Asai PM Damascus Gyuto 240mm Chef Knife Review
March 15, 2016
Star Rating: 5.4 Stars
Overall Rating: Outstanding Quality Professional Knife
Knife: Asai PM Damascus Gyuto Knife
Brand: Asai
Bladesmith: Masami Asai
Steel: SG2 PM (powdered metallurgical) steel core
Rockwell: 64-65
Blade Construction: Deeply etched stainless nickel Damascus san mai over an SG2 powdered metallurgical stainless steel core
Edge: 50/50 Tapered edge (don’t know the angle)
Handle: Octagon shaped Macassar ebony wood with Pakkawood ferrule
Tang: Partial Stick Tang
Blade Length: 9.50 in (240 mm)
Blade Heel Height: 2.05 in
Blade Thickness: 0.15 in
Weight: 8.10 oz
NSF approved? Unknown
Cleaning: Hand-wash only
Cost: About $495
Availability: Out of production with limited availability (March 2016)
Warranty: Unknown
Chefs Resources joined with Joe Bartlett The Knife Nerd to do a review of one of the many knifes in his collection. Following is a partial transcription of his description of this outstanding knife.
“Today I’m showing you the Asai Damascus 240 mm Gyuto. This knife was hand-crafted in Japan by a world re-known bladesmith by the name of Masami Asai. Unfortunately he passed away in the summer of 2014. So these knives aren’t going to be made any more, but you can still find Asai blades out there.”
“I’ll give you a description of the construction of this blade. The core steel of this blade is a SG2 metallurgical stainless steel. It’s surrounded with a beautiful nickle damascus san mai pattern. The handle itself is an ebony wood handle with a pakkawood ferrule. This blade is not a full tang, it is a stick tang which goes to about the 2/3 point of the handle. So it is more of a front-heavy blade.”
“It’s a beautiful hand-crafted knife, one of my favorites out of my own personal collection. So without further ado I’ll give you a nice demonstration of what this knife can do.”
Joe then goes on to demo how the knife handles cutting: a red bell pepper, chives, green onion, thick carrot drag cut, potato, and the push paper cut test.
| Asai PM Damascus Gyuto Knife Review | |||
| Possible | Actual Rating | Test | Notes |
| Sharpness | |||
| 5 | 5 | Carrot-Lengthwise Test | very impressive! No resistance |
| Shallot Test | N/A | ||
| Onion Test | N/A | ||
| 3 | 2 | Tomato Test | smooth, very sharp, but it did take 2 strokes to make the slice. Nice thin slices. |
| 3 | 3 | Green Onion Test | smooth cuts with no bruising |
| 3 | 3 | Paper Test | Did a great job on the paper. |
| Comfort | |||
| 5 | 3 | Comfortable Handle | The octogonal handle is comfortable but the bolster is very “sudden” w/ no slope between handle & blade. |
| Quality Materials | |||
| 5 | 5 | Steel Quality | SG2 PM steel core w/ etched stainless nickle Damascus |
| 3 | 3 | Durability | |
| 3 | 2 | Handle Quality | Octagon handle of Macassar ebony wood with Pakkawood ferrule with partial stick tang |
| Quality Construction/Design | |||
| 4 | 3 | Overall Construction Quality | |
| 3 | 2 | Design, Engraving, End-cap, etc | Not a real “pretty” knife as far as aesthetics goes, but it is a well designed practical knife. |
| General Ratings | |||
| 5 | 5 | High-end Knife? | 1 = under $25; 2 = $26 – $75; 3 = $76 – $150; 4 = $151 – $300; 5 = $301+ |
| 5 | 5 | Utility | Due to it’s. |
| 7 | 6 | Overall Impression | The |
| 5 | 5 | Our Star Rating | this knife is very sharp |
| Total | |||
| 99 | 53 | 5.4 Stars = Outstanding Quality Professional Knife – See Overall Ranking Below formula: (actual score/total possible*6) |
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Get a Damascus Chef Knife at Amazon.com
Kikuichi Elite Warikomi Damascus Tschime Chefs Knife, 9.5 Inch
Full disclosure: this is an affiliate link and I will receive a commission for each knife purchased. With that said, I stand by the review presented here.
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