Gyuto Knives

Gyuto Knife. Murray Carter / wikimedia / 2008 / CC BY 3.0

Gyuto knives have a long blade on them. They are close in shape and size to a French chef knife, but with a cutting surface that curves up towards the nose.

They are used in restaurants to cut thin slices of meat and fish.

The tip can be used for finer cuts. The middle can be used for rock-chopping. The heel of the blade can be used for thrust-cutting.

An average length will be between 210 mm to 270 mm, though shorter and longer ones are available. ^[1]Gyutos. Madison, Wisconsin: Chef Knives to Go. Accessed October 2019 at https://www.chefknivestogo.com/gyutos.html 

Don’t use a gyuto knife on meats with bones in them, or on frozen foods, or for any kind of prying.

Reviews

The Tokyo Knives website offers customers this guidance about gyuto knives:

“The profile of this blade offers it more contact with the cutting board. It implies that it doesn’t have to be lifted high and results in efficient cutting and less fatigue. It is ideal for detailed, intricate work because the tip is lower and in line with the center of gravity. The Gyuto knife is sharp on both sides and measures between 8 to 12 inches (20 to 30 cm). This knife is light in weight and excels at precision work such as mincing light proteins and vegetables. It, however, would not excel at slicing large materials or cutting through dense materials.” ^[2]The Ultimate Guide to Japanese Kitchen Knives. 11 July 2018. Accessed October 2019 at https://tokyoknives.com/blogs/news/the-ultimate-guide-to-japanese-kitchen-knives

Videos

Language Notes

“Gyoto” means “cow sword”.

Sources

Lehrer, Chris. Some basics on Japanese knife history. Cheftalk.com. 24 October 2009. Accessed October 2019 at https://cheftalk.com/threads/some-basics-on-japanese-knife-history-long.56934/

Gyuto Knife. Jaap Driest / flickr / 2019 / Public Domain