Discount Store Naoki Mazaki White #2 Kurouchi Nashiji Gyuto 210mm

First Impressions

The Mazaki gyutos have a reasonably tall profile and for those who prefer a thicker and more aggressive distal taper these are the knives for you!

Beauty

The White #2 is available in both a kurouchi and migaki finish and both are excellent examples of the two differing styles.

The kurouchi finish is actually really smooth and has benefitted from a small amount of polishing to leave the black colouring but not the roughness of the forging process.

The migaki finish is equally smooth and the main body of the blade is smoothly polished and tapers neatly down to the core steel.

In Hand

In hand the White #2 has an obvious heft due to both its height and thickness along the spine but where other similarly large knives might feel a little on the heavy side, the balance and comfort of the blade is nicely considered and designed.

With a balance point just at the base of the kanji and Mazaki san’s attention to detail in rounding off the edges of the spine and heel notch for a larger gyuto you’ll enjoy and appreciate the comfort and nimble handling.

Durability

White #2 is a widely used steel for a good reason, it’s easy to sharpen and retains an excellent edge and with Mazaki’s knives, he treats them at the upper levels of hardness so at around 64HRC you can expect the edge retention to be excellent.

Ease of Care

It’s a carbon steel knife and so our normal carbon steel care instructions apply but beyond that, just follow the couple of standard care steps and this is a blade that’s going to last you a long time indeed.

Our Verdict

There’s no doubt Naoki Mazaki is going to be a name we’ll be hearing about for many years as his career and skills continueto develop on what are already impressive foundations and the White #2 is a quality range of knives both in style and finish.

If you’re looking for a tall and thicker gyuto that’s robustly made yet nimble in hand and will hold an edge for longer prep jobs or larger quanties of food then this range should definitely be on your radar.