Yoshimi Kato makes knives for several leading brands, including Masakage and Kanehiro, but the Enju line marked the first to carry his own name. The quality of grinds, fit, and finish that defines his work for other brands shows clearly here, and the overall aesthetic appeal is genuinely stunning. This gyuto is built from VG10, a stainless steel designed and engineered specifically for kitchen cutlery, hardened to 61-62 HRC for excellent edge retention alongside easy sharpening.
The VG10 edge steel is wrapped in a multi-layer Damascus cladding made from soft stainless steel, keeping the blade genuinely easy to maintain while delivering striking visual texture. At 180mm with a 44mm blade height, this gyuto is a great all-arounder - its compact size belies real capability across the full range of kitchen tasks. The blade is matched to a handsome oak wood handle in an octagonal shape.
What Customers Are Saying: One reviewer who had been eyeing the Kato VG suminagashi line for a while chose the Enju instead and found it exceeded expectations as a shorter, ultralight, agile gyuto for line service - praising the stunning looks, superb fit and finish, rounded and polished spine and choil, and beautifully executed grinds. The out-of-box edge needed only a few passes on a ceramic rod to clean up, with the reviewer noting it would get genuinely sharp with a full stone progression. Another reviewer calls the knife beautiful with excellent service from CKTG, noting the cutting edge could be slightly sharper out of the box but otherwise has no complaints.
Care Instructions: VG10 is a fully stainless steel - low maintenance and resistant to corrosion. Hand wash and dry after each use. Avoid the dishwasher. Sharpen on quality water stones as needed.
The VG10 edge steel is wrapped in a multi-layer Damascus cladding made from soft stainless steel, keeping the blade genuinely easy to maintain while delivering striking visual texture. At 180mm with a 44mm blade height, this gyuto is a great all-arounder - its compact size belies real capability across the full range of kitchen tasks. The blade is matched to a handsome oak wood handle in an octagonal shape.
What Customers Are Saying: One reviewer who had been eyeing the Kato VG suminagashi line for a while chose the Enju instead and found it exceeded expectations as a shorter, ultralight, agile gyuto for line service - praising the stunning looks, superb fit and finish, rounded and polished spine and choil, and beautifully executed grinds. The out-of-box edge needed only a few passes on a ceramic rod to clean up, with the reviewer noting it would get genuinely sharp with a full stone progression. Another reviewer calls the knife beautiful with excellent service from CKTG, noting the cutting edge could be slightly sharper out of the box but otherwise has no complaints.
Care Instructions: VG10 is a fully stainless steel - low maintenance and resistant to corrosion. Hand wash and dry after each use. Avoid the dishwasher. Sharpen on quality water stones as needed.
- Blacksmith: Yoshimi Kato
- Location: Echizen, Japan
- Construction: San Mai, Hammer Forged
- Core Edge Steel: VG10
- Cladding: Damascus Stainless
- HRC: 61-62
- Engraving: Hand Engraved
- Edge Grind: Even
- Handle: Oak Octagonal
- Weight: 3.3 oz (94 g)
- Blade Length: 180mm
- Total Length: 315mm
- Spine Thickness at Base: 2mm
- Blade Height: 44mm
Reviews
2 review(s) WRITE A REVIEW (Reviews are subject to approval)
Kato Enju 180mm GyutoPosted By: Pili
25 people found this review helpful
Been wanting to get a Kato VG suminagashi 180mm for awhile and finally pulled the trigger on the Enju , especially because the Kato oval black sumi hardly gets restocked nowdays. But the Enju totally met my expectations for a shorter , ultralight , agile gyuto for line service use, stunning looks , superb fit + finish with rounded and polished spine and choil, beautiful executed grinds, good glue up job and shaping on the simple but attractive mono wood wa handle. OOTB edge was sharp but a little toothy . A few swipes on my ceramic rod cleaned it up. Will garentee get ultra sharp after running on a stone progression. She can be a little sticky on certain product due to the matte finish acid etch but not enough to annoy me. Overall I'm very happy and love this knife!! Mahalo CKTG!
25 people found this review helpful
Been wanting to get a Kato VG suminagashi 180mm for awhile and finally pulled the trigger on the Enju , especially because the Kato oval black sumi hardly gets restocked nowdays. But the Enju totally met my expectations for a shorter , ultralight , agile gyuto for line service use, stunning looks , superb fit + finish with rounded and polished spine and choil, beautiful executed grinds, good glue up job and shaping on the simple but attractive mono wood wa handle. OOTB edge was sharp but a little toothy . A few swipes on my ceramic rod cleaned it up. Will garentee get ultra sharp after running on a stone progression. She can be a little sticky on certain product due to the matte finish acid etch but not enough to annoy me. Overall I'm very happy and love this knife!! Mahalo CKTG!
Good product, excellent service
