Tokageh Gyutou 8″ Knife Review – Classic Series
August 3, 2017
Star Rating: 5.6 Stars
Overall Rating: Excellent Quality Professional Knife
Knife: Tokageh Gyutou Classic Series 8 inch Chef Knife
Brand: Tokageh
Bladesmith: Unknown
Made In: Yangjiang, China
Blade Construction: Damascus – 66 layers of Stainless steel on each side with a AUS-10 steel core (HRC 62)
Blade Thickness:
Rockwell Rating: HRC 62
Edge: Double-beveled blade with a 8° – 13° angle
Handle: G-10 (a fiberglass based cloth laminate similar to Micarta) with a single-rivet
Tang: Full tang with single rivet
Weight:
Total Length: 13.5″
NSF Approved? The construction appears to meet NSF standards but I cannot find an official NSF approval seal
Cleaning: Handwash in warm water and towel dry. Do not place in dishwasher.
Cost: About $99 on sale Amazon.com
Availability: Currently available (July 2017)
Warranty: LIFETIME WARRANTY: 100% Satisfaction or Money Back Guaranteed
Tokageh 8″ Classic Series Gyuto Knife Review Summary
Star Rating: 5.6 Stars
Overall Rating: Superior Quality Professional Knife
Joe Bartlett aka The Knife Nerd helped me do another knife review. The Tokageh knife company donated two of their knives for us to review… their 8 inch Gyuto Chef’s Knife and their 7 inch Santoku. When I felt the edge of both blades with my fingers I could feel that the Gyuto had a slightly better edge. This perception was verified during the cutting tests. Both knives did well through most of the tests however the Gyuto did out perform the Santoku. It offered less resistance on the dense vegetables like carrots and onion. And on the tomato test the Gyutuo completely outshines the Santoku. Having said that, the Santoku has a more artistic “cool” design and still receives a good recommendation from us.
Opening the box we see that the knife is set in a custom designed knife box to firmly hold it in place and protect it during shipping. Inside the lid the primary features/specs of the knife are displayed. There is a micro-fiber cloth with the Tokageh logo (for polishing the blade after cleaning), a VIP card, and a website & facebook address card.
The Tokageh 8″ Gyutou has a AUS-10 blade hardened to a 62+ Rockwell using the cryogenic hardening process with a total of 66 layers of Damascus making for a total of a 67 layer blade (including the core). It has a G-10 Garolite handle with a nice mosaic pin, a brass ring at the head of the handle, and a simple end-cap. The shape of the handle is a soft D (meaning it is round on the top, not flat) which gives it more of an ambidextrous feel.
From the looks and design of the packaging, the included marketing materials in the box, and the construction/look of the blade it is very similar to what you get with a Dalstrong, Zelite Infinity or other brands which we believe are being produced in China and then sold to various companies to put their own finishing touches and brand names on. The challenge we have found with some of these brands is that the finishing of the edge may be inconsistent. So we were pleasantly surprised and pleased with the way the Tokageh Gyutou performed.
Brief note: Tokageh has chosen to use the lesser used spelling “gyutou” instead of the more common “gyuto” for their knife. A Google search shows that both words are used interchangeably for this style knife.
So, after putting the Tokageh 8″ Gyutou Chef knife through our series of tests we would definitely recommend this knife to professional chefs or home cooks. The knife performs exceptionally well and the price point for this quality of a blade is very hard to beat.
Tokageh 8″ Gyutou Knife Review
| Tokageh Gyuto Knife Review | |||
| Possible | Actual Rating | Test | Notes |
| Sharpness | |||
| 5 | 4 | Carrot-Lengthwise Test | There was a small amount of resistance and one pull during the trim I had to go over a second time to finish the cut. |
| 5 | 5 | Shallot Test | Did an excellent job on the shallot w/ no extra effort needed to draw the knife. |
| 5 | 5 | Onion Test | Felt almost zero resistance cutting a thick onion. Very easy to make all the cuts…a pleasure to use. |
| 3 | 2 | Tomato Test | We like to see a knife pass this test w/ only 1 or 2 strokes for a “3” rating. It took several additional strokes, but still made the thin slices w/o ever having to hold the tomato. |
| 3 | 3 | Basil Test | Very clean chiffonade w/o any bruising or tearing. |
| 3 | 3 | Paper Test | No problem w/ the paper test. Clean slices with no shredding or tearing. |
| Comfort | |||
| 5 | 5 | Comfortable Handle | Very comfortable ambidextrous handle. Has a good “grip” in the hand while not sticking or biting. |
| Quality Materials | |||
| 5 | 5 | Steel Quality | AUS-10 core with 66 layers of softer steel |
| 3 | 3 | Durability | This knife should hold up during normal professional kitchen work |
| 3 | 3 | Handle Quality | The full tang and durable material make for excellent handle construction |
| Quality Construction/Design | |||
| 4 | 4 | Overall Construction Quality | The materials and steel are high quality. |
| 3 | 3 | Design, Engraving, End-cap, etc | Damascus steel blade, etched name on the blade, brass spacer, mosaic pin, and simple end cap. |
| General Ratings | |||
| 5 | 3 | High-end Knife? | 1 = under $25; 2 = $26 – $75; 3 = $76 – $150; 4 = $151 – $300; 5 = $301+ |
| 5 | 5 | Utility | Nicely designed for a chef knife (or gyuto). The edge has a good roll to it (not too flat), the handle is comfortable and doesn’t slip. |
| 7 | 6 | Overall Impression | |
| 5 | 4.5 | Our Star Rating | This knife performed really well through each of the tests. It is comfortable, has a good weight (not too light or too heavy), a nice design. |
| Total | |||
| 69 | 65 | 5.6 Stars = Excellent Quality Professional Knife – See Overall Ranking Below formula: (actual score/total possible*6) |
|
See our Ratings Page for info on how we evaluate a knife
Buy This Knife on Amazon
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.
5 stars on Amazon
TOKAGEH Chef Knife – Gyutou Knife 8 inch
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Hi thank you very much for doing all these reviews!