Need help picking out the perfect gyuto for me

LOCATION
What country are you in? USA

KNIFE TYPE
What type of knife are you interested in (e.g., chef’s knife, slicer, boning knife, utility knife, bread knife, paring knife, cleaver)? Gyuto

Are you right or left handed? Right

Are you interested in a Western handle (e.g., classic Wusthof handle) or Japanese handle? Most-accustomed to Western but I'd be willing to learn a Japanese handle if the perfect knife for me is only available that way.

What length of knife (blade) are you interested in (in inches or millimeters)? Mostly 8"/210mm since that's what I'm used to and work best with in my small space, but if the perfect knife for me isn't available that small I might be able to learn up to 240/245mm. Maybe.

Do you require a stainless knife? (Yes or no) "Require", no. Might prefer, but not against carbon. I think I could handle the maintenance. Again, not ideal but stuff I'm willing to adjust to if the payback is worth it.

What is your absolute maximum budget for your knife? "Absolute" = $400, but ideally under $300. More like a target budget of $300 with anything between $300-400 requiring more-serious justification, but will be considered.

KNIFE USE
Do you primarily intend to use this knife at home or a professional environment? At home, just myself.

What are the main tasks you primarily intend to use the knife for? slicing vegetables, chopping vegetables, mincing vegetables, slicing meats, cutting down poultry, filleting fish, trimming meats

What knife, if any, are you replacing? Farberware crap. The $30 knife I got my sister from TJ Maxx is better.

Do you have a particular grip that you primarily use? I gravitated towards pinch grip before I even knew what it was. Never learned it from anywhere, just started doing it.

What cutting motions do you primarily use? Rock, Slice, Walk

What improvements do you want from your current knife? If you are not replacing a knife, please identify as many characteristics identified below in parentheses that you would like this knife to have.: Ease of Use, Edge Retention, ability to chop

KNIFE MAINTENANCE
Do you use a bamboo, wood, rubber, or synthetic cutting board? Yes

Do you sharpen your own knives? Yes (beginner, but I'm OCD and get the idea)

If not, are you interested in learning how to sharpen your knives? Yes

Are you interested in purchasing sharpening products for your knives? Already have on-order but willing to get more

SPECIAL REQUESTS/COMMENTS

I'm a self-taught home-cooking enthusiast foodie, who is way-overdue for proper knives. I want to "start" with this one. I say "start" since I've already ordered a JCK 210mm CarboNext to "get me by". (yes, I know I just dropped $105 on a band-aid). It's not here yet but will buy me time to research more, take my time, wait for the perfect knife (for me) to come out of "out of stock" or ship on a slow-boat directly from Japan.

I also already have the CKtG 8pc sharpening set en-route. Hopefully it'll meet my initial needs but if "the perfect knife (for me)" requires augmenting that a bit I'm ok with that.

Let the discussion begin!

First, welcome to KKF.

The best advice I can give you at this point is to postpone your gyuto purchase until you have used the CarboNext for enough time to know what you like and dislike about it. You will find that it is so much superior to your Farberware cutlery that it will take you a few days, if not weeks, to get over the amazement you are likely to have after using the CarboNext for the first time. Get to know the CarboNext, and you will be able to make a much better decision on your next gyuto.

One thing you should consider is to round the spine and choil area on the CarboNext. These areas are sharp-edged on the knife as it comes out of the box, and really should be smoothed out to make the knife more comfortable to use.

Rick

Welcome! Rick's advice you've got is the best one may get.

Welcome! Only good advice at this point is to listen to what's already been said. You really got an 8 piece sharpening set?

Cheers

Welcome sremick you have a good blade coming & more than enough to learn freehand sharpening with the set.The carbonext will serve you well & you can get it very sharp it is good stain resistant steel.

In reply to Chinacats:
That sharpening set is not a bad beginning I would say.

Beston 500
Bester 1200
Suehiro Rika 5000
20X Loupe
Deburring Block
CKTG Sharpie
Universal Stone Holder
140 Grit Diamond Plate

I'd check the diamond plate over when you get it. I bought one just to check it out when I was ordering some other stuff from CKTG and it's anything but flat, huge dip in the middle. Basically useless for flattening. Think I tried using it for thinning some crap knives but after about 10mins it felt like most of the coating had been pulled off. But, what can you expect from a $20 diamond stone? :dontknow:

Everything else in the kit is perfectly good though. The deburring block is better for removing rust than deburring mind you.

Pensacola Tiger said:

First, welcome to KKF.

The best advice I can give you at this point is to postpone your gyuto purchase until you have used the CarboNext for enough time to know what you like and dislike about it. You will find that it is so much superior to your Farberware cutlery that it will take you a few days, if not weeks, to get over the amazement you are likely to have after using the CarboNext for the first time. Get to know the CarboNext, and you will be able to make a much better decision on your next gyuto.

One thing you should consider is to round the spine and choil area on the CarboNext. These areas are sharp-edged on the knife as it comes out of the box, and really should be smoothed out to make the knife more comfortable to use.

Rick

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+1

Shoot. I still need help finding my perfect gyuto.

greasedbullet said:

Shoot. I still need help finding my perfect gyuto.

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lus1:

Not that this is relevant but this is a really nice example of how to post asking about a new knife purchase. It helps me because I've been trying to work out how I'll write mine

greasedbullet said:

Shoot. I still need help finding my perfect gyuto.

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After 5 gyutos, I think I'm getting closer

I have had 8 Gyutos in total from 18cm to 24cm both western and wa. I know I prefer the 24cm but i am still looking for the holly grail... and I am still new comparing to some other ones.

You guys are all chasing the dragon man...

I know this is not what you want to hear, but if you prefer a Western handle, you can't do much better than the Carbonext. Don't assume it's inferior to others just because of the lower price -- it's a far better cutter than many knives twice its price.

That said, if you want a laser (very thin knife), many on the forum are huge fans of the Konosuke HD (semi-stainless). If you get this, definitely don't get shorter than 240mm, since it is so light and the 240 is closer to 230mm anyway. Its steel is very similar to the CN -- almost as rust-resistant as stainless, and almost as easy to sharpen as carbon. I'd consider the funayuki profile if you're interested in a flatter blade (better for push cutting, as opposed to rock-chopping).

Pensacola Tiger said:

The best advice I can give you at this point is to postpone your gyuto purchase until you have used the CarboNext for enough time to know what you like and dislike about it.

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Thanks. I'm so OCD that that was pretty much going to be a given anyway. But no harm in thinking/talking about things in the interim.

[quote[You will find that it is so much superior to your Farberware cutlery that it will take you a few days, if not weeks, to get over the amazement you are likely to have after using the CarboNext for the first time. Get to know the CarboNext, and you will be able to make a much better decision on your next gyuto.[/quote]
That's the plan, and what I'm hoping for.

One thing you should consider is to round the spine and choil area on the CarboNext. These areas are sharp-edged on the knife as it comes out of the box, and really should be smoothed out to make the knife more comfortable to use.

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Beyond my abilities, unfortunately, and I have no idea who locally I'd utilize for that.

JKerr said:

I'd check the diamond plate over when you get it. I bought one just to check it out when I was ordering some other stuff from CKTG and it's anything but flat, huge dip in the middle. Basically useless for flattening. Think I tried using it for thinning some crap knives but after about 10mins it felt like most of the coating had been pulled off. But, what can you expect from a $20 diamond stone? :dontknow:

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Thanks for the heads-up. Of course, with the intention of using the diamond plate as my metric for "flatness" I'm not sure what I'd use to "check" it. And can you make a better suggestion for something to use for flattening stones?

yowie said:

Not that this is relevant but this is a really nice example of how to post asking about a new knife purchase. It helps me because I've been trying to work out how I'll write mine

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I simply read the rules/FAQ.

dannynyc said:

I know this is not what you want to hear, but if you prefer a Western handle, you can't do much better than the Carbonext. Don't assume it's inferior to others just because of the lower price -- it's a far better cutter than many knives twice its price.

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1) I don't know that I "prefer" a Western handle. I've never had time to try a Japanese "wa" handle. Maybe I'd come to prefer that. Western is simply what I'm used to.
2) I had heard so many good things about the CarboNext that I felt safe just going ahead and grabbing it as a zero-risk improvement from my existing chef knife so I'm not suffering too much while I research my "dream knife" (and I have something not-**** to practice on my stones with). I've honestly been researching going on maybe 2 years now or so.

That said, if you want a laser (very thin knife), many on the forum are huge fans of the Konosuke HD (semi-stainless). If you get this, definitely don't get shorter than 240mm, since it is so light and the 240 is closer to 230mm anyway. Its steel is very similar to the CN -- almost as rust-resistant as stainless, and almost as easy to sharpen as carbon. I'd consider the funayuki profile if you're interested in a flatter blade (better for push cutting, as opposed to rock-chopping).

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I'll let you in on a few little secrets:
1) I sort of think I'm ultimately going to get 3 knives (the CarboNext being the first)
2) The Konosuke HD2 was on that list to fill the slot of a "laser" and be the 3rd knife pending more discussion once I got to that point, while the next/2nd would be a sturdier, more general-purpose chef/gyuto.

Poor, poor smremick. You will soon learn what the rest of us already know -- the craving for new knives will not end once you figure out what your "dream knife" is. Rather your conception of the perfect knife will keep evolving as you learn more about other knives. It's an addiction, my friend.

Welcome to the dark side.:muahaha: