u/SCSuede

Another shop opening, another trip. This being my first visit to Copenhagen, I was thinking I’d go about it slightly differently, city-tourism first, knives second. That being said, after a sleepless night and a long morning of queuing, I ended up with an incredible pickup.

—————————

Rule #5
Hitohira Tanaka Kyuzo Aogami Super Migaki Gyuto 240mm w/ Taihei Makassar handle.

Weight : 209g
Length of the cutting edge: 231mm
Width at the heel: 50,9mm
Spine at the handle: 2,8mm
Spine at the heel: 2,7mm
Spine in the middle: 2,6mm
Spine 1 cm from the tip: 1,2mm

Blacksmith: Yoshikazu Tanaka
Sharpener: Kyuzo (Tsuyoshi Yauchi)

—————————

Getting home from the Karasu opening I was feeling the high of meeting so many likeminded people in Amsterdam. Seeing the community in-person was rewarding in a way that can’t be compared to making posts, reading comments and chatting in DMs. In short; I really wanted to visit another get-together soon. Turns out I didn’t even have to wait for more than a month as Tetogi was opening up their new location on April 18th! I looked into some flights and hotels… A day or two later, I was all booked in. Funnily enough, in my excitement, I accidentally booked a flight to Copenhagen 17-19th of July, something I need to get a refund on as soon as possible. Double check your dates before you book people!

After I landed in the early morning on the 17th, I swung by Tetogi to say hi before the opening. I didn’t stick around for long as they were very busy getting everything together, mounting shelves, putting up decorations and getting light fixtures together. Very much a construction zone close to the final stages before cleaning and stocking happens. I didn’t want to stress about getting there early in the morning but decided to lean into waking up at 4am for my 7am flight and headed to bed after enjoying some excellent cocktails at Duck and Cover. Turns out I couldn’t sleep more than a couple of hours and woke up shortly after midnight. Trying to nap proved itself useless so instead I headed over to the Rødovre mall and sat down inside and waited. A little while later, u/Salt_Replacement_711 showed up, and shortly thereafter we got more company and became four Tetogi visitors. 

A handful of minutes before opening, the sign up sheet with everyone's queue orders had increased to around 35~, with more joining their friends/spouses to look at the new location. It got packed very quickly, as if you were standing at the front of a Taylor Swift concert (I wouldn’t know but I assume there’s people standing at the front there). As I showed up first, I got to take a peek at a handful of knives, namely the Kyuzo AS 240mm, Nakagawa Rou Ginsan Gyuto and Santoku and finally the Tetsujin Rentetsu. The Rentetsu was extremely pretty but given the 210mm size and a grind that I suspect I wouldn’t enjoy as much, it eliminated itself from contention. The toughest choice was between the Kyuzo and the Rou. Ultimately, it’s a wonderful rush to add another piece that fits my preferences to my kitchen, in a unique and rare to find steel as well!

Unlike the Kyuzo Vintage Swedish Carbon, this Migaki finish gives off a very polished and almost edgier impression, a different look with a very similar build. This Aogami Super Gyuto sits at a solid 4 grams lighter than its Vintage sibling, with a thinner spine. The angular choil slightly pointing towards the handle feels aggressive, I envision the Vintage as an old Chevy, whereas the AS feels like a fighter jet (don’t ask me why, this is just where my mind goes). Besides its similar weight and size, it feels more delicate in its handling with more than enough heel height to support all the pinch grips my heart can muster.

This’ll be the last store opening for a while I would assume but if there’s another big event in the future I’d love to fly out, even if it's just to say hello to everyone that’s in attendance and share in the excitement of seeing all the craftsmanship being put on display.

Thanks for reading!
Next up was supposed to be my Yogiri thoughts, instead I recently found another interesting NKD pickup that will go first…