Enso Hachi SG2 8.25" Gyuto

About a year ago I had bought the ko-bunka Enso Hachi. I had liked everything about it, except its size. It was too small for my hand for practical use. I decided to buy the gyuto this time, as daily work horse knife. It has stainless cladding, and stainless SG2, I don't have to worry about rust or even staining. The handle being pakka wood will last forever. Handle has shiny finish but I don't find it slippery at all during use.

The fit and finish is perfect on the knife. It was arm hair shaving sharp out of the box. The blade profile is also exactly what I wanted. It has small belly towards heel but not pronounced. The curvature towards the end of the blade also works well.

The black finish on the ko-bunka I had bought a year ago was thicker and darker black. This one is thinner coating and different, almost like metallic black. The hammer marks are extended towards the grind which makes it visually more appealing than the ko-bunka I have, which the hammer marks and the black finish were ending exactly where the grind starts.

The only negative of the knife for me is it could have thinner grind towards the edge. The ko-bunka Hachi I have has very thin grind, and I was expecting similar from this gyuto. Both ko-bunka and this gyuto have same spine thickness, but gyuto has a bit thicker grind. I measured the thickness of the blade at several points 5mm away from the cutting edge on both the ko-bunka and this gyuto. The gyuto is 0.1 mm thicker at 5mm distance from the edge…

Amazing blade, and handle is really comfortable! Would totally buy again!

Love this knife - especially for the price. Does everything I need it to and more

Given as a gift to my wife's sister. She says this knife cuts beautifully. It's super sharp out of the box, and food slides off clean. She's very happy with the knife.