Review--Cris Anderson ko-gyuto

First, I want to apologize to Cris for this review taking so long. On the plus side, it's given me more time with the knife to evaluate it. And this is one of those knives that the more you use it, the more you like it.

This is a nice little 165mm ko-gyuto that I bought from Cris as a stock knife. A stock knife from Cris in NO WAY means second quality. This is a first quality knife all the way. F&F is lovely. The handle was finished to bring out the beauty of the wood, the blade was smooth, the spine and choil beautifully rounded and polished. And this puppy arrived SHARP.

Since I've gotten a couple gyutos in this size range, I hardly use a petty any more. This is just a dandy size for cleaning up small veggies/pieces of protein. I really like the profile on this knife. A pointed tip like this is great for fiddly work. The knife excels at cleaning silverskin off pieces of meat. And also at piercing meat to stick in hunks of garlic (I'm going to go do some of that as soon as this writeup is done.) The height at the heel is good if you scoop with your knife, and the choil/heel configuration is also good for removing nasty bits from your veg.





The knife is very light weight--a good thing IMO. I find Cris's handle to be very comfortable. Ideally I'd add about 1/2" to its length. When you've got the knife in a pinch grip and perfectly balanced, the handle is the right length, but if you slide back much at all you start to fall off the end of the handle. Correct your grip and it's fine, but a little more length would be a bit more comfy when you're being sloppy. (This is just a personal preference thing. The old man, who uses a hammer grip on EVERYTHING, finds it too short and doesn't use this knife. That is actully a plus. )

The knife takes a killer edge & holds it. I managed to put a very SMALL chip in the knife (whacked the tweedle out of a stainless frying pan with the edge) that came out with just a little touch up sharpening. Other than that a little stropping or a touch with a ceramic rod is all that's needed to maintain the edge. And if you can manage to use it without smacking cookware, the edge seems pretty tough.








A little story on the handle on this particular knife. Cris had a beautiful piece of stabilized cottonwood that was used for the handle. The wood has been a royal pain in the tuchas, no fault of Cris's. The grain started to raise up after the knife was used a couple times. Cris has been very supportive in trying to take care of this--good customer service. One interesting thing I've found--while polishing the handle between layers (and layers and layers) of Tru-Oil, some of the edges on the handle have softened a bit and aren't as crisp. The handle is actually more comfortable for the loss of "sharp" edges. (The moral of this story--cottonwood can be beautiful, but other woods might make better handles.)

The steel has taken a really nice patina without being overly reactive. It's a great cutter for small veg--scallions, carrots, etc. I find myself reaching for other knives that cut with a lighter touch for cabbage, big onions, etc, but some of that may be the knife doesn't have as much leverage as a longer knife for big vegetables. (I have some arthritis, so ease of cutting/comfort is my #1 priority with a knife.)




Having had this knife for long enough to get to know it, it's become one of my most used knives when I'm doing small jobs or cleaning up meat. Definitely a keeper.

Thanks Cris! And sorry this took so long!

 

Thanks Lucretia for such a comprehensive review....
Where did you use all that garlic?

 

awesome review of a knife maker I certainly trust and go back to for repeat business. Good customer service is a must, and Cris offers it in spades.

And the food looks delicious!

 

Thorough & concise review....... Very nice & thank you!

 

Gorgeous knife. Kinda dig the heel height as well.

Dave

 

Jim, that's just a little dab of garlic. Probably for something like garlic bread or guacamole. When I get serious about putting garlic in something I pull out this puppy and rock chop:





We don't have any worms at Casa Lucretia.


Maybe some day I'll be as good as Jaques...

 

Bravo!