Hirotomo Aoko Kasumi

[joshbo]

Can anyone comment on the quality of these knives? I'm thinking of getting the 270mm yanagi, it seems like a great value.

http://www.chefsoutlet.com/eshop/10E...uctCode=HIAOKO

thanks

[Fred]

What makes them different from the expensive Kasumi type yanagis is that they are forged by machine rather than by hand. That's why they are significantly less expensive. The materials are the same. Scott has one and appears to like it. Perhaps he'll join in with more comments. I've never tested one myself.

[Scott]

joshbo,

As Fred noted, I have that knife. I should caution you that the Hirotomo is the only yanagi I have. Given that, I have found it to be an excellent value in a traditional Japanese knife.

As the link you have indicates, this is a blue steel knife. When I received it, I remember sending a message to Fred saying that it was, by far, the sharpest knife I have ever owned. Then he replied that these knives are typically only partially sharpened. Needless to say, I was blown away because of how sharp I felt it was. To put it in perspective, I was initially afraid to use it, it was so sharp compared to my other knives.

Over the course of the next month or so, I spent a lot of time here and over at KF learning all I could about sharpening. I bought a King #1000/#6000 stone from Fred and began learning how to sharpen before I tackled my yanagi.

The practice was well worth it. I was able to get an even sharper edge on that knife. When I cut with it, I noticed how clean the cuts were. It appeared to glide through whatever I was cutting, with no apparent damage to the food. This was a revelation for me. For the first time, I was able to cut fruits and vegetables (while testing the new edge) for the first without them browning (at least in the time before I ate them [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]).

The downside to this knife (and I believe any at this hardness level) is that it will chip. In fact, I have already broken off the very tip of the point. I don't remember how. It doesn't bother me much since I do not use the point, but it was a surprise. Also, the jigane (outer cladding) has a tendency to oxidize very quickly when exposed to acidic foods. Even when a patina has been built up. I don't know how typical this is of other Japanese knives, but I thought you should be aware of it.

However, with appropriate care for the type of work the blade is designed for, I think that this knife (and probably the others in this line) is an excellent value for traditional Japanese-styled knives.

I hope this helps.

Scott