# Asai 240 mm gyuto SG2 in stainless damascus



## tk59

Pesky passed me this knife to try out and I must say, I am impressed. This knife is pretty much Kochi-thin. There are some flat spots in the edge profile that are slightly clucky. It takes a very nice edge (not quite carbon though) and so far, edge holding is at least adequate with no apparent chipping with light use. The handle is a very nice size - a little on the thicker side. The blade is taller than average and the damascus is heavily etched but don't produce nearly as much drag as I expected. Release is not bad but not awesome either. Very cool knife so far!


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## El Pescador

No pics?


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## mhlee

tk59 said:


> Pesky passed me this knife to try out and I must say, I am impressed. This knife is pretty much Kochi-thin.



Tk - do you mean thin behind the edge like the Kochi?


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## mhlee

El Pescador said:


> No pics?



Huh??? Do you already miss snuggling with it or something???:scratchhead:


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## El Pescador

mhlee said:


> Huh??? Do you already miss snuggling with it or something???:scratchhead:




Yes I do.

Lol...it is a striking knife and worthy of a pic or 2


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## RRLOVER

El Pescador said:


> No pics?



A review with no pics.........Lucky I am not a SUPERMOD


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## stereo.pete

RRLOVER said:


> A review with no pics.........Lucky I am not a SUPERMOD



I second that!


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## tk59

Geez. Give a guy a break. It's been a busy week! :brainfart:


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## tk59

After using it a bit more, I can say it definitely needs some spine and choil rounding. It's nicely finished but pretty sharp and I could feel the corners biting after just a few minutes of work. It is also a bit on the curvaceous side. It essentially has the same edge profile as a TKC (explains why Pesky likes it so much) with a taller, prettier blade and much thinner behind the edge. I'm pretty impressed with how the steel is holding up to striking the board. There are no noticeable deformations so far. The deep etch on the damascus generates some drag but much less than other deepy etched knives I've experienced. I spent some time alternating between it and a Devin gyuto and there is really no contest. I prefer the Devin. The profile and smoothness of the cut feel significantly better to me, not to mention the spine and choil. I wouldn't mind the Devin having a slightly thicker handle though.


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## Crothcipt

I am assuming it is vg10 steel. I am liking what I see and what you have posted. Will have to look this one up when I get to getting a new gyuto.


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## JBroida

sg2 steel


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## tk59

JBroida said:


> sg2 steel


Yup. That's why I put it in the title.


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## Crothcipt

my bad. I looked up the maker and a similar knife and all they had was vg10. will look up sg2. Still a great looking knife. 

wow that is some sweet steel. Now I am extremely jealous.

Sorry for the wrong post I have just started paying attention to steels.


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## El Pescador

Crothcipt said:


> I am assuming it is vg10 steel. I am liking what I see and what you have posted.  Will have to look this one up when I get to getting a new gyuto.



Kinda...SG2


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## Crothcipt

Made by the same company, and it looks like it would be less "chippy".

http://zknives.com/knives/steels/steelgraph.php?nm=VG10,sg2&hrn=1&gm=0


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## tk59

Crothcipt said:


> Made by the same company, and it looks like it would be less "chippy".
> 
> http://zknives.com/knives/steels/steelgraph.php?nm=VG10%2Csg2&hrn=1&gm=0


Well, depends on the HT, I would imagine. So far, I do not see significant chipping. However, I am not a pro. Seems like they can chip just about anything if they put their minds to it.


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## sel1k1

Woahhh, what a great knife. :nunchucks:


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## El Pescador

sel1k1 said:


> Woahhh, what a great knife. :nunchucks:



I keep this knife pretty high up in my rotation...It is a pleasure to use and haven't rounded the spine or choil (the knife's only faults) out of fear of messing it up. It is just so beautiful!


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## Burl Source

tk59 said:


> View attachment 6288
> View attachment 6287
> View attachment 6289
> View attachment 6290
> 
> 
> Geez. Give a guy a break. It's been a busy week! :brainfart:



I want to know about the cutting board.
What kind of wood is that? Looks very good.


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## 99Limited

That looks like David Smith's work out of walnut.


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## Justin0505

Have you used Shun's SG2? If so how would you say that this compares in terms of edge retention, sharpening, ect...


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## El Pescador

It might as well be 2 different steels. My mother has a Shun with an SG2 core that is VERY chippy. It feels very "gritty" on the stones. The edge retention is poor because it is so chippy. The Asai is very smooth on the stones but you still can tell that it is Stainless. The edge seems to last for a good while and really hasn't degraded since I got it back from TK59. I looked and there aren't any chips. What a difference a good heat treat can make.


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## bkdc

It's a beauty, but the Asai SG-2 suminagashi blade is a little on the thicker side, and I prefer lasers. I must be too used to my exceedingly thin and feather-light Takeda and single-steel unclad blades. I don't accept the thickness as a fact of life for clad or damascus knives. Takamura is able to produce a tough but significantly thinner suminagashi gyuto with SG-2. Unfortunately, the beautiful suminagashi prevents me from thinning out the blade. It's also hefty for a wa-gyuto with significant foreward balance.

I agree that the handle is on the thicker side -- one problem I'll remedy when I get a Stefan handle for this puppy.

I own a few Shuns (Elite, two Fujis... and NO, I did not pay retail price) and I've not had significant bad chipping issues. I can't say I've done a lot of heavy 'chopping' with the Shuns. They sharpen up about the same. The Asai SG2 nakiri is amazing -- hard, thin, and very well balanced.


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## tk59

bkdc said:


> It's a beauty, but the Asai SG-2 suminagashi blade is a little on the thicker side...


I'm not arguing that you had a fattie but I do own quite a number of thin knives. This one is exceedingly thin. In fact, I am sure it is thinner in the area near that edge than your typical Takeda.


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## bkdc

I'm gonna have to check out other specimens. Mine is truly a fattie. I'll post pictures later.


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## bkdc

From left to right

1) Takeda 240 Gyuto
2) Yoshikane 240 Gyuto SKD11
3) Carbonext 240 Gyuto
4) Asai 240 Gyuto SG2 Suminagashi
4) Asai 170 Nakiri SG2 Suminagashi

The edge is okay, but this is definitely not a knife for fast-chopping veggies. 

Maybe El Pescador or tk59 can tell me if the grind on Pesky's knife is similar to the fat blade on mine. This thing is FAT. You can see why I love chopping with my Takeda. It behaves almost like a chukabocho because it is thin all the way down the blade. The geometry on the nakiri is wonderful, and chopping veggies is a joy. Of course, it's only 170mm and I expect it to be thin at the chin as compared to a longer knife.


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## Justin0505

wow, it almost looks like a western deba or lobster splitter compared to those others.


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## tk59

This knife is no longer in my possession but I can assure you that the one I handled was a lot more like the nakiri than that beast next to it. :jawdrop:


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## bkdc

Seriously. I think it's a hybrid between a deba and a gyuto. It's a gyoba. Well, maybe the retailer who sold it to me will allow an exchange.


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## tk59

bkdc said:


> Seriously. I think it's a hybrid between a deba and a gyuto. It's a gyoba. Well, maybe the retailer who sold it to me will allow an exchange.


No kidding. That thing needs to go on a serious diet.


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## EdipisReks

bkdc said:


> Seriously. I think it's a hybrid between a deba and a gyuto. It's a gyoba. Well, maybe the retailer who sold it to me will allow an exchange.



wow, yeah, i would ask about an exchange. you could probably stop a .44 magnum with it, though, so maybe keep it around if you live in a high crime neighborhood.


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## sel1k1

tk59 said:


> No kidding. That thing needs to go on a serious diet.




I'm not sure if anyone read the for sale ad when I posted it but this gyuto was the absolute thinnest out of 5 available at the Epicurean Edge. The rest of them, while still beautiful, were way too thick for me. If anyone decides to purchase one of these and is looking for a thinner one I would recommend getting specs with pics of the knife before hand if you are unable to see it in person. Asai is a great knife maker. Having said that his knives differ greatly. From what I saw they all have immaculate fit and finish, I am referring to the thickness more than anything. Some people like em fat ><

FWIW; Dan(owner of EE) said they all used to be thin like this one but the past ones happened to be thicker.

Bernal Cutlery also carries these. I just moved to San Francisco but haven't had a chance to look at them in person. Sooner or later I will be purchasing some knives from them.


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