# Tesshu from aframes



## James (Oct 19, 2014)

Anyone see these yet? The 210 and 240 seem a bit short, but the 270 seems like an awesome knife. F&F looks good. 

http://yhst-27988581933240.stores.y...270mm-white-ii-steel-japanese-chef-kn270.html


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## chinacats (Oct 19, 2014)

Looks sweet and I think A-Frames seems to only carry pretty good stuff.


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## Keith Sinclair (Oct 21, 2014)

chinacats said:


> Looks sweet and I think A-Frames seems to only carry pretty good stuff.



Agree with that statement, have bought a couple fine knives from him over the years. Single bevel yanagiba and gyuto.


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## apicius9 (Oct 21, 2014)

keithsaltydog said:


> Agree with that statement, have bought a couple fine knives from him over the years. Single bevel yanagiba and gyuto.



Keith, go to bed, it's late  But I agree also, good source.

Stefan


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## EdipisReks (Oct 21, 2014)

Those look pretty nice.


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## MowgFace (Oct 21, 2014)

hmmm I wonder if the 44mm height is a typo for the 240.


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## MowgFace (Oct 21, 2014)

I shot Mr Aoki an email, and he confirmed the height of the 240mm is incorrect on the site. It measures 46.5, so still on the shorter side, but not 44mm.

Mowgs


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## James (Oct 21, 2014)

So who's going to take the plunge and provide us with pictures and a review?


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## Mucho Bocho (Oct 21, 2014)

Word James! I'm a sucker for nicely finished wide double bevel knives.


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## Dardeau (Oct 21, 2014)

On my radar. 158 bucks for the 210 looks like a steal. I busted out the KS last week at work and the 240 felt massive on the expo station. I'm increasingly loving the small knives since I'm doing less massive prep and more a la minute cutting.


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## Keith Sinclair (Oct 21, 2014)

Actually he has spine to heel at 50mm, medium height for a 270mm gyuto. Rather thick in the spine, but has that thinnest behind edge because of tall grind.


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## EdipisReks (Oct 21, 2014)

I'm interested in one, but I spent my knife budget for the rest of the year, already.


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## EdipisReks (Oct 21, 2014)

The Yoshimitsu Blue and White steel knives are pretty interesting, too (the tamahagane is well outside of my price range).


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## Keith Sinclair (Oct 21, 2014)

Well I have no regrets buying my Tamahagane . I use it all the time, super thin behind the edge just glides thru food. I was a lost cause when saw the building & tearing down of Tatara oven. Then folding the steel pounding out impurities making a knife much like the one I bought. It was a PBS show here in Hawaii. Started researching their knives & found best price was in my own backyard on Oahu at A-Frames. He sold out several 210mm & got a couple more in.

Then again just a sucker for hand forged Japanese carbons. About 8 years ago bought my second quality Yanagiba as was cutting a lot of fish. He pulled out all these awesome Japanese knives was drooling over. Showed me his tech. for Yanagi on a Kitayama 8K. He is retired Sushi Chef and sells single bevels to Japanese chefs here.


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## glestain (Oct 22, 2014)

Keith, what so special about this Tamahagane made gyuto? I look at the pictures (Aframestokyo), saw "voids" or "nicks"...fit and finish is somewhat....i am hoping an owner could tell us more about this. Ops..off topic.


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## Keith Sinclair (Oct 22, 2014)

No problem, yes my knife has a few small voids. If you read all the way to the bottom I think he mentions this. Mine came with a rainbow coating to prevent rust. I took it off with acetone.

These knives are not for most people who like perfect finish custom knives. It is understandable. It is only special to a few who appreciate what it takes to forge these knifes. I bought this knife to use, It cuts superb and holds a good edge plus I like cooking dinner with a Tamahagane steel knife cannot justify it other than it is friggen cool.


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## EdipisReks (Nov 10, 2014)

I came up with a bit of extra money (my sudden expense wasn't so big once my insurance company was convinced they were wrong: wish they had finally agreed with me before I sold that Heiji!), so I had a bit of money for knife replacement, so I bought the 270mm Tesshu. I'll report back. I almost got the Yoshimitsu Blue 1, especially after keithsaltydog gave me some measurements of his Tamahagane knife, but I decided to spend the extra on a couple bottles of single malt for a couple get togethers coming up over the next couple weeks. I think I made the right decision.


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## masibu (Nov 11, 2014)

EdipisReks said:


> I came up with a bit of extra money (my sudden expense wasn't so big once my insurance company was convinced they were wrong: wish they had finally agreed with me before I sold that Heiji!), so I had a bit of money for knife replacement, so I bought the 270mm Tesshu. I'll report back. I almost got the Yoshimitsu Blue 1, especially after keithsaltydog gave me some measurements of his Tamahagane knife, but I decided to spend the extra on a couple bottles of single malt for a couple get togethers coming up over the next couple weeks. I think I made the right decision.



Hopefully the malts and the new gyuto are good! I have been eying off this exact knife myself as a potential target


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## James (Nov 14, 2014)

I'm looking forward to the review; I've been eyeballing these like crazy


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## EdipisReks (Nov 17, 2014)

I got the knife today. First impressions are that it's extremely nice. Very thin at the tip and behind the edge. Very nice fit and finish. I'll try to get some pics, if I can get light to cooperate with me.


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## EdipisReks (Nov 17, 2014)

Here is the tip (it's not actually bent, I'm just not holding it quite straight on):




Here is the choil:




I don't know if it quite shows, but it's one of the thinnest knives BTE that I've owned. It's not dainty, though, quite thick at the spine and heavy. I like it!


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## chinacats (Nov 17, 2014)

EdipisReks said:


> I got the knife today. First impressions are that it's extremely nice. Very thin at the tip and behind the edge. Very nice fit and finish. I'll try to get some pics, if I can get light to cooperate with me.



Nice, and cut some stuff so you can relay the details.


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## Keith Sinclair (Nov 17, 2014)

Nice Assem. grind on it Jacob should be a good cutter.


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## EdipisReks (Nov 17, 2014)

I've used it a bit tonight. Obviously I can't speak to edge retention, but it's a joy to use. Has about as good of a grind as any knife I've used or owned (and that's a lot). Very comfortable and friendly in the hand. If I'd spent $350-$400 on it, I would have been pleased. It hits a lot of the same notes as Heiji: unpretentious and lets the performance speak for itself. It's very similar to the Konosuke Fujiyama Blue 1 I owned, which may not be a coincidence. I see myself buying a 240, at some point. I'd just go ahead and get the 240 now, but I just bought a set of all-season tires, which were badly needed, given that we got 3 inches of snow today, and my car wouldn't be able to go up my driveway right now, with its summer tires, no matter how many curses were aimed at it.


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## EdipisReks (Nov 17, 2014)

The tip and BTE are really much thinner than they look in the pictures. My iPhone 6 had trouble focusing on the very thin and shiny edge geometry. The edge is thinner than my Tanaka R2, for instance, and about the same as the Kagekiyo Blue that I owned, which says something.


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## Dardeau (Nov 17, 2014)

I just last night convinced myself I didn't need one of these. You may have swung me back. The tall knives in SLD look pretty good too.


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## EdipisReks (Nov 17, 2014)

Dardeau said:


> I just last night convinced myself I didn't need one of these. You may have swung me back. The tall knives in SLD look pretty good too.



The White 2 270, at least, is a stupid good deal. Get one!


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## Dardeau (Nov 17, 2014)

Probably going to, the price is too right.


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## James (Nov 17, 2014)

I emailed Takeshi about possible blue steel Tesshu gyutos. He said sanmai knives are available if aframes places the order and he plans to stock damascus blue #1 next month. I'll see if I can order one in blue #2.


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## EdipisReks (Nov 17, 2014)

Please let us know what prices look like. I'd get it in Blue 1 or White 1, if its a custom, though. Those are the sexy steels.


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## chinacats (Nov 17, 2014)

James said:


> I emailed Takeshi about possible blue steel Tesshu gyutos. He said sanmai knives are available if aframes places the order and he plans to stock damascus blue #1 next month. I'll see if I can order one in blue #2.



May as well ask about mizu-honyaki availability/pricing while at it :biggrin:


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## masibu (Nov 18, 2014)

ordered some stuff from aframes this morning and stared at this knife for several hours. Thought I didnt need more iron clad carbon. Now I have to try and add it onto my order I placed already and hopefully save on shipping...


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## mr drinky (Nov 18, 2014)

Thanks for pushing me off the wagon on this one guys. Really needed that. 

That is a sick price though. I got the 210 white #2.

k.


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## labor of love (Nov 29, 2014)

Any idea or guess about the hardness of the core steel?


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## masibu (Nov 30, 2014)

I got one of these in the mail this week and the handle is really loose. What kind of glue or something should I use to keep the tang inside? I tried bashing it in but nothing. There seems to be wood stuck to the tang so I guess I need to glue it back in with something. Profile is good, geometry is pretty good. I need/want t do some minor thinning. I wouldn't guess the knife to be incredibly hard not soft. Pretty standard really, 62ish. For the price paid, im prettu happy with this knife


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## EdipisReks (Nov 30, 2014)

Wood glue should do the job. the handle on mine is as solid as a rock. Geometry on mine is beyond paper thin at the edge and tip. I wonder if there is much variation... I'd hate to lead people to buy a knife based on something that is an outlier, but Aframes is usually pretty good on this stuff. It's White 2, so I don't know why you'd expect anything harder.


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## labor of love (Nov 30, 2014)

Ive used a variety of white steel gyutos with quite a bit of difference in hardness, actually. I also have my preferences. Thanks for responding guys.


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## EdipisReks (Nov 30, 2014)

labor of love said:


> Ive used a variety of white steel gyutos with quite a bit of difference in hardness, actually. I also have my preferences. Thanks for responding guys.



Any how many White 2 gyutos that you've tried are harder than 62?


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## labor of love (Nov 30, 2014)

Ive owned Kono white(laser), Kono fujiyama white 2, Masamoto KS, Sakai Yusuke in white, Gesshin Ittetsu, Gengetsu in white both Gesshin Ginga and Ashi line. Theres probably some more im forgetting. Im my experience it seems like theres a decent amount of variation in hardness of white steel. Im just curious if the steel in Tesshu is on the harder side or the softer side. Im certainly not disputing hrc 62 if thats the area you believe its hardened to.


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## EdipisReks (Nov 30, 2014)

I've owned most of those knives. The Tesshu I have is at least as hard as the Masamoto, Sakai Yusuke, Ashi Ginga, Gengetsu and plan Konosuke white 2. In other words, they all seem about the same, since we are cooks, and not measurement instruments. If anything, the Tesshu I own has held its edge better than most White 2 knives I've used, and I've given it a fair shake, so far. The one I have is a great knife. I hate to sound like I'm a shill for Aframes, but I wish I were: I'm just trying to pass on a good deal. There aren't any catches, as far as I can tell, other than a retailer who probably isn't making a big profit.

I used the Tesshu next to the Tanaka R2 I bought from Chubo, this week, and I do slightly like the R2 better. The R2 is also about the best knife I've ever owned, and it's twice as expensive. I wish the Tanaka gave a nice patina, but stainless is stainless.


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## labor of love (Nov 30, 2014)

Personally I felt like Gengetsu and Gesshin Ittetsu have better retention than the Masamoto KS. The other knives are really really similar with regard to edge retention for sure. Im willing to concede that the differences in retention with white 2 arent terribly significant, we are talking about white steel after all...But I do prefer harder over softer white 2. Tesshu sounds like a cool knife, and I really like that choil shot pic you posted earlier.


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## EdipisReks (Nov 30, 2014)

I just don't think I can tell competently made knives of the same steel from each other with similar boards. I currently have one 20x15x2.5 Michigan maple block, and one 20x15x.5 rubber block, so I think I can start telling a finer difference. Until recently, I was using two of those Michigan maple blocks (they were taking up a lot of counter space, so I gave one to a good friend), so maybe I can start telling a finer difference, but the Tesshu is great, so far. I have stropped it a couple times, but that's pretty normal for me, regardless of the knife.


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## slowtyper (Nov 30, 2014)

Want to order the 210mm but its sold out, anyone know if they restock quickly? Never browsed aframes before


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## masibu (Nov 30, 2014)

Sorry, I meant to say I wouldnt expect the knife to be all that hard NOR soft*


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## CoqaVin (Nov 30, 2014)

anyone know when AFrames will be getting more?


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