The Japanese word Gyuto (牛刀) literally translates to beef sword. The gyuto is the equivalent of the Western chef's knife, and is designed to cut everything: vegetables, meats and fishes. It is made to be used with the push-cut method, lifting the blade between each cutting motion, or with the rocking motion method. It is important that the blade is straight upon impact with the cutting board to avoid damage to the knife edge.
SLD steel is Hitachi steel co.'s version of SKD-11, which is a wear resistant and relatively easy to maintain steel. This makes it an ideal steel for workhorse knives. With a hardness of 60-62 HRC, SLD steel blades retain their edge for a long time and have the ability to be sharpened to a razor sharp edge. Basically, SLD is used in the factory to cut other steels and, over time, has made its way into high-end Japanese cutlery.
The Hitohira brand is a guarantee of excellence and assures you that every knife sold under this name meets rigorous quality standards.