Ittetsu Santoku
Bought May 29th, arrived June 2nd as ordered.
Out of the box impression was good. The kurouchi is on the smooth side and is pretty consistent. Pictures on the website are accurate. Kanji is stamped, not particularly deep but visible. Fit and finish is decent, good for an iron clad kurouchi knife. The spine and choil have been tidied up a bit in the manufacturing process. I found the knife comfortable to use out of the box. I will not polish or relieve them, I want to preserve the kurouchi.
Handle installation is great, it's a real star. It's a great slim wa octagonal handle. The faces are evenly cut and it's nicely finished. For people who prefer simple handles this is top tier, as good as what you'd get on higher end Echizen knives.
In terms of grind, the Ittetsu is pretty middle of the road. Out of the handle the spine is fairly thick, then tapers quickly for 30mm or so to medium thickness. Behind the edge the grind is consistent for the length of the knife, no notable taper to speak of. It's thick enough to be reasonably sturdy, performance is a bit better than typical German knives. The heel wedges in potatoes, is decent in carrots, and is good through onions/celery/mushrooms. Almost no sticking.
Weight is middle of the road, heavy enough to chop but light enough almost anyone could use it for an extended period of time.
The profile is excellent for a santoku, generous flat spot and the transition to the tip is gradual enough for easy push cutting. Great for chopping. It had a slight frown close to the heel, probably the biggest flaw in the knife, but it did not impact performance much if at all.
Out of the box edge was decent, enough to impress most people. I took it to work unmodified and used it for about ten days, then touched it up once on a ceramic hone. Edge was dull at the end but still usable, could have gone longer before sharpening. No microchipping, the edge was very sturdy. Edge retention is a bit better than I would have expected from white steel. After cleaning past the layer of lacquer on the blade it took a functional patina quickly, no problems with rust.
I lightly thinned the knife (Cerax 320, Naniwa soaker 800) to assess the grind on the blade road. The cladding iron is easy to work, the generous quantity of the core steel is seriously hard. The sharpener, Abe-san or his assistant, did a fantastic job. Two shallow overgrinds, one on the tip on the right the other on the left side near the heel, shallow enough they will be thinned through in one or two thinnings. Neither will affect use and most people would never notice these, this consistent a blade road is incredible at this price point.
The cutting bevel on the right side is a bit large, within reason for durability. I will over time thin that side to improve performance.
I sharpened the knife on a full progression (Chosera 400, 1000, 3000, Snow White 8000) and the core is definitely 62+ HRC steel, I would guess 64, seriously hard. Sharpened very easily, as expected of white #1, the frown came out in the course of setting the bevel. Took a lot of polish with almost no effort. A true pleasure to sharpen.
Dollar for dollar this is an incredible knife. A great knife for a serious cook who is willing to put up with something reactive and wants something with character and solid performance. An even better knife for someone who wants to get seriously into sharpening. I am considering buying the petty.