Hattori HD knives review
Nov 3, 2013 21:27:13 GMT
Post by LG Martial Arts on Nov 3, 2013 21:27:13 GMT
Introduction
I’ve been drooling over Japanese knives for many years, but never bought one for myself. I love to cook (not professionally trained per se, but did watch my grandmother cook since I was tiny), so my mother bought the small HD-6 Gyuto as a Christmas present about 8 years ago. My wife saw how much I loved it, so she ordered the HD-10 Gyuto around 2 years later for my birthday. I love them both, but tend to use the HD 6 more than the HD 10 since the bigger one is a MONSTER of a blade… feels like a small sword in hand!
Full Disclosure
I received both knives as presents (bought at full retail price) from my wife and my mother. The manufacturer has not compensated me for this review.
Overview (from purchasing website - www.japanesechefsknife.com/HATTORI.html)
Ichiro Hattori, the Stubborn Craftsman who Never Compromises to any quality issues
He is now 73 years old. His knife-making career has started at the age of 18, when he joined his father’s kitchen knife factory "Masahiro" in Seki. In 1971, he has opened his own workshop and started producing his own brand high quality kitchen knives and hunting knives. The "Hattori" brand knives have quickly gained great reputations from the end users both in domestic and overseas for the finest workmanship.
In the final finishing work, he gives his special care to check every detail, blade grinding and polishing flows, warping, angles and handle shaping, fitting etc. etc... Every knife that does not meet with his strict quality standard is returned to be reworked from the beginning or thrown away.
His "Never Compromise" attitude to seek the finest workmanship has made him called as "World's Best Knife Craftsman". He was also honored to receive "Excellent Skilled Craftsman Award" from Seki Knife Industrial Association. When you hold his knife in hand and actually use it, you will know and admit that he really deserve it.
Hattori HD Knives, handcrafted by Ichiro Hattori.
Traditional technology has combined with modern material for high cutting performance. Available in 13 different blades to meet with every cutting task. Made of VG10 core cutting edge forged with 63 layered Nickel Damascus stainless steel blade. VG10 is the newly developed High Carbon (0.95 to1.05%) Molybdenum (0.90 to1.20%) and Vanadium (0.10 to 0.30%) stainless steel plus 1.30 to 1.50% Cobalt added to increase strength. Rockwell hardness 60 to 61 HRC.
The beautiful Damascus blade is hand engraved with Ichiro Hattori name in Kanji and permanently welded with stainless steel bolster. Full tang black Pakkawood handle with three stainless steel rivets. Comes with fancy gift box.
Specifications:
(From the website)
HD-6 Gyuto 180mm (7 inch)
Cutting edge length: 180mm
Total Length: 305mm
Blade Thickness: 3mm
Blade Width: 44mm
Handle Length:118mm
Total Weight: 179g
$150.00 (currently sold out)
HD-10 Gyuto 300mm (11.8 inch)
Cutting edge length: 300mm
Total Length: 435mm
Blade Thickness: 3.4mm
Blade Width: 58mm
Handle Length:130mm
Total Weight: 356g
$332.00
Initial Impression:
The knives were very well boxed and had FAST delivery by EMS both times. The knives had no oil on them, but since they’re SS, didn’t expect them to be covered in it anyway. They have NO saya, only a plastic “sheath”. Since I immediately wash/dry them after use, I always put them back in the sheath and in their presentation boxes. I've considered buying a magnetic knife wall hanger, but haven’t gotten around to it.
HD-6 Gyuto:
The 6" Gyuto has the sharpest edge I've ever encountered, period. The edge is probably sharper than a scalpel. Polish is very nice, the forge folded pattern is wonderful to behold. I’ve cut meat. chicken, and vegetables with ease. Very nice to hold and use. Incredibly impressed with fit/finish/sharpness.
Handle:
The handle is stabilized black Pakka wood. It is very easy to hold in hand, very comfortable to use.
Handling:
This is my favorite kitchen knife… I do NOT use it for heavy cutting (through bone, etc.). For heavy duty cutting, I use my regular workhorse cleaver.
HD-10 Gyuto:
The Gyuto has the second sharpest edge I've ever encountered. The edge is probably still sharper than a scalpel… it cuts through vegetables (thick root veggies are no problem), fruit (watermelon, etc), even meat (steaks/cooked brisket) effortlessly. Polish is very nice, the forge folded pattern again is again wonderful to behold.
Handle:
The handle is stabilized black Pakka wood. It is easy to hold in hand, comfortable to use, although a bit large in my hands. If you have big hands, I'm sure this would be great for you.
Handling:
This is my second favorite kitchen knife. While I prefer using the HD-6, this one is used for much bigger tasks including cutting big steaks down to size, large vegetables (including root veggies), and when I smoke some good ol’ South Texas brisket.
Both knives have the blades hand engraved with Ichiro Hattori's name in Kanji
Knives in presentation boxes
Small paper instruction sheet (in Japanese) from Hattori
Final Thoughts:
Both knives are incredible, but like mentioned before, I tend to favor the smaller HD-6 over the HD-10. The HD-6 is meant for everyday use, the HD-10 for much bigger tasks. I've sharpened the HD-6 once using my Japanese waterstones since I received it around 8 yrs. ago, haven’t had to sharpen the HD-10 since I use it less often. The HD-6 probably could use another sharpening soon, but is still sharper than the other “western” type kitchen knives I own. Would I buy them if they hadn’t been given to me as presents? Hell yes! Both are mainstays in my kitchen, used at every occasion I can use them. I would not hesitate to recommend these or any other Hattori knives to anyone.
Thanks for viewing, I hope it was informative.
I’ve been drooling over Japanese knives for many years, but never bought one for myself. I love to cook (not professionally trained per se, but did watch my grandmother cook since I was tiny), so my mother bought the small HD-6 Gyuto as a Christmas present about 8 years ago. My wife saw how much I loved it, so she ordered the HD-10 Gyuto around 2 years later for my birthday. I love them both, but tend to use the HD 6 more than the HD 10 since the bigger one is a MONSTER of a blade… feels like a small sword in hand!
Full Disclosure
I received both knives as presents (bought at full retail price) from my wife and my mother. The manufacturer has not compensated me for this review.
Overview (from purchasing website - www.japanesechefsknife.com/HATTORI.html)
Ichiro Hattori, the Stubborn Craftsman who Never Compromises to any quality issues
He is now 73 years old. His knife-making career has started at the age of 18, when he joined his father’s kitchen knife factory "Masahiro" in Seki. In 1971, he has opened his own workshop and started producing his own brand high quality kitchen knives and hunting knives. The "Hattori" brand knives have quickly gained great reputations from the end users both in domestic and overseas for the finest workmanship.
In the final finishing work, he gives his special care to check every detail, blade grinding and polishing flows, warping, angles and handle shaping, fitting etc. etc... Every knife that does not meet with his strict quality standard is returned to be reworked from the beginning or thrown away.
His "Never Compromise" attitude to seek the finest workmanship has made him called as "World's Best Knife Craftsman". He was also honored to receive "Excellent Skilled Craftsman Award" from Seki Knife Industrial Association. When you hold his knife in hand and actually use it, you will know and admit that he really deserve it.
Hattori HD Knives, handcrafted by Ichiro Hattori.
Traditional technology has combined with modern material for high cutting performance. Available in 13 different blades to meet with every cutting task. Made of VG10 core cutting edge forged with 63 layered Nickel Damascus stainless steel blade. VG10 is the newly developed High Carbon (0.95 to1.05%) Molybdenum (0.90 to1.20%) and Vanadium (0.10 to 0.30%) stainless steel plus 1.30 to 1.50% Cobalt added to increase strength. Rockwell hardness 60 to 61 HRC.
The beautiful Damascus blade is hand engraved with Ichiro Hattori name in Kanji and permanently welded with stainless steel bolster. Full tang black Pakkawood handle with three stainless steel rivets. Comes with fancy gift box.
Specifications:
(From the website)
HD-6 Gyuto 180mm (7 inch)
Cutting edge length: 180mm
Total Length: 305mm
Blade Thickness: 3mm
Blade Width: 44mm
Handle Length:118mm
Total Weight: 179g
$150.00 (currently sold out)
HD-10 Gyuto 300mm (11.8 inch)
Cutting edge length: 300mm
Total Length: 435mm
Blade Thickness: 3.4mm
Blade Width: 58mm
Handle Length:130mm
Total Weight: 356g
$332.00
Initial Impression:
The knives were very well boxed and had FAST delivery by EMS both times. The knives had no oil on them, but since they’re SS, didn’t expect them to be covered in it anyway. They have NO saya, only a plastic “sheath”. Since I immediately wash/dry them after use, I always put them back in the sheath and in their presentation boxes. I've considered buying a magnetic knife wall hanger, but haven’t gotten around to it.
HD-6 Gyuto:
The 6" Gyuto has the sharpest edge I've ever encountered, period. The edge is probably sharper than a scalpel. Polish is very nice, the forge folded pattern is wonderful to behold. I’ve cut meat. chicken, and vegetables with ease. Very nice to hold and use. Incredibly impressed with fit/finish/sharpness.
Handle:
The handle is stabilized black Pakka wood. It is very easy to hold in hand, very comfortable to use.
Handling:
This is my favorite kitchen knife… I do NOT use it for heavy cutting (through bone, etc.). For heavy duty cutting, I use my regular workhorse cleaver.
HD-10 Gyuto:
The Gyuto has the second sharpest edge I've ever encountered. The edge is probably still sharper than a scalpel… it cuts through vegetables (thick root veggies are no problem), fruit (watermelon, etc), even meat (steaks/cooked brisket) effortlessly. Polish is very nice, the forge folded pattern again is again wonderful to behold.
Handle:
The handle is stabilized black Pakka wood. It is easy to hold in hand, comfortable to use, although a bit large in my hands. If you have big hands, I'm sure this would be great for you.
Handling:
This is my second favorite kitchen knife. While I prefer using the HD-6, this one is used for much bigger tasks including cutting big steaks down to size, large vegetables (including root veggies), and when I smoke some good ol’ South Texas brisket.
Both knives have the blades hand engraved with Ichiro Hattori's name in Kanji
Knives in presentation boxes
Small paper instruction sheet (in Japanese) from Hattori
Final Thoughts:
Both knives are incredible, but like mentioned before, I tend to favor the smaller HD-6 over the HD-10. The HD-6 is meant for everyday use, the HD-10 for much bigger tasks. I've sharpened the HD-6 once using my Japanese waterstones since I received it around 8 yrs. ago, haven’t had to sharpen the HD-10 since I use it less often. The HD-6 probably could use another sharpening soon, but is still sharper than the other “western” type kitchen knives I own. Would I buy them if they hadn’t been given to me as presents? Hell yes! Both are mainstays in my kitchen, used at every occasion I can use them. I would not hesitate to recommend these or any other Hattori knives to anyone.
Thanks for viewing, I hope it was informative.