Relatively new to wood work but have found my way there. I know where to find Japanese knives, but the not so much for the woodworking. Also from what I’m seeing there’s not a lot in between the entry level stuff and the really expensive.
So I guess I’m looking for some mid level woodworking...
To add my two cents, if you're looking for in demand knife stuff buy it when it's there. It can easily be gone in moments. Especially things from Maxim.
In my limited experience having easy to use naturals is a huge boon. I have two natsuya one selected with help as an easier to use one and it's a joy. The other I selected because it was prettier, it's much harder to use and consequently is likely going to be sold.
For a flexible western style fillet knife Rapala and Victorinox are the way to go. They're totally functional and aren't so expensive that you can't use the hell out of them. Not the sexiest of options out there though.
Few people I work with use those. They aren't really to my liking and really this isn't for skinning wire except in a pinch. Mostly I'm getting into wire no greater than #2 but do occasionally get into much larger 250/500s. Also pretty common in signal work is to deal with a lot of 3-10 wire...