# Review: Andy Billipp damascus gyuto 255mm - Part II.



## Matus (Aug 15, 2015)

I think it is about the time for me to finish the second part of this review. In the first one I basically described the knife, here I would like to share my impressions on design and performance. Fewer photos this time - not that much has changed just over couple of months 

_Please do note that I am just a keen amateur when it comes to kitchen knives and my opinions and only worth as much. I am far from experienced or professional user._

*Profile & weight distribution:*
Let me start with basic blade geometry and weight distribution. Pictures make it obvious that the blade has a long flat spot and the blade curves only gently towards the tip. What you can not see from the images is the weight distribution - which in my opinion is a very important property of a knife this size. 

One may guess that the weight will not be particularly front-forward. Indeed - the large handle and strong (thick) neck together with pronounced distal taper keep the centre of mass just 1-2 cm in front of the heel. In other words, with pinch grip the knife feels balanced on your hand with little to none front forward weight feel (but not butt heavy - that would be a show stopper for me). Because of this the knife not only feels nimble (there is simply not much weight far away from the centre of mass, so moving the knife around does not require too much force), but it also means that the knife feels much better slicing than chopping. Comparing it side-by-side to 240 Kato makes the difference very obvious (Kato has centre of mass some 5-6 cm in front of the heel). Kato just wants to chop all day long, while the Billing prefers more slicing motion. 

*Blade geometry/grind:*
The grind got me by surprise and for me is one of the main strength of the knife. The knife is very thin behind the edge and there is no "shoulder" to find. Cutting through harder taller vegetables (large carrots, pumpking, etc.) is pleasant with little to none wedging. Comparing to Kato the difference was really striking. The Kato likes to chop through stuff and this may feel nearly effortless (with not too thick and hard vegetables) thanks to the centre of mass being so far in front of the heel. On the other hand - the profile of the Billipp allows it to slice through hard and tall vegetables without using excessive force.

*weight on the tip (very little):*
I would specifically mention this. As I have just mentioned - the knife is balanced rather close to the heel - that leaves the tip of the knife nearly "weightless" in a pinch grip. If you find yourself trimming ends of green beans (or similar) - you would probably prefer to have the tip "falling" towards the cutting board and thus making the cut nearly effortless (since you do not have to push downwards) a knife like Kato (or Yoshikane Hakata for that matter) would make this task easier, the Billipp will require that you make the cut. This is not a deficiency of the knife, merely a property of the design.

*The tip:*
When the knife arrived I noticed immediately that the tip was ground very thin. I was first concerned that it will not be stable enough and that I could damage it - in particular since none of the knives I have have tip this thin. After several months of use I can just say that not only the tip is strong enough (though obviously not without some light flex when pressed on from a side), but it is pretty much amazing for making first cuts on onion or doing some fine slices.

*Heat treat:*
I have talked to Andy about my impressions on the HT of the blade and he has confirmed that. In contrary to most Japanese blades that are very hard, Ande heat-treats his blade to 'only' HRC 61. With his HT Andy achieves that the damage point of the blade (like hitting improper/hard material accidentally) will not result in a big chip, but the blade will partially bend. I have managed to get some slight damage to the edge and that is what I observed. Still - the edge holding of the blade is very good (and it seems to be better than the one of white #1 from Carter), but do not expect it to have miraculously long edge holding (get some powder stainless steel for that). I have sharpened the knife twice over 4 months (though the knife is used some 3-4 times a week), so for a regular home use the knife should hold about a month - give or take. The knife is very easy to sharpen and deburr - about comparable to white #1 and considerably easier (faster is the better word, none of the carbon steels is actually hard to sharpen IMO) than super blue.

*Patina:*
As Andy mentioned to me in advance - the blade of the knife darkened over time. The damascus is very subtle and really beautiful. The blade gained slight bluish tone (though you have to look for it as it shows only under certain light conditions). I have not noticed any strong/fast discolouration and experienced staining on onions only once or twice and it was rather weak. In comparison Kato was staining much faster (it may have been the way I cared about it) and I got dark onions more often (I never allowed more stable patina to form though). I have not experienced any signs of rust, but I did kept the knife clean, so I did not really expect any. I assume that the reason why the patina formed rather slowly is, that the blade is clad with damascus made of 1084 and 15n20 - both of which are martensitic steels (contrary to soft iron cladding most other carbon knives are made with) and seem to stain about as fast the as the core 52100.

*Food release:*
I would prefer not mentioning it at all, but since I am sure someone will ask, so here it goes. I have not really managed to get any particularly good food release from any of the knifes I have used so far (including Kato, Yoshikane Hakata, Carter Funayuki). There has been a lengthy thread on food release and many experienced users seemed to suggest that it is more technique than knife. Since my technique is far from perfect, I do not really feel confident to form firm opinion. My impression is that that there is bit more food sticking than with Kato (which I got food stick to as well) and about comparable to the Carter Funayuki. Yoshikane Hakata was a little better (it is basically wide bevel knife - there will be a review later on). So, there you go.

*Blade smell:*
This is something that surprised me and I though it should be mentioned. First couple of weeks the knife would produce rather particular smell as soon as it got wet (and in particular with acidic stuff). It is hard to describe with words, but it was not particularly pleasant. I checked several times, but did not find this smell on the food I cut. With time this smell got weaker and today (6 month later) it is gone completely.

*Ageing:*
Not only the blade got darker (what actually really look awesome), but so did the handle, what meant that it lost some of the contrast. I talked to Dave (since he is an expert when it comes to handles) and he told me that that is indeed normal behaviour of natural ironwood.

*Summary:*
When I started to read about Andy's knives - every owner I asked was very happy about Andy's work - and now I can see why. It makes no sense to say something like "the best gyuto out there" or something like that. IMO - it is very well made, though out and knife which is very "self consistent" (for lack of better expression) - the design, the grind, the profile all fit together and leave pretty much nothing to be desired. There are many "perfect" knives out there with different geometries, profiles and steels and one needs to find the one (or several  ) that best suit his/her needs or requirements. But I am confident that Andy's work is up there among the very best.

I think I should mention it again - at least with this particular design, the knife (because of its weight distribution) makes for excellent and nimble slicer. If you are looking for a chopper - you might want a knife with more heft to the blade towards the tip and probably also lighter handle. I also think that a design with more belly than my gyuto would work very well too (and Andy indeed makes those knives as well).

I personally am very happy with the knife and really enjoy using and taking care of it. For me this knife ended my search for 'perfect' gyuto. Thank you Andy :thumbsup:

Now for a few photos (I somehow did better job last time):


















And one family portrait  (yes - that is cocobolo magnetic bar from Jon)


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## Cheeks1989 (Aug 15, 2015)

Great Review.


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## TheDispossessed (Aug 15, 2015)

grat read! thanks!


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## mark76 (Aug 15, 2015)

Thanks for the extensive review, Matus. It's great to read about a knife you don't see every day.


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## chinacats (Aug 15, 2015)

Very nice follow-up review...thanks!


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## chiffonodd (Aug 15, 2015)

Very thoughtful review - enjoyed reading your reflections. Cool mix of functional commentary and philosophy of knife construction and use. :goodpost:

Even if you are "just" an amateur it is clear that you give this stuff a lot of thought! Happy to be sharing this knife enthusiast journey with people like you.


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## Bill13 (Aug 15, 2015)

Great review, adding another to my wish list. Thanks for taking the time to put it all down.


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## Matus (Aug 15, 2015)

Thank you for your kind words - I am glad you like my little write-up


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## toddnmd (Aug 15, 2015)

Thanks so much for the follow up! Much appreciated!
Happy that I'm on Andys waiting list!


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## Matus (Sep 9, 2015)

This little (well, 2XL actually  ) surprise arrived just few days ago (thank you drawman623 for shipping this to me and greetings to Andy). I think this could be the proper way to present it to KKF 





This one will go to my brother in law as I myself am more of an M size guy, but I am definitely getting one next time


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## TheDispossessed (Sep 9, 2015)

I visited Andy and his family at the farm this last month. It was great, and there's too much nice stuff I could say in one paragraph but I'll say this. I was really impressed with Andy's works in progress, as I got to see a couple knives in various stages of completion. I'm kind of a die hard wa handle guy but the handle he had on this knife he handed me was phenomenal. the whole knife just felt awesome, hard to describe. I love that his knives have all this soul and personality but aren't using that as a crutch to pass off sloppy work, the grind and finish work are really, really good if not fantastic. really special stuff


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## Keith Sinclair (Sep 11, 2015)

Nice collection of knives Matus


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