looking for stainless clad gyuto

Hello guys,
I'm looking for new gyuto. Carbon knives are, unfortunately, out of question - I just can't provide enough care to keep them in good shape. I'm also cutting a lot of acidic fruits (TONS of limes), which I guess wouldnt help with maintaining patina and keeping rust at bay. I figured stainless clad qyuto would offer best of both worlds.
Currently I'm using Tanaka 210mm ginsanko gyuto. I like it, but edge retention isnt that great (adding microbevel really helped in this matter), it is also quite thick behind the edge, so cutting carrots and other hard and tall vegetables is a problem.

I found this Itinomonn knife. I know it's probably very good choice, it also is quite high at the heel, which i like since i have rather large hands, but I'm little worried about the profile - it looks like it has a lot of belly, which would be great for rock chopping, but i prefer slightly flatter profile (Tanaka profile works just fine for me), since i'm mainly push cutting.

Do you guys have any other recommendations? I really like Takeda gyutos (and sasanoha!), but they are unfortunately too expensive for me.

LOCATION
What country are you in?

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Poland

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)?

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gyuto

Are you right or left handed?

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right

Are you interested in a Western handle (e.g., classic Wusthof handle) or Japanese handle?

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wa handle only

What length of knife (blade) are you interested in (in inches or millimeters)?

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240mm
i am willing to go with 210mm if necessary though

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

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i'm looking for stainless/semi stainless clad gyuto with carbon core

What is your absolute maximum budget for your knife?

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250 USD
shipping from US is probably out of question, so i'm looking for japanese and EU vendors or ebay

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

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pro kitchen

What are the main tasks you primarily intend to use the knife for (e.g., slicing vegetables, chopping vegetables, mincing vegetables, slicing meats, cutting down poultry, breaking poultry bones, filleting fish, trimming meats, etc.)? (Please identify as many tasks as you would like.)

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mainly chopping vegetables and slicing and trimming meats, no breaking poultry bones or filleting fish

What knife, if any, are you replacing?

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tanaka 210mm ginsanko gyuto

Do you have a particular grip that you primarily use? (Please click on this LINK for the common types of grips.)

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pinch grip

What cutting motions do you primarily use? (Please click on this LINK for types of cutting motions and identify the two or three most common cutting motions, in order of most used to least used.)

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push cutting/chopping

What improvements do you want from your current knife? If you are not replacing a knife, please identify as many characteristics identified below in parentheses that you would like this knife to have.)

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better edge retention
tanaka is quite thick behind the edge, so cutting carrots and other hard vegetables is a problem because of wedging
i'm okay with heavier workhorse knife, i don't require a laser

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

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we use both wooden and synthetic cutting boards (which will make any knife dull within one shift)

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

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yes. i'm using beston 1200 and suehiro rika 5000. i'm looking to replace both, but this is topic for another discussion

If the Itinomonn has too much belly for your taste (there has been a lengthy discussion here on KKF whether the Itinomonn knives have strongly pronounced belly) than the only other option I can think from the top of my head is Yoshikane with SKD core. These ones usually have hammered finish and can be found on epicedge.com (as a KKF member you will get 10% discount) - the price is probably out of your range (taxes, shipping), but the SKD (semi stainless steel) has nice edge retention and is quite tough.

Another option (again, somewhat out of your price range) would be the Kochi line from JKI - stainless clad V2.

there are two different kurouichi Itinomonn's on maxims website and one seems to have less bell than the other?

If there are any 240's left, you may consider Hiromoto?

^^ I was going to say the Intinomonn Westerns profile is pretty nice, I used one in the pass around and have wanted to buy one ever since, just havent had the funds unfortunately, but the OP states that he/she only wants a WA

both itonomonn western and full stainless seem to have very flat profile
matus, yoshikane skd looks AWESOME, too bad only hammered version is readily available. if kasumi was still around (seems like its discontinued) i might consider pulling a trigger on it.

joyless said:

both itonomonn western and full stainless seem to have very flat profile

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FWIW, there is no full stainless Itinomonn - it's a semi-stainless core clad in stainless (he calls it StainLess which, I guess, can be a little bit misleading)

Tanaka ginsanko has very good retention. I would suggest learn how to sharpen better, also get yourself a coarse stone to thin the blade which the Tanaka does need to be at its best. If you need even longer lasting than the g3 steel you will have to go with a powdered steel knife such as blazen.

Aframes carries something that looks very much like a yoshikane kasumi, from one of the former yoshikane makers. The 240mm is sold out though, but something to keep an eye on.

joyless said:

both itonomonn western and full stainless seem to have very flat profile
matus, yoshikane skd looks AWESOME, too bad only hammered version is readily available. if kasumi was still around (seems like its discontinued) i might consider pulling a trigger on it.

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Indeed - I apologise about the comment on the 'belly' Only the full carbon 240 and stainless clad V2 have more belly. The stainless clad semi-stainless core is much flatter. If I were you I would not hesitate to give that one a try.

Indeed - kasumi SKD Yoshikane are lovely - I have 80mm petty. Maybe you could try your luck on BST?

Is there anything particular that you do not like about the hammered version?

I think ordering a Heiji either direct or through Japan-tool would be the way to go. If you lived in the US I would ofcourse recommend Jon at JKI.

Just got a clad carbon itinomonn 240 today and it has way less belly then the pic shows

I agree with BeerChef, I had one in my hands during the pass around and it has no pronounced belly to speak of

I suggest 240mm Ginga, from Ashi Hamono in stainless.
It runs about $180 US. That leaves you money for shipping and taxes if any.
http://www.ashihamono.com/en.html

I have Akifusa in SRS15. I like it a lot. I suppose edge retention will be better than with Tanaka. It has nice flat profile, but the heel is not really high. You can get them from the states for around 250$ (with shipping). But then you still need to pay customs. So depends on how this will be handled...

I found it also on www.magma-tools.de. I think 210mm was 190 EUR.

You can also check Epicurean Edge. They have a sale next Monday and they have many interesting knives, including Akifusa. Perhaps you will be lucky and some nice Gyuto will be on sale:

http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/s...er-Monday-2014?p=329211&viewfull=1#post329211

Thank you for all the suggestions, especially for Heiji I just emailed them, hopefully waiting time won't be too long.
I also considered Ashi Hamono, but Heiji looks little more sturdy, and I don't really need a laser.

panda said:

Tanaka ginsanko has very good retention. I would suggest learn how to sharpen better, also get yourself a coarse stone to thin the blade which the Tanaka does need to be at its best. If you need even longer lasting than the g3 steel you will have to go with a powdered steel knife such as blazen.

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Yeah, I most likely have still a lot to learn when it comes to sharpening. Adding microbevel (and finally switching to wooden cutting boards at work) helped tremendously. I also think about getting beston 500, thinning the Tanaka and keeping it as a beater.