WTB: Yoshikane SKD12 270mm Gyuto

As the title says, looking at purchasing a Yoshikane SKD12/A2 270mm gyuto. I'm unsure as to whether I prefer western or wa- whichever has the more pronounced distal taper. I tried to purchase the wa version via rakuten but apparently I have to wait 6 months for that...I'm considering purchasing a 210mm sized one also if anyone is looking to flog theirs off.

Cheers

Gonna go ahead and bump this thread. I'm no longer after the 210 and am after the 270mm and possibly a petty knife if the price is good. I would also consider most other comparable semi stainless options here. Thanks

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Please do not suggest where to buy knives. The original poster is looking to purchase a USED knife. If he wants suggestions on where to buy knives he can seek that in another sub-forum. Thanks

I have still not yet been able to get my hands on this knife and sadly Rakuten is now telling me it will be over a year before I can get a Yoshikane 270 delivered to me so I'm going to open up my options to include carbon knives, but I would prefer something that isn't going to go into hyper-reactive mode, so stainless cladding might be an option or at the very least a not-so-reactive iron cladding. I'm probably leaning towards something in blue steel although it's not critical. I'm working a few jobs at the moment, but this knife will hopefully end up in my work rotation which means I'd likely be cutting on POS plastic chopping boards at the places I'm helping out until I settle on a full-time position somewhere. I have been curious about honyaki blades lately but if I'm going to buy one, I'd like it to be damn near perfect as I don't want an expensive blade that I'm going to have to tinker with excessively.

The main attributes I am looking for in my gyuto is a reasonably thick spine close to the heel that tapers to a thin, upswept tip. I'm talking close to 1mm about 1cm out from the very tip of the knife. I also would prefer a blade that is very thin behind the edge or a blade that won't require extensive thinning as I already have a few projects on the go and would like a knife that is basically ready to go. I like my blades pretty hard, despite any potential for brittleness. I have scoped out the honyaki blue 2 mizuno which looks amazing but probably out of my price range at the moment. I am also curious about the blue #1 gyutos I saw from konosuke recently on the tosho knife arts page a few months back. They were advertised at like 65 rockwell or something? They recently sold out but some information on their performance would be sweet.

I hear you - Yoshikane knives do not pop up all that often on used market - people seem to keep them. You may need to be more patient. In any case, specifying price range may help you to get more offers. There are honyaki knives that might not brake the bank - maybe you get lucky and someone will be selling their Singatirin Honyaki - these are priced (new) very attractively and so I would guess could land in your price range when used.

EDIT: Just noticed that you posted this quite a while ago - so please ignore the call for patience

Yeah.. pretty disappointed nothing has come up yet. I guess a price range wouldn't hurt though. I suppose I can spend anywhere up to around $600ish or thereabouts? I don't have a specific budget but I find it hard to justify spending $1200 on a knife, particularly if I want to use it in a work environment where there is every possibility of things suddenly going missing somewhere down the track. I knew a guy who had two Shuns stolen and several others who have Globals or whatever taken (rookies seem to think they are quality knives worth stealing I guess).

Are you still looking for a yoshikane petty as well?

I have to admit by your budget - expected quite a bit less. I suppose that you are aware that both used (and even new) Yoshikane SKD gyuto AND a petty cost less than $600. Of course, if you do not like/want the hammered versions and want to find a used Yoshi (like those that Maksim used to sell few years ago), than it may be a long search indeed.

I am wondering whether it would decrease the chance of having your knives stolen if they looked a bit more 'ordinary'.

Yeah, still keen on a Yoshi petty!

The Yoshi is something I want to try out more so than I'm sticking to an actual budget, although I don't particularly want to spend a small fortune on a knife. I have so many "laser" type knives but to be honest I prefer a sturdier feeling knife I guess and the Yoshi seems to fit the bill without breaking the bank too hard. Being semi-stainless is a bonus in regards to care and should sharpen up well enough although not quite like pure carbon. I do quite like the hammered finish on the knives and the profile seems pretty sweet.

I say my budget is up to $600 as I am now also considering other alternatives to the Yoshi if I can't get my hands on one. I'm looking more around the $300-$400 range but if something truly catches my eye I would consider paying a bit more.

I personally have never had any knives stolen as I usually keep them close by at all times but I think a flashy, expensive gyuto could potentially lead to paranoia on my behalf. Ordinary knives are probably better although I do like shiny things (been tempted by the Mizuno honyaki for a while, if only just to look at haha).