# Konosuke Funayuki Gyuto 270mm review



## dannynyc

At long last, and after a lot of back and forth about ferrules (that's enough about that), I got the Konosuke I'd long been lusting after this past Friday. I'm posting a bunch of pictures at members' request, and I thought I'd share some initial thoughts. Keep in mind that these thoughts are from a home chef, and I don't have nearly the expertise or experience as many of the members of this forum.

First off, as I hope the photos show, this is a big knife, with a blade length of 277mm. I put it next to my Carbonext 240mm, which is a true 240mm blade, so you can get a sense of its size. For further perspective, it is on a 12" X 18" cutting board. Now, because this knife is so thin, it is a lot lighter than your average 270, which is why so many people recommend getting the 270 even for those who are used to a non-laser 240. I'm glad I did this, especially since the Kono 240s are quite short, particularly the funayuki. That said, this still feels like a big knife in my hands, and while it is much more nimble than any other knife of this length is likely to be, it isn't *that* light. It still feels like big knife. Luckily I use a pinch grip and, as you can see from the photo where I'm holding it, that significantly reduces the amount of blade I'm working with. Don't get me wrong, I don't wish I'd bought the 240 (I'm sure I'd regret it if I had), but this knife is still going to take some getting used to.

The knife was very sharp OOTB: it shaved arm hair and glided through newspaper with no sharpening. I've since only stropped it on loaded leather, and it is extremely sharp. My hope is that I won't have to sharpen anytime soon. As many of you know, the edge is quite convex on the face of the knife, which seems to enhance the cutting experience significantly. 

Regrettably I haven't had time to put this to the test nearly as much as I'd like, but I have cut up a bunch of onions, shallots, scallions, and potatoes. So far the performance is excellent. It glides through veggies using a push cut with a minimal need for forward motion. I was especially impressed by how well the tip worked on shallots -- the size of the knife was really not an impediment here.

My choil shots are not stellar, but I hope it gives you some sense of the thinness of the blade and the degree of distal taper, which is noticeable, but not dramatic, as I think you'd expect from such a thin blade. 

F&F was excellent -- though the initial knife I received (with the blond ferrule) had some issues of fit between the handle and ferrule, this one is near perfect, almost perfectly flush. 

Three minor gripes so far: First, this knife is a bit blade-heavy (see photo where I'm balancing on my finger). When I exchanged the knife I almost went for the ebony handle, figuring that would help push the balance more toward the handle, but in the end I didn't want to detract from the light weight of the knife, so I stuck with the ho handle. 

Second, I was not overly impressed with the choil. It has been rounded some, but it is still rather sharp, and I think this could be an issue for a pro cook. If I was working the line, I'd probably want to round out the choil.

Third, and this is really very minor, but I can't understand why the kanji is on the back of the blade. This is a purely asthetic issue when it's on a magnetic strip, but I did find that odd (maybe it's not as unusual as I think).

Hope this is helpful. I'm happy to answer any questions that I'm able to.

Danny


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## dannynyc

Well damn, these photos wouldn't post. Tried doing it from flickr. Any advice on how to make this work? Kind of a bummer there is no way to upload files directly on the site.


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## labor of love

danny, i use imageshack for uploading photos here. its pretty easy to use and you can increase/decrease the size of the photos as you like.


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## franzb69

http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/show/with/8740674699/

i use photobucket. either one will work.

=D


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## Kyle

I use http://postimage.org/

When its uploaded I use the "direct link" option and use the insert image function on the forum.


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## dannynyc

Ok, here we go. Not sure why some of these photos came out so small, but I don't have time to fix for now.


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## dannynyc

One thing I forgot to mention: The profile of this knife is really great for push cutting. Just the slightest hint of a belly, and lots of contact with the board. But it is possible to rock on it, it's not completely flat.


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## labor of love

Looking good. Not too short at the heel? Plenty of knuckle clearance ?
I loved my 240 kono funi HD, but it was too light....the flatter profile should be much easier to sharpen too.


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## dannynyc

Yes, there is plenty of knuckle clearance. I think I may have taken some of these photos at a strange angle, but if you look at the shot next to the carbonext, hopefully you can see the Konos is significantly taller.


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## dannynyc

Here's another side-by-side with the 240 CN to give you an idea of the height.


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## Slypig5000

I've really gotten used to and now like an extremely flat knife. For whatever reason push cutting seems more efficient, like i have more control. Great purchase these things look amazing. Though I have a tight kitchen, I would be really afraid to go to the 270.


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## dannynyc

I was never a 270 person but saw countless people say that with the Kono, it is so light that the 240 is just too light (plus it's pretty short). I concur.


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## chinacats

Nice Knife and good review! Glad you got the pics worked out.


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## knyfeknerd

Thanks for the review.
Does anyone sell Kono's besides Lord Voldemort?


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## dannynyc

My sense is that he pushed everyone out.


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## vinster

Tosho Knife Arts and Knifewear both sell it, but shipping from our neighbor might cost an arm and a leg.


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## dannynyc

Fwiw I heard that tosho doesn't stock konosukes in 270. Not sure if that's accurate.


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## labor of love

i tried ordering direct from konosuke, but they just sent my email to mark. and he responds and takes care of it:scared4: i would love to see this knife go head to head with the kono HD ultamatum. in theory the profiles should be similar, but the different geometry would be interesting. Actually, any non laser HD would be kinda interesting. if i ever see a second hand one for sell id jump all over it. ive been eyeballing these babies for some time now.


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## dannynyc

Think you're mixing up your richmonds and konos, though I believe Kono makes the Richmond.


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## labor of love

negative ghostrider. Konosuke indeed made an ultamatum out of HD steel.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyRN7_pATYs


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## stevenStefano

To be honest I think the profiles of 270s doesn't matter much because with so much knife a 270 can do everything but it looks interesting. It still doesn't look super tall to me, it looks like a long 240 rather than a true 270 to me. Any ideas so far as to how to compares to the Carbonext? Thanks a bunch for doing the review


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## Mike9

Personally - if you have the room (like I do) there is no reason NOT to go 270. The are longer and leaner feeling than the 240s I sold.


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## stevenStefano

Mike9 said:


> Personally - if you have the room (like I do) there is no reason NOT to go 270. The are longer and leaner feeling than the 240s I sold.



Yeah I totally agree. With 240s, there's not a lot of steel to play with so the profile is very very important and limits the things you can do, whereas a 270 is all things to all men, it can do everything


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## labor of love

Another benefit of 270mm gyutos is they're almost always at least 53mm tall give or take. I'm been phasing out almost all my short gyutos as I tend to favor taller ones. While its not necessary, I tend to favor a lower tip on gyutos, whether or not they're pointy doesn't make much difference to me. But yes, more things seem possible at the 270mm size.


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## franzb69

yep, i like tall gyutos. 270mm ones are really calling to me. next one i'm getting is gonna be 270mm for sure.


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## marc4pt0

I'm glad you got this knife! I've been eye humping this guy for a while! Hopefully I'll catch one on BST sometime!


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## dannynyc

marc4pt0 said:


> I'm glad you got this knife! I've been eye humping this guy for a while! Hopefully I'll catch one on BST sometime!



I'm getting a mental image of "eye humping" a knife, and it's not pretty. :bigeek:
I meant to measure the height at the heel this morning, but got too busy. Will try to do tonight. But I will say that I think a lot of knife photos fail to give an accurate sense of size, as all you can really tell is the proportional size of the blade and handle. So here's a photo of the knife next to a quarter (yes, a quarter). Don't know why it's so blurry, but at least it will aid in getting a sense of the size.


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## berko

will onions cut with the hd steel oxidate?


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## dannynyc

No it's not reactive at all. For all intents and purposes this is stainless.


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## labor of love

Oh yeah, that HD2 steel is supposed to be closer to stainless and have increased edge retention,"supposedly". You sharpened it up yet?


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## dannynyc

labor of love said:


> Oh yeah, that HD2 steel is supposed to be closer to stainless and have increased edge retention,"supposedly". You sharpened it up yet?



No, for the time being there's no need, it's still pretty darned sharp. I wish I had more time to use it but there's a strike at my office and I'm being worn ragged. Not enough time for cooking.


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## panda

when you get the itch to try something new or just get bored with it, please contact me first for a potential sale.


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