• Honyaki Gyuto
  • Honyaki Gyuto – detail view
  • Honyaki Gyuto – side profile
  • Honyaki Gyuto – handle detail
  • Honyaki Gyuto – blade close-up
  • Honyaki Gyuto – view 6
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Classic Honyaki Spicy White

Classic Honyaki Spicy White

By Birch & Bevel

¥217,600 JPY
¥217,600 JPY
Sale Sold out
Taxes included. Shipping calculated at checkout.

Made to Order · Ships in 3–6 weeks

Made to Order

A few weeks from forge to door.

You've caught us at a moment when this line is between batches. These knives are in constant production at our partner forge in Sweden, so your order will be made from scratch.

Delivery is typically 3–4 weeks, but can take up to 6 weeks. We'll ship directly from the forge to expedite the process — no warehouse stopover.

Thank you for your patience and support.
Size
Handle material

Honyaki kitchen knives are forged using a technique most similar to that used in the forging of Japanese katana. The technique was developed to improve the strength and sharpness of the swords. Honyaki are forged from high carbon steels using a variable hardening technique that involves the application of a special clay to the spine of the blade before it is quenched. This process leaves the blade with a soft, resilient spine, a hamon (or temper line), and hard, sharp edge.

Honyaki kitchen knives are highly sort after by collectors and enthusiasts due to the exceptional beauty of the hamon and because of the high level of skill required to produce these knives. Even the most talented of blacksmith will have up to 30% of their blades fail. It is for this reason that we are only able to produce the Birch and Bevel Honyaki Gyuto series in the smallest of quantities.

Our Honyaki Gyuto's are forged with a tapered spine and ground Walkschliff, a grinding technique that is done by hand and requires a huge amount of skill. The Walkschliff grind is characterized by the thickest part of the blade being situated bellow the spine. So, the spine is thinner than the overall blade. This oval shape provides a high level of stability, improved cutting performance and an extremely thin and finely ground cutting edge.


Product Specification
  • Blade Type:
  • Edge Length: 230mm | 250mm
  • Spine Heel: 3.6mm | 3.6mm
  • Spine Mid: 2.2mm | 2.2mm
  • Spine Tip (20mm before): 1mm | 1mm
  • Blade Height: 55mm | 57mm
  • Weight: 177g | 211g
  • Cutting Edge Steel:
  • Steel class: Carbon
  • HRC: 64
  • Blade Construction:
  • Blade Finish: Satin Polish
  • Grind:
  • Handle Construction:
  • Handle Materials: Oak, Birchbark, Brass
  • Handedness: Ambidextrous

Blade type

Gyuto

牛刀

The gyuto is the Japanese interpretation of the western chef knife, and the most versatile blade in a modern kitchen. It carries a long edge, most often 210 to 270 mm, that runs flatter through the heel than its western counterpart before rising in a gentle, late curve to a fine point — a line that favours push- and pull-cutting while still allowing a rocking motion when the work calls for it. There is enough height at the heel to keep knuckles clear of the board, and the tip is fine enough for detail work, which is why most cooks reach for it first.

The flatter edge is the defining characteristic and the trade-off both. More of the blade lands on the board at once, which suits push cutting and gives clean, decisive contact through an ingredient, but a cook who works primarily by rocking will find less curve to work with than a western profile offers. Modern makers increasingly blur the line between the two, drawing a profile that rocks and push-cuts equally well — Birch & Bevel's Modern Gyuto profile, Antoine Kniamen's Western Gyuto, and Benjamin Kamon's own gyuto profile are all examples of that hybrid thinking.

View full knife type guide →

Cutting edge steel

26C3

High-carbon, low-alloy fine-grain steel

Typical HRC
63–67
Corrosion class
Carbon
Production
Conventional
Origin
Sweden (Sandvik / Alleima)

26C3 is one of the most quietly important kitchen knife steels of the past decade. Originally engineered by Sandvik as a razor steel — its lineage runs straight to UHB-20C — it carries about 1.25 to 1.30 percent carbon, very low manganese and sulphur, and a small chromium addition to control grain size. The result is a steel that hardens cleanly into the mid-sixties HRC while retaining genuinely useful toughness for its hardness, an unusual combination outside the powder-metallurgy world.

For the cook, 26C3 sharpens the way the best Japanese white papers sharpen — a quick burr that wipes off cleanly, and a polished edge that holds a screaming apex without microchipping. Toughness at 64 HRC is comparable to or better than 52100 at the same hardness in published testing, which is part of why the Larrin-Thomas-and-friends generation of makers gravitated to it; it lets you grind thinner without paying for it later. Like all clean carbons, it patinas willingly and benefits from a wipe between tasks.

26C3 has become something of a default among UK and European bladesmiths who want a no-compromise carbon edge, and it is the chemical parent of SheffCut, which adds a sliver of niobium to refine grain further. Among the makers Modern Cooking carries, Birch & Bevel, Karol Karyś, Jonas Johnsson, Tobias Heldqvist, Brook Turner, and Fredrik Spåre work in 26C3. It is one of the few non-stainless steels you can recommend to a cook coming from VG-10 without apology.

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

Walkschliff

The Kesselscher Walkschliff is a traditional Solingen grind in which each face of the blade curves outward from the spine, reaching its greatest thickness slightly below it before tapering towards the edge. Beneath this pronounced convex “bulge,” the blade is ground exceptionally thin and continues into a fine, subtly convex cutting edge. This distributes material through the upper blade for rigidity and stability while preserving the low cutting resistance of a very thin edge.

Achieving this compound geometry consistently demands considerable control, specialist knowledge and experience, whether it is produced on a traditional grinding wheel or with a belt grinder. Once part of Solingen’s celebrated grinding tradition, the Walkschliff is now practised by relatively few makers. A well-executed example is valued for the way it reconciles qualities that can otherwise seem opposed: strength through the body of the blade, fineness behind the edge and an exceptionally keen, confident cut.

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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