Here’s my second strategy question.
About a year ago, I bought a Masamoto VG10 Gyutou 8.2″ chef’s knife. The Gyutou is a “hybrid” knife that combines the super-hard steel and low-angle ultra-sharp edge of a Japanese kitchen knife with the slightly curved shape and double-bevel of a Western chef’s knife. The Masamoto version was highly recommended by Cook’s Illustrated after they tested a bunch of hybrid knives. The Masamoto Gyutou quickly sold out and it was months before my backorder was filled (sound familiar?)
The knife lived up to my expectations: super sharp, great balance and feel, excellent geometry. It’s by far the best knife in my kitchen collection. The edge stayed sharp for a long time, then I proceeded to touch it up with the EP I was using at the time. I’m embarassed to say that this was the first time I took a really close look at the edge. The edge was beveled on both sides, but to my surprise the bevel was very shallow on one side. Here are a couple of photos:
Pretty dramatic difference. I probably should have contacted the vendor to see if the bevel is normal for this type of blade, but I didn’t. I don’t recall now which stones I used on the blade to restore the edge. I think it was just the 600 grit, which according to this source is equal to a 5000 grit stone (I’m skeptical — is this really true?) At most I would have used the EP 220 grit, which the above source says is equal to 700 grit. Anyway, the point is that I didn’t re-profile the edge, just touched it up.
Now, the same source I just cited mentioned in another place that sometimes Japanese knife factories make mistakes like this.
My first question for the experts: Is that true? Was this a mistake or deliberate?
My second question for the experts, related to the first: Should I re-profile the edge with equal bevels?
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