Looking for some recomendations, Yanagiba, Petty and Honesuki

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Godslayer

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Time frame: looking to buy in January or February, after the holiday season, want to start doing homework early

Location: Canada, open to any source, but shipping costs must be accounted for.

Knife type: Yanagiba 270-330mm single bevel leaning towards this http://www.japaneseknifeimports.com...iba/gesshin-uraku-300mm-white-2-yanagiba.html
Right handed
Handle: Not a big concern, Japanese is more my style but im not against western. This will only be brought out when I either need to impress someone with a single smooth cut or slicing sashimi and other thin slices i.e carpaccio, boneless roasts etc.
Steel: I’d like white carbon, but as long as it can be made ultra-sharp and isn't uber fragile, It doesn't really matter so long as the quality is there. My current knives are all blue carbon clad in stainless steel.
Budget: $300 I’d go over if something amazing popped up, like an ao honesuki on super sale for $500 or something equally implausible
Environment: At home, it main purpose will be slicing, fish, prepared meats (think charcuterie), Carpaccio, and boneless roasts (loin roasts)
Replacing: My Gyuto 210mm, it is fairly thick and can’t really do ultra-thin slicing, also it isn’t long enough for me to do single slices of most roasts (handled a tenderloin ok)
Cutting style: I currently use a basic pinch grip and sliding motion with my gyuto, I am aware a yanagiba requires a different technique, this has yet to be mastered, and I have been practicing with my gyuto [video=youtube;CKnhOGc68YY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKnhOGc68YY[/video]

Environment: I will be purchasing stones soon, looking for a 1000 and 6000 grit stones at the moment. Cutting boards: plastic and wood, I have both, 90% is done on plastic. I own a ceramic honing rod 6000 grit.

Knife 2: Petty
Steel: White carbon/blue carbon
Budget: 80-120, I played with this a while ago http://shop.knifewear.com/masakage-mizu-petty-75mm/dp/1401
Environment: small jobs, chopping small fruit, stuff that using a nakiri or gyuto would be troublesome for i.e. small berries, grapes etc. also used as a prep knife for veg, garlic, shallots, odd peeling and trimming(I rarely peel things)
Replacing: A small western style double bevel deba around 100 mm
Cutting style: mainly pinch grip for vege, I hold it differently for peeling(I have no idea what this is called I know i cut towards myself though)

Knife 3: Honesuki
Steel: Blue, this may be hitting bone, scraping etc. has to be durable
Budget: 100-225
Environment: Chicken, duck, turkey, quail, can anyone say turdunken roulade, this may also see small game, rabbits mainly, might see a deer. Mainly deboning, the occasional slicing job if i want to trim something i just deboned, say prime rib to ribeye etc.
Replacing: a dull Cuisinart knife, which I wish to retire, it’s served its time.
Side note: I want a triangular one http://www.japaneseknifeimports.com...uki/gesshin-ginga-150mm-white-2-honesuki.html over a circular one http://www.japaneseknifeimports.com...arasuki/gesshin-stainless-150mm-hankotsu.html

I’m open to used options, if anyone knows someone looking to sell any knives you think I would like, please let me know. Also I am a Noob, please be gentle
 
the knives you picked out are good ones. the alternatives around your budget would be...

yanagiba: masamoto KK, mizuno, aritsugu kasumi, monzaburo, tesshu. these are all entry level yanagiba.
parer: asai (bit pricier) is the only other wa handled parer i've seen and dojo is cheap and cheerful and it's aogami super.
honesuki: misono swedish, masamoto ct/hc
 
Couple thots, may be worth what you paid for them.

Yanagiba. From your description it seems you are looking for a slicing knife for fish as well as meat. Suggest that a double bevel Sujihiki is more versatile than a single bevel Yanagiba and will probably suit your needs better. A suji will do well with fish, including sashimi and especially with sushi rolls, and be much better suited than a yani for the roasts, charcuterie, and other cooked meats that you described. And you won't have to learn a more specialized sharpening techniqe at this time. Both cited below would serve your needs and there are others as well.

http://www.japaneseknifeimports.com...esshin-uraku-270mm-stainless-wa-sujihiki.html
http://www.japaneseknifeimports.com.../gesshin-ginga-270mm-white-2-wa-sujihiki.html

I''m not familiar with Tosho's offerings but as they are a Canadian retailer you should check them out if you've not already done so.

Should you want to stay with a yani then the Uraku would be a very good choice.
 
On Pettys a no-frills, good petty should cost about $1/mm, USD. Material and Length are the two most significant choices. I like stainless because I cut a lot of citrus and acidic foods with mine. Others prefer carbon. On length I think 180mm is the perfect length for a petty. 150mm is probably the most common. Look for a little blade height if you envision using it on a board. Suggest you keep it simple for your first petty - you can always get a little stupid with subsequent ones...

On Honesuki the Misono (avail from Korin) is a good entry level knife. Jon's offerings would be a good choice as well. For poultry. For butchering game I find what you describe as "circular", the Hankotsu more useful for skinning and deboing. Mine lives on the knife block but makes (all to infrequent) trips to the deer woods with me.

Welcome to the forum and good luck.
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Thank you for the suggestions, buying knives is incredibly frustrating, I hate not being able to see and feel the blades, combing that with the near infinite selection makes it almost a hassle, despite my immense love of the items. I have looked into Sujihiki and it is a very viable option, most likely once I pick a vendor I am going to go threw both, FB a few chef friends and hope for a verdict. Japanese knife imports is in the lead, I love and I mean love that honesuki, not sure why, its just so me.
 
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