Gyuto for FIL, stainless help

hey members,
i'm looking to get a 240 gyuto for my father in law. he's a great (home) cook who finally needs a good knife. I'd like to go stainless with a western handle and am budgeting between 150 and 200 for the purchase. I personally have little interest in stainless knives so don't have much experience with them (although very psyched to get my prebought aeb-l Ealy parer! yeehaw!). i'll be doing his sharpening.
These are the knives I've been considering:

Misono 440
Hiromoto Gingami no3 (would love to get the AS version...just don't trust the knife will get wiped in due time...)
Togiharu G-1 Moly
Masamoto VG
Yoshihiro inox

Opinions/comparisons would be helpful. Others i should consider? I would be ok re-handling less expensive options if the steel is worthwhile. i might re-handle any of those mentioned above if i'm not crazy about the f&f.

thanks in advance for any help!
-Andre

I really like the Ginga stainless, it's only a touch over your budget, and comes with a saya.
-also andre


Sent from my iPhone using Kitchen Knife Forum

The Misono 440 and the Hiromoto G3 are a great choice. Misono the much better F&F, Hiromoto the slightly better steel. The AS isn't very reactive. But it will certainly get somewhat dulled by acidic fruit and shouldn't be neglected.
The Masamoto VG comes with POM-handles, not very nice at that price point.

Hiro G3, not AS.

Andre, this question is easy for me to answer: Gesshin Kagero
http://www.japaneseknifeimports.com...sshin-kagero-240mm-powdered-steel-gyuto.html#

It is just above budget, but more knife than the others and good powdered steel. I think its a better fit for a person who has someone else doin the sharpening. The couple I handled in store had very good F&F. Also, there is just something about the way these feel so great in the hand. I think it will be an easy knife for him to appreciate the quality. Plus,it comes with a padded case

Hey, it's a bit more than your budget, but if you really like your FIL, have you thought about Randy Haas' AEB-L pre-buy? They look really nice, and I'm sure the handles will be beautiful as well.

Here's the thread: http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/showthread.php/15071-HHH-Knives-Prebuy-240mm-AEB-L-Gyuto

not direct comparisons, but I've owned & used for a few years: Misono Sweden Steel Gyuto (Dragon), Boning knife, Hiro AS suji & Hiro G3 Gyuto...among others.

G3

F & F on mine is equal to or better than Misono (hard to tell really, nothing jumps out as wrong and they are sub $150 blades...), and just by 'feel', the G3 is blade thinner than the Dragon and AS. My G3 is supposed to be my beach house beater, but it performs really well and sharpens up beautifully on the (exiled to the beach) Kink 1k/6k

Dardeau said:

I really like the Ginga stainless, it's only a touch over your budget, and comes with a saya.
-also andre


Sent from my iPhone using Kitchen Knife Forum

Click to expand...

Dardeau, indeed that was one of my first thoughts. I have a 210 petty (white2) and love it. I think the thinness and (lack of) weight may throw him off. I'd rather not have him jump from his current beaters to a laser. and there's always the fear that it get here and i keep it for myself :biggrin:

Benuser said:

The Misono 440 and the Hiromoto G3 are a great choice. Misono the much better F&F, Hiromoto the slightly better steel. The AS isn't very reactive. But it will certainly get somewhat dulled by acidic fruit and shouldn't be neglected.
The Masamoto VG comes with POM-handles, not very nice at that price point.

Click to expand...

Those (miso and hiro) were my two first choices and now i'm starting to weigh the Hiro AS vs Hiro G3. If f&f is off on the hiro, i'd be excited to give it a makeover. Have you an opinion on hiro's G3 vs AS? helpful to me as always, Benuser

wenus2 said:

Hiro G3, not AS.

Andre, this question is easy for me to answer: Gesshin Kagero
http://www.japaneseknifeimports.com...sshin-kagero-240mm-powdered-steel-gyuto.html#

It is just above budget, but more knife than the others and good powdered steel. I think its a better fit for a person who has someone else doin the sharpening. The couple I handled in store had very good F&F. Also, there is just something about the way these feel so great in the hand. I think it will be an easy knife for him to appreciate the quality. Plus,it comes with a padded case

Click to expand...

that one's on my personal radar as well. i think i'll have to keep it to under 200. good thought though

toddnmd said:

Hey, it's a bit more than your budget, but if you really like your FIL, have you thought about Randy Haas' AEB-L pre-buy? They look really nice, and I'm sure the handles will be beautiful as well.

Here's the thread: http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/showthread.php/15071-HHH-Knives-Prebuy-240mm-AEB-L-Gyuto

Click to expand...

i hadn't thought of it because i kept skipping over that thread knowing that i would want the knife. i was assuming that the knife would be more than what he's selling it for. painful really, because it's gorgeous
well, thankfully that knife wouldn't get here for his birthday. so that's my excuse

mikemac said:

not direct comparisons, but I've owned & used for a few years: Misono Sweden Steel Gyuto (Dragon), Boning knife, Hiro AS suji & Hiro G3 Gyuto...among others.

G3

F & F on mine is equal to or better than Misono (hard to tell really, nothing jumps out as wrong and they are sub $150 blades...), and just by 'feel', the G3 is blade thinner than the Dragon and AS. My G3 is supposed to be my beach house beater, but it performs really well and sharpens up beautifully on the (exiled to the beach) Kink 1k/6k

Click to expand...

i see. i'm leaning Hiromoto more and more. Do you (or others) know to compare their AS vs G3 ? sounds like the G3 is thinner?

thanks again all! very helpful

andre s said:

hey members,
i'm looking to get a 240 gyuto for my father in law. he's a great (home) cook .....

Click to expand...

I don't know your father in law, and without having seen him, I would not offer more than a petty even if he can cook.... Sorry, boring day in the office and the mind is going silly....

Stefan

Above all the G3 is a tad softer than the AS. Hiromoto has kept its AS very reasonable, and the last batches were far from brittle, but they do come with a very fine edge. A fine edge and a HRc of about 62 is another story than the same edge at 59-60. Let's say the G3 will be more forgiving. And I'm not yet discussing the carbon maintenance question.
For an average user I would say: get the G3 and put a conservative edge on it.