Help! I'm buying a chef knife for me to use for the foreseeable future. $200 budget

Hello sharpness connoisseurs!

I'm a twenty year old guy that wants to buy a quality chef knife that will last me in the kitchen for a long time. I'm a big believer in go big or go home and even with a limited income I want to invest a decent amount of money into a kitchen knife. I want something that is 8"ish and is $150-200. I've done more than a few hours of research and from what I have gathered, on the cheaper end I would get the Fujiwara Fkm for under $100.

For a sharpening stone if I am going to get a stainless steel knife I'm really leaning towards this pretty cool deluxe DMT Diamond set that includes an angler so I can get precision sharpness on my blade.

If you know of any other knives that would be of better quality thats in my price range please feel free to share. I was also considering custom. Would that be better quality than getting a manufactured blade? If it would be some direction on that would be great. Thanks for the help!


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

Are you right or left handed?
Right

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)?
8"

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

What is your absolute maximum budget for your knife?
$200


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 (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.)
Slicing meat, cutting veggies, mincing veggies, trimming meats, slicing poultry, slicing pork,

What knife, if any, are you replacing?
Cheap ten dollar knife

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

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.)
rock, draw,walk, chop,slice (pretty much all of them)

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.)
Sharp as **** accurate.
Better aesthetics (e.g., a certain type of finish; layered/Damascus or other pattern of steel; different handle color/pattern/shape/wood; better scratch resistance; better stain resistance)?

No preference

Comfort (e.g., lighter/heavier knife; better handle material; better handle shape; rounded spine/choil of the knife; improved balance)?
Heavier

Ease of Use (e.g., ability to use the knife right out of the box; smoother rock chopping, push cutting, or slicing motion; less wedging; better food release; less reactivity with food; easier to sharpen)?
No preference

Edge Retention (i.e., length of time you want the edge to last without sharpening)?
No preference


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

Do you sharpen your own knives? (Yes or no.)
Yes
If not, are you interested in learning how to sharpen your knives? (Yes or no.)

Are you interested in purchasing sharpening products for your knives? (Yes or no.)
Yes


SPECIAL REQUESTS/COMMENTS

I would advise you to check the Epicurean Edge sale starting late Sunday. You may end up with a lot of knife for the money.

Welcome!

Lots of good knives in that price range.

However, you need to consider how you use your knife and what it will take to keep it sharp with your style. Rock chopping and "walking" the blade are rough on Japanese style knives, the latter in particular can chip the blade badly. Any motion that twists the blade while in contact with a cutting board will risk chipping, and on some knives, severe chipping.

Tranditional Western knives are fairly soft, can be "sharpened" with a steel (poorly, I might add, but sharper than after the edge folds over) and are quite tough. Difficult to put a really fine edge on, and it won't last more than a few cuts in actual use, but the edge fails by rolling or folding and can be more or less restored easily. Tolerant of hitting bones, does not chip, but requires more or less constant attention with a steel to stay reasonably sharp. Tend to be fairly thick and heavy.

Japanese knives are almost freakishly sharp in comparison, and will stay that way for days or weeks in commercial kitchen use. Much thinner and lighter, cut with very little effort in comparison to Western knives, but will NOT tolerate abuse in any form. Bones will remove large chips, "walking" the knife can remove most of the edge, glass cutting boards will do the same. Cannot be "sharpened" with a steel, as the blade will be much harder than the typical serrated steel, and abrasive rods will not produce a good edge on them. Require waterstones and some practice to keep them in good shape.

All that said, my cheap Korean gyuto made from either retired railroad steel or an old car spring beats the pants off any Western Chef's knife I've used. Easy to get a screaming sharp edge on it and in spite of a VERY rough forging and grinding, keeps that edge for a long, long time in home use. My favorite knife for making orange marmalade except that I have to watch for the seeds -- it cuts right through them and I have to fish the slices of seeds out of the boiling marmalade.

I also have recently gotten a Tojiro DP 210 gyuto -- first knife I've ever had where the point is actually thin and sharp enough to use properly. These are very inexpensive as Japanese knives go, and Tojiro does a great job with the VG-10 core, no chipping and takes a very sharp edge easily. Stainless clad, too.

I'll not be going back to Western knives.

I find there is no advantage to a heavier knife once you get a really sharp one -- the heavier knife just takes more effort to lift repeatedly.

Here's a fun test for sharpeness -- rest your knife on the spine on a cutting board and drop a ripe cherry tomato from about 8" onto the upturned edge. If the knife is sharp, the tomato will be neatly cut in half. If it bounces off, the knife isn't sharp.

I'm not fond to diamond "stones" for Japanese knives, I'm always afraid the coarser ones will produce micro-cracking at the edge, and they tend to scratch very deeply because the grit is held VERY firmly to the plate. Waterstones have much more loosely held grit, and under high pressure the grit will roll under the edge, preventing deep scratches and very high localized pressure on the very edge. Price isn't all that much different between waterstones and diamond, although waterstones in generaly are subject to the "rabbit hole" effect -- once you start using them, there are always different stones to try and you can spend forever trying them out (and spend a pile of dough, too!).

Peter

As mentioned a lot of knives fit within your cost constraints. Suggest you browse the offerings of Japanese Knife Imports, Korin and Epicurean Edge - all fine retailers within the US. I'm a big fan of Suisin Western Inox for a first "good" knife. Both JKI and Korin retail them. Gesshin Uraku and Gonbei (sp?) from JKI are both attractive as well.

Please lose the diamond sticks from your wishlist. Nothing good can happen there. A fine/xfine DMT duo stone is a viable sharpening starting point. Inexpensive, bulletproof. But no feedback and they'll scratch hell out of your knives. A King combo or Bestor 1200 is a better solution.

I think you would be very happy with the 210mm Tojiro DP Gyuto mentioned earlier.

You will ruin your new knife if you buy that sharpening rig you linked.

Please check out these options:

http://www.japaneseknifesharpeningstore.com/Combination-sharpening-stone-1000x-6000x-p/combo1x6x.htm

http://www.japaneseknifesharpeningstore.com/Bester-1200-Sharpening-Stone-p/bstr1200.htm


We will always be here to answer whatever sharpening questions you have. And Japanese Knife Imports has a stellar YouTube channel of instructional videos.

Good Luck and Welcome Aboard!