Yet another which Gyuto thread

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)?
Chef's and Gyutos

Are you right or left handed?
Yes. Err, I mean, right handed.

Are you interested in a Western handle (e.g., classic Wusthof handle) or Japanese handle?
No preference

What length of knife (blade) are you interested in (in inches or millimeters)?
210mm, maybe up to a 240mm

Do you require a stainless knife? (Yes or no)
Yes

What is your absolute maximum budget for your knife?
$170


KNIFE USE
Do you primarily intend to use this knife at home or a professional environment?
Home

What are the main tasks you primarily intend to use the knife for?
Slicing, Chopping, and Mincing Veggies. Slicing Meats, Some light poultry cutting, but trying to avoid bones, Trimming meats

What knife, if any, are you replacing?
Not sure of the brand as I left it at home and am at a three month internship without a knife! An 8" chef's knife that's probably comparable to a Victorinox Fibrox

Do you have a particular grip that you primarily use?
Pinch

What cutting motions do you primarily use?
Push cut, Slicing, Pull Cut, Rock

What improvements do you want from your current knife?

Better aesthetics. I really prefer wooden handles, but they aren't all I'm looking for in a knife and there are some classy blades with a regular black western handle on them. I love the Damascus/Hammered/Layered looks and wouldn't mind having it, but not a huge deal. Mainly, I hate the big stamp branding on a lot of the cheap knives - a few nice japanese characters or something simple is usually nice.

Comfort. I'd like a nicely balanced knife.

Ease of Use. I'd like to be able to use it out of the box. I don't want to have to worry about wiping it constantly (although I probably will wipe it constantly) for fear of stains. Wedging sounds unpleasant.

Edge Retention. I'd like it to last, but honestly I'm not sure on this one. My initial reaction is six months, but if I learned how to sharpen, which I plan on doing, I'd go down to one or two months.



KNIFE MAINTENANCE
Do you use a bamboo, wood, rubber, or synthetic cutting board? (Yes or no.)
Yes.

Do you sharpen your own knives? (Yes or no.)
No

If not, are you interested in learning how to sharpen your knives? (Yes or no.)
Yes. Will practice on other knives I have first though

Are you interested in purchasing sharpening products for your knives? (Yes or no.)
Yes. Exclusive of the budget quoted above.



SPECIAL REQUESTS/COMMENTS
I have two roommates who are both also into food and cooking. They are quite kitchen savvy and respectful of my things. That being said, they will be using my knife, and I'd prefer that the chip-risk is relatively low just to avoid some heartache. On the other hand, I know that nicer, Japanese knives tend to be harder steel, and I do want a nicer knife, so I'm looking for a balance here.

For the sake of straying away from the usual (and solid) recommendations of - Carbonext/Fujiwara/Hiromoto, Im gonna say the Togiharu Hammered Texture Damascus from Korin - http://korin.com/Togiharu-Hammered-Damascus-Gyutou. One of the first gyutos I got back in the day and a solid workhorse that will take a beating. The VG10 holds an edge pretty damn well, Damascus/Hammered/Layered finish you are looking for, stainless, engraved not stamped Kanji, solid F&F and fits your price range. The Gonbei from JKI would fit perfectly too but seem to be out of stock.

Gesshin Uraku.

As easy13 has already mentioned, most often you'd hear Fujiwara FKM, Carbonext or Hiromoto being recommended when someone is searching for inexpensive stainless knife. All of those are sold by JCK from Japan. Shipping is fast and cost only 7$. Great value.

Another usual advice is to have a call to Jon at JKI and listen to his recommendations. Gesshin Uraku is a knife that you can buy only from JKI I believe.

And just to give you some more thought, there's a new line of Kramer Essentials which is stainless and offers completely different profile from all the above options.

JCK do the Inazuma range.
$128 for 210 and $139 for 240.
I have the nakiri from this range and like it.

If you prefer a western handle they do the Gekko.
Similar prices.

I was also looking at Gekko from JCK about a year ago but got too confused with all the other hammered damascus from different brands so ended up not getting one.
Yoshihiro, Gekko, Sakai Takayuki and the Togiharu all have this hammered damascus pattern knives and they looked all the same to me...
Does anyone know if they are any different or maybe they are made by the same people somewhere in Japan?

Uraku or Gonbei hammered.

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I ended up calling Jon at JKI and he was so incredibly helpful that I decided to buy from him, which I think is probably a good bet anyway given the frequency of suggestions for the Gesshin series I see on here.