Hello... And a Kurosaki Megumi 210mm gyuto review

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Steel+Fire
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Hello... And a Kurosaki Megumi 210mm gyuto review

Post by Steel+Fire »

Hey CKTG Forum. I am a long time lurker who has benefited immensely from many of you and the experience and wisdom you have shared. For that I say thank you.

A bit about myself. I cooked professionally for over a decade in many settings from chain restaurants to private clubs and fine dining places where everything was made in house. I started as a dish dog at a Red Robin at 16 and finally got our for good after a stint as a Sous Chef at a fine dining place when I was about 30. I am 45 now and I still cook as a part of my lifestyle and as a hobby. My knife skills are advanced, at least for Western culinary techniques.

Sorry to be long winded. My knife journey began with this Kurosaki Megumi 210mms gyuto. I have always used a Henckels 4 star 10" chef since I started buying my own knives in the mid 90's. My wife thought it would be great to get me a new knife for my birthday in January of 2017. Originally I was just going to get a new Henckels. Then I started looking at Shun and Miyabi. I checked them out at the local Sur la Table but the price points were beyond my comprehension.

Then I stumbled onto Mark's devious website. I spent a solid month trying to figure out what to buy. I had not yet delved into the massive amount of info here and to be quite honest I picked the knife that spoke to me mostly based on appearance.

I have been driving this blade for almost two years now and I have acquired several others as well. I do not have enough experience with other knives to do much comparing and contrasting yet.

Here is my attempt to convey an honest cooks evaluation. I also sharpen my own knives and have blades in several other steel types.

The knife itself is flashy. The blade has a great appearance with hammer strikes at the top and an etch damascus appearance on the grind. The fit and finish is mid to high grade, just enough imperfections that it was obviously handmade but no rough edges or imperfections in the grind or edge... Perfectly straight. The handle is nice and honestly has grown on me as I have used and oiled the cherry wood. Wish the ferrule was horn not pakka wood but at least the handle is perfectly joined such that you can only feel the joint with a fingernail. It looks like a really nice combo with the simple handle and busy blade. The chiseled kanji is the best out of all my knives, very prominently executed so it stands out.

Performance wise it was a huge step up from my old German knives which I knew it was going to be. The spine of the blade is quite thin and it has an extremely thin tip. The edge it came with was the usual apparently for JK's. It was probably done on an 1000 grit rotary wheel. Actually I know this from speaking to Yu when he was in Portland last year. Anyway, I put a 12 degree angle edge on both sides and take it up to an 8000 grit synthetic stone. With this regime since I purchased the knife in 2017, I have only done a full progression twice. I have stropped it a few times on an 8000 grit stone to freshen up the edge as well. It pretty much glides through most softer product like cucumbers and tomatoes. I can dice an onion as fast as I want and as small as I desire effortlessly. Great knife. I tried it on a small acorn squash... Didn't feel like a good idea halfway in. My Yoshimune 240 came to the rescue. That is honestly the only thing that has made me feel like I could not tackle it in the last 20 months of use. So it is definitely a solid high performance knife, not a laser and not quite a workhorse. No cracking hard stuff like carrots and potatoes while gliding through the soft stuff with minimal product sticking.

I have read a lot of poor opinions on VG10 steel on this forum and others. I have had no issues with it. I have a much better idea of its properties now that I have other knives in Aogami Super, White #1, and #2. The VG10 takes about as much effort to get sharp as the Aogami Super but it never gets quite as keen as the carbon steels. The Megumi holds a solid tomato slicing sharpness for months being used to cook meals 5-7 times a week. Have only had a few very small microchips and those go away as soon as I take the blade to the stones. This is my stainless go to knife that has a saya and is always ready to go in my kitchen so it gets much more use than my other acquisitions.

The 210mm size makes for a nimble knife but I will say I would prefer a longer blade which is personal preference. It will likely be the only 210mm I get.

Not much to complain about honestly. Almost 2 years on I am very happy with the knife. It still looks new as the SS just keeps its luster and I avoid letting it anywhere near a green or blue scrubber pad.

They are back in stock on CKTG as of this post too.
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Drewski
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Re: Hello... And a Kurosaki Megumi 210mm gyuto review

Post by Drewski »

Welcome! Great write up as well!
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Jeff B
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Re: Hello... And a Kurosaki Megumi 210mm gyuto review

Post by Jeff B »

Good to have you out of the shadows Steel+Fire. A great first post!
I was very impressed with the Megumi after trying it when they first came out.
If God wanted me to be a vegetarian he wouldn't have made animals taste so good.
n64bomb
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Re: Hello... And a Kurosaki Megumi 210mm gyuto review

Post by n64bomb »

A good review. I also like the longer blade, and prefer a different profile. Even knife is that unto its own!
smcmaui
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Re: Hello... And a Kurosaki Megumi 210mm gyuto review

Post by smcmaui »

Nice review! I have the Kurosaki R2 western 240 and its a sweet knife and it holds a wicked edge, Iʻm impressed with the brand and the F&F.
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