking, 180 for smaller portions. I’ve only kept one 210 - an ironclad Toyama just because it’s awesome
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Ha! I get it. My 210 was a Toyama, albeit stainless clad. But my 240 is also a Toyama, as is my Nakiri... awesome indeed. 😎
 
JNS has a 20% off sale on the Kawachi K-Tips so I just bought the Kawachi 180mm Gyuto K tip!
 
Just wanted to add some thoughts here incase anyone was looking for some insight and what to expect from this Kawachi line-he’s clearly learned from shiraki and it shows. My 240mm immediately reminded me of the old Akebono line that James @ knivesandstones carried before shiraki retired. These are bigger knives more Toyama sized and with more Sanjo styled distal taper. And the profile is nice. But if you enjoyed those old shiraki San mai lines w ebony handles or Akebono you’ll dig these new Kawachi knives.
 
labor of love said:
Just wanted to add some thoughts here incase anyone was looking for some insight and what to expect from this Kawachi line-he’s clearly learned from shiraki and it shows. My 240mm immediately reminded me of the old Akebono line that James @ knivesandstones carried before shiraki retired. These are bigger knives more Toyama sized and with more Sanjo styled distal taper. And the profile is nice. But if you enjoyed those old shiraki San mai lines w ebony handles or Akebono you’ll dig these new Kawachi knives.
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how is the grind on these? looks fairly thin from the pics I’ve seen. it is similar to Yoshikane in thickness? (not familiar with Shiraki knives or Akebone, sorry)
 
labor of love said:
Just wanted to add some thoughts here incase anyone was looking for some insight and what to expect from this Kawachi line-he’s clearly learned from shiraki and it shows. My 240mm immediately reminded me of the old Akebono line that James @ knivesandstones carried before shiraki retired. These are bigger knives more Toyama sized and with more Sanjo styled distal taper. And the profile is nice. But if you enjoyed those old shiraki San mai lines w ebony handles or Akebono you’ll dig these new Kawachi knives.
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Finally, someone talked about these. Great insight thanks. They look great!
 
Some pics
5+ mm at the hill
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68C9C989-F611-457E-B113-A41FAC7EC390.jpeg
 
Yeah I should’ve spoken more about it tbh. I like it quite a bit. Takes a really mean edge, feels on the harder side, I think the edge retention is fine if not above average maybe for wh2?
But if people are put off by wh2 retention this one probably won’t change their minds.
But it is better retention wise than plenty of wh2-but still wh2 lol.
 
labor of love said:
Yeah I should’ve spoken more about it tbh. I like it quite a bit. Takes a really mean edge, feels on the harder side, I think the edge retention is fine if not above average maybe for wh2?
But if people are put off by wh2 retention this one probably won’t change their minds.
But it is better retention wise than plenty of wh2-but still wh2 lol.
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I'm kinda sold already. Gorgeous taper and build quality judging from the pictures.
 
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