looking for a big, thick and heavy 270mm workhorse gyuto

[droshi]

I really like my Hiromoto AS as a workhorse. I don't think it's quite as thin behind the edge as you want it, but it's in your price range & with some work on the stones, you can get it there. I find edge retention in a pro setting to be decent, and it's easy to sharpen.

+1 to this. I just wish they had a Wa handled version (the only reason I got rid of mine). Thinning behind the edge will take some work, but I think that's part of the workhorse idea. And AS steel is one I'd the best for edge retention as far as I know.

[masibu]

Those are great, but no where near the $200 budget.

There aren't a lot of great heavy knives that are thin behind the edge for $200 or less. There is more grinding involved, so more costs. It is cheaper to make a laser (thin stock, less grinding) or a chunky knife (thick stock but you don't grind it anywhere close as thin at the edge).

If you can, expand your budget a bit. I am pretty confident you will enjoy a nicely made workhorse. Also, figure out what makers interest you and post in the BST. I did this recently with three workhorse knives and found one of each.

Ive looked at a few different knives now and it seems my budget will have to expand to get a good one. I have rough stones and am happy to grind at a cheap knife to get what im after but at the end of the day I dont know how my job would compare to a more expensive knife.

the yoshi seems the leader at the moment.. I hate paying those shipping fees to australia though, so if I can cheap it I probably will (maybe shoulda mentioned that). Wasnt finding a lot on jck and havent checked rakuten yet..Would it be worth making a custom moritaka order?

for all the hiromoto lovers, had one for a while and did enjoy it but they dont run thick at the spine at all.

[Benuser]

Google site:kitchenknifeforums.com Moritaka AND overgrind
and enjoy.

[masibu]

I have a couple of moritakas and whilst they are decent cutters, I did notice those issues.. I have a nakiri (doesnt get much use at least) with a few quirks. It was cheap though...

[Benuser]

I wouldn't take the risk, especially because of the way their reseller does respond to complaints.

[masibu]

I was going to order directly from moritaka.. are they really that unreasonable? I would like to avoid dramas

[Benuser]

They've sold a lot of poorly ground knives through an American vendor, and I must conclude their Quality Control doesn't work as it should. That's all.

[masibu]

I have ordered from there before and cant be bothered with using them either. Its expensive for me to order from there anyway

[Benuser]

I see two options: having a Western deba, which is a thick gyuto with a fine edge, mostly quite expensive, or
having a worn good old carbon which needs some work. Are you sure you do want a lot of weight, or do you want a blade heavy knife, in which case there are much more options within your budget?

[masibu]

The weight isnt a big issue really, im more focused on the thick, heavily tapered spine with good convexing. I like my edges thin but I don't really like uber thin, flexible knifes. The fact that im noticing less stickage on thicker knives is a nice bonus too. I like my masamoto ks profile, so I guess a thicker, more durable version of that would be ideal.

Im only making numbers up, but I was shooting for around 4-5mm thick at the spine above the heel, tapering down to like 2mm around the halfway mark and then having a nice thin tip.