• Gyuto 250mm Takedown By Benjamin Kamon & Oliver Märtens
  • Gyuto 250mm Takedown By Benjamin Kamon & Oliver Märtens – detail view
  • Gyuto 250mm Takedown By Benjamin Kamon & Oliver Märtens – side profile
  • Gyuto 250mm Takedown By Benjamin Kamon & Oliver Märtens – handle detail
  • Gyuto 250mm Takedown By Benjamin Kamon & Oliver Märtens – blade close-up
  • Gyuto 250mm Takedown By Benjamin Kamon & Oliver Märtens – view 6
  • Gyuto 250mm Takedown By Benjamin Kamon & Oliver Märtens – view 7
  • Gyuto 250mm Takedown By Benjamin Kamon & Oliver Märtens – view 8
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Gyuto 255mm Takedown By Benjamin Kamon & Oliver Märtens

Gyuto 255mm Takedown By Benjamin Kamon & Oliver Märtens

By MCX

No longer available

MCx Oel × Kamon

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This 250mm Gyuto, a commissioned masterpiece from the MCX design studio, is a collaboration of artistry and precision by Benjamin Kamon and Oliver Märtens. Forged in Austria by the renowned blacksmith Kamon, the blade boasts his signature “Denty” texture and striking “Blackout” etch. Crafted from 1.2519 high-carbon tungsten-alloyed steel, this blade offers unparalleled toughness, edge retention, and ease of sharpening. The steel's natural alloy banding forms a damascus-like pattern, which the etching beautifully highlights, adding a visual flourish to its formidable performance.

The Gyuto’s blade design reflects Benjamin Kamon’s latest innovation: the Short Neck Gyuto profile. With a straight heel and a compact neck, it provides ample space for an ergonomic pinch grip, making it exceptionally comfortable and balanced in hand. The blade’s gentle, sweeping radius from heel to its needle-like tip ensures precision and fluidity on the cutting board. An aggressive taper from 6mm at the spine to under 1mm at the tip, coupled with consistently thin, razor-sharp bevels, ensures ultimate versatility. This all-around geometry excels in tasks ranging from fine herb chopping to tackling dense root vegetables, marking it as a pinnacle of cutting efficiency.

The handle, designed by Oliver Märtens, complements the blade with timeless elegance and practical genius. Featuring stabilized bog oak and brass, its classic octagonal shape is ergonomic and sophisticated. Märtens’ signature takedown handle design not only enhances functionality but ensures high consistency in craftsmanship. The seamless synergy between Kamon’s exceptional blade and Märtens’ innovative handle results in a high-performance tool of rare beauty and utility. With only 10 pieces crafted for Modern Cooking’s MCX design studio, this limited-edition Gyuto is more than a knife—it’s a testament to the art of European knife-making and a future heirloom for the fortunate few.

Product Specification
  • Blade Type:
  • Overall Length: 390mm
  • Edge Length: 255mm
  • Spine Heel: 5.7mm
  • Spine Mid: 2.03mm
  • Spine Tip (20mm before): 0.90mm
  • Blade Height: 57.24mm
  • Weight: 220g
  • Cutting Edge Steel:
  • Steel class: Carbon
  • HRC: 65
  • Blade Construction:
  • Blade Finish: Acid Etched (Forced Patina)Textured
  • Grind:
  • Handle Construction:
  • Handle Materials: Stabilised Bog Oak, Brass
  • 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

1.2519

Low-alloy tungsten-chromium tool steel

Typical HRC
62–65
Corrosion class
Carbon
Production
Conventional
Origin
Germany (DIN 110WCrV5)

1.2519 is the classic German oil-hardening Cr-W-V tool steel — close kin to AISI O7 and a sister to 1.2419, with a touch more vanadium for finer carbides. The tungsten and chromium combine to produce hard, finely dispersed carbides that allow a thin geometry to hold an edge longer than the simple carbons, while the vanadium keeps grain size tidy through the heat treat.

In a kitchen knife, it lands comfortably between 62 and 64 HRC and behaves like a slightly more wear-resistant W2 — that is, it sharpens with little fuss on most stones, takes a fine edge, and rewards a deliberate heat treatment more than it punishes a casual one. It will patina, sometimes attractively, sometimes alarmingly to a first-time carbon owner; either way, a wipe-and-dry habit is enough to keep it civil.

You will find 1.2519 in the work of European bladesmiths who want a step up in edge retention from white-paper carbons without losing the easy stone feel. Among the makers Modern Cooking carries, Benjamin Kamon, Martin Huber, Tobias Heldqvist, Jonas Johnsson, and MCx work in 1.2519. It is one of the more honest "European answers to Aogami" — not the same metallurgy, but a similar relationship between feel at the stone and edge longevity.

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

Convex

A grind whose bevel bulges outward in a gentle curve from spine to edge, rather than running flat. That extra steel directly behind the edge makes a convex grind notably strong and resistant to chipping, while the curved geometry helps food release and lets the blade glide through dense ingredients with less wedging than a flat grind.

The strength comes at the cost of ultimate thinness and ease of maintenance. A convex edge has more metal behind it, so it is not quite as effortlessly keen as a thinly flat-ground edge, and it is harder to sharpen freehand — holding the curve takes a stropping technique or a deliberate hand rather than a single fixed angle. The reward is an exceptionally tough, smooth-cutting edge.

View full grind guide →

Handle construction

Takedown

A takedown is a hidden-tang construction built to come apart. The tang passes through the handle and is drawn up by a threaded fitting — a nut at the butt, or a pommel that screws down — so the handle can be dismantled and re-fitted rather than being permanently bonded in place. Everything else follows the hidden-tang pattern: a concealed tang inside a one-piece handle, with no steel showing along the grip.

The point of the design is serviceability. Because the handle is mechanical rather than glued, it can be taken off for thorough cleaning and drying, swapped for a different material or profile, or replaced entirely if it is ever damaged — all without destroying the original fittings. It is the construction to choose for a knife meant to be maintained and kept for the long term, and for owners who like the option of changing a handle later.

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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