Migoto Blue 2 Gyuto 240mm

I was able to acquire this at another purveyor. I was largely unfamiliar with Minamoto san but the Migoto brand carries some weight. The finish is just gorgeous. The finishing on the cladding makes it pop nicely and doesn't interfere with performance much. All the edges are softened and polished. While the knife is ambidextrous, the choil is made to facilitate right handed pinch grips more comfortably than the left handed grip as there is a ground groove on the right side of the choil and makes the pinch grip really comfortable. The magnolia handle is very well executed with a Kanji in the butt of the handle. It is roughly sanded and benefited from some oiling and light sanding but retaining its grippiness. The engravings on the right side and clean and legible and the maker's stamp on the left side is deeply pressed leaving a very distinct impression.
It has a nice convex grind with some pretty decent food release which was surprising given the finish. Thin tip and thin BTE as it widens to the healthy spine. Cut pretty smoothly through dense sweet potatoes taller than the knife. I would imagine a patina will only improve that.
All of these qualities combine to make a really special knife. There's lots of little details that improve the user's experience and then it is just absolutely handsome in person. There's something about it that makes it feel authentically Japanese and that is was made by hand and finished at a very high level. It's hard to express in word but it's a special blade that, while looking somewhat milquetoast but competent on paper, absolutely wows you in person with aesthetics and performance.