Just ordered Kato -why?

Kitchen Knife Forums

Help Support Kitchen Knife Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Mute-on

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2013
Messages
912
Reaction score
135
Location
Melbourne, Australia
Something is definitely wrong with me I think ...

Since joining this forum I've acquired 3 Ku Shigs, 2 Yusuke and I just ordered a 240 Kato Gyuto as a gift to self for my birthday.

I'm a home cook and just resigned from my job!

Maybe I really want to be a chef ... :)

Happy Holidays All!!

J
 
As a home cook with the knife bug I can feel you for sure. Been more of a custom guy lately, but my collection is more than a home cook can ever use and I still want more...
 
Hi J!

This is a common affliction amongst home cooks here on KKF. Enjoy the journey :)
 
Another one goes to the rabbit hole :tease:
It will just get worse once you get in the custom thing. Congrats on your purchase
 
I can't say as I can see anything wrong with you, but just to be sure, order two gyuto's and call me in the morning.
 
Have you started on pettys and paring knives yet? You really need at least a few of each. :D
 
I still think its easier doing this as a home cook. You don't really have to explain to anyone then, but explaining to your colleagues why your knife roll is a combined 3 months wages, while they rock on with their wusties and the like can be difficult..
 
Have you started on pettys and paring knives yet? You really need at least a few of each. :D

I have definitely bought more gyutos than I could need. Only have one petty so far, but have 3 paring knives with 2 more of Del's on the way.....only one will probably end up as a gift even though I already have one of his original.
 
Been there done that. Have bought and sold a couple dozen knives now, with a dozen in the drawer at any one time. Like my gun safe, there are only so many storage spaces, so my rule is I have to sell one to make room for a new one. The custom thingy didn't help me. The knives were too precious to look at or scratch, and really not noticeably better than a Shig or Kochi, or Takeda or Takagi or ..... Finally realized they weren't the magic bullets. Then I drooled over custom handles for hours, but when I got them I realized a nice classic cherry or Ho or rosewood handle couldn't really be improved with fancy wood. I still look but have settled down now after 5 years. Hi, I'm Phip, and I have a thing for knives, I guess you could say I'm addicted...
 
wait til you get into razors.

I share the original poster's affliction with way too many knives for a home cook, and much too much money spent, past and future.
BUT, I will never ever get into razors, this is one thing that just does not appeal to me at all, I just like to take the Gillette Mach whatever and get it over with in 5 minutes.
Is it the case that most kitchen knife afficionados are also into razors ? I'm pretty sure the opposite isn't true.
 
...Have bought and sold a couple dozen knives now... The custom thingy didn't help me.... too precious to look at or scratch, and really not noticeably better than a Shig or Kochi, or Takeda or Takagi or ..... Finally realized they weren't the magic bullets. Then I drooled over custom handles for hours, but when I got them I realized a nice classic cherry or Ho or rosewood handle couldn't really be improved with fancy wood....

One of the soundest members around! Yes, stick with the best Japanese - no need for custom - and avoid those over-the-top pricey handles. Put your $ into Jnats I say.
 
See I disagree. I love my customs. Functional beauty is great to behold. Plus I can make the subtle changes that I prefer that are not an option on a non custom. For the handle, I enjoy the elegance of the woods and pick those that appeal to me. But that is my thinking.
 
See I disagree. I love my customs. Functional beauty is great to behold. Plus I can make the subtle changes that I prefer that are not an option on a non custom. For the handle, I enjoy the elegance of the woods and pick those that appeal to me. But that is my thinking.

Then, if you have limited funds, you may be cursed with a synthetic-only stone collection because of it! ;)
 
Oddly, I've never wanted more than the essentials. Yeah, I might purchase the odd "fun" knife to have around once in a while, but it eventually gets sold or given away. I have a couple chef's knives, couple paring knives, a solid bread knife and that's it. If one moves in, one moves out. I dread the idea of having 10 different knives for 10 different tasks--the beauty in the chef's knife is its versatility. For anything else it's paring. I sold off my slicers and petty/utility knives. I have a few butcher knives that I love, but they are never used in the kitchen hence they don't live there. Beyond that I have a nice end-grain cutting board and couple stones and that's it.

The only knife I am considering adding to the collection is a carving knife set for table-side presentation. Superfluous, I know. :whistling:

But I totally understand the "disease" and I'm always happy to ooogle over other people's collection here on KKFs.
 
I've been in the process of level setting my collection too. These days I'm only keeping knives that i reach for and have sold off things that I thought would be hierloms. Konosuke, takeda...

My collection consist of mostly stainless knives these days. I've limited my Gyuto collection to Four but another one is coming:

250mm DT ITK AEBL
233mm Yusuke Sakai (Swedish Stainless, Extra Hard, Extra Flat, 2.8 Spine)
233mm Yusuke Sakai (White #2, Special Thin, standard geometry, 1.6 Spine)
200mm Yusuke Sakai (Swedish Stainless, Extra Hard, Extra Flat, 2.8 Spine)
220MM DT ITK AEBL (on waiting list)

These are Gyutos that I mostly grab for these days but I'm pretty satisfied with the range they give me.
 
This is the same reasoning that I use for having 10 gyutos! :clown:

Ha, yeah. I think it makes more sense to have 10 gyutos than 10 different knives you rarely use. Moreover, you won't have multiple knives cluttering up your board (or having to wash). It's not like you have two gyutos out at the same time unless you are comparing them.
 
Do you buy jnats to sharpen knives, or you just has some knives to justify buying more stones? :)

Me, I feel a bit of a need to buy knives with single or wider bevels in order to make better use of my natural stones, so sometimes the latter. However, I'm not out of control like I know some are. The total number of stones I have, synthetic and jnat, though mostly jnat, is about equal to the number of good knives I have, which is around or a bit past a dozen. With the Jnats, I feel that they will become more expensive and harder to get in the future, and so it's better to get them now, whereas knives will continue to be made and new ones will pop up a lot. I could be wrong, though, as if we look at Japan the number of traditional craftsmen must be dwindling. Perhaps this will be balanced out by the emergence of 'new world' makers, however, as good knife interest slowly expands in other countries.
 
I just went through a buying binge myself, Im just not putting in any more custom orders this next year, once everything gets delivered im done for a while. ... see I can stop whenever I want .... :plus1:
 

Latest posts

Back
Top