At 240 mm and with an urushi-lacquered handle, this gyuto sits in the standard professional kitchen format. The length suits slicing large cuts of meat, breaking down bulky vegetables and filleting fish. The curved profile allows both rocking and push cuts, lifting the blade between each pass. With a double-bevel (ryoba) edge, it is used the same way in either hand.
The name gyuto, "beef sword", dates back to the Meiji era, when Western cuisine arrived in Japan and brought the chef's knife with it. Its use has since widened to vegetables, fish and meat. The handle is coated in urushi, the traditional Japanese lacquer made from the sap of the urushi tree. This lacquered finish calls for some care in use, particularly regarding prolonged contact with water and impacts.
The blade is made from Shirogami #2 (White Steel #2), a non-stainless carbon steel with no chromium or tungsten, at roughly 1.05 to 1.15% carbon and 60 to 63 HRC. It responds quickly to a whetstone: sharpening takes few passes and the edge can be brought to a very acute angle. It is less brittle than Shirogami #1. In return, it reacts to moisture and acidic foods: a patina forms progressively, and rust appears if the blade stays wet.
Care
Wipe the blade immediately after use and during work with acidic foods. The patina that develops over time is normal. Apply a little camellia oil before long-term storage, hand wash without soaking, and never use the dishwasher.
