# Opinions On Dao Vua Gyutos



## CulinaryCellist (Oct 1, 2019)

Hello, I'm looking to get just one more knife on the cheaper spectrum just to round out the start of my collection before I leave for bootcamp in December.. I've realized that I've bought all kinds of J knives except for a Gyuto, but as I am leaving fairly soon I don't want to shell out too much cash


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## Brian Weekley (Oct 1, 2019)

I have one and enjoy using it very much. It’s a little rough but has a very nice handle and takes an incredible edge. I certainly wasn’t disappointed and don’t think you will either.


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## Marek07 (Oct 2, 2019)

I have a couple - some bought direct from them (with sayas) and some bought from a KKF member.

Brian Weekley said they're a bit rough... that's putting it very mildly. They're seriously rough - they take the word rustic to a whole new level. We often hear about the poor F&F on Teruyasu Fujiwara knives. Compared to Dao Vua knives, TFs are gems!

Usually, they'll need a fair bit of work including grinding and hammering. The steel used is mostly reclaimed car and truck leaf spring steel - commonly 5160. Eventually they will take a decent edge. They are project knives to be sure but projects can be fun.  Handles are rather thin. Great carbon knives for practicing your knife tweaking skills and great value for money but not certainly not heirloom pieces.


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## CulinaryCellist (Oct 2, 2019)

Marek07 said:


> I have a couple - some bought direct from them (with sayas) and some bought from a KKF member.
> 
> Brian Weekley said they're a bit rough... that's putting it very mildly. They're seriously rough - they take the word rustic to a whole new level. We often hear about the poor F&F on Teruyasu Fujiwara knives. Compared to Dao Vua knives, TFs are gems!
> 
> Usually, they'll need a fair bit of work including grinding and hammering. The steel used is mostly reclaimed car and truck leaf spring steel - commonly 5160. Eventually they will take a decent edge. They are project knives to be sure but projects can be fun.  Handles are rather thin. Great carbon knives for practicing your knife tweaking skills and great value for money but not certainly not heirloom pieces.


Oof, I thought I'd heard somewhere that their f&f was getting better, the way you describē them I think I'm going to find something else for now.. just wish I could stay somewhere around the price of these :/


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## Brian Weekley (Oct 2, 2019)

I have their cleaver as well. Don’t recall having to do any grinding and hammering but then maybe I just got good ones.


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## NO ChoP! (Oct 2, 2019)

I've got a handful of them floating around my club kitchen. Sure, they are rustic. The finish looks like something one could achieve with a Dremel or a disc grinder. Sure, they need a full run progression on the stones. Sure there may be a few low spots. But, they are thin, and they cut; really well. I would never suggest one for a daily driver. You better have a rounded kit before even thinking of one. That being said, how can you go wrong for sub $100? What's the competition? Maybe a Tosa kurouchi knife? Also a super performer, imho.


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## CiderBear (Oct 2, 2019)

I have been curious about them, but in a rather different way. Like @Marek07 said, the steel comes from reclaimed car & truck leaf spring. 

If I go back far enough on their Facebook page, I can find paragraphs (in Vietnamese) claiming that these knives are made from (iirc) Soviet tank parts and rails leftover from the war. Obviously, to me Soviet tank sounds (a) "cool" and (b) not food safe.

Since I know nothing about metallurgy, I want to know how one can tell if these knives are made from steel that aren't contaminated with, say, lead, or radiation? 

Before you say I'm paranoid, I'm really not. I understand how non-existent food safety and all other standards are there - I get food poisoning every time I visit. And I don't think the blacksmiths are willingly using "contaminated" steel either - they might genuinely not know. Question is, how do we?


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## RDalman (Oct 2, 2019)

CiderBear said:


> I have been curious about them, but in a rather different way. Like @Marek07 said, the steel comes from reclaimed car & truck leaf spring.
> 
> If I go back far enough on their Facebook page, I can find paragraphs (in Vietnamese) claiming that these knives are made from (iirc) Soviet tank parts and rails leftover from the war. Obviously, to me Soviet tank sounds (a) "cool" and (b) not food safe.
> 
> ...


How can you tell, if your japanese knives are lead contaminated? Because they're actually often heated in big molten leadbaths for the quenching. I think lead have no way to get into the actual steel and you don't need to worry though.

On the knives, I handled one gyuto. Weird profile and chunky edge, but thin straight blade that can probably be made to work, and if the steel is decently treated, why not


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## Bensbites (Oct 2, 2019)

I have several, I even befriended the maker in Instagram and have purchased directly. 
1) rustic -yes
2) I really like the bunka out of the box. 
3) the gyuto and bunka-cleaver hybrid are two of my favorite knives after some serious thinning/grinding. They are to the point where I have held off buying more expensive knives because i have these just where I like them. 

the edge retention is probably better than cheap white steel after you get through a couple full progressions. 
For the price, I highly recommend them.


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## atb (Oct 2, 2019)

theyre cheap asl just buy it and maybe send it to someone on the site to fix it up for you.


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## CiderBear (Oct 2, 2019)

@RDalman I definitely did not know that. Thank you!


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## Marek07 (Oct 2, 2019)

Brian Weekley said:


> I have their cleaver as well. Don’t recall having to do any grinding and hammering but then maybe I just got good ones.


Wouldn't mind trying their cleaver. The grinding and hammering (& some bending too) I mentioned were only on the gyutos, which is what you asked about. Their nakiri was pretty good from the beginning, likewise a bunka. Despite their shortcomings and to iterate - good value for money.

For the record, I've been to Vietnam a few times and never had food poisoning. Dengue fever is a different story - but that's the mosquitoes not the food. Admittedly, I have some concerns about the food due to the amount of defoliant that was used there before '75... or am I being paranoid?


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## CiderBear (Oct 2, 2019)

@Marek07 oh yeah I got dengue there one summer too... And for the record, I grew up there. I come back in the summer to visit family, and I get seriously ill from the food every single time.


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## Marek07 (Oct 2, 2019)

CiderBear said:


> @Marek07 oh yeah I got dengue there one summer too... And for the record, I grew up there. I come back in the summer to visit family, and I get seriously ill from the food every single time.


Bugger! 

If you still visit Vietnam, consider ordering a custom from them directly. Quick turnaround and postage is only $5. They throw in a saya as well.


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## mise_en_place (Oct 2, 2019)

I have their cleaver. Rough finish and definitely some low spots but I love it. It's thin and takes an edge really easily. I plan on getting maybe one more cleaver from them and possibly one of their honesuki. 



CiderBear said:


> @Marek07 oh yeah I got dengue there one summer too... And for the record, I grew up there. I come back in the summer to visit family, and I get seriously ill from the food every single time.



@CiderBear where is your family? I lived in HCMC and fortunately never got sick from the food, just 333


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## CiderBear (Oct 2, 2019)

@mise_en_place HCMC. Usually I'm very careful until the last few days, then someone brings me som banh bia (the kind with durian) that their family made in the countryside for me as a going away present. Cool, I love banh bia. BAM, food poisoning.


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## MowgFace (Oct 3, 2019)

I have a 210 Gyuto from Bernal. Actually, the one from the magnetic knife rack IG post. The ones from Bernal dont have the weird ass wanna be TF choil/heel thing going on, which was what drew me to the Bernal ones in particular.

Super fun knife, definitely a cutter despite some small waves and bends.

For <$70 i think its worth getting your hands on one. The video of the guys in full asian squat grinding on the same angle grinder sitting on the floor makes me want to bootleg my own knife.

Mowgs


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## DitmasPork (Oct 3, 2019)

CulinaryCellist said:


> Hello, I'm looking to get just one more knife on the cheaper spectrum just to round out the start of my collection before I leave for bootcamp in December.. I've realized that I've bought all kinds of J knives except for a Gyuto, but as I am leaving fairly soon I don't want to shell out too much cash



Have you looked at Kintaro?
https://www.mtckitchen.com/kintaro-white-2-kurouchi-gyuto-210mm-8-2/

A chef I know loves his. I saw them the other day in MTC, one of the best bang-for-buck knives out there IMO.


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## SeattleBen (Oct 3, 2019)

I bought a nakiri from them pretty shortly after they made their way to consumers here in the US. It was a fun project but had significant waviness at the blade edge. But for the $50USD I spent to get it to my door it seemed like a decent enough project knife to learn some things off of. I follow them on IG and it does seem that the quality of their blades has greatly improved since then.


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