I will try to do this one but he book
LOCATION
Germany
KNIFE TYPE
pairing, petty, santoku, gyuto
Are you right or left handed?
right handed
Are you interested in a Western handle (e.g., classic Wusthof handle) or Japanese handle?
western
What length of knife (blade) are you interested in (in inches or millimetres)?
from 100 to 210mm
Do you require a stainless knife? (Yes or no)
yes, semi-stainless may be OK
What is your absolute maximum budget for your knife?
not more than $100 per knife
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:
cutiing & slicing vegetables, cheese, salami, occasionally some meet slicing. Probably no deboning. No fish.
What knife, if any, are you replacing?
Some old, crappy, no name knives.
Do you have a particular grip that you primarily use?
hammer
What cutting motions do you primarily use?
push cut, slice
What improvements do you want from your current knife?
edge holding
Comfort
knives should not be too heavy and with acceptable F&F. Nothing fancy.
Ease of Use
No particular expectations.
Edge Retention
yes please
KNIFE MAINTENANCE
Do you use a bamboo, wood, rubber, or synthetic cutting board?
Yes
Do you sharpen your own knives?
Yes I do. But the knives may be occasionally be sharpened by unexperienced users, so I consider sharpening rod for those occasions as there is less chance to screw up than with a stone. Once I will visit I will take care of the knives. But that will not be more often than once a year.
Are you interested in purchasing sharpening products for your knives?
Maybe a sharpening rod, I have my stones already.
SPECIAL REQUESTS/COMMENTS
Now comes the important part. These knives I am looking for are meant for our family cottage (in mountains) which has visitors maybe 10 weeks a year. That also means that any semi-decent blade that does not get abused to death will stay reasonably sharp for around a year. I also plan to install a wooden magnetic holder, so that the knives do not get thrown in a drawer with all possible other kitchen utensils. It does not make sense to buy too fancy/expensive knives. While the family will appreciate sharp knives, they do not really have the knowledge to take care of them properly. Also - here and there burglars visit the cottage too and too fancy looking knives could attract unwanted attention.
I would actually prefer to buy in Germany or at least EU, but the class of reasonably priced yet good quality knives is nearly completely absent here. I will be testing some Robert Herder (Windmuehlenmesser) knives, but other than that - I can not think of anything worth buying in this price category
Knives I am looking into:
- 100 mm paring
- 120 - 150 mm petty (maybe two of these)
- 165 mm santoku or 180 mm gyuto.
I am thinking of something along the lines:
- Kanetsugu ProM
- JCK Kagayaki ES
- Fujiwara FKM
- Kagayaki CarboNext
Obvious advantage of JCK is cheap ($7 for DHL Express - how is that even possible?) shipping.
I have recently bought Fujiwara FKM honesuki for my own use and was pleasantly surprised with the F&F and the blade seems fine too. A bit butt-heavy because of the thick stock and massive stainless bolster, but the blade seems decent.
As said above - I will also look in the Robert Herder knives - I have just shortly tested their low-end (22 Euro) 100 mm stainless pairing knife and was sincerely disappointed (blade had no stiffness and arrived blunt, the handle did not fit well). Their 'K Series' should be HRC60 in stainless - maybe that will work.
I am opened to suggestions - I would gladly buy from our vendors - but the price category I am looking into is a bit on the low end of their spectrum. The Asahi Home Set from JKI looks interesting for example.
thank you
LOCATION
Germany
KNIFE TYPE
pairing, petty, santoku, gyuto
Are you right or left handed?
right handed
Are you interested in a Western handle (e.g., classic Wusthof handle) or Japanese handle?
western
What length of knife (blade) are you interested in (in inches or millimetres)?
from 100 to 210mm
Do you require a stainless knife? (Yes or no)
yes, semi-stainless may be OK
What is your absolute maximum budget for your knife?
not more than $100 per knife
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:
cutiing & slicing vegetables, cheese, salami, occasionally some meet slicing. Probably no deboning. No fish.
What knife, if any, are you replacing?
Some old, crappy, no name knives.
Do you have a particular grip that you primarily use?
hammer
What cutting motions do you primarily use?
push cut, slice
What improvements do you want from your current knife?
edge holding
Comfort
knives should not be too heavy and with acceptable F&F. Nothing fancy.
Ease of Use
No particular expectations.
Edge Retention
yes please
KNIFE MAINTENANCE
Do you use a bamboo, wood, rubber, or synthetic cutting board?
Yes
Do you sharpen your own knives?
Yes I do. But the knives may be occasionally be sharpened by unexperienced users, so I consider sharpening rod for those occasions as there is less chance to screw up than with a stone. Once I will visit I will take care of the knives. But that will not be more often than once a year.
Are you interested in purchasing sharpening products for your knives?
Maybe a sharpening rod, I have my stones already.
SPECIAL REQUESTS/COMMENTS
Now comes the important part. These knives I am looking for are meant for our family cottage (in mountains) which has visitors maybe 10 weeks a year. That also means that any semi-decent blade that does not get abused to death will stay reasonably sharp for around a year. I also plan to install a wooden magnetic holder, so that the knives do not get thrown in a drawer with all possible other kitchen utensils. It does not make sense to buy too fancy/expensive knives. While the family will appreciate sharp knives, they do not really have the knowledge to take care of them properly. Also - here and there burglars visit the cottage too and too fancy looking knives could attract unwanted attention.
I would actually prefer to buy in Germany or at least EU, but the class of reasonably priced yet good quality knives is nearly completely absent here. I will be testing some Robert Herder (Windmuehlenmesser) knives, but other than that - I can not think of anything worth buying in this price category
Knives I am looking into:
- 100 mm paring
- 120 - 150 mm petty (maybe two of these)
- 165 mm santoku or 180 mm gyuto.
I am thinking of something along the lines:
- Kanetsugu ProM
- JCK Kagayaki ES
- Fujiwara FKM
- Kagayaki CarboNext
Obvious advantage of JCK is cheap ($7 for DHL Express - how is that even possible?) shipping.
I have recently bought Fujiwara FKM honesuki for my own use and was pleasantly surprised with the F&F and the blade seems fine too. A bit butt-heavy because of the thick stock and massive stainless bolster, but the blade seems decent.
As said above - I will also look in the Robert Herder knives - I have just shortly tested their low-end (22 Euro) 100 mm stainless pairing knife and was sincerely disappointed (blade had no stiffness and arrived blunt, the handle did not fit well). Their 'K Series' should be HRC60 in stainless - maybe that will work.
I am opened to suggestions - I would gladly buy from our vendors - but the price category I am looking into is a bit on the low end of their spectrum. The Asahi Home Set from JKI looks interesting for example.
thank you