Newbie survey

filled out std. survey form

What type of knife(s) do you think you want?
Just some basics
Gyuto @ 8”
Deba 4 to 6 inch
Usuba also about 8 inch


Why is it being purchased? What, if anything, are you replacing?
Upgrade from cheap stamped metal

What do you like and dislike about these qualities of your knives already?
Aesthetics-
Edge Quality/Retention-

What grip do you use?
Modified pinch { 3 fingers on handle, thumb & first on metal }t

What kind of cutting motion do you use?
Mostly short pull strokes

Where do you store them?
Wooden blocks or plastic sleeves

Have you ever oiled a handle?
About once a yr.

What kind of cutting board(s) do you use?
Nylon that go in the DW

For edge maintenance, do you use a strop, honing rod, pull through/other, or nothing?
Norton multi stone tray followed by butchers steel

Have they ever been sharpened?
Never professionaly

What is your budget?
Under 1200.00 if possible

What do you cook and how often?
most stove top stuff, Hot & Fast Stir fry style front loaded with prep work

A couple questions up front
1. would like a consensus top 3 brands/makers

2. have already bought the 2 cd set on sharpening, but since my fine motor skills will likely do more harm than good.
would a mechanical assist like the Edge Pro II or the wicked sharp system be worthwhile. or are they an Abomination
to be shunned.

Heya DSC, good to see ya jumping right in

Consensus on the top 3 brands/makers... I don't think such a consensus exists

As for the mech-assist jigs for sharpening... if you intend to build up the skill of sharpening by hand, the only way to get there is to sharpen by hand. The jig would be a side-step that only delays your skill development.

Just a little about the deba and usuba... they may be pretty different from what you've used before. I started fileting fish using deba, so I don't know how big the difference is between that and the western fileting knives, but I would presume it's pretty significant. The usuba... man, a number of us who only use it occasionally are still working on our skills with it. Be cautious about going too economical with single-bevel knives, too - particularly the usuba.

Welcome to the Forum! You have set out an ample budget for the three knives. We will be able to suggest many great options, though consensus to a top three may be difficult.

A few questions to start.
How proficient are you with your norton stones?
Have you ever sharpened a single-bevel knife?
Are you opposed to using some of your budget on stones?
Will these be used professionally or at home?
Would you be able to drive to LA, or the Bay to visit a brick and mortar store?

After those, questions, then we can get to knife preferences. Carbon or stainless, wa or western handle for the gyuto, etc.

about 90% of the stuff I do, is with a 8 inch chef's knife. I saw the deba shape online and thought one with about a 4 inch blade would be really slick for cutting up whole chickens

not too good at using stones, thats why I asked about mechanical assist

never had a single bevel knife.

Have a Bester 1200 & a suehiro Rika 5000 en-route with previously mentioned Cd's. will pick up 1 or 2 more stone grits if the experts recommend it.

You could use the deba on chicken, but it's really a purpose-designed tool for fileting fish. There's a recent thread on deboning chicken where I think there's some discussion about what knives folks are using. The videos there are, I believe, showing japanese deboning technique using honesuki or garasuki which were made for the task. You could probably do something similar with a stout petty or utility (yep, some are on the thicker stouter side)

If you're willing to take a drive out to LA, there's an excellent resource out there: Jon Broida at Japanese Knife Imports (JKI). He's got firsthand experience in commercial kitchens, is very honest with his advice, and has a big whackload of great knives that you can check out, heft, and ask about.

If you are going to use the deba for chicken, you should look at a honesuki. They are the Japanese, purpose-built chicken knife. Generally much less expensive than a decent deba as well.

Posting Jinx! But really, I'd recommend talking to/visiting Jon as well. Knife preference is a completely subjective thing, you learn then most by holding and using them. Knowledge only guides on the path, rather than dictating the correct answer.

echerub said:

You could use the deba on chicken, but it's really a purpose-designed tool for fileting fish. There's a recent thread on deboning chicken where I think there's some discussion about what knives folks are using. The videos there are, I believe, showing japanese deboning technique using honesuki or garasuki which were made for the task. You could probably do something similar with a stout petty or utility (yep, some are on the thicker stouter side)

If you're willing to take a drive out to LA, there's an excellent resource out there: Jon Broida at Japanese Knife Imports (JKI). He's got firsthand experience in commercial kitchens, is very honest with his advice, and has a big whackload of great knives that you can check out, heft, and ask about.

Click to expand...

i'm about 50 miles north of The Golden gate Bridge, so La is a bit too far to go shopping

Single beveled knives have to be sharpened by hand so you won't be able to sharpen deba and usuba on an edge pro or similar jig. Also, no one will be able to suggest a top 3 brand sort of list. It's a lot of personal preference and just waaaayyyy to many options to consider. For poultry however what you really may want to consider is a 150mm honesuki. That is the traditional poultry boning knife. I would also suggest starting with a 240mm gyuto as well. These knives are much lighter, more balanced and far more nimble that German steel so you can go up a size to 240m and STILL be lighter and more agile than a 210mm German blade.