• Gyuto 240mm Yuzen Damascus San Mai
  • Gyuto 240mm Yuzen Damascus San Mai – detail view
  • Gyuto 240mm Yuzen Damascus San Mai – side profile
  • Gyuto 240mm Yuzen Damascus San Mai – handle detail
  • Gyuto 240mm Yuzen Damascus San Mai – blade close-up
  • Gyuto 240mm Yuzen Damascus San Mai – view 6
  • Gyuto 240mm Yuzen Damascus San Mai – view 7
  • Gyuto 240mm Yuzen Damascus San Mai – view 8
  • Gyuto 240mm Yuzen Damascus San Mai – view 9
  • Gyuto 240mm Yuzen Damascus San Mai – view 10
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Gyuto 240mm Yuzen Damascus San Mai

Gyuto 240mm Yuzen Damascus San Mai

By Collaboration

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Fredrik Spåre

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This is easily the benchmark in Damascus mastery. At the core a super Damascus forged from Aogami #2 and Shirogami #2. Impressive, both in terms of its performance, hardness, and toughness, but also given the skill required to forge wield the two steels together. The cladding is made from soft iron, SPCC, SS400, S50C, SCM440, SK3 and SKS3. The result is an incredibly stunning, high-performance blade capable of taking a razor-sharp edge.

Without describing the geometry and profile of the knife you should already be impressed, but this piece of culinary artistry knows no limits. Naohito Myojin has completed the grind giving this knife his world class touch. Myojin-san, well known in knife enthusiast circles as one of the youngest master knife grinders in Japan. Famous for his work at Atelier Konosuke Sakai, Myojin-san has given this blade a beautifully thin and sharp edge along with his iconic, contemporary pointed profile and incredibly high-performance geometry. The knife moves through produce like it’s not even there and has the most incredibly satisfying weight and balance to it. Forging and grind work together make the most impressive blade we have come across.

We brought this stunning piece of work to one Europe’s finest bladesmiths, Fredrik Spåre. The proposal, make a handle and saya befitting such incredible work. Fredrik Spåre, a Swedish craftsman, suggested using local native materials Masur Birch and Birch bark in combination with brass to produce something elegant and beautiful that does not overshadow the beauty of the blade. The result is a Masur Birch handle with stacked birch bark ferrule, brass, and black composite G10 spacers and a hand hammered, facetted brass bolster. This beautiful handle is paired with a book matched masur birch saya with stacked birch bark inlays and brass pins.

The completed piece is an absolute one of a kind, unlike anything else. This is heirloom, functional art at its best and in the right hands a priceless collectable.

Product Specification
  • Blade Type:
  • Edge Length: 240mm
  • Spine Heel: 3.73mm
  • Spine Mid: 2.7mm
  • Spine Tip (20mm before): 1.18mm
  • Blade Height: 54.2
  • Weight: 218g
  • Cutting Edge Steel:
  • Steel class: Carbon
  • HRC: 63+
  • Blade Construction:
  • Blade Finish: Acid Etched (Forced Patina)
  • Grind:
  • Handle Construction:
  • Handle Materials: Masur Birch, Stacked Birch Bark, G10, Brass
  • Handedness: Ambidextrous
  • Saya / Storage Included: Yes

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

Damascus

Pattern-welded composite construction (term, not an alloy)

Typical HRC
Determined by core / outer steel
Corrosion class
Varies
Production
Pattern-welded
Origin
Global

“Damascus” is a construction technique rather than a single steel — though that deserves a careful qualification. A damascus billet is built by forge-welding alternating layers of two or more steels — typically a higher- and a lower-carbon partner, or a contrasting-nickel pair — and then folding, twisting, ladder-cutting, or otherwise manipulating the billet to expose the layer interfaces in a pattern. The visual interest comes from the etch, which preferentially attacks one of the steels. A damascus billet is never melted and homogenised into a single chemistry the way a conventional alloy is; but once the layers are forge-welded they are bonded at a molecular level, so for every practical purpose the finished billet behaves as one steel.

For a kitchen knife the relevant question is always: what is the cutting steel? Damascus reaches the edge in two ways. In clad damascus the pattern-welded material is only a decorative jacket wrapped around a separate core — a stainless core such as AEB-L or MagnaCut, or a carbon core such as 26C3 or Apex Ultra — and it is that core, not the jacket, that does the cutting. In full damascus the entire blade is pattern-welded (the more common approach in custom Western work), and the cutting edge is formed by the harder of the laminate’s component steels.

This is one of the points where a customer-facing entry has to be honest: a beautiful damascus pattern is a craft achievement, but it does not on its own tell you how the knife will cut. The cutting steel does that — and a good maker will always list both the pattern and the steel behind the edge.

View full steel guide →

Blade construction

Laminated Steel

A category covering knives built from multiple layers of different steels forge-welded together. The hard cutting steel is sandwiched between softer outer layers (cladding) that protect the core, add toughness, and often contribute visual contrast.

The most common laminated constructions in the Modern Cooking catalogue are:

SanMai (三枚) — three layers: hard cutting steel in the centre, softer cladding on both sides. The traditional and most common form.

GoMai (五枚) — five layers: a hard core, two intermediate layers, and two outer layers. Adds visual depth and structural complexity.

KuMai (九枚) — nine layers: similar logic, with more cladding layers for additional pattern and structural variation.

GoMai and KuMai are often chosen not only for the additional layers and visual depth, but also because the intermediate layers can act as a nickel diffusion barrier — limiting carbon migration out of the core into the cladding during forge welding, and protecting the core's intended carbon content through the heat of the forging process.

In all cases the cutting performance is determined by the core steel; the outer layers are cosmetic and structural. The lamination contributes corrosion protection (when a stainless jacket clads a carbon core), reduced reactivity, and the visible boundary between core and cladding that gives the knife its character.

View full construction guide →

Grind

Flat

A grind in which the blade tapers in a straight line from the spine down toward the edge, with no curve or hollow in the bevel. The flat grind is the most common geometry on modern double-bevel kitchen knives because it balances cutting performance and durability: thin enough behind the edge to slice well, with enough steel behind it to stay strong.

A true full flat grind, running from spine to edge, is keen but can wedge in dense produce as the food meets the widening blade; many kitchen knives use a partial flat grind that begins lower on the blade to manage that. The flat grind's appeal is its predictability — it sharpens straightforwardly, behaves consistently, and asks nothing unusual of the user.

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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