# Hitohira Kikuchiyo x Ren 180mm Santoku



## esoo (Dec 15, 2020)

I know santoku are not the most desired knives around here, but I'd been looking for something general purpose and shorter to have around for places that I use a smaller knife, so picked this up. 

Length: 170mm along the edge
Height: 45mm at the heel
Weight: 135g
Balance point: at the heel
Steel: clad white 2
Smith: Kikuchiyo (Nakagawa from Shiraki Hamono as discussed here)
Sharpener: Ren (Morihio's grandson - I originally saw this in a post by Tosho)















When I pulled this knife out of the box, my initial thought was "This is a lot like a Kono FM". The choil and spine have been finished exactly the same - same chamfer on the spine and same rounding on the choil. I'd say that in general that the fit and finish is Kono level quality here. The one exception I would say is the handle. First off the handle is a monster on this size of a knife - I find it too large. As a second point, the butt end of the handle is a bit rough and you could tell that it is going to absorb any liquid it comes in contact with. I immediately put some mineral oil/beeswax combo on it to help protect it from stains.

I used the knife a small amount for dinner last nite and would say the the profile is every well thought out for this size of knife. The back half is fairly flat, making for a usable push cut with a nice curve up to the tip allowing for a good rock chop. There is a slight stop at the heel (but nowhere near as hard as my Kono YS-M). 

As for the grind, this is a concave wide bevel knife. Sharpness out of the box was quite good, but a few passes on a Shapton Glass 6K took the edge up a bit. The tip is workable thin for onions and it cuts fairly well into carrots, but did wedge on a thicker carrot. Comparing to my Kono MM, I would say that a little bit of thinning would help this knife get through product a bit better as it seems slightly thicker behind the edge. As well, I would say that the concavity of the bevels could be a little deeper to help with food release, but with this being my first wide bevel this is a guess more than anything else.

Overall, I think quite a decent knife for the price I paid for it. Bernal and Tosho both state that the knife is "discounted" as Ren is a new sharpener and to help him get going in the business. My impression is that for first time work this is roughly where the pricing should be. I think the small grind comments I made reflect the new sharpener status. That said, I see a structure here of something that will become truly top tier given the attention to detail already present.

I'll update this thread as I use the knife some more, but so far happy with the purchase.


----------



## mcwcdn (Dec 18, 2020)

Thanks for the review! Any updates? I am thinking of picking up a Gyuto.


----------



## esoo (Dec 18, 2020)

I've done one more meal with the knife and it performs quite nicely for the prices. As I said in the review, I did touch the edge up on a Shapton Glass 6K which helped it along a bit, and I think I thinning would really make it shine.

At this point, I'm considering moving it along as a catch and release as the handle is really large. It is too big for my liking (but I've been working with Kono handles for the better part of the year) and at this price point I personally don't see it as worthwhile to rehandle when I could sell and try another maker.


----------



## RevJoe (Dec 18, 2020)

Thanks for the update.


----------



## mcwcdn (Dec 18, 2020)

esoo said:


> I've done one more meal with the knife and it performs quite nicely for the prices. As I said in the review, I did touch the edge up on a Shapton Glass 6K which helped it along a bit, and I think I thinning would really make it shine.
> 
> At this point, I'm considering moving it along as a catch and release as the handle is really large. It is too big for my liking (but I've been working with Kono handles for the better part of the year) and at this price point I personally don't see it as worthwhile to rehandle when I could sell and try another maker.



Thank you!


----------



## zizirex (Dec 19, 2020)

Nice, I bought the 240 Gyuto. It's a nice knife, but it could need some work. Since it's a wide bevel knife, it's easy to work with and white 2 is pretty easy to thin.


----------



## mcwcdn (Dec 27, 2020)

zizirex said:


> Nice, I bought the 240 Gyuto. It's a nice knife, but it could need some work. Since it's a wide bevel knife, it's easy to work with and white 2 is pretty easy to thin.



I am on the fence on the 240...do you have any updates on how you are liking it thus far?


----------



## zizirex (Dec 27, 2020)

mcwcdn said:


> I am on the fence on the 240...do you have any updates on how you are liking it thus far?


I have thinned out the knife since the original knife is not that thin behind the edge. once it's zero edges, it performs marvellously. My only concern is that the tip is not fine enough OOTB for my preference, that's why I thinned it more on the tip section. other than that it's a solid knife, it's hefty and not flexy.


----------



## mcwcdn (Dec 27, 2020)

zizirex said:


> I have thinned out the knife since the original knife is not that thin behind the edge. once it's zero edges, it performs marvellously. My only concern is that the tip is not fine enough OOTB for my preference, that's why I thinned it more on the tip section. other than that it's a solid knife, it's hefty and not flexy.



Thanks so much! It sounds very promising. I may just pick one up


----------



## zizirex (Dec 27, 2020)

mcwcdn said:


> Thanks so much! It sounds very promising. I may just pick one up


if you could get locally, ask the vendor to pick the best one for you and check it out. I went to Ai&Om to check it out and got the heaviest one (not by a lot just around 5 gram)


----------



## mcwcdn (Dec 27, 2020)

zizirex said:


> if you could get locally, ask the vendor to pick the best one for you and check it out. I went to Ai&Om to check it out and got the heaviest one (not by a lot just around 5 gram)



Thats who I would be buying from, great suggestion!


----------

