The Tsunehisa AUS8
Gyuto 210mm is made with a mono steel construction of AUS-8 stainless steel. The blade is hammer forged and sharpened by hand.
AUS-8 is a lower carbon version of AUS-10 and is similar to 440C or D2 steel. It is made in Japan by the Aichi Steel Company. It is a very good steel for making kitchen knives given its high level of corrosion resistance coupled to an ability to sharpen easily to a razor-sharp edge. This is very resilient steel so it makes for an easy to care for edge and knife overall.
The blade is quite thin—certainly not a laser, but it does have a nice distal taper towards the tip. Very well done for a knife at this price point. The full tang is also stainless and the bolster is integrated into the blade. A good-looking brown oak handle is attached to the tang with three stainless pins. A nice engraved set of kanji characters is a surprise addition to this well-priced knife.
Anyone looking to enter the world of Japanese kitchen knives would do well to include this very attractive
gyuto in their short list.
Maker: Tsunehisa
Location: Tosa, Japan
Construction: Hammer Forged, San Mai
Edge Grind: Even (see choil photo)
Steel: AUS8 Stainless Steel
Finiish: Tsuchime (Hammered)
Weight: 6.3 ounces/ 180g
Blade Length: 215 mm
Total Length: 335 mm
Spine Thickness at Base: 2 mm
Blade Height: 46 mm
Handle: Brown Oak