Need Help on deciding the right knife

Hey guys! I've been thinking of upgrading my kitchen cutlery for a bit now and reasoned that KKF would be a great place to get some advice on where to spend my money.

Location
US (Ohio)

KNIFE TYPE
I'm right handed and I'm looking to buy a gyuto preferably with a wa-style handle. (slightly leaning towards octagonal over round handle but it doesn't really matter)
At the moment I'm really conflicted as to whether I want a 210mm or 240mm blade. The santoku I bought from an asian market is definitely too short at only 170mm but I've never used a larger knife and while I think I could handle 240mm I'm not totally sure because I'm a rather small guy (5'3").
For my first expensive knife I'd prefer a stainless knife because while I could take care of a carbon steel blade, I leave for college in 2 months and I'm not sure my parents would have the same love for my knife that I would (although they probably wouldn't even be using it, I still want to play it safe).
The absolute maximum I'm willing to pay is about $260-270 INCLUDING a saya.

KNIFE USE
I would be using this knife exclusively at home unless my boss promotes me to do prep work at a very small sushi shop I work at. At home I'd be using the knife only to mince/dice/slice vegetables and boneless meat. I already have some cheap knives I use to do boning work on occasion.

I always use a pinch grip and cut primarily using pushing and drawing motions.

Characteristics I'd like: Light (>180g), I really want to try a laser style gyuto, rounded spine + choil, 61-63 HRC, Good OOTB edge)

KNIFE MAINTENANCE
Currently I use a Kings Combination 1000/6000 waterstone on my knives whenever they are too dull to cut paper to when they crush tomatoes. I've only sharpened my knives twice I had pretty good results compared to before I sharpened them(can shave arm hair relatively easy but sometimes pulls at hair). I'd like some more practice before sharpening an expensive knife which is why I'd also prefer a good OOTB edge. Currently I have 3 plastic boards and 1 small maple board but this week I am planning to buy a sani-tuff rubber board because of some great reviews I've read.

Additional Comments
I've already been looking at the gesshin ginga, konosuke hh, and masakage yuki line of knives and am also wondering if there's anything else that would be a better fit for me.

gesshin uraku

Welcome!

Based on your description it seems that you have already read quite a it on the topic (that is good ) and have quite clear idea what you want/need. My suggestion would be to call Jon from JKI - he will help you to find the knife that will fit your needs.

Concerning the size - 210 may soon start to feel too short for meet slicing.

You just described the Gesshin Ginga or Sakai Yusuke 240 stainless. Easy.

If you're in the States I would get the Ginga in a heartbeat, and would also get Jon to do the finish sharpening on it.

What kind of steel is the Ginga line?

All I can find on the JKI is that the ginga line is made with Swedish stainless steel (which is the same steel that the Konosuke hh line uses). It seems that I should be going with a 240mm Ginga gyuto then? What are the differences between the Uraku and Ginga lines and would the extra $100 justify staying with the ginga or should I look into the uraku line as well?

The steel of both the stainless and white #2 are very good. The white #2 keeps its edge longer than most other carbon steel knives I've used.

How does the steel in the Ginga line compare to good Ginsan SS?

I tried a Sukenari in Ginsan and it was a joy to sharpen, felt very similar to carbon and responded like a mug and with ease.

The other stainless steels I have personally sharpened are FKM, a few VG10's and the stuff Global uses in the GS-38 paring knife and most of them take a long time to sharpen and give little feedback on the stones and just never got anywhere near as sharp overall as the Ginsan, the Ginsan was the total opposite.

Dave Kinogie said:

How does the steel in the Ginga line compare to good Ginsan SS?

I tried a Sukenari in Ginsan and it was a joy to sharpen, felt very similar to carbon and responded like a mug and with ease.

The other stainless steels I have personally sharpened are FKM, a few VG10's and the stuff Global uses in the GS-38 paring knife and most of them take a long time to sharpen and give little feedback on the stones and just never got anywhere near as sharp overall as the Ginsan, the Ginsan was the total opposite.

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I've never heard of Sukenari, and don't recall anyone discussing that knife here, so you may not find anyone who can compare the Ginga to that knife.

I can tell you it has good feedback for a stainless, has very good edge retention, and feels like good stainless on stones - I've never found a single monosteel stainless to feel quite like monosteel carbon on stones, but, then again, I'm no expert. But, regardless of steel, the best thing about the Ginga is the geometry. It's thinner than the Uraku (240mm), lighter, better balanced IMHO, and is a better all around cutter. The Uraku is a good knife, and especially good for the price, but, the Ginga is a superior performing knife.

Dave Kinogie said:

How does the steel in the Ginga line compare to good Ginsan SS?

I tried a Sukenari in Ginsan and it was a joy to sharpen, felt very similar to carbon and responded like a mug and with ease.

The other stainless steels I have personally sharpened are FKM, a few VG10's and the stuff Global uses in the GS-38 paring knife and most of them take a long time to sharpen and give little feedback on the stones and just never got anywhere near as sharp overall as the Ginsan, the Ginsan was the total opposite.

Click to expand...

The Swedish stainless Sakai knives are hard, fine grained and very easy to sharpen.

Without wishing to sound harsh, if you can't get a Fujiwara FKM or a VG-10 knife anywhere near as sharp as a Ginsan-ko knife, that's a failure of your sharpening rather than Ginsan-ko being some kind of super alloy.

As Michael has pointed out, the Ginga geometry is the kicker. OP: Do not be led by steel type/steel hype.

definitely get a 240. Some 210's don't have enough height at the heel to be an all round gyuto IMO. Plus lasers seem to handle smaller than they are probably due to typically running shorter on the edge (233mm) and being so light (130g)

Geo87 said:

definitely get a 240. Some 210's don't have enough height at the heel to be an all round gyuto IMO. Plus lasers seem to handle smaller than they are probably due to typically running shorter on the edge (233mm) and being so light (130g)

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lus1:

I decided to go with the Ginga 240 gyuto. Hopefully it'll get in by the end of the week because I'm really excited. Gonna be hosting a looooooot of parties and cookouts in the coming weeks as an excuse to cook more!:hungry::knife: