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T

TFSJake

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TL: DR; I want the nicest knife I can get for 50 USD.

LOCATION
USA

KNIFE TYPE
I believe I want a chef's knife, but I'm not 100 sure. I find myself wanting to chop vegetables, slice chicken breasts, and general home cooking kind of tasks.

Are you right or left handed?
Right

Are you interested in a Western handle (e.g., classic Wusthof handle) or Japanese handle?
Too ignorant to form an opinion/preference.

What length of knife (blade) are you interested in (in inches or millimeters)?
It really does not matter to me as this will be my first non hand me down knife.


Do you require a stainless knife? (Yes or no)
No, I am okay with a carbon knife. Stainless isn't a deal breaker though.


What is your absolute maximum budget for your knife?
This is where I know this forum will hate me. I'd like to keep it under $50 USD. I know that I will be getting a cheaper knife but I just can not justify any more than that right now.


KNIFE USE
Home as I have said. Slicking, chopping, mincing, etc. I do not plan on cutting anything with a bone in it.

What knife, if any, are you replacing?
Hopefully about 5 super crappy knives I use for attempting to cut stuff. This is the main one.
http://amzn.com/B0009Y6NA8

Do you have a particular grip that you primarily use?
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.)
Probably the draw, but that's simply because of the crappy knives. I'm comfortable learning another way.


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.)
I enjoy the fact that the blade edge is much lower than the handle, but that seems like an obvious feature of a chef's knife. Other than that I'm easy to please.


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

Do you sharpen your own knives? (Yes or no.)
Yes, Spyderco Sharpmaker. I assume this is probably not ideal? I would like to be able to use it and not buy any other equipment for the time being.
 
Victornox fibrox or tojiro dp are your best bets. 8-10 inch chef knife/gyuto. I've used both and they do the job.
 
Agree with the Tojiro DP. Best deal you're going to get below $100. Besides the one theory posted, you can grab a 210 mm gyuto for $50.
 
In the link I posted you can just select the size you want 210, 240 and 270mm.
 
I've had to sharpen a couple of those Kitchen-Aid knives. Can't imagine what it would be like to have to use one.

+1 on Vnox or Tojiro.
 
daveb said:
I've had to sharpen a couple of those Kitchen-Aid knives. Can't imagine what it would be like to have to use one.

+1 on Vnox or Tojiro.
Click to expand...

Terrible is what it is. I will order the Tojiro. Thank you all!
 
270 is a bit big to start, get either the 210 or 240 as you prefer.
 
I think tojiro dp 210mm gyuto is selling for $50.50 on amazom, so there you go. :laugh:
 
Was previously mentioned. The 240 is only $8 more. Price difference is so minor I wouldn't let it be the selector. Just go with the size you'd best want to start out with.
 
Have Tojiro DP dropped in price? 58.00 & free shipping from Amazon is a good deal for a 240mm. That's about what a rosewood handle Victorinox goes for these days.
 
It's dropped a bit, likely much of it a function of the high US dollar, but the sellers on Amazon are selling cheaper than elsewhere currently. I remember not that long ago (maybe 2-3 years?) the Tojro DP 240 mm was like $100? Masahiro can be found for a pretty good price too...not like $50-60, but a Masahiro MV Honyaki 210 mm gyuto can be found for $90 or a little bit more pretty easily. That's a pretty nice knife, especially for under $100 (not true Honyaki, but neither are Nenox or Suisin that use that term).
 
Yes the Masahiro has a nice grind 80/20. The Honyaki uses MBS-26 steel been around longer than VG-10. Around 60 hrt. 240mm 130.00. Another knife at 130.00 Knives & Stones is Tojiro 521 powder. I keep pushing this knife tho I know Tojiro is below the radar of many forum members.

The Tojiro 521 has a better grind than the Akifusa and the CKTG HAP 40. Knives I have experience with. The Powder steel in both of these knives SRS-15 and HAP40 is high quality. The Akifusa had one of the sharpest OOTB edges I have ever seen on a DB gyuto.

When first picked up the 521 thought it was a little on the heavy side. The OOTB edge was not sharp as the Akifusa. Started off with 4K edge got it pretty sharp. After using it a while found it is a great cutter don't mind the extra weight at all. Onions all kinds of vegetables and fruits, peeling pineapple it rocks. Believe it is a 70/30 & thin behind the edge where it counts. As with any blade the extra sharp edge falls off after a while. Edge retention is superior to VG-10 and most other non powder stainless.

Wanted to see how fine could make the edge took it to 8K gesshin soaker. It sails through paper with almost no sound I think you can take this edge as far as you like.

130.00 may not seem budget to many bottom fishers:whistling: I think it is one of the best bang for the buck gyuto's out there. It is a plain jane knife that cuts very well.
 
I had a Tojiro powder steel like 10 or more years ago, got it when JCK started selling them alongside the budget-leader Tojiro DP. I don't think they had the same grind back then, as I remember it was kind of thick and also my sharpening (or thinning) skills then were definitely nowhere near the point where I could maximize the performance of the knife. I've seen a choil shot of the Tojiro PS vs the DP in another thread recently here, and the former does look pretty good. Oh but their handles back then...terrible. Tojiro handles are okay comfortable now, though nothing to get excited about, but it's nice they at least smooth and round the edges now, but back then they did not and the edges were sharp. Ended up selling it, and was fortunate to later score a good deal on a used knife that became my favorite 240 mm gyuto (still), a Blazen (supposedly also SRS-15 as they had not yet switched to SG2).

Sorry a little bit of a tangent there, but yes I agree at $130 (@240 mm size) the Tojiro PS is a good value for a high performance knife. I recently got a Tojiro DP 210 mm for $50 as a beater/loaner and it's pretty good. Can imagine the PS with the harder steel and thinner grind also being a pleasure to use.
 
Good lord! This thing is amazing. I am about to go do some grocery shopping so I can cut up stuff... lol
 
Congratulations! Just a word of advice, use minimal pressure sharpening with your SSM as that is the proper way to sharpen, and VG-10 will chip if you tax it as some might a dollar-store knife.


Rick
 
rick alen said:
Congratulations! Just a word of advice, use minimal pressure sharpening with your SSM as that is the proper way to sharpen, and VG-10 will chip if you tax it as some might a dollar-store knife.


Rick
Click to expand...

I assume I should use the 30* setting? I was kind of afraid to use it (the Sharpmaker) at all. lol
 
You can pick up a King 1K for around 20.00. That will get you started. Plenty info. here to learn freehand.
 
That is a smaller than standard stone, but will work fine at raising an initial burr, fine to get started with. You already have the ssm which will do for finishing/touchup.

Search "King 1000" and you will a number of reasonably priced options. The 1K/6K combi stones are nice in that a 6K is what you really want for effective burr removal and refinement.
 
A used wine cork is also handy for making sure you've deburred the edge.
 
rick alen said:
That is a smaller than standard stone, but will work fine at raising an initial burr, fine to get started with. You already have the ssm which will do for finishing/touchup.

Search "King 1000" and you will a number of reasonably priced options. The 1K/6K combi stones are nice in that a 6K is what you really want for effective burr removal and refinement.
Click to expand...

I'll be sure to invest in one of those when the time comes, thank you.
 
Was thinking the king deluxe medium grain # 1000. no base larger stone 19.00 on Amazon.
 
Lol, I find my Tojiro to be a very nice knife. Haven't experienced any of the finer Japanese knives, but I can say it beats the stuffings out of any poorly maintained average discount store knife! It will improve quite a bit as you learn to sharpen, too, which is even better.

The King stone will work perfectly well, especially if you are also using a sharpmaker. Use VERY light pressure with the sharpmaker, the steel in the Tojiro is hard and brittle enough that you can knock chips out of the edge, or worse cause micro-cracks to form that will grow in use and cause larger chips later. This is true of ALL harder steels, and something you should be aware of as you switch to Japanese knives -- that DP won't be your last Japanese knife, I'm afraid.

You should also pay attention to your technique while using the Tojiro -- no twisting the blade back and forth when chopping, stay away from bones and frozen food, and do not pry with the tip. All of these things can (and will) chip or break the edge, and prying will definitely snap the tip off. Tojiro DPs are pretty tough as Japanese knives go, but they are NOT the thick slabs of soft stainless steel "traditional" German knives are.

You can toss you knife steel if you have one, they are useless for "re-aligning" the edge on Japanese knives as the edge does not fail by bending, it fails by breaking off, and knife steels as a rule are softer than the Japanese knife is. They can also cause micro-cracking from excess pressure as you run them down the edge, so I personally don't use them. Especially avoid serrrated steels on Japanese knives.

Enjoy your knife -- I sure like mine!

Peter
 
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