Noob looking for a new chef's knife

:newhere: Hello, I'm a Huge newbie when it comes to kitchen knives. I've recently taken up cooking as a hobby and wanted to upgrade from my cheap chef's knife. Once I started browsing all the options I pretty much became hooked on finding the perfect coolest knife. I know it's kind of silly to be spending $200 on a chef's knife as a beginner, but the more expensive ones are just so cool, as stupid as that sounds. Thanks in advance for the advice.


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's knife

Are you right or left handed?
Right

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

What length of knife (blade) are you interested in (in inches or millimeters)?
Around 8in

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

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/mincing/chopping vegetables and trimming/slicing meats mostly.

What knife, if any, are you replacing?
A cheap victorinox

Do you have a particular grip that you primarily use? (Please click on this LINK for the common types of grips.)
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.)
Push-cut but I'm still learning and am not very good at it.

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 want it to be super sharp, that's most important to me. I also want to learn proper sharpening techniques so I'm looking for a high carbon-knife. I'm okay with a high-maintenance knife. It won't be used very often, maybe a couple times a week, so it's okay if it is a knife that dulls quickly.

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)?
The aesthetics of the blade are very important, up to a point, I don't want to sacrifice to much function for looks. I do want a layered knife. Look of the handle is not very important. I do have large hands though so not too small of a handle.

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

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)?
I would like it to be razor sharp right out of the box, no initial sharpening necessary. I don't have any experience sharpening, but I do want to learn, so nothing too difficult in that regard please.

Edge Retention (i.e., length of time you want the edge to last without sharpening)?
It won't be used much, so edge retention isn't much of a factor.


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

Do you sharpen your own knives? (Yes or no.)
I want to learn to use a wet stone.

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

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

Check out the Muteki line by Carter, clad on stainless with White steel core. Low maintenance is a plus if your just starting out. If you use a pinch grip you could try a Terayasu Fujiwara gyuto. I believe only the Maboroshi line have a finger rest cut away near the heel for comfort. These are also clad in stainless with a carbon white steel core.

^ would love to know where we can all get a 210 muteki for 200USD...?!?

It is important that you upgrade your cutting board (bamboo isn't going to be great for your fancy new knife) - at least get one of those ugly white poly cutting boards. You should be aware that while a carbon knife is easier to sharpen it will be much less forgiving in terms of maintenance than a western stainless steel knife -- not to scare you off. You will also want to look into having at least a king combination waterstone on hand- you can probably find something suitable at your local carpentry supply- do try to get a king or bester though, not norton.

for a "layered knife" I assume you mean damascus (because you say aesthetics are important) therefore I can recommend Tanaka Hamono VG-10 (stainless) damascus or Blue #2 (carbon) damascus knife. You can order them from metalmaster-ww.com or knivesandstones.com has a highly praised semi-custom version of the Tanaka Blue #2 knife (comes with upgrade over the stock hou/magnolia wood handle). I have not used either knife but I do have a few knives made by Mr. Tanaka and they are very good value for the money- these are not mass production knives and so that in and of itself makes for kind of a neat conversational piece.

Good luck.

spoiledbroth said:

It is important that you upgrade your cutting board (bamboo isn't going to be great for your fancy new knife) - at least get one of those ugly white poly cutting boards. You should be aware that while a carbon knife is easier to sharpen it will be much less forgiving in terms of maintenance than a western stainless steel knife -- not to scare you off. You will also want to look into having at least a king combination waterstone on hand- you can probably find something suitable at your local carpentry supply- do try to get a king or bester though, not norton.

for a "layered knife" I assume you mean damascus (because you say aesthetics are important) therefore I can recommend Tanaka Hamono VG-10 (stainless) damascus or Blue #2 (carbon) damascus knife. You can order them from metalmaster-ww.com or knivesandstones.com has a highly praised semi-custom version of the Tanaka Blue #2 knife (comes with upgrade over the stock hou/magnolia wood handle). I have not used either knife but I do have a few knives made by Mr. Tanaka and they are very good value for the money- these are not mass production knives and so that in and of itself makes for kind of a neat conversational piece.

Good luck.

Click to expand...

These recommendations are perfect, thank you.

Is there any difference in the blade on the Tanaka Blue #2 on the knivesandstones site vs the Blue #2 on the metalmaster site? Or is it just the handle?

I definitely like the look of the Blue #2 over the VG-10, what are the specific differences between the two other than looks? The Blue #2 is sharper since it's carbon right?

BIGGS22 said:

These recommendations are perfect, thank you.

Is there any difference in the blade on the Tanaka Blue #2 on the knivesandstones site vs the Blue #2 on the metalmaster site? Or is it just the handle?

I definitely like the look of the Blue #2 over the VG-10, what are the specific differences between the two other than looks? The Blue #2 is sharper since it's carbon right?

Click to expand...

Theoretically high carbon knives will "get sharper" than stainless steel (though VG-10 takes a very good edge for stainless) however I think since you are new to sharpening you should not matter "which is sharper" as it is really dependent on your skills as a sharpener-- if you have no experience sharpening you can have the "easiest to sharpen" knife in the world and end up with something that won't cut out of a wet paper bag. What I am trying to say is that you will probably not be attaining "maximum sharpness" for a while (practice makes perfect). What does matter is that you should find the blue #2 much less of a hassle to sharpen than VG-10 and assuming you have properly educated yourself about reactive carbon knife maintenance and best practices (hint hint, Jon Broida/Japanese Knife Imports videos on youtube, hint, hint) I would recommend the carbon simply because it will probably lead to a more enjoyable experience learning to sharpen.

I do not own either knife so I cannot comment. I own two knives from Mr. Tanaka's Hideyuki Signature line (silver #3 steel - stainless), and so I base my recommendation off of my experience my two Tanaka and with other VG-10 knives and with overall positive reviews of Tanaka knives. A number of regular forum members have purchased the semi-custom Tanakas from knivesandstones, I hope they will chime in here.

One caveat emptor of Tanaka (and low price point knives in general) is the lack of attention paid to what we call "fit and finish" - the spine of the knife may be sharp for your liking, or the "choil" of the knife may be too sharp. The out of the box edge may not be wonderful and the handles can sometimes be installed funky. Knivesandstones.com has gone to the trouble of correcting all these minor issues you essentially you get an upgraded handle and a higher quality "finish" on the knife (mostly rounding the spine and choil).

IIRC Tanaka's blue#2 and VG10 knives are ground a bit differently; his blue#2 line tends more medium weight while his vg10 is quite a bit thinner and lighter. Both lines are very solid, but they cut a bit differently. It's also worth noting the difference with carbon vs stainless, mainly that the blue#2 line patinas and stains quite readily.

If you're fine with carbon steel, get a basic one and learn sharpening. Stainless are difficult to start with and amongst those VG-10 is probably the worst. My suggestions: Fujiwara FKH, Masahiro Virgin Carbon or Misono Swedish Carbon. All with japanesechefsknife.com
Although the Masahiro is not listed they carry them.
Ask Mr Iwahara, [email protected]