I have never reviewed a knife before and I really don't think I am qualified to do so. Let's call this "kits thoughts on paper" rather than a review.I simply do not put in enough board time to call it such. Also, my knife skills are fair at best. Regardless, I figured I would start out with the knife you all see in my stone reviews...I mean, you already see it all of the time so I might as well start there, right?
Measurements:
Handle Length: 127mm
Heel to Tip Length: 171.45mm
Width of Spine at Middle: 1.62
Width of Spine 1cm from the Tip: 1.35
Width of Spine at Handle: 3.34
Width of Spine above Heel: 2.05
Blade Thickness 1/2 way between the Spine and Edge: 1.6mm
Blade Height at Heel: 47.625mm
Weight: 125 grams
HRC: Said to be 60+/- but I find the edge retention to be consistent with other blades said to be 62+/-
Foreword:
I am not sure if these knives are hand made and if they are to what extent but the seem to have indentations on them that indicate hammer marks. I would assume if these knives were stamped they would have a more smooth blade table but I could be wrong. Also, if I understand Tojiro's site these knives are made in Sanjo but at the very least in the Niigata prefecture. They are iron clad and some of the most reactive I have used. Between that iron cladding is a layer of shirogami (white paper) number two seel that is treated to 60+ hrc. I think the heat treat is well done but who am I to judge? The finish is Kurouchi, black smiths finish or KU for short. This means that the scale from heat treat is left on the blade, or so I believe. This helps keep reactivity down on most of the blade and it really does seem to work. However, you will see some bluing in the KU finish over time, also it will wear with time. The knife comes with a simple handle and so-so fit and finish but we will get to that below.
Fit and finish:
Okay, compared to your typical European knife the F&F on the Tojiro knives would be considered very poor. However, I do think that is something that is highly exaggerated. The spine and choil were slightly eased on my examples but could use a little TLC as I like them rounded and polished! You can fix this with a round file and some sandpaper in half an hour or less. The handle is a basic ho wood with resin ferrule, which has a step or a gap about 2-3mm tall if I had to guess. Again, this is common and easy to fix with some sandpaper and a few minutes of your time. It does not take away from the comfort in my opinion. One thing to consider is that the handle is a right-hand biased D shape. The KU finish is smooth but tough wearing. I have beat the living hell out of this knife and 90% of the KU finish is still there.
Grind:
The grind on these knives is wavy, has high and low spots and is uneven in some spots. All of this is fixable when thinning. It will take about an hour, maybe two if you get a poor example. Fixing is pushing it really as it does not seem to affect the performance in any way. The ill defined "shinogi" is very wavy because of this and you CAN straighten that out but why? I mean honestly, if you want these things spend 4-10x as much on your knife and get them from the get go...Anyway, this grind seems to have a very slight convex to it. Above the blade road it seems to have indents from hammers almost if three large concavities and this seems to help with food release but that could be my imagination.
Performance:
Let's start with food release, it is good. Not great, mind you, but good. If you are going through a 10# bag of starchy potatoes and never wipe the blade you will get some minimal sticking. Of course things like onions and such stick as well. However, most things fall off as soon as you lift the blade back off of the board. It does not require wiping or shaking.
Next we can look at food separation. It is fair too good as the knife has a thicker midsection. The thing is, this can lead to cracking on large dense root veggies like big carrots and sweet potatoes. Most everything else does fine. Even larger harder normal potatoes don't exhibit much wedging or cracking. Even with larger carrots it is not an issue if you put some ass behind your cut, don't baby that knife. This thing does fly through soft product without issue. Onions, celery etc.
The tip is authoritative but not thick. I mean that it is fairly thin but robust, which seems average for the style of blade. It goes through onions on the horizontal stupid easy and does not pull the onion apart on vertical cuts. The belly area is a wee bit thicker but still exhibits good fluidity but the heel seems to be thicker as the grind is lower but I like that robust feeling in the cut and it seems to exert confidence.
Overall the performance is quite good. I'd say about 3.5/5 when up against knives of a similar style. It is more of a workhorse than a laser, for sure.
Profile:
This knife seems to have a very classic Santoku profile, as Steve G would say in his quick look videos. It is great for push and pull cutting and works wonders on G&G. However, rocking is not going to happen at least not over anything larger than herbs. Also, you can chop with this at the heel, the middle and the tip just fine but you are going to be very limited in your stack size or you will end up with accordions. There just isn't enough flat for that. One or two full carrots broke down into match sticks and you can destroy them with chopping. A whole stack of bell peppers, maybe not so much. Half a stack will work, though. But I am getting long winded here, the point is that chopping is functional but limited.
I guess this fits in the profile section, there is no real taper. It thins out after the handle immediately then again at the grind. A stiff confident blade is what you get because if this. However there is no issue of doing delicate work.
Sharpening:
Edge taking is wonderful on this line. I mean, the knives in it just take an edge with no effort at all. You can raise a subtle burr on most any 2k stone with a pass or two and remove it just as easily. The edge also takes to refinement well. You can simply put any edge you want on this knife without thought.
Edge holding is slightly better than average when compared to other White number two knives in its range. I'd say the estimate of 60 hrc is conservative as this thing has better edge retention than all of my white sakai lasers, hands down. It does not have as good retention as my Masakage Yuki, though, it is just shy.
Value:
I think knives from this line are a fantastic value. I mean, this particular knife is $40, how can you go wrong? Before the introduction of the ITK's cousin, the Hairline, this was the cheapest knife on the site or at least I believe so. Fantastic performance to price ratio. Is it the best knife in the world, by no means! It is good, though and not just for its price. If you take price into consideration it is not just great, it is stellar. However, price aside it is a good knife and no more.
For whom is this knife suited:
Well, anyone that is budget minded. Also for anyone who is looking for a starter knife, a knife for sharpening practice, maybe for rehandling or a general project knife. You can thin this out quite a bit and make it fairly scary. Who this knife is not for is anyone wanting to keep things low maintenance because this knife is anything but! It also is not for someone who does not like rustic objects because that it certainly is. I think that this is a good knife for most people who have realistic expectations. It might be a handful in overly humid environments or in a pro kitchen where one might not have the time to keep it as dry as it wants to be.
An aside:
I hope this is helpful to someone as it is kind of a dry run for me. I realize that many if not most of the people on this site who will read this review are well past the Tojiro phase. But if you are one of those who are not, don't overlook it without first giving it some though, okie? Also, I apologize in advance for my inability to capture a patina photo, I just can't seem to get the lighting right.
Tojiro Shirogami ITK 165mm Santoku
- Kit Craft
- Posts: 4844
- Joined: Thu Jan 26, 2017 8:57 pm
- Location: Pennsylvania
- Been thanked: 11 times
Re: Tojiro Shirogami ITK 165mm Santoku
I could not seem to get the camera to focus for a vertical choil shot so I tried it from the side, which seemed to work fine. I hope this conveys the grind to you.
No, the blade is not stuck in the potato nor the board. I have a hold of the very end of the handle. I just wanted you to see that the potato, when cut in half, falls to both sides rather than sticking to the blade.
So, yeah, I know my veg is cut large and probably uneven but it is just going in a dutch oven with a roast. I didn't even need to cut it... But if I hadn't I'd have had nothing to show for photos. Anyway, just an overall shot of the blade.
A simple handle shot. As you can see it is taking some patina from continual use and oiling/waxing.
A blade shot that shows the wavy grind. Most of the highs and lows are gone but you can see a noticeable high spot in the center of the nose. I am not going to try to take this out. It would take forever. This knife has already been thinned a lot from testing and the high spot has shrank significantly, it will go away on its own. It is hard to tell but the Kasumi finish has not faded it just just been covered in patina that shows as grey in this photo. I can't seem to get a good shot.
No, the blade is not stuck in the potato nor the board. I have a hold of the very end of the handle. I just wanted you to see that the potato, when cut in half, falls to both sides rather than sticking to the blade.
So, yeah, I know my veg is cut large and probably uneven but it is just going in a dutch oven with a roast. I didn't even need to cut it... But if I hadn't I'd have had nothing to show for photos. Anyway, just an overall shot of the blade.
A simple handle shot. As you can see it is taking some patina from continual use and oiling/waxing.
A blade shot that shows the wavy grind. Most of the highs and lows are gone but you can see a noticeable high spot in the center of the nose. I am not going to try to take this out. It would take forever. This knife has already been thinned a lot from testing and the high spot has shrank significantly, it will go away on its own. It is hard to tell but the Kasumi finish has not faded it just just been covered in patina that shows as grey in this photo. I can't seem to get a good shot.
Re: Tojiro Shirogami ITK 165mm Santoku
Kit, Great Review! Too many words for me to ever try to type, LOL! I have the Tojiro ITK petty, bought it to learn to sharpen on. Did a little handle work, relieved the spine and choil a bit more and it is a knife I use often. Like you said, it gets sharp. I also bought the 210 gyuto for a chef friend of ours and she loves it because she is learning how to sharpen and getting good at it. I also bought the 300mm Yanagiba to learn to sharpen single bevels and it is now my slab bacon slicer, haha! I also bought the Ususba again to pay with single bevels but I also find fun in slicing potato chips thinner than most mandolins. I think these are great knives for the money and especially for those looking for some learning experience.
- Kit Craft
- Posts: 4844
- Joined: Thu Jan 26, 2017 8:57 pm
- Location: Pennsylvania
- Been thanked: 11 times
Re: Tojiro Shirogami ITK 165mm Santoku
Thank you. I like talking and typing so it is no big deal. I don't have any Tojiro single bevels but I need to pick up a few just because. As for the review, I think there is room for improvement here. I have taken some notes on how to, hopefully, improve with the next knife. Both the review topic and the testing/photos. If it were a stone this would be easier...datster wrote: ↑Tue Oct 24, 2017 2:26 pm Kit, Great Review! Too many words for me to ever try to type, LOL! I have the Tojiro ITK petty, bought it to learn to sharpen on. Did a little handle work, relieved the spine and choil a bit more and it is a knife I use often. Like you said, it gets sharp. I also bought the 210 gyuto for a chef friend of ours and she loves it because she is learning how to sharpen and getting good at it. I also bought the 300mm Yanagiba to learn to sharpen single bevels and it is now my slab bacon slicer, haha! I also bought the Ususba again to pay with single bevels but I also find fun in slicing potato chips thinner than most mandolins. I think these are great knives for the money and especially for those looking for some learning experience.