Aritsugu A-Type Gyuto 270mm(10.6")
Japanese Kitchen Knife Review

Usage

 - Well, truth to be told, that was no easy task for me, to learn how to use this knife properly, and even now I am still learning. I'm much better now, after few months of practicing with it, but still, if I don't pay attention, occasionally, I still make a mistake. As I have already described above, the knife is single beveled, and has a concave back side. Those features are very common in Japanese cutlery, to the contrary of the western knives, where historically, such blades in the kitchen were pretty much non-existent. Therefore, my skills with this type of knives were also, pretty much non-existent. I did have some experience with Aritsugu Yanagiba, but that one is a narrower blade, and use style is quite different from gyuto, or a chef's knife. Major trouble with this type of knife is that, unless you know how to use it, during long, vertical push cuts, or even slicing, the concave back gives knife the tendency to roll, or skew, to the left (for the right handed knife), so instead of a straight cut, you end up with a curved one.

Simply put, what you really have to learn to do is to cut at a slight angle to compensate for the single bevel's natural tendency to skew. Sounds quite simple :) In reality, it took me few months. Partly because, I wasn't using single bevel knives that often. Then, I didn't really know what to do, and the whole thing isn't very intuitive. At least, to me it wasn't. There was a point, when I gave up on the A-Type gyuto altogether, put it away in the box and decided to sell it. Luckily, there is knifeforums.com where knife people ask those questions, and what's even better, one can even get a good answer and advice too. So, eventually I found out that the standard, western style pinch grip doesn't really work with single bevel knives. Instead, one has to use much more sensitive, Finger-On-The-Spine grip. That finger would be your, or the knife operator's index finger, extended over the knife spine. Also, the grip has to be relatively relaxed, no need to grip it to white knuckles. After that, it becomes a lot easier. All you have to do - control the skew, and compensate for it. After couple weeks of practicing the new technique, I was pretty happy with the results, and A-Type gyuto came off of the for sale list. Now I love it, and it'll get the new, elegant handle it really deserves.

Besides the single bevel aspect, there isn't much very specific to this knife. Overall, it's very comfortable for use, that is it's as comfy as 270mm(10.6") knife with 150mm+ handle can get :) Like I said above, it's quite light, compared to Watanabe 270mm Honyaki Gyuto for example. Partly this can be explained with its chisel grind, or single bevel design. Regardless of the reasons, it's relatively light, and that makes a difference for prolonged use. I haven't used it for longer than hour and a half so far, but for a home cook, that's still quite a bit, 1.5 hours of non-stop cutting. Definitely tells you about knife ergonomics, comfort of use and overall performance.

One thing worth noting, the exceptional edge holding. I didn't expect a knife made of the steel hardened to only 60-61HRC to perform that well, especially with the acute edge I gave it. Still, it holds the edge very well. I can say, superbly well. The list of the ingredients prepared with A-Type gyuto varies from various vegetables to different meats and fruits. Some, like cucumber and basil were very soft, other stuff like leeks, chive, pineapples, artichokes aren't so gentle on the blade. Nevertheless, so far, I've never had to use anything above 0.25µm abrasive to restore the edge sharpness to hair whittling levels. Obviously, I do steel the blade before and after use, using the smooth steel, just like I advocate it on Maintaining your kitchen knives page.

One of the major advantages of the single bevel knives is the ability to cut paper thin slices. If you want something really thinly sliced, then this is the one for the job. Actually, thin applies not only to slicing, but also to any other cutting operation, such as mincing, dicing, chopping veggies. For julienne or alumette single bevel is really good. Need to chop green onions or something of that sort into very fine slices? Single bevel will help. Translucent tomatoes? Single bevel will do. All of that can be accomplished with a very sharp double bevel knife as well, like I said I use all of my gyutos interchangeably, but sometimes single bevel does the job faster and better. It works Especially good for Katsura Muki style slicing. That is the same point, one has to use the best tool for the given job.

I've tried 270mm gyuto pretty much for every type of cutting I know of, and pretty much for everything I have cut in my kitchen. Performance, overall - very good. That is, ever since I've learned, how to use it properly. I don't think I'll ever give up on double bevel knives, this isn't a question of one or the other for me. I like them both. Anyway, after using it on all those ingredients, I can't really single out something, where it was really inconvenient, or unsuitable for the job. Sure, peeling an apple with this monster isn't the best ting to do, but as a chef's knife it performs superbly. After chopping(rocking motion) veggies on the cutting board for an hour or so, it still could shave with its belly, that was in constant contact with the board.

Conclusion

 - In the end, I am very happy with this knife. Even if I had to spend almost 4 hours to sharpen it to my taste. Even at really low angles it holds the edge very well. As a chef's knife it performs various tasks in my kitchen, and it is a truly versatile knife, as it should be. I don't have to worry too much about this knife, resists rust pretty well, at least with my maintenance routines it does ;) Maintenance costs, that is the sum of the time and efforts I have to spend on its upkeep, are minimal. What else can I ask from the kitchen knife? Not much else. Price/performance value is simply excellent. So, if you are thinking of getting this knife, probably the only thing, you really should consider is the size, 270mm isn't for everyone, lots of people feel uneasy even with 240mm chef's knives, and another one is the single bevel specifics discussed above. If you know how to use it, that's already good, one less thing to worry about. If you don't then... Well, you can either give up, or look at it as an opportunity to learn something new, and reap the benefits of it later, once you know how to use it properly.

Specifications:

• Blade - 270.00mm(10.63")
• Thickness - 2.71mm
• Width - 50.00mm
• OAL - 425.00mm(16.73")
• Steel - Gokinko steel 60-61HRC
• Handle - African Blackwood (Ho Wood originally)
• Weight - Original - 210.00g(7.1oz), Custom Handle - 244.00g(8.25oz)
• Acquired - 09/2008 Price - 220.00$

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Last updated - 05/19/19