Gyuto heel height

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49-52mm for 210-240s! Enough heel height to not let things stack up too quickly and not so tall as to reduce tip and heel maneuverability when making curved cuts/carving or require more passes while cleaning
 
This is really 'personal preference'. There's no one-size fits all. My preference is 50mm for a 240-250 gyuto. But I'd rather have <50mm over >50mm. But you'll find many here with very differend preferences.

labor of love said:
52mm might be the sweet spot that keeps the 48-50mm crowd and the 54mm-58 crowd sharing a common size that is usable for all. Maybe everyone just has their own ideal.

Perhaps the more you pull cut the shorter you’d like gyuto and the more you push cut rock chop the taller you’d like it.
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I push and rock more than I pull yet I still prefer low gyutos.
 
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I guess the reason I prefer tall is largely 'it's what I'm used to.... but I also simply don't like the extra added distance between edge and hand. The lower a gyuto the more direct your 'connection' to the edge.
It also keeps it from becoming a chonky fat behemoth. If I wanted heavy 300 gram clunkers that feel more like an axe I'd just use my Wüsthof. :p
 
50-55 mm but I also do fine with 46-47 mm of Takamura Chromax 210 mm.
 
I like around 50-52, but I have had some 46mm 210s that were awesome. I find over 55 gets odd in a gyuto, but fine in a nakiri.

One thing I think about when people talk about this as a consideration is how the neck goes into the handle. If you have a heel of 50mm, but the top of the handle is a few mm about that vs 50mm with the top of the handle equal to the spine.
 
esoo said:
I like around 50-52, but I have had some 46mm 210s that were awesome. I find over 55 gets odd in a gyuto, but fine in a nakiri.

One thing I think about when people talk about this as a consideration is how the neck goes into the handle. If you have a heel of 50mm, but the top of the handle is a few mm about that vs 50mm with the top of the handle equal to the spine.
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This is why IMO stepped tangs (machi without the gap) is superior. I prefer spine to be in line with the top of the handle.
 
54-58 is probably ideal for me. My first few custom knives when I got into this were from Nordquist Designs. He tends to have heal height up into the 60's. The muscle memory I gained from that shaped how I tend to use my knives. I also prefer a ton of knuckle clearance. When I use a knife at or below 50 I feel like I have to dip my wrist at an awkward angle and I dont like it.
 
Jovidah said:
This is really 'personal preference'. There's no one-size fits all. My preference is 50mm for a 240-250 gyuto. But I'd rather have <50mm over >50mm. But you'll find many here with very differend preferences.


I push and rock more than I pull yet I still prefer low gyutos.
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I was preemptively trying to settle conflict resolution. But I guess that’s to no avail lmao.
 
I like 54-56 on a knife that runs 230-55. For a longer knife, I like something between around 51-53.

The extra height gives more power even with thinner knives -- Takeda, Shiro Kamo -- knuckle clearance, scooping power, room for product to climb up the blade before stopping to flick it off.

For knives longer than about 260, they start to feel unwieldy when too tall. My Watoyama 270's are about as big as I find comfortable.
 
For me it’s preferred 6cm, and at least 5.5, 5 just feels like I’m scared to touch the board.
esoo said:
I like around 50-52, but I have had some 46mm 210s that were awesome. I find over 55 gets odd in a gyuto, but fine in a nakiri.

One thing I think about when people talk about this as a consideration is how the neck goes into the handle. If you have a heel of 50mm, but the top of the handle is a few mm about that vs 50mm with the top of the handle equal to the spine.
Click to expand...

I also feel that, seems like handle size and tang is disregarded in the conversation. But it’s important to me!

Look at this maillet and denka.
 

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you need some serious swollen knuckles for them to hit the board with a 46mm knife. so knuckle clearance in itself should rarely be a consideration.

for me personally, i'd say 50mm, +/- a couple mm. the gyutos in rotation are all around that.

and i'd also say that i don't need my gyuto to work as a tall nakiri (but if it does it well, fine).

i don't buy knives to sell and usually keep stuff forever. a knife will loose height over the years, so 2-3mm extra to compensate for that is ok with me.

knifes are personalities – some knife needs to be just where they are, regardless of any abstract preference i might have.

.
 
I'm short, prefer 50-53mm. 50mm is probably the sweet spot, but I like to have a little extra height so the knife has a longer lifespan before it gets too short from sharpening.
 
52 is my sweet spot. I'm okay down to 50. I have in the high 40s that make me wish they were a little taller. For longer gyutos (240-250) I'm okay up to 55/ 56.
 
52-57mm is usually what I prefer, but I also find it hard to draw a hard and fast rule. I really like my Kagekiyo B1 that’s ~50mm, and I also really like my Bidinger that’s 63mm. To me, the balance and whole package of the knife matters more than how many mm the heel height is. It’s similar to how I can’t tell if I’m going to like a knife just based on a choil shot.

All that said, I very rarely buy <50mm gyutos because it’s obvious how much harder they are to sell on BST.
 
I’m short with a thick cutting board, anything over 53 on a 240 feels too tall. Most western makers seem to produce closer to 60 so I find myself with very few knives to actually get excited about at my preferred length.
 
TLDR:
210mm length is extra nimble and i prefer around 46mm.
240mm 48-50 and 270mm not much higher than that.
I feel like losing control if it gets much higher than that , less nimble and slows me down.

PS :
When i started into this hobby there were no "classic" gyutos in 240mm length much higher than 52mm so i do wonder where this actually came from but most definitely not from japan.
A lot of modern features like triangular shape, high heels or angled handles feel like training wheels to me but this sure is subjective.
 
Yeah taller stuff is definitly something from the last couple of years. If you go back 10 years I think Takeda was the only tallboy? Maybe a handful more, but majority of 240s were always 50mm or even less.
 
Definitely not less than 50mm and preferably closer to 55 irrrespective of gyuto length. Aside from knuckle clearance, I prefer a knife with some substance to it; these tend to be in the upper blade height range.
 
I'm an outlier and a *big* fan of the gyutohiki, 48mm on a 270+ is my ideal ratio, but ~52mm isn't gonna stop me from buying a knife. Beyond that seems unnecessary for the way I use a knife (but I do see the merits, especially for cleavers and people who like the big chop chop).
 
48 - 53 mm feels best for me but I'm fine with 45 - 56 mm. Below that and my knuckles feel crowded. Above 60 mm the whole geometry feels off. It makes my shoulder feel too high. Overall I'd prefer shorter and lighter.
 
It kind of depends for me. For thinner and lighter "laser", type knives I like em shorter. High 40's on a 240.

For more workhorsey knives I like them in the low 50's on a 240. Gives them the feel of a bit more substance. I don't like going to much higher than that, it just feels a bit unwieldy going above 55 for me.
 
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