HAP-40 Wide Gyuto Black 240mm (9.5") is our second all-rounder made of powder steel that we designed in collaboration with the Japanese master blacksmith Osamu-san from the Yoshida Hamono smithy. With the HAP-40 series, we fused an optimal blade shape that matches the versatile nature of Western cuisine, Japanese tradition and knowledge of blade design and materials processing.

BLADE SHAPE:

Gyuto is the Japanese version of the classic Western Chef’s knife. Wide Gyuto, however, has a little twist to its shape: with a pronounced curved belly and a very wide blade, it sets itself apart from traditional Japanese blades and is suited to Western cutting and chopping techniques. The standard gyuto shape thus transforms into a blade that looks like a deba but is readily used for precision cutting, where you need really thin cuts (this makes it unsuitable for cutting through bones or making more robust cuts). A slight belly curve makes it great for rocking cutting technique, while the pronounced tip, triangular design and an enviable length (240mm / 9.5") will make quick work of larger chunks of meat.

HANDLE:

This knife is without a handle so you can fit your own. Browse our selection of handles and create your own, custom-looking knife! If you would like that we fit the selected handle to the blade for you, select Handle fitting service when adding the blade to the cart.

STEEL:

The secret of this knife lies in extremely (68 HRC!) hard core made of a somewhat exotic and currently one of the most mysterious and attractive steels produced in Japan (at least as far as kitchen knives are concerned): Hitachi’s HAP-40 steel that fits into the category of modern and technologically advanced steels. HAP-40 is fine-grained enough to sharpen very well, and knives from this steel keep their sharpness 3-5 times longer than traditional knives. An interesting fact is that, considering it is a powder steel, it has a minimal content of chromium (around 4%) and can react as a high-carbon steel in specific circumstances.

This steel is heat-treated to an incredible 68 HRC, yet it can still be relatively easily sharpened on whetstones.

LAMINATION:

Blacksmiths counter the brittleness of material with special composition of the knife. In the case of this HAP-40 Wide Gyuto, Osamu-san chose a san-mai (also called “sandwich”) method. A layer of the core steel (HAP-40) is laminated between two external layers of softer, stainless steel. This creates a highly durable kitchen knife with a slightly more pliable core. The main advantage of these knives is that they are thin, sharp and retain their edge very well.

GEOMETRY:

It has a double bevel (symmetrical) blade.

BLADE FINISH:

The blade has a dark finish which is the reason this look is also called kuro-uchi - the word “kuro” means black. This look is traditional and robust, with an unprocessed top part of the blade that has already developed a dark patina.

ABOUT THE BLACKSMITH:

The knife is manufactured at the smithy of Yoshida Hamono in Japan, a family company with an age-long tradition in manufacturing state-of-the-art tools and Japanese swords, i.e., katanas, by hand. Yoshida Hamono has a great deal of experience forging ZDP-189 steel in the traditional manner.