Conclusions
- Well, there are several made, since this was my first hi-end Japanese gyuto. One, the most important after longish cutting session described above was that highly polished, very thin edge works wonders in the kitchen. Before, using lower end kitchen knives (namely Globals and Henckel/Wusthofs) I was unable to grind the edge that thin and hold it for that long. Simply because the steel is much softer compared to SRS-15 at 64HRC. Other, quality knifes I've experimented with in the kitchen weren't kitchen knives altogether :) Mainly their thickness was the problem, I'm referring to both, the edge and blade thickness. Thus, for a while I've favored rougher edges on my kitchen knives, 600 grit(25 mic) being the final.With better and harder steel, much thinner edges are possible and to get there you need finer abrasives. Which eventually gives mirror polished edge. Like I said, it's not really necessary to go all the way to 0.3 micron, but somewhere around 4000 grit(3 mic) things are already dramatically improving. Improvement here is even in slicing performance over aggressive and rough 600 grit edges. To certain point rougher edges have the advantage since they work more like saws during slicing motion. However, once you get to 4000-6000 grit the edge is so fine that the pressure it produces on the medium is much greater than 600 grit edge, and the knife just glides through anything you need to cut, much less effort than rough edges and no more sliding over the tomato skin :).
Another important lesson is that there is no need to have thick and heavy knife as your primary knife in the kitchen. Western type chef's knives are quite heavy compared to their Japanese counterparts, gyutos. Mainly due to their thickness, since blade length and width are pretty much the same. Popular opinion is that heavy knife will do the job for you, or at least part of it, but frankly the difference in weight is easily overshadowed by the edge sharpness. Considering that Japanese knives use better steel compared to western knives in the same price range you can grind much thinner edge and it's not gonna roll or chip with proper use.
Finally, main conclusion regarding this knife and Akifusa in general is that, they are exceptionally good knives, especially considering their price and the fact that they're still stainless steel knives. As long as you can sharpen and maintain them they will serve you well for decades. Ok, that depends how much you use them, but for normal household use I am sure that's pretty much a knife for life. Edge holding is superb, the edge despite of being extremelly hard, 64HRC is no joke after all, still resists chipping surprisingly well even at 30° which is much thinner than 40°-50° edges typically found on average western kitchen knife. Cutting performance difference is simply astounding. All that, because of the better steel and higher hardness, which implies good heat treatment as well, simply jacking up hardness will produce a very brittle knife.
To be continued...
Specifications:
- Blade - 240.00mm(9.45")
- Thickness - 3.00mm
- OAL - 355.00mm(13.98")
- Steel - SRS-15 64HRC
- Handle - Pakkawood
- Weight - 216.00g(7.3oz)
- Acquired - 06/2008 Price - 175.00$
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Last updated - 05/19/19