Harukaze srs15 210 gyuto

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jmcnelly85
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Harukaze srs15 210 gyuto

Post by jmcnelly85 »

I had a lengthy review written out that was a lot more fun and personal before and lost it in the process. Here’s a less inspired attempt.

I’ve graduated from high volume slam houses where the prep lists consist of gallons upon gallons of mirepoix and multiple bags of onions to a place more worried about getting 2 quarts of brunoise shallots cut perfectly. I’ve always loved tall, oversized 240’s with a huge flat spot, but currently, the curvy 210 harukaze is my most used knife in the roll.

The harukaze is slightly oversized for a 210, the stiff spine inspires the confidence felt to those accustomed to workhorse knives; however the the thinness at the edge coupled with the flawless grind shows it’s true strength. Precision. I know isboogy understands what I mean by this, because it’s a hard thing to adequately explain, but this knife simply goes where you tell it. No veering or steering, if my technique is on, my cuts are on.

The profile of the knife was the biggest reservation I had before purchase, I love me a good flat spot and this knife has zero dead flat space. In use, the profile seems very intelligently designed, the heel is flat enough to avoid accordions, yet not too flat that it thuds while rocking. Extending from the area just past where a typical pinch grip stops there is a near flat gentle curve sweet spot just larger than a normal onion before the tip sweeps a bit more dramatically.

Through product, I consistently ask myself, what’s the catch? I keep waiting for that one product to foil this balanced beast but it simply cuts everything, and exceedingly well. Hard items like butternut squash, celeriac, and sweet potato are worry free. Horizontal cuts on onions are whisper quiet and vertical chopping doesn’t launch onion fragments everywhere. Things don’t really stick, don’t really wedge, and don’t take a lot of effort. They pulled of a Goldilocks grind.

The steel in knife is no joke. Start to finish sharpening, it isn’t stubborn or problematic, and comes off a 1 micron strop as aggressive as any good carbon I’ve sharpened. I’ll go as far to say that it’s edge taking abilities exceed many carbon knives I’ve sharpened. For whatever reason, it seems to really respond well to shapton pro stones. Once it’s at a point of sharpness, it’ll hold the fresh off the stone feel for an appreciably long time and keep a working edge for a solid time as well. Rotating between the harukaze and a Kurosaki AS laser in the same environment and product, I’ll spend noticeably more time on the stones keeping the Aogami super sharp compared to the srs15.

I completely understand why this is a common rec for professionals, this is a pro quality tool. What I don’t understand is how more home users haven’t picked this up. Toe to toe vs a takamura R2, I’ll say the R2 has it beat on price and ease through product; however, the harukaze has it beat on edge taking and retention, handle quality and fit and finish, versatility through product, durability, food release, and even has a better looking kanji.

All in all, I highly recommend this knife.
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