• Gyuto 185mm Hollowed Carbon & Micarta
  • Gyuto 185mm Hollowed Carbon & Micarta – detail view
  • Gyuto 185mm Hollowed Carbon & Micarta – side profile
  • Gyuto 185mm Hollowed Carbon & Micarta – handle detail
  • Gyuto 185mm Hollowed Carbon & Micarta – blade close-up
  • Gyuto 185mm Hollowed Carbon & Micarta – view 6
  • Gyuto 185mm Hollowed Carbon & Micarta – view 7
  • Gyuto 185mm Hollowed Carbon & Micarta – view 8
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Gyuto 180mm Hollowed Carbon & Micarta

Gyuto 180mm Hollowed Carbon & Micarta

By Oliver Märtens

No longer available

Oliver Märtens

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With Oliver's signature performance first milled "C" grind, an absolute laser K-tip and a razor sharp precision ground 20/20 primary bevel, with a fine convex secondary bevel, this Oel Gyuto is going to make for a very high performance daily driver.

As is the case with all of German blacksmith Oliver Märtens work this knife feature some amazing industrial design and incredible style. The milled hollow geometry gives the blade an incredibly unique look, but other details like the brushed forge scale above the bevels, the tempering around neck and the satin stone polish on the secondary bevels make this an absolutely iconic kitchen tool.

Oliver has also been taking strides with his handle designs lately and this one is exceptional with a black canvas micarta frame and Fatcarbon "Dark Matter" scales the handle completes the knife is true style.

Product Specification
  • Blade Type:
  • Edge Length: 180mm
  • Spine Heel: 3.45mm
  • Spine Mid: 2mm
  • Spine Tip (20mm before): 1mm
  • Blade Height: 61mm
  • Weight: 163g
  • Cutting Edge Steel:
  • Steel class: Carbon
  • HRC: 64
  • Blade Construction:
  • Blade Finish: Satin Polish, Textured, Tempered
  • Grind:
  • Handle Construction:
  • Handle Materials: Canvas Micarta, Carbon Fibre
  • Handedness: Right

Blade type

Gyuto

牛刀

The Japanese take on the Western chef's knife, and the most versatile blade in a modern kitchen. A gyuto carries a long, gently curved edge — most often 210 to 270 mm — that allows both push cuts and a rocking motion, with a pointed tip for fine work and enough height at the heel to keep knuckles clear of the board. It handles proteins, vegetables, and herbs without complaint, which is why most cooks reach for it first.

Compared with a European chef's knife, the gyuto is usually thinner, harder, and lighter, ground to a finer edge that rewards good board technique and regular honing. That same thinness is the trade-off: the edge is less forgiving of bone, frozen food, and twisting cuts, and it asks for a little more care in maintenance in exchange for its keenness.

View full knife type guide →

Cutting edge steel

1.2442

Low-alloy tungsten high-carbon tool steel

Typical HRC
62–65
Corrosion class
Carbon
Production
Conventional
Origin
Germany (DIN 115W8)

1.2442 is one of the more interesting niche European tool steels for kitchen knifemaking: about 1.10 to 1.20 percent carbon, around 2.0 percent tungsten, and very little else. The chemistry positions it as the European "answer to Aogami #1" — slightly less Cr, slightly more W — though the impurity tolerances are looser than the Hitachi product.

In a finished knife it runs at 62–64 HRC, sharpens close to the level of a clean carbon, and produces an edge with respectable wear resistance from the W carbides. Toughness is moderate; patina behaviour is conventional. A careful smith can get genuinely excellent results from 1.2442; a less careful one can get a steel that is more variable than its data sheet suggests.

You will most commonly see 1.2442 in boutique German maker work — the Solingen tradition and certain custom specialists — where the explicit goal is a tungsten-rich European carbon. Among the makers Modern Cooking carries, Oliver Märtens and Antoine Kniamen work in 1.2442. It is an honest steel in the right hands.

View full steel guide →

Blade construction

Mono Steel

A knife forged from a single piece of steel — no laminations, no clad layers. The simplest and most direct construction. The entire blade is the cutting steel, with no softer outer jacket to protect or contrast it. Most contemporary Western kitchen knives in carbon and stainless steel are mono-steel constructions, as are honyaki and most European bladesmith work.

The trade-off is straightforward: mono-steel knives are easier to forge, sharpen, and reason about, but the entire blade carries the cutting steel's properties — including its reactivity if it's a clean carbon. There is no soft jacket to protect a more brittle core from impact, so the heat treatment and geometry have to do all the work.

View full construction guide →

Grind

Compound Grind

A category covering blades ground with more than one geometry stacked into a single cross-section — typically a convex (or flat) primary bevel at the very edge, with one or more hollows ground higher up the blade face to relieve material behind it. The aim is food release and reduced wedging: the hollow opens an air gap so dense produce breaks away from the blade instead of clinging to it, while the convex steel at the edge keeps the apex strong and the knife driving through the cut.

The named variations in the Modern Cooking catalogue differ in where the hollows sit, how many there are, and whether the two faces are ground alike:

S-Grind — a convex primary bevel at the edge with a hollow ground into both faces just above it. The symmetrical "S"-shaped cross-section is the classic food-release grind: relief above the edge, strength at the edge.

C-Grind — an asymmetric S-grind. Both faces keep the convex primary bevel, but only one face carries the hollow above it. The single-sided relief biases food release to one side, and is simpler to grind and to maintain than a full S.

B-Grind — a stacked twin-hollow grind: a tight, narrow hollow immediately above the edge, with a second, broader and wider hollow above that. The staged relief gives especially strong food release across the height of the blade.

S-Hook Grind — also called a hook, harpoon, or J grind. An S-grind taken to an extreme, with the hollow placed very close to the cutting edge. The aggressive near-edge relief gives outstanding food release, at the price of being the most maintenance-sensitive of the family.

Asymmetrical-B Grind — a B-grind in which the twin-hollow structure is carried on one face while the other is ground differently (or left without the upper hollow), off-setting the edge. It combines the staged food release of a B-grind with the handed, steering character of an asymmetric grind.

In every case the gain is food release and reduced drag, and the shared cost is sharpening: as the edge is thinned over the knife's life, maintenance eventually reaches the hollowed steel, which cannot be flattened on a stone the way a convex or flat bevel can. How soon that happens depends on how deeply the hollows are cut and how close to the edge they sit — exactly what separates a gentle S-grind from an aggressive S-hook. These are high-craft geometries, prized by makers and experienced users for their cutting feel, and best appreciated by a cook who maintains their own edges.

View full grind guide →

Handle construction

Hidden Tang

A construction in which the tang runs into the handle but stays concealed inside it, rather than showing between two scales. A narrower tang — a full-length stick or a shorter projection — is set into a drilled or burned channel in a one-piece handle and secured with adhesive, a friction fit, or a threaded fitting drawn up against the blade. This is the traditional construction of Japanese wa-handles and many European hidden-tang knives.

The design puts the handle material in charge of the look and feel: a single piece of wood, horn, or composite — often with a ferrule or spacers at the front — is shaped into any cross-section the maker wants, from the classic octagonal and D-shaped wa profiles to fully rounded Western forms. With no steel showing along the grip, the handle can be slim and light, and is frequently made to be removed and replaced, with the balance sitting toward the blade.

View full construction guide →

Shipping & Returns

Shipping

We process orders 5 days a week (Monday - Friday) and ship from our shop in Sydney, Australia. We ship with FedEx, UPS and DHL.

We are happy to offer free international shipping on a variety of orders depending on location and order value.

Free Shipping Regions and Minimum Order Values

For Australia and New Zealand the minimum is $500AUD. For the rest of the world it is approximately €1000EUR. The discount is applied automatically when you reach the minimum cart value at checkout.

Returns

If you're not entirely happy with your purchase, you can return it within 14 days of delivery for a refund. The item must be in its original condition with all original packaging.

  • Returns are accepted for 14 days
  • The customer is responsible for return shipping costs
  • A 15% restocking fee may be applied to change-of-mind returns
  • We do not accept returns on second-hand items for change of mind

Faulty or Damaged Items

You must notify us within 5 business days of receiving your order. Photographic evidence of damage is required. Once approved, Modern Cooking will cover return shipping costs.

Product Care

Cleaning: Clean by hand with warm water. Avoid wetting the handle when possible.

Sharpening: We advise using whetstones to sharpen your knives and a honing rod or steel to maintain the burr between sharpening sessions.

Reactive Steels: Reactive steels like Aogami Super, Apex Ultra or premium reactive German and Swedish steels are susceptible to rust if not properly cared for. Keep the knife dry between uses and when storing for longer periods, wiping the blade with Tsubaki oil or another food-safe oil is a wise choice. A patina can be a beautiful personal feature on your knife and helps to stop rust forming.

Handle Care: For non-stabilised wooden handles, apply Tsubaki oil or another food-safe oil from time to time. Food-safe wax can be applied to both stabilised and non-stabilised wooden handles. Never apply hot wax or oil as you risk warping or damaging the handle.

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