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Gyuto 220mm AEB-L Stainless Steel - "S" Grind

Gyuto 220mm AEB-L Stainless Steel - "S" Grind

By Lew Griffin Knives


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Lew Griffin

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Lew Griffin Gyuto 220mm. A great combination of AEB-L steel, Bog Oak and Walnut burl. AEB-L is a Swedish stainless steel produced in Uddeholm that has great toughness, edge retention and a HRC at 62+ makes it comparable to SG2/R2.

Performance comes first with any Lew Griffin knife and the “S” grind is almost a trademark feature of his. Measuring the blade thickness 10mm behind the edge reveals a super thin 0.9mm and with an average spine thickness in the region of 2mm this blade can only be described as a high-performance laser.

The blade profile feels more in line with a European chef’s knife than a gyuto, with a more bellied and curved edge and virtually no flat section. If you are a rock chopper, you will love this knife. There is even a little bit a heel curve that give the knife a bit of a rock back action. This profile will also perform admirably when slicing. The profile also has a substantial height to it, which is always welcome in my book.

Completing the knife is a very nicely finished bespoke western grip made from Walnut burl and Bog Oak. The handle has a very nice ergonomic feel to it, with zero rough edges and some lovely faceting.

Unique, beautifully crafted, and thoughtfully designed. A very nice knife forged in a high quality stainless steel.

Product Specification
  • Blade Type:
  • Edge Length: 220mm
  • Spine Heel: 2.74mm
  • Spine Mid: 2.3mm
  • Spine Tip (20mm before): 1.47mm
  • Blade Height: 54mm
  • Weight: 188g
  • Cutting Edge Steel:
  • Steel class: Carbon
  • HRC: 62+
  • Blade Construction:
  • Blade Finish: Matte Polish
  • Grind:
  • Handle Construction:
  • Handle Materials: Walnut Burl, Bog Oak
  • Handedness: Ambidextrous

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

AEB-L

Fine-grain martensitic stainless steel

Typical HRC
60–63
Corrosion class
Stainless
Production
Conventional
Origin
Sweden (Uddeholm)

AEB-L is the original fine-grain razor stainless — a steel developed for safety razor blades and rediscovered by knifemakers as one of the most refined stainless choices available. About 0.67 percent carbon and 13 percent chromium, with very low impurity content, allow the steel to take a near-carbon-grade edge while remaining genuinely stainless.

In a custom or boutique kitchen knife AEB-L typically lands at 60–62 HRC, sharpens with the easy feel of a clean carbon, and produces a polished apex that holds an edge longer than its modest carbide content might suggest. Toughness is exceptional: at 62 HRC, AEB-L compares well to 52100 at the same hardness in published toughness data, which is the point that contemporary metallurgical writing on the steel has emphasised. It is the steel that taught a generation of makers that stainless need not feel coarse.

AEB-L is heavily used in the modern American custom scene and is an honest answer to the cook who wants the feel of a clean carbon without the maintenance burden. Among the makers Modern Cooking carries, Lew Griffin and Oliver Märtens work in AEB-L. It is closely related to Sandvik 13C26 and a direct ancestor of 14C28N.

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.

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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

Full Tang

A construction in which the blade steel runs the full length and width of the handle, forming a flat core between two handle scales. The scales are fixed to either face of the tang with pins, rivets, or adhesive, and the tang's outline stays visible as a strip of steel around the top, bottom, and butt of the handle — often with the pin heads showing as a row down each side. It is the dominant construction in Western kitchen and outdoor knives.

Because the steel continues all the way to the butt, the handle is essentially the tang dressed in two scales, and the grip is ground and shaped from that sandwiched assembly as a whole. The extra steel carries weight and balance back toward the hand, giving the solid, blade-and-handle-as-one feel that defines the style, and it leaves the edge of the tang on show as part of the knife's line.

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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