Recommendation? Anyone with experience with Tojiro knives?

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LUW

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Nov 24, 2009
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I came upon two Tojiro knives, the Shippu BLACK DP Damascus (model FD-1594):
fd-1594-1.jpg

According to their site, the steel is "VG10 + Low- and High-Carbon Stainless Steel (Oxide black chemical conversion coating)" and has 63 layers of Damascus with a HRC of 60.

The second one is the Zen BLACK 3 Layered Cobalt Alloy Steel (model FD-1564):
fd-1564-1.jpg

Blade steel is VG10 + 13 Chrome Stainless Steel (Oxide black chemical conversion coating).

I don't have any Japanese knives in the collection, so I really don't know what to expect. Compared to a more traditional Western knife it looks a bit rough in the fit & finish department, but I'm aware that that's a trait of Japanese knives. I was wondering if anyone here had any experience with Tojiro knives?
 
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I picked up one of their 3 layer DP knives a while ago.
For the price they're a good knife but there were one or two F&F issues that were easily remedied.
Just a couple of sharp edges that shouldn't be sharp.
Hit them with a stone and it's all good.
Thin blade stock makes for a good slicer and sharpens really well but I still use my heavier Wustof for all of my bigger processing tasks.
But for getting those paper thin slices or finer tasks it's a great tool in the kitchen.
 
Nice to hear that, Barman1 Barman1 . I want it for delicate work, for the "meat & potato" stuff my Wüsthof Ikons are good enough, I think. When you cite sharp edges your're talking about the spine? And what do you think about the handle?
 
The handle is fit well.
And the sharp bit was on the heel area that makes contact with fingers.
It wasn't crazy sharp but definitely uncomfortable.

I'm pretty sure I picked one up from Chef Knives To Go and there were some reviews and pointers on remedying the issue.
 
Well, I think I can live with that, since it would be easy to remedy. Thanks for the feedback!

Can anyone point out the differences between these two models in terms of steel? Or basically just aesthetics?
 
I have a couple Torjiro DP. As you say, the F& F aren't the equal of big factory knives. But the blades themselves are quality - a lot of people say equal to or better than Shun.
They get razor sharp, I certainly take them to a fine edge.
 
LUW said:
I don't have any Japanese knives in the collection, so I really don't know what to expect. Compared to a more traditional Western knife it looks a bit rough in the fit & finish department, but I'm aware that that's a trait of Japanese knives. I was wondering if anyone here had any experience with Tojiro knives?
Click to expand...

You are very wrong if you think rough fit & finish is a trait of all Japanese knives. That category covers an enormously wide range of makers, both factory and hand made. Suggest you go over the Kitchen Knife Forum for further info on this.
I have five Tojiros, two are DPs which I find a bit thick are fine for the price and the fit and finish "can" be rough, the scales and tang may be slightly off. I also have two traditional Japanese White 2 knives and in all cases, I find Tojiro's blades to be very good. I also have Tojiro Powder Steel gyuto (R2 core) which is thinner than the DPs with a noticeably higher level of fit & finish. I do not find this knife in any way lacking compared to a Takamura R2 which does not offer a full tang despite it's popularity. Tojiros are widely regarded as a "best bang for the buck" brand. You can of course find better knives but at higher price points.
 
I have a 240mm Tojiro Gyuto in VG-10. It's a bit rough in F&F, but it's a good knife. As KH said they are a "best bang for the buck brand". They punch well above their weight.
 
Have several Tojiro DP 240 mm gyuto's as loaners.
Each one has been hand reground to a full convex zero edge shape on wet & dry SiC paper using WD40 as a lubricant, currently with edge angles ~22.5 degrees inclusive (to have some reserve)
Subsequent hand resharpening & thinning happens simultaneously (which saves time), and the knives cut significantly better than the stock versions.
(So much so that some Chefs had me give their own much more expensive knives the same treatment)
Imo both Tojiro (with their patented Decarburation Protection heat treatment) and Sakai Takayuki have the best "cooked" VG10 steel that i've found so far.
 
Awesome, thanks for the input! As I said, I have nothing from Japan, so I really don't know what to expect from an industrial or at least semi-industrial Japanese blade. I'm obviously not expecting a superb "custom-level F&F" but I don't wanna get something rough - though I really don't expect Tojiro to be "rough".

But between those two models, any pros or cons for the two?
 
Mostly a matter of personal taste. No blaring green or red lights either way IMO. Damascus blades will scratch up but then so will non damascus. Any knife you use and sharpen will eventually scratch up.
 
So we're back at price, and that's great - it means I should get the cheaper one :D
 
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