Yoshimitsu AS 180mm Tall Nakiri

See what's happening with current or completed "Pass Arounds". Forum members occasionally send knives or sharpening stones around to a hand selected group of participants for short term use and feedback/reviews.
gladius
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Re: Yoshimitsu AS 180mm Tall Nakiri

Post by gladius »

Jeff B wrote: Fri Feb 02, 2018 12:23 am I don't doubt the performance of the Yoshimitsu but I think the Matsubura​ tall wins that fight.
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Re: Yoshimitsu AS 180mm Tall Nakiri

Post by Jeff B »

No argument here.
If God wanted me to be a vegetarian he wouldn't have made animals taste so good.
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Re: Yoshimitsu AS 180mm Tall Nakiri

Post by Chefspence »

I didn't find this knife to be very reactive. In fact, I'd say it's stainless clad. Very little reactivity other than right at the edge.
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Re: Yoshimitsu AS 180mm Tall Nakiri

Post by Chefspence »

Also, just for comparisons sake, here's a picture of an outline of the CCK stainless cleaver, Yoshi tall Nakiri, and the zakuri Nakiri. All taken from the edge of the ferrule, and in the case of the CCK, at the edge of the brass(or whatever) ferrule. So from right at the end of each handle you can see the size differences here. Though, the tall Nakiri has more distance between the ferrule and the choil, so when you hold it in a pinch, it seems almost as long as the 210CCk. The balance points between the CCK and Yoshi Nakiri are very close, though the CCK is a little bit more forward, as one might expect. The choil of the Yoshi Nakiri is almost identical to the Zakuri, so I didn't pencil it in, but you can still see the basic outline here. I can say that, although the Yoshi isn't that much bigger than the zakuri, it feels like a vast difference. In use, I prefer the Yoshi to the other two. Great knife!
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Ps, the paper is a little bent
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Re: Yoshimitsu AS 180mm Tall Nakiri

Post by Chefspence »

On its way to Ray. I already miss it
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Re: Yoshimitsu AS 180mm Tall Nakiri

Post by AlbuquerqueDan »

Any updates on how this knife is doing during its travels?
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Re: Yoshimitsu AS 180mm Tall Nakiri

Post by pd7077 »

I received the knife on Tuesday. I haven't been able to use it much yet, but I will say that my time with it thus far has been very enjoyable. This is definitely a fun knife!

Dan, you're on deck after me, and I should have it out to you on Monday.
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Altadan
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Re: Yoshimitsu AS 180mm Tall Nakiri

Post by Altadan »

Hey Steve,

you still have it? Could you keep it a few days more? I'm getting not one, not two, but THREE passarounds all at once :v :v :V
Either that, or if it's not too much of a difference, I'd be happy to switch with the fellow who's after me :)
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Re: Yoshimitsu AS 180mm Tall Nakiri

Post by pd7077 »

Altadan wrote: Thu Feb 22, 2018 1:56 pm Hey Steve,

you still have it? Could you keep it a few days more? I'm getting not one, not two, but THREE passarounds all at once :v :v :V
Either that, or if it's not too much of a difference, I'd be happy to switch with the fellow who's after me :)
Lol, I just realized that there are two consecutive Dans on the list. AlbequerquerDan is next...then you. The order following me is:

AlbequerqueDan
AltaDan
JDavid
Jbart
Mdl130
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Altadan
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Re: Yoshimitsu AS 180mm Tall Nakiri

Post by Altadan »

oh.
perfect :)
“If we conquer our passions it is more from their weakness than from our strength.”
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Re: Yoshimitsu AS 180mm Tall Nakiri

Post by AlbuquerqueDan »

pd7077 wrote: Thu Feb 22, 2018 2:07 pm
Altadan wrote: Thu Feb 22, 2018 1:56 pm Hey Steve,

you still have it? Could you keep it a few days more? I'm getting not one, not two, but THREE passarounds all at once :v :v :V
Either that, or if it's not too much of a difference, I'd be happy to switch with the fellow who's after me :)
Lol, I just realized that there are two consecutive Dans on the list. AlbequerquerDan is next...then you. The order following me is:

AlbequerqueDan
AltaDan
JDavid
Jbart
Mdl130
Sweet! (Isn't Albuquerque the hardest word to spell?!?)
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Re: Yoshimitsu AS 180mm Tall Nakiri

Post by Chefspence »

Thanks for the update.
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pd7077
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Re: Yoshimitsu AS 180mm Tall Nakiri

Post by pd7077 »

I have been intrigued by all of these tall nakiris ever since Mark started putting them on the site, but I always held off because I was unsure if they would suit my style of cutting. The only thing I have had that resembles a nakiri would be a Takeda bunka, which was a beautiful knife that performed well but did not really fit me as well as I had hoped it would. I also like taller knives, and most nakiris I’ve seen tend to be shorter than I want so I was keeping my fingers crossed that these tall nakiris would do the trick.

To be completely honest, I was a bit disapponted when I first received the knife. I can appreciate a rustic aesthetic, but I don’t really jive with the concept of wabi-sabi. The KU looked great. It was nice and thick, and I’m guessing that it should last quite a while, but it was also caked on in some areas. The knife was straight, but the tang/handle is not sealed very well at all. Looking down the choil, however, is really what took me by surprise. The grind looks more like a project than a finished piece. It was somewhat thick behind the edge, it was uneven, and I just assumed that it would wedge in everything. Boy was I wrong!!!!

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This little guy was a blast I use! Yes, the grind can use a bit of work, which I would definitely do if it were my knife, but she performed like a champ through most of the product I put her through. I expected to have issues with horizontal cuts through onions and shallots, but this did not pose any problems. Dicing tomatoes and turnips were a breeze. Shaving Brussels sprouts felt great. Even mincing/chopping herbs was fun. While I probably wouldn’t use this knife on herbs regularly, it was nice to see that she was more than capable of handling the task. I did get a bit of cracking on medium sized carrots, and I wedged in larger potatoes, but I kind of expected this to happen. Despite my initial impressions, I can’t remember having this much fun with a passaround knife...ever! I actually feel a little bad for misjudging her right off the bat, but I think that it was very refreshing to see that my impressions of a knife could change so quickly. I think that I need to get myself a tall nakiri now.

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Last edited by pd7077 on Sun Feb 25, 2018 8:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Yoshimitsu AS 180mm Tall Nakiri

Post by Bensbites »

Steve, great review!

Does it look like a uneven S grind or is the photo playing tricks on me?
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pd7077
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Re: Yoshimitsu AS 180mm Tall Nakiri

Post by pd7077 »

Nope, you’re eyes are working just fine Ben. It’s definitely an uneven grind that is reminiscent of an oversized Takeda S-grind, but it also looks like it was ground lefty (left bevel is significantly higher than the right). But in terms of performance, there were no issues aside from a bit of wedging. I’m positive that just a bit of thinning is all that would be needed in order to take her to the next level.
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Re: Yoshimitsu AS 180mm Tall Nakiri

Post by jbart65 »

Fun writeup, Steve. I am a nakiri devotee. I do a lot of vegetable heavy dishes and I love chopping. The best nakiri I had used until very recently was a Yuki nakiri that was about 60mm tall. Didnt wedge on anything or have any problems on horizontals. I sold it because I felt I needed more length than 165.

After trying a handful of other nakiris, I finally found my go-to, and it's no surprise, it's a Watanabe 180. I asked Shinichi for the lightest one in his latest run and it weighs in at 6.7 oz - the perfect weight for me. Almost 59 mm tall. Cut a carrot better than anything else I own - and I own some great ones.

I eagerly await this tall nakiri, though. I sense that I would really enjoy something between 65-70 tall. I almost bought the Matsubara, but it's over 8 oz and I just am not fond of most knives that go over a half-pound.
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Re: Yoshimitsu AS 180mm Tall Nakiri

Post by pd7077 »

Since you’re a nakiri devotee, I’m pretty sure that the height of this one will be something that you will enjoy. I saw both the Matsubara and Moritaka tall nakiris last week when I was at Matt’s shop. After playing with the Yoshimitsu, I think that the Moritaka probably has the best looking grind as well as the most refined F&F. I’m actually gonna be hanging out with Matt tomorrow so I can take some pics of the other two tall nakiris if you guys want. I’m actually pretty excited that Mark convinced Makoto to do a tall nakiri...based on other the Makoto knife reviews, that one should be a doozy!
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Re: Yoshimitsu AS 180mm Tall Nakiri

Post by Bensbites »

pd7077 wrote: Sun Feb 25, 2018 11:29 pm Since you’re a nakiri devotee, I’m pretty sure that the height of this one will be something that you will enjoy. I saw both the Matsubara and Moritaka tall nakiris last week when I was at Matt’s shop. After playing with the Yoshimitsu, I think that the Moritaka probably has the best looking grind as well as the most refined F&F. I’m actually gonna be hanging out with Matt tomorrow so I can take some pics of the other two tall nakiris if you guys want. I’m actually pretty excited that Mark convinced Makoto to do a tall nakiri...based on other the Makoto knife reviews, that one should be a doozy!
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Re: Yoshimitsu AS 180mm Tall Nakiri

Post by pd7077 »

Here are a couple pics of the Matsubara (left) and Moritaka (right) tall nakiris. The Matsubara has a very cool nashiji finish on it, and the grind is significantly thinner, especially in comparison to the Yoshimitsu. There is no curve to the blade. It’s just the angle that I took the pic. The Moritaka grind is probably more to my liking, but that’s just personal preference. Based on the performance of the Yoshimitsu, I would bet that these two are awesome!

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Re: Yoshimitsu AS 180mm Tall Nakiri

Post by Bensbites »

pd7077 wrote: Tue Feb 27, 2018 6:08 am Here are a couple pics of the Matsubara (left) and Moritaka (right) tall nakiris. The Matsubara has a very cool nashiji finish on it, and the grind is significantly thinner, especially in comparison to the Yoshimitsu. There is no curve to the blade. It’s just the angle that I took the pic. The Moritaka grind is probably more to my liking, but that’s just personal preference. Based on the performance of the Yoshimitsu, I would bet that these two are awesome!

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This makes me drool. I appreciate the grind comparison, I am waiting for the makoto!
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