Birthday knife

Well, the birthdays coming up tomorrow and I was thinking of getting myself another knife. I am not sure exactly what I want. I think I would stray away from gyutos because I already have a 180mm misono molybdenem and a 240mm ux10 gyuto. I decided to fill out the questionnaire to better aide anyone pointing out specific knives for me.

What type of knife(s) do you think you want?
cleaver, usuba, nakiri, kiritsuke

Why is it being purchased? What, if anything, are you replacing?
Birthday present to myself. Not replacing anything, expanding my knife collection hence not wanting another gyuto (at this time :biggrin

What do you like and dislike about these qualities of your knives already?
Aesthetics-
The ux10 isn't the prettiest thing, id rather my jknives to have Japanese kanji on then rather than big english writing.

Edge Quality/Retention-
It may be my sharpening right now but the edge retention isn't that great on my misonos

Ease of Use-
use or sharpening? For sharpening it might be better for something a little easier to sharpen (I'm still getting the hang of it) but for use, I'm good with everything I have, I have not used traditional single bevel jknives (but I'm really curious!!!)

Comfort-
So far Ive found my knives very comfortable, the bolster on the ux10 is a little big and squared off imo.

What grip do you use?
Pinch

What kind of cutting motion do you use?
Varies with the task. most commonly chopping, dragging it back towards me slightly (more comfortable for me rather than going forward)

Where do you store them?
Original box right now, still want to invest in a knife roll (if you have a recommendation for one id love to hear!)

Have you ever oiled a handle?
I didn't think you had to oil western handles?

What kind of cutting board(s) do you use?
:O hand me down non-end grain wood and plastics (please don't kill me!) I'm soon going to invest in a end grain boardsmith block!

For edge maintenance, do you use a strop, honing rod, pull through/other, or nothing?
I have a balsa strop, I would never use my rods on my jknives until I get ceramic or glass just for emergency touch ups

Have they ever been sharpened?
Aye! I'm hooked

What is your budget?
I'm looking sub $200 with SOME flex for a phenomenal value.

What do you cook and how often?
Proteins, veggies, I cook in streaks at home, and I use my knives at work a couple days a week.

Special requests(Country of origin/type of wood/etc)?
Japan preferably! I'm not sure what the look is called but I really like the rustic metal look before the bevel (http://www.japaneseknifeimports.com...-kikumori-165mm-white-2-kurouchi-nakiri.html#) kinda like that. Other than that I'm a open book! not too picky...hopefully haha.


I can't wait to hear what you guys have to say! I'm already getting excited :jumpy:

Someone else asked for suggestions recently, and mine was a nakiri. I like more rustic finishes too, and that one you linked to looks pretty sweet.

In my experience, Misonos are nimble, on the thin side, easy to sharpen and take a nice, keen edge but the retention is mediocre and I'm not impressed with the construction, either. Of the options you listed, a nakiri would probably get the most use. Possibly my favorite one would be this one: http://www.japaneseknifeimports.com/kitchen-knives/yoshihiro/yoshihiro-165mm-skd-nakiri.html. It isn't all that easy to sharpen but the edge retention is outstanding and it is thin and quite handsome-looking, including the kanji. As a bonus, the saya design actually incorporates a rather ingenious method of achieving a friction fit. It's not fancy or any more durable than other sayas but it actually fits snugly. The one you chose would achieve a crazy edge but it is a rather heavy, thick knife. If I could offer an alternative knife, I would choose a 180 or 210 suji/petty from Konosuke, Ashi, Gesshin. I have a custom (made by Rottman on this forum) that is very similar and I love using it for peeling, small slicing jobs, etc. The narrow profile is great for these sorts of tasks. If I needed instant gratification, I'd probably get this one: http://www.japaneseknifeimports.com...e/gesshin-ginga-210mm-stainless-wa-petty.html. I really like the steel a lot. If you don't mind some discoloration, I'd get the same knife in the Konosuke HD line...maybe.

Get the Boardsmith. Duh!

Well, I think the Boardsmith is certainly the most practical of the options - but I also know there's nothing quite like having a new knife in your hands

So, I'd say either get that Boardsmith board now - and maybe up the fancy looks factor a bit to pamper yourself (and your kitchen) a bit - or go for a cleaver. A nakiri is cool - hell, I love to use mine - but a good chuka/cleaver is truly multifunctional. It's a viable alternative to using a gyuto and yet will feel very different for that fun-factor.

I think single-bevels are fun to use, too, but a cleaver is going to be something you can just dive right in and use right away and on practically anything. Single bevels are generally specialized tools.

I second getting the boardsmith. If you have nice knives, get the tools to use them as well.

Boardsmith; a decent endgrain board will greatly improve edge retention of your ux10s. If you still have the knife itch, go with a carbonext :lol2:

I guess if you have to choose one, you can get a nice endgrain board... It might be a while before you get it though so you should get a knife to tide you over in the meantime.