Ready to Upgrade

I am interested in getting a new chef's knife. I'm a total rookie here, other than the knives I currently own, which are a Henckels Santoku 7" & traditional chef's knife 8", and a Shun Ken Onion 8".

The things I don't like about the current knives are for the Henckels, they lose the edge quickly, and I'm not terribly fond of the handle of these knives. For the Shun, again, I don't love the handle, and i don't like the shape of the blade. It was sharp as hell when I first got it, and hasn't been the same since. Sharpening (electric sharpener and the kitchen store in town) never got it as sharp as it originally was, and the setup of this knife just doesn't jive with me that well. I also use plastic cutting boards, which I hope to phase out and build myself a nice end grain board when the weather warms up (i made one in the past and enjoyed the process).

I'm right handed, and would like to explore a japanese handle since the western style hasn't been all that comfortable for me (could be my technique), plus I think the japanese handles look really cool. Size-wise, I think I could be up for anything from probably 7" - ~9". Don't care about stainless if the carbon or other steels offer better characteristics. I can probably drop ~$200.

This will be home use only, i like to cook all day at least one weekend day per week and probably 2-3 meals a week during the weeknights (not as intensive). 90% of knife use is a lot of vegetable chopping and meat slicing, not a whole lot more advanced than that. I will occasionally cut up a chicken, but that's rare. Don't do a whole lot with fish. I will do trimming in the summer when I smoke meats.

Cutting motion is a combo of push-cut, rock, and walk, sometimes I draw when slicing a pepper thin or something like that. Gyuto seems like an appropriate blade for me...

Again, I'm ready to try a japanese handle, have somewhat of a more streamlined blade (non-Ken Onion), and have better durability in the edge.

I use electric sharpeners currently, I have a Shun and Chef's Choice sharpener for the respective knives. I also own an Norton 4k/8k sharpening stone that i used to use with antique straight razors (never got too into it though, so my experience in that realm is a wash). I would like to start sharpening my own, but will save that for another day. Going to use only wood with this new knife.

I've read today about the Mac Pro and Masamoto VG, both seem nice, but not real sure about anything yet.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

You'd better start sharpening your own right away; sounds like the pros you are using aren't doing a great job.

So I'd budget some cash for a stone somewhere between 800 and 1200 grit.

Hiromoto AS 210 from jck is $135 plus $7 shipping. As a thicker blade, it will tolerate rock & walk chopping better than many gyutos will (though not a whole lot better -- best to just take the time to do more push & draw, motions that are more suited to gyuto). As carbon clad in stainless, it's a nice introduction to carbon maintenance. It's a western handle, though.

metalmasterjp on eBay has the Tanaka wa-gyuto in ginsanko (stainless). 210mm is $113 plus shipping. You might be able to get it in blue steel (carbon) if you send him a message. I've had a couple of his blue steel knives, and they are great blades for the price. But the F&F is not the best. I think his ginsanko knives also have a decent rep, too.

Rock & walk with a Hiromoto AS? Not a good idea. Ever handled one out of the box??

well, maybe I don't fully understand the terms, but I would say that as I have "progressed" in my knife skills, I've probably done more pushing/drawing than rocking or walking, and I will definitely be working more toward that method as I continue to get experience with better knives. Thanks for the info.

That rock&walking causes lateral forces on the edge. Japanese blades are harder and thinner than common German blades and are somewhat asymmetric. Lateral forces with those will invariably lead to chipping of the blade. Even thicker Japanese knives come out of the box with a very fine edge. All reasons to abandon any walking motion.
Even with soft tough German blades it's a poor habit IMHO. But at least these won't chip, just roll.

here are a few that I'm considering, any thoughts would be appreciated.

nevermind...

just as an update, I ended up going with the Tojiro DP 210mm Guyto. received it today, feels nice, definitely less bulky than the German knives I have. thanks for the input, i'm looking forward to using it!