Nakiri? Shig vs. Watanabe vs Kato

[kiefer]

I'm a home cook, interested in buying a kurouchi nakiri. I don't really need one, but have an itch that needs to be scratched. I already own a Carter SFGZ which is murderously thin, so I'm looking at beefier models.

Maxim has a few Shigefusas in stock. He also has a Kato on the website that looks rather thick, but is intriguing, given the rave reviews given to the Kato gyutos. Lastly, the Watanabe 180 pro nakiri has always been attractive. I once owned a Takeda nakiri, and regret selling it, so that is on the list as well.

So, what say you, experts of knife forums?

Thanks in advance for all your help.

[Von blewitt]

I'm a home cook, interested in buying a kurouchi nakiri. I don't really need one, but have an itch that needs to be scratched. I already own a Carter SFGZ which is murderously thin, so I'm looking at beefier models.

Maxim has a few Shigefusas in stock. He also has a Kato on the website that looks rather thick, but is intriguing, given the rave reviews given to the Kato gyutos. Lastly, the Watanabe 180 pro nakiri has always been attractive. I once owned a Takeda nakiri, and regret selling it, so that is on the list as well.

So, what say you, experts of knife forums?

Thanks in advance for all your help.

Maksim also added some itinomonn KU Nakiris which look nice. Not sure about the Kato Nakiris, but my Kato Gyuto which is much thicker at the spine cuts better than my Shig Gyuto. But for me there is something special about Shigefusa knives. They are my favourite.

[Seth]

I have the KU shig and I had the Nobuyasu that Maxim has on his site, so I really can't comment on a comparison with the ones you are talking about but I really like the shig. F&F is much better than the other one and it is a very thin knife with a distal taper. The KU finish is also very nice on the shigs; not as pockmarked as some KU finishes. Like Huw, I am partial to shigs. (It is hard to imagine the Kato gyutos cutting better than a shig, but now you have me intrigued.)

[Dream Burls]

I have a Shig kurouchi nakiri that I bought from Maxim. It's a great knife that came razor sharp out of the box. I did get a chip near the tip at one point which I was able to smooth out with my stones. It hasn't happened again, but I understand that the HTs on shigs can vary and some are a bit brittle. If you like to chop a lot of veggies this would be a good choice IMHO.

[cclin]

I've Watanabe pro nakiri. it is little hefty with tall blade, thick spine & thin behind the edge blade geometry(which I like)......kinda like mini cleaver!! if you're Chinese cleaver kind of people, you'll love it. on the other handle, if you're fans of laser blade, you'll hate it! I love shig's kitaji & kasumi but not kurouchi finished......

[labor of love]

Dont most Nakiri people prefer super thin blades? Atleast, thats what i would do, hypothetically.

[cclin]

Dont most Nakiri people prefer super thin blades? Atleast, thats what i would do, hypothetically.

that is why I sold all my Nakiri; but, keeping Watanabe one. it is unique than others & I'm Chinese cleaver kind of person

[Justin0505]

I don't want to turn this into a shig vs kato war, but I've owned a few shigs and gotten to play with a Kato 270 gyuto. My shig Kitaeji was on a different level than the kato. Grinds, thickness bte, and cutting performance where not even comparable on all but a few items. I understand that not all shigs or katos are created equal and there are probably a few that make it out of the shop that arnt up to standard, but IMO the shig is a more nuanced design and polished (literally and figuratively) finished product. If you like white and blue hitachi steels then the shig steel will feel related and familiar, but not the same. It's hard, and has OK edge retention: better than white but not as good as blue super or a tool steel.
The Kato has one of the weirdest feeling steels I've ever sharpened. It feels VERY hard and very wear resistant. It was tricky to sharpen, but not impossible. However, it was the first steel that I've sharpened in a long time that I failed to get a "why would you ever need it to be this sharp?" edge on it. It would easily push cut paper, slice paper towel and passed "functional" sharpness standards no problem, but I couldn't shave with it and touching the edge with my fingers was pretty unimpressive not scary. I dont want to over state my own skill, but this was the first knife out of dozens that posed such a sharpening challenge to me.

I currently own both a 180mm Takeda and a Shig Kitaeji nakiri. The Takea is amazing how thin it is and that its all the procduct of bada$$ forge work and only minimal grinding bte. It push cuts better than anything I've ever used outside of a cck that I thinned and polished about 2" up from the edge.
However, there are few knives that wow me out of the box quite like a shig.. certainly nothing outside of the custom world.
It's a very stout little blade, but it just feels soo niiiice. Fairly thin bte, but the heel is thick enough that it will wedge and snap the last few mm of a thick carrot if cutting sections >3mm or so thick.

I'm still trying to argue myself into keeping both of them, but if I do sell one, it will be the Takeda, which is weird because its arguably better at most of the tasks that youd typically use a nakir for. But the shig has my heart.

But, in answer to your question, I'd go with shig, not because it's better but just because its more different than what you have without being different in a bad way.

[stopbarking]

I'm going to throw a knife into the gears but as has been mentioned before some like thicker nakiris and mine slices through butternut squash lengthwise like they were butter. As a workhorse, and I mean workhorse (like a case of butternut a day) my Togiharu 150 Nakiri is a beast. Having never tried a laser nakiri I purchased one to fit my station prep needs and could not be happier. Maybe if I went the cleaver route I would change my tone but I know the majority opinion on VG-10, cleavers, and nakiris on this forum and I would recommend this knife. I can draw cut a butternut lengthwise with minimal effort and nothing sticks to it. I only sharpen it up to 5000k. Having tried the exact same Togiharu in 240 gyuto format I would not recommend it at all, but my nakiri is unbelievable.

Perhaps mine is an oddity but given how often I use it I sharpen it about once a month as opposed to once a week for my other knives. I finish all my knives on a suehiro 5k but the nakiri holds up 4x longer than my other knives. These being a thinned Hiro AS, a Yoshikane SKD, and a Hattori Forum knife. The only other knife I have that lasts that long with the same amount of use is my Martell Gyuto. I know these knives aren't quite in the same boat but I love this cheap VG-10 nakiri like some like their vintage Sabs.

I don't know why it holds up like it does given the abuse I give it. It is truly my beater knife but it is a masterpiece to me, even after 3 years of abuse.

It should be noted that Dave has had my Yoshikane and Forgecraft for the past few months which are the other contenders in my kit for the same tasks but I still prefer my Togi for a few case prep jobs.

Flame away.

[Justin0505]

I'm going to throw a knife into the gears but as has been mentioned before some like thicker nakiris and mine slices through butternut squash lengthwise like they were butter. As a workhorse, and I mean workhorse (like a case of butternut a day) my Togiharu 150 Nakiri is a beast. Having never tried a laser nakiri I purchased one to fit my station prep needs and could not be happier. Maybe if I went the cleaver route I would change my tone but I know the majority opinion on VG-10, cleavers, and nakiris on this forum and I would recommend this knife. I can draw cut a butternut lengthwise with minimal effort and nothing sticks to it. I only sharpen it up to 5000k. Having tried the exact same Togiharu in 240 gyuto format I would not recommend it at all, but my nakiri is unbelievable.

Perhaps mine is an oddity but given how often I use it I sharpen it about once a month as opposed to once a week for my other knives. I finish all my knives on a suehiro 5k but the nakiri holds up 4x longer than my other knives. These being a thinned Hiro AS, a Yoshikane SKD, and a Hattori Forum knife. The only other knife I have that lasts that long with the same amount of use is my Martell Gyuto. I know these knives aren't quite in the same boat but I love this cheap VG-10 nakiri like some like their vintage Sabs.

I don't know why it holds up like it does given the abuse I give it. It is truly my beater knife but it is a masterpiece to me, even after 3 years of abuse.

It should be noted that Dave has had my Yoshikane and Forgecraft for the past few months which are the other contenders in my kit for the same tasks but I still prefer my Togi for a few case prep jobs.

Flame away.

I don't think anyone could ever flame you for that. Sounds like you got quite the special little knife there. I wonder what would cause that vg10 to perform so much better than any other that you've tried (or that I have based on your description). I know that HT makes a HUGE difference, but the knives that you're comparing it too are from makers that are typically regarded as doing the best job with vg10 (hattori on the forum knife). Maybe there's a guy at the Togiharu factory that's got a magic touch, or maybe they ran out of vg10 the day they made yours and used aeb-l or r2 instead.