# Devin Thomas "Dark Side" Gyuto review



## El Pescador

DT 229 mm (tip to heel) non-stainless tool steel prototype gyuto

Here's a little background on how I acquired this knife:

It wasnt a knife that I needed. I was visiting Devin and he pulled out several kitchen knives he said hed been working on. He pointed one out, in particular, that had a handle constructed out of brushed wenge. I used this knife to make a chef salad in his kitchen and I really liked the feel of it and how it was cutting. After getting home and sleeping on it, I felt compelled to call him up and ask him if I could buy it. He said, Yes. A few days later, it showed up and started using it.

What really set this knife apart from any other knife Id used to this point was how it held its edge through a three day, 1400 lbs roasted lamb marathon on poly boards. I used this knife along with a DTITK 240 mm gyuto in 52100 and within a few hours, it became clear to me that the prototype was far outperforming the 52100 with regard to edge retention. The flip side is that it was also somewhat more reactive than the 52100. The 52100 knife already had an established patina and by the end of the day, I was calling the prototype my Dark Side gyuto, as in Dark Side of the Force.

While I havent gone out of my way to destroy it, Ive been told Im incapable of babying things. I have used it to cut all kinds of food, acidic or not and I really havent had a problem with it at all. Furthermore, it hasnt rusted in spite of leaving it damp after wiping.

An interesting visual characteristic that doesnt really show in the pictures is the level of finish on the blade. It is covered with deep grind marks than have only partially been ground out. Devin mentioned it was so difficult to work that he didnt want to put the time into it in order to finish polishing out the grind marks since it wasnt going to be up for sale anyway.

Here are some of the relevant measurements:

Spine over the heel 3 mm
Spine half way between the heel and tip 2.3 mm
Spine 20 mm from the tip 1.4 mm
Thickness 5 mm from the edge 0.67 mm averaged from three points
Height heel to spine: 50 mm
Handle length 142 mm
Handle height at the butt 27 mm
Handle height at the bolster 23 mm
HRc ~62

These are some photos with a 240 TKC for comparison. Notice how thin this knife is compared to the TKC in the 4th photo (prototype is on left).


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## DevinT

Yep, I wanted to keep this one but Pesky did some fast talkin' and I sold it.

Thanks for posting this.

Hoss


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## Justin0505

So what's the steel? There are lots of "stainless tool steels".


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## SpikeC

It says non-stainless, butt ya, what?


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## tk59

Haha. Don't we all want to know? It's "mystery steel." I've had the opportunity to cut a bit with it and sharpen it. It takes a great edge and I witnessed it holding the edge for a very long time. When I sharpened it, it was still fairly sharp. It's a really nice knife. I'm thinking I need to get one of those, too.


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## EdipisReks

no. Jacob has enough gyutos. no. Jacob is selling gyutos, because he has too many. no. Jacob needs not know about new mystery gyutos. bad! bad KKF! bad!


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## unkajonet

Too many gyutos? I am unfamiliar with the concept.


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## tk59

I hear they are very useful...


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## EdipisReks

unkajonet said:


> Too many gyutos? I am unfamiliar with the concept.


 
too many is when some don't get used.


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## unkajonet

EdipisReks said:


> too many is when some don't get used.



With all due respect, I think you are confusing "too many gyutos" with "not enough days in the week."


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## Marko Tsourkan

DevinT said:


> Yep, I wanted to keep this one but Pesky did some fast talkin' and I sold it.
> 
> Thanks for posting this.
> 
> Hoss


 
Yes, Pesky does like to talk.


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## geezr

unkajonet said:


> With all due respect, I think you are confusing "too many gyutos" with "not enough days in the week."



lus1: for days in the week 

:bigeek: = days in the month :wink:


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## El Pescador

Marko Tsourkan said:


> Yes, Pesky does like to talk.


 
I have been known to ramble...


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## Larrin

Great review!


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## EdipisReks

unkajonet said:


> With all due respect, I think you are confusing "too many gyutos" with "not enough days in the week."


 
you know, you might just be right.


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## El Pescador

One other thing- the grind on this knife is better than either of my DTITKs. The knife is thinner behind the edge and at the tip. Whats impressive is both of those knives had some the best grinds I have seen on a custom knife up to that point. If you have a DTITK and like its performance, a custom Devin Thomas will impress you.


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## tk59

I was just making lunch an comparing your DarkSide vs your 52100 DTITK and I was going to make that very statement. Let's just say, I didn't do too much cutting with the DTITK. There was no comparison. The DTITK was not in the same league. Not a bad knife but the mystery steel knife was just that much better.


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## memorael

This year has been so far the best one for knife makers and people that can actually afford the cool toys. Bastids.


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## El Pescador

:razz:


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## mindbender

El Pescador said:


> One other thing- the grind on this knife is better than either of my DTITKs. The knife is thinner behind the edge and at the tip. Whats impressive is both of those knives had some the best grinds I have seen on a custom knife up to that point. If you have a DTITK and like its performance, a custom Devin Thomas will impress you.


 
Ok. I finally got my DTITK after a 5 month wait. So I'll bite.

- How much did your Mystery Metal Monster cost?
- What exactly is the Mystery Metal?
- Justify the difference between "better than either of my DTITKs" because I'm not a chef-for-a-living. But I'd love to get my hands on a custom DT, and I'm surprised that this isn't a Damascus Gyuto.

Appreciate the info you could provide, but my GF will hate you for it... haha.


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## El Pescador

What is it-some type of carbon steel that Devin has decided is better than 52100...but he won't tell anyone what it is.

What did it cost- Hoss charges $70 an inch for monosteel the last time I checked, if he'd even do it. He told me he hated finishing this blade because its so resistant and now prefers using this steel as a core in san mai construction.

Why does this knife perform better than my 52100 or AEB-L DTITK- This knife is thinner behind the edge and through the tip.

Is it worth the extra money- **** YES!


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## tk59

According to Hoss, it is a bit more wear-resistant than 52100. What makes it better is mainly thinness behind the edge but the entire grind seems to be a bit better. Objectively, it is hard to say if it's the customness of it or if it's the fact that he's zeroing in on what works best. My guess would be mostly the former. Is it worth it? If I'd never found this forum, my kitchen and the things I cook and the standards I demand would be a lot different. Still, you only live once and if you average half an hour a day cutting stuff in the kitchen, it adds up. These knives are arguably nicer to use than anything else I've used other than my favorite Carter. I can't seem to decide which I like best but they are pretty close in cost with a rehandle thrown in with the Carter and considering the fit and finish on the DT. Also, the more DT's I try, the more I'm convinced no one works on perfecting the HT more than Hoss. It makes his knives hold an edge a very long time without chipping and they sharpen up like a dream.


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## mindbender

El Pescador said:


> What is it-some type of carbon steel that Devin has decided is better than 52100...but he won't tell anyone what it is.
> 
> What did it cost- Hoss charges $70 an inch for monosteel the last time I checked, if he'd even do it. He told me he hated finishing this blade because its so resistant and now prefers using this steel as a core in san mai construction.
> 
> Why does this knife perform better than my 52100 or AEB-L DTITK- This knife is thinner behind the edge and through the tip.
> 
> Is it worth the extra money- **** YES!


 
Argh. Just what I didn't want to hear.... 10-inch DT Custom at $700! Have to start saving up before Xmas... great.

So, the next question is... How do we convince Hoss to roll this out?

And one more... how does this compare to the Damascus customs that Hoss makes? Does this new Carbon knife come close in performance? I've never seen a review of DT's Damascus gyutos, but that's on my wish list (prior to this thread).

Thanks for the info!


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## tk59

mindbender said:


> ...how does this compare to the Damascus customs that Hoss makes? Does this new Carbon knife come close in performance?...


 You don't buy damascus because the performance is better. I'd bet money the mystery steel knife is at least as good.


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## mindbender

tk59 said:


> You don't buy damascus because the performance is better. I'd bet money the mystery steel knife is at least as good.


 
Ok. Nuff' said. You guys have got me hooked.


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## El Pescador

mindbender said:


> Argh. Just what I didn't want to hear.... 10-inch DT Custom at $700! Have to start saving up before Xmas... great.
> 
> So, the next question is... How do we convince Hoss to roll this out?
> 
> And one more... how does this compare to the Damascus customs that Hoss makes? Does this new Carbon knife come close in performance? I've never seen a review of DT's Damascus gyutos, but that's on my wish list (prior to this thread).
> 
> Thanks for the info!


 
I've got a custom sujihiki on order with Hoss I'm hoping to see before Xmas...after watching him work, I bet its as good a grind if not better than my Mystery Gyuto


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## El Pescador

Devin Thomas makes a nice knife. It has been a couple of year since I bought this knife. I recently "rediscovered" this knife. I don't know why I'd stopped using this knife. Maybe it's because it's carbon and I've been trying to like stainless, or it could be that when I moved I put this in a non-knife drawer and found it looking for a microplane. It had been there, waiting.

I made coleslaw with it, then I cleaned up a boneless leg of lamb then sliced it after roasting it. I powered through a pick-nick for work including a couple of pork shoulders, fruit salad, and a white bean salad. The list goes on. I carry the knife in my car to friends and family and have used it a lot. It doesn't look like much...it's dull from being cleaned up with BKF and got a pretty good protein patina on top of that. It is no longer a new knife, but it is still awesome.


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## ecchef

Nope...it's no good anymore. Better just sell it to me.


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## mr drinky

Oh, thank God, this is an old thread. For a second I thought it was up for sale and it got away again 

k.


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## mc2442

you only missed by a couple (several) years


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## brainsausage

It was up for sale, and did get away (again)...

http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/s...as-Mystery-Carbon-Steel-Monosteel-230mm-Gyuto


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