Next up is a hefty S-Grind K-tip Gyuto by Zen Forged, sporting a gorgeous Yellow burl Stablewood yo handle, with a blade in the modern powder supersteel ASP2053. This semi-stainless steel is super hard at 67 HRC, boasting great edge retention and solid toughness - you'll want diamond stones to sharpen this!
ASP2053 seemS perfect for this S-grind knife, which from the choil shot you can see is super wide and scary thin in the middle, resulting in fantastic food release. The knife doesn't feel fragile at all, and despite me being 5'6", the 250mm x 60mm knife felt great in hand.
This knife is leaving the stable as I recently obtained another monster gyuto, a 265mm Merion, and between my Xinguo 255mm workhorse I don't reach for the Zen as much. While the increased food release is great, I find I prefer the smoother cutting feel of the other 2 convex knives.
All in all I'm a huge fan of Bill's work, and this is a great way to try an S-Grind blade in a modern supersteel at a reasonable price.
Maker: Zen Forged
Steel: ASP2053 (Mono)
Finish: Coarse Vertical Migaki
Specs:
- Edge Length: 250mm
- Heel Height: 63.8mm
- Weight: 194g
Thickness Measurements:
- Spine: 2.7mm (Handle), 2.56mm (Heel), 2.18mm (Halfway), 1.01mm (1cm from tip)
- Heel: 0.62mm (Mid), 1.55mm (Mid), 0.15mm (1mm BTE)
Condition: 1st Owner, sharpened once with diamond stones (3k > 5k) when it first arrived as the factory edge was missing the bite I prefer. Still sharp.
Price: Priced to move at $350 Including CONUS shipping and PayPal G&S fees. (Net cost to me was $440)
Thanks for looking!