# Itinomonn Kurouchi Nashiji 210mm Wa Gyuto  review



## Devon_Steven (Aug 21, 2015)

*Itinomonn Kurouchi Nashiji 210mm Wa Gyuto*

I should start by saying this was my first handmade Japanese knife so I cant really compare it to any others. 

For several years I had been using a Furi (180mm-ish) Santoku. Id been quite happy with the performance of that knife (not knowing anything about real Japanese kitchen knives), but that knife had become unusable because its bolster had made effective sharpening impossible. So, last October, while searching for best santoku, I found KKF and quickly discovered that the best santoku is probably a gyuto :biggrin: And then, with some great advice from KKF'ers chinacats and timthebeaver, I bought this Itinomonn.

The knife came from Maksim at Japanese Natural Stones in Denmark. Dispatch and delivery couldn't have been quicker. Altogether a very nice shopping experience.

*Specifications*
From Maksims web site...

Steel: V2 
Handle: Ho wood D shape 

Approx. measurements:

Handle Length: 130mm
Handle Width: 20mm
Handle to Tip Length: 360mm
Heel to Tip Length: 210mm
Blade Height at Heel: 50mm
Width of Spine at Handle: 5,2mm
Width of Spine Above Heel: 4,3mm
Width of Spine at Middle: 1,7mm
Width of Spine 1cm from the tip: 0,8mm

Weight- 155g

The knife I received weighed 164g, is 216mm heel to tip and the blade height at the heel was 49mm. The knife has an s-grind (concave from spine to shinogi and convex from shinogi to edge).

*Finish and handle*
The knife is appears to be very well-made, has very good fit and finish and is very comfortable to use. In fact, using it is an absolute pleasure! The handle was perfectly presented and very comfortable and the joint between handle and blade was very nice and sealed with wax. The knife arrived with a sharp and useable edge.

*Performance*
Im a home cook and use the knife daily, mostly for vegetable work. As you might expect, with this being my first handmade Japanese knife, I have been delighted with the thinness of the blade and the ease of cutting. For food release, I dont have another similar knife to compare the Itinomonn to. I do notice some foods sticking to the blade (e.g. zucchini and potato slices) but I dont feel that this hampers my work.

*Photographs*
This is how the knife looks now. Most of the black scale in the kurouchi has been washed away leaving a very nice nashiji pattern.














The choil shots show how the knife looks following one full sharpening (i.e. shinogi moved upwards along with the edge).













*Equipment for sharpening*
KKF also provided me with the knowledge to replace my ancient Norton Pike India Oilstone with some better equipment. 

From Stu at toolsfromjapan I got the special offer Sigma Power ceramic 1000-6000 set that contained:

1 x Sigma Power Select II #1200;
1x Sigma Power Jinzo-renge ceramic #6000;
1 x iWood diamond Plate #300 (single sided); and
1 x Suehiro 'Free size' style base, with tray.

And I added to that a 400 grit Naniwa Professional (the new Chosera). I bought this last one to refresh a number of older, stainless, knives that I have.






Also pictured are a piece of balsa for stropping and 800 and 1200 grit wet and dry for polishing.

*Summary
*Great knife, wish I'd bought a good knife years ago, thanks to KKF members for all the kitchen knife knowledge, and special thanks Jon Brioda for those invaluable sharpening videos*.

*_
Steven_


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## Timthebeaver (Aug 21, 2015)

I think the word I am looking for is "sorted".

Have to say I think the knife looks great with the "attenuated" kurouchi.


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## Devon_Steven (Aug 21, 2015)

Timthebeaver said:


> Have to say I think the knife looks great with the "attenuated" kurouchi.



Yeah, I really like how it looks now. 

FWIW, the black scale came off quite quickly. What you see in the pictures is after ten months of use and soapy water washing, but the black scale started to disappear within a few weeks of use.


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## OneS (Aug 23, 2015)

Good to hear that you are enjoying your knife. I agree that the loss of the KU finish is no real 'loss' - the blade looks great. I wish I had your discipline at stopping at just one knife !


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## jer (Aug 24, 2015)

How reactive do you find the cladding?


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## Devon_Steven (Aug 24, 2015)

OneS said:


> I wish I had your discipline at stopping at just one knife !



I'm afraid I didn't... I followed the gyuto with a Masakage Koishi 150mm Honesuki bought here in the BST :biggrin:


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## Devon_Steven (Aug 24, 2015)

jer said:


> How reactive do you find the cladding?



I doesn't seem too bad. My other J knife (see post above) has a stainless cladding so I can't compare the Itinomonn to anything.

The knife needs to be cleaned during use and develops a patina pretty quick... here's some pic's of its usual condition...












The hagane isn't usually as dull as in shown here, but I realised today that I'd put the knife back on the rack without wiping it last last night, and left it there overnight.

The last thing I cut was some zucchini... no rust this morning, but there was some dark oxidised stuff sticking to the knife.


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## Krakorak (Aug 27, 2015)

jer said:


> How reactive do you find the cladding?



I believe, its a V2 monosteel, so that there is no "cladding"...

Otherwise - nice review, I am glad to read that I am not the only one who likes this knife so much;-)...It looks (I like rustic knives) as well as cuts great, I only wish mine would be just these 49 mm tall, its 55 mm what is a bit too much for me...But generally - great knife for the money, my first (but definitely not last:-D) J-knife which I probably will never sell!


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## Dardeau (Aug 27, 2015)

It's definitely a clad knife.


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## Krakorak (Aug 28, 2015)

Dardeau said:


> It's definitely a clad knife.



Uff, such a shocking news after about 17 months of use:bigeek:! I really believed its a monosteel, at least I could never recognize a boundary between the core steel and the cladding (contrary to some other clad knives I own - Carter Muteki, Watanabe, etc.)...


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## Devon_Steven (Aug 28, 2015)

Mine's is certainly a clad knife.

Wish I'd got a 55mm specimen... that sounds nice


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## Krakorak (Aug 28, 2015)

Devon_Steven said:


> Mine's is certainly a clad knife.
> 
> Wish I'd got a 55mm specimen... that sounds nice



Maybe we should exchange them:-D!


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## XooMG (Aug 28, 2015)

Yeah, rather a shame for me since I had a 55mm model, but had it reground to a more usable profile for me, and is about 50mm now.

Unfortunately, I picked up another 210 by the same maker and it ended up having almost exactly the same profile as the reground knife! Or perhaps fortunately, since the new one looks fresher and I don't need to rework the bevel as much.


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## Krakorak (Sep 1, 2015)

Devon_Steven said:


> Mine's is certainly a clad knife.
> 
> Wish I'd got a 55mm specimen... that sounds nice



A brief correction: mine is - not suprisingly - a clad knife as well! Even if the boundary between the core steel and cladding is indeed much less distinct than in any of the other clad knives I own...


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## Krakorak (Sep 1, 2015)

Devon_Steven said:


> Mine's is certainly a clad knife.
> 
> Wish I'd got a 55mm specimen... that sounds nice



And maybe I will add a choil shot of my specimen later as it is quite different from yours, certainly also due to the larger height..


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## Devon_Steven (Sep 1, 2015)

Krakorak said:


> And maybe I will add a choil shot of my specimen later as it is quite different from yours, certainly also due to the larger height..



Please do, and a pic of the blade, I'd be interested to see how your KU finish looks after 17 months.


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## Krakorak (Sep 2, 2015)

Devon_Steven said:


> Please do, and a pic of the blade, I'd be interested to see how your KU finish looks after 17 months.



OK, no problem...But I assume that the kurouchi on mine specimen is still a bit better preserved than on yours as I ever washed it only with the soft side of the damper...But after seeing your pictures and the nicely exposed nashiji pattern (which I generally like on knives) I washed it a few times with the other, coarse side and quite a big part of the kurouchi dissapeared after that...so its relatively close to yours now, in my opinion...But I will try to find the older photos as well, for comparison..


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## Devon_Steven (Sep 2, 2015)

I mostly wash mine with the soft side of the sponge, using hot water and soap. The cleaning of the KU wasn't intentional, but I like how it has turned out.


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## Krakorak (Sep 11, 2015)

Sorry Steven, my notebook, where I have saved all the photos I promised to add, is currently under repair, so I will have a slight delay, it should be OK in about 2 weeks..


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## Devon_Steven (Sep 11, 2015)

I'm waiting patiently ...


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## Krakorak (Sep 14, 2015)

Devon_Steven said:


> I'm waiting patiently ...


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## Krakorak (Oct 19, 2015)

Hi Steven, here are, finally, all the promised photos: http://rhamphorhynchus.rajce.idnes.cz/Itinomonn_kurouchi_nashiji_210_mm_gyuto

They are sorted more or less chronologically, including some of the completely new, unused knife and three after about one month usage; the rest are quite actual photos, some of them showing details of the nashiji pattern...Hopefully you will like them!


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## Devon_Steven (Oct 19, 2015)

Nice photos!

I like the kanji close-up :O)

And the chronological story is a good idea.

You have a non-standard handle?

And the knife is ground for left-hand use?


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## Krakorak (Oct 19, 2015)

Yes, the handle is burnt chestnut that I bought from Maxim (he currently doesn't have any) and he has kindly installed it (gratis), its much more comfortable than the ho-wood handles that I have on some of my other knives...

And...I am definitely right-handed...but you are fully right that the grind indeed seems to be more suitable for a left-handed user - honestly, I have never realized that fact! Probably because I have never felt any problems when cutting anything and the knife cuts so well anyway...


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## joyless (Nov 14, 2015)

Thanks for the review. I have two Itinomonn gyutos, I find them amazing value for money. One of the best cutters I own.


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