usuba advice needed

Hi i am currently in the market for a kamagata usuba and have narrowed it down to two choices
the gessin hide 180mm kamagata usuba for 375$ from jki or
the kejiro doi 195mm kamagata usuba for450$ from cktg
it would be great if anybody has experience with one or the other or even both and could steer me in right direction.
on a side note i have ordered from jon a couple of times and it has always been a pleasure seeing i am on europe i was wondering if anybody has experience with international shipping from cktg
thanks

Matt, what are your plans for the Usuba? I had an ichimonji 195 Blue2. I do little authentic Japanese cooking. I thought it would be more versatile but was good for slicing garlic and herbs. As much as the design of the knife matters, your form while cutting is equally important. Jon has some videos linked to his website from the Japanese Culinary Society that I studied endlessly. Udea

Usuba is not a versatile knife. I can slice green onions, garlic and such with my extra thin laser thin enough.

I don't have experience with the Gessin Hide usuba, but with Gessin Hide in general, and they are excellent knives. And Jon is first class. I don't have any experience with Doi knives.

Since you're in Europe - consider a Shig Usuba from Maksim at JNS (if he has one that is). The Shig's are excellent.

Sounds like you are keen on a Doi usuba. Another option is off rakuten for a Doi usuba. We all know too well that Japanese EMS service is excellent.

I have the Gesshin Hide 210mm Kamagata Usuba from JKI and it is an outstanding knife. Dead flat except for a tiny upsweep near the tip. No warping or twisting of any kind. And it was extremely easy to open this knife up for service as there were no noticeable high or low spots on the blade road. Very high quality.

Thanks guys for your input
first of all mucho bocho i am aware of the limitations of an usuba.maybe the title of the thread was misleading but i had already made my mind up as to buying one.just wanted some help as to the two options i had narrowed it down to.
the hides sound fantastic and i will have to get one at some point.
that said one of the forum members just offered me his doi so i think i will go with that for now

Theory what do you use your Usuba for?

Mucho Bocho said:

Usuba is not a versatile knife. I can slice green onions, garlic and such with my extra thin laser thin enough.

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You're right. It's not a versatile knife. None of the traditional japanese knives are. That's the whole point.

Mucho Bocho said:

Theory what do you use your Usuba for?

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Mostly for extremely fine julienne or micro dice of root veg or fine herbs, scallions and chives. Things like that.

Welcome to the Forum Matt.I have a 195mm Kamagata from Korin.It has a much taller bevel than a Yanagiba,and it gets razor sharp like a sashimi knife.