Sukenari ZDP189 Kiritsuke Gyuto 270mm

Wow! The edge on the ZDP189 range is sensational. Sukenari are praised for the quality of their knives and skill working with super steels and you can immediately see why. 

Right out of the box, this is very clearly a top level knife.

The blades are classy and understated with a simple migaki polished hairline finish on the stainless cladding that carries through to the core steel and we've paired this with octagonal bocote wood handles that have their own unique and distinctive patterns look great without being over the top.

The handles are finished with either a black or marble colour buffalo horn bolster.

This is a range that has a feel of substance in hand, the bocote handle is a slightly longer than usual size and as a hardwood is quite dense and adds a nice feel of weight but without being too unbalanced. 

The shorter gyuto in the range has a balance point just around the heel while the longer gyuto tends to balance out just forward of the ZDP189 stamp and all feel easy to use and the thin edge provides exceptionally smooth cutting and food release.

ZDP189 is a super steel that can (and is) treated to an exceptional level of hardness so offers some of the best edge retention available so this is a knife that you can most certainly use more between sharpening than many others.

ZDP 189 can be difficult to sharpen but you shouldn't have to do it very often, a few strokes with a ceramic honing rod and leather strop will keep it in tip top condition between sharpens.

Given the extremely high HRC rating of the steel, you do need to be precise in your cutting technique to avoid any potential chipping but if you are, these knives will last a long time between sharpens.