Contact Us
Site Map

Search

I've been interested in a Moritaka AS knife for a while, as I really like a Takeda I have and I wanted to try another AS knife. I first learned about Moritaka from reading a long informative thread by Ken on his trip to Japan and his visit to the Morikatas. What was holding me back was the cost of acquiring one. The actual price of the knife as bought directly from Moritaka is very reasonable, but by the time shipping and other fees are added in, it comes to another 35-40% over the cost of the knife. So when Mark announced that he was carrying Moritaka AS knives a few days ago and his prices came in well under the cost of direct purchase from Japan, I ordered a 210 gyuto. 

It arrived yesterday, and I am very pleased with the knife and the quick service from Mark. Here are some basic measurements:

Moritaka 210 gyuto in AS
Cutting edge: 212 mm
Blade width @ choil: 46 mm
Weight: 162 grams
Balance point: 40 mm forward of ferrule

Spine thickness @ ferrule .172 in 4.37 mm
Spine thickness @ 25 mm .140 in 3.56 mm
Spine thickness @ 50 mm .110 in 2.79 mm
Spine thickness @ 100 mm .095 in 2.41 mm
Spine thickness @ 50 mm from tip .076 in 1.93 mm

Blade thickness @ 0.25 inch behind edge
@ heel: .050 in
@ 100 mm: .041 in
@ 50 mm from tip: .036 in

The blade has a kurouchi finish plus a lacquer coating. The kurochi is much flatter/smoother than it is on a Takeda, but a little rougher and more uneven-looking in texture and color (not counting the stainless tang which has its own range of hues) than it is on a Watanabe Pro. The lacquer coating extends essentially to the edge, where it ends a bit unevenly. The spine and choil are eased but not rounded. 

 
The rosewood handle (D-shaped) and horn ferrule are beautifully finished, and the ferrule has some interesting shades of grey with some depth to it. Handle length is generous (133 mm), and the diameter is on the smaller side (24 mm N-S). These features coupled with the 46 mm blade depth gives the knife a very trim if not rakish look and nimble feel. It feels a bit like an overgrown petty. On another style note, it is also nice that the engraved kanji are on the proper front side (left ) of this knife.

I looked carefully at the evenness of the edge before I did anything to it because some other posts about Moritakas have noted that spots along the edge sometimes do not come into contact against a flat surface. This one showed no daylight.

The other thing worth mentioning is that the edge has noticeably less belly than other gyutos I have, especially toward to the tip. The spine comes down to the edge to a greater degree than on typical gyutos, giving it more of a funayuki or highly elongated santoku profile.

The knife was quite sharp OOTB. I gave it about 10 swipes on a strop to make sure the lacquer was cleared off the edge, and was able to push cut copy paper at more than 2 in from the holding point (and it was humid).

A look at the choil shows a very symmetrical grind job. The blade holds much of its thickness a good way towards the edge, so it is not the thinnest geometry, which suits me fine. I gave it a go on a beefy carrot and did not experience wedging issues. Despite the light weight and agile feel of the knife, it does not feel delicate in use. I like that.

The primary bevels were very small, but showed a strong righty bias; in fact, the left primary bevel was almost nonexistent. I evened these up by concentrating on the left bevel with a short session on a Bester 1200 followed by a now extinct Takenoko (6K). I finished with some stropping, and the edge was push cutting at between 2.5 and 3 in from the holding point. Cutting ease was confirmed on onion, eggplant, and yellow squash I made for the grill last night. I'm happy.

We will see how the edge retention does down the road. I am hoping that it performs as well as Takeda AS in that department.