Wa-Gyuto: Chef's Knife with Japanese Style Handle

A Wa-Gyuto Chef's Knife is a classic French-style chef's knife fitted to a traditional Japanese-style handle, with a variety of grips available such as the Octagonal, Chestnut (also called D-Shape) or Round types.

Most of these handle styles are made of wood and likely to be more familiar to classically trained Japanese chefs. This wood makes the knife much lighter in comparison to a Western-style handle Gyuto.

What is a Wa-Gyuto used for?

An double-beveled all-purpose knife for meat, vegetables, and fish, it is the most frequently used knife for Western restaurants in Japan. These have the tighter angle Japanese knives are known for, so compared to a French style chef's knife not only will the steel generally be harder, but you'll be able to slice with more ease and a little thinner with the right approach.

How to Select a Wa-Gyuto Chef Knife

Due to the frequent use, customers should be mindful of weight and balance when purchasing a Wa-Gyuto.

Gyuto usually range from 180mm to 300mm in 30mm increments. The most common for home use is 210mm as this gives the best balance of length and weight for smaller spaces. For professional use, 240mm is more common as the extra length helps when breaking down large slabs of meat.

Additionally, we recommend a 300mm Wa-Gyuto for people who are regularly cutting large slabs of meat or slicing heads of cabbage. Sometimes people also own multiple lengths for multiple purposes.

How to Choose the Blade Materials - Carbon Steel vs Stainless Steel

The adventages of carbon steels (e.g. White Steel, Blue Steel) are their sharpness and ease of resharpening. On the other hand, they are susceptible to moisture, and if not maintained properly, the blades will rust.

Stainless steels (e.g. Silver Steel#3, VG1, VG10 and Molybdenum Steel) are resistant to rust and easy to maintain. While the sharpness of the stainless steel blades is getting better year by year, they are still more difficult to sharpen than carbon steels.

We recommend carbon steel to people who value sharpness and ease of sharpening while recommend stainless steel to people who value rust resistance and ease of maintenance.