Help me pick a beater

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Eamon Burke

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What type of knife(s) do you think you want?
A 240 gyuto, or a 210(or shorter, even) gyuto/santoku paired with the Tojiro ITK breadknife for cutting sandwiches and large melons.

Why is it being purchased? What, if anything, are you replacing?
I am switching duties at work to running the sandwich station and doing prepwork for every other station(yay knifework). My trusty Tojiro DP 210 has been good to me, but I think I could find a slightly better fit.

What do you like and dislike about these qualities of your knives already?
Aesthetics-
Fine by me. Ugly from day 1, no need to pamper it.
Edge Quality/Retention- Also acceptable. Not fantastic, and it is a bit chippy.
Ease of Use- I mostly don't like the balance point on it, and the length. It's too short for some tasks(like big heads of leafy greens or large melons, a daily occurance). The balance point it right in the bolster, which I don't like, I want the balance point in front of the bolster.
Comfort- It was not comfortable, but I fixed it. Willing to do that again.

What grip do you use? I use them all. I like western handles best, but am open to the Wa side of life.

What kind of cutting motion do you use? All except rocking. I don't need a guppy belly.

Where do you store them? In a plastic knife holder, on it's side, out of the way. I typically take my sharps home daily in a bag, and weekends they live on a MagBlok

Have you ever oiled a handle? Yes.

What kind of cutting board(s) do you use? At work, poly. No choice, it's what the line is. At home, Boardsmith.

For edge maintenance, do you use a strop, honing rod, pull through/other, or nothing? Strops. I don't maintain during a workday, because I take my knives home every day.

Have they ever been sharpened? No. :razz:

What is your budget? Here's the problem: $200. If I get the bread knife, I'd need to include that in the budget. I just work with a bunch of hooligans and I can't afford to replace a pricier one, and they will screw with/walk off with/hide/etc my knife. There is no helping it. Imagine I work with a bunch of Capuchin Monkeys--so $225 is the total imaginable ceiling.

What do you cook and how often? Haute Cuisine ala Gastro-pub-grub, by way of a Morrocan-Jamaican influence. Just kidding. It's cafe food.

Special requests(Country of origin/type of wood/etc)? Thin! I like them thin.
 
I know it's not even close to being on the menu (see, flavor of the month), but I honestly, still love and beat the crap out of my Misono Moly and Misono Swede. If you could scoop a used one, I think you'd be a happy guy.
 
I say go for the CN or a Yoshihiro from JKI. Both in the same price range +/- $20.00. The Tojiro bread knife is/has been out of stock for some time...if you can get one and if the price stays the same you will be pretty darn close to 200.00 If not, go for the Forshcner bread knife and send it to Darkhoek to get it pimped.
 
Masahiro MV-B.

This series competes with Masamoto VG or Misono 440. It has a straight edge, very little belly. Steel is VG-1 at 59HRC, good edge retention. Inexpensive at $130-140 for the 240mm gyuto.
 
Sur La Table has a introduction sale on the Miyabi Kaizen 8" chef. $99-regular price is $139
 
Id say the 210mm TKC a bit above your price range but everyone says its on par with more expensive gyutos and my buddy at work just got one its pretty nice, i was going to get it but my gf got me the Kono HD instead. I gotta say it does hold an edge a slightly better than the kono gyuto overall and will take a good beating but doesn't take as good of an edge. Id say for that or the CN since everyone says there the "same" knife and its cheaper.

The ITK bread knife is pretty sick, i have used it daily for 3 months now and its just awesome best 50 bucks i think i have ever spent!

Im a big fan of misonos also have 4 of them if you can find one used i think you'd be super happy with it. They are tough knives and sharpen up very nicely.

Not really a fan of vg10 steel for pro kitchens or at least not Shuns i have found that it chips way too much and can't hold an edge near long enough to even finish a shift through work with heavy use.
 
My vote would be for:
1. Masahiro MVH (KnifeMerchant)
2. CN
3. Aritsugu A (A Frames) - Depending on whether you got a thicker or thinner version you'd need to a little or a lot of work to thin it down.

I think the Masahiro is probably the toughest of the three but the edge doesn't stay quite as keen as the other two. The A-type is the most wear resistant and the CN is the thinnest.
 
Second the CarboNext. Awesome TKC steel. Fit and finish is suprisingly good. As for a bread knife, I would get a cheapie Forschner if you don't want the Tojiro.
 
Where is the balance point on the CarboNext? I really don't want another handle-heavy knife.
 
Nobody has an suggestions for a Santoku? I mean, if I have a good bread knife for things like melon rinds, sandwiches and lettuce heads, I don't really need a big knife for cutting things up, and space is at somewhat of a premium. Plus I don't have a sweet santoku, and they are cheaper than Gyutos. I guess what I'm saying is that if I get a 240 gyuto, I will overlap the "need" for a bread knife.
 
I don't have the 210 gyuto, but the handle is typical of J knives, less clunky than the tojiro. Very nice pakka wood handle. So my best estimate is it is not as handle heavy as the tojiro dp. However, you are probably going to run into handle heavy issues if you are going for a yo handled knife with a relatively short blade. Not much else, other than a Sakai Yusuke Swedish steel wa-gyuto from Blueway Japan (closed for the moment) given your budget.

BTW CarboNext 170 santoku....since you asked.
 
The ITK bread knife is pretty sick, i have used it daily for 3 months now and its just awesome best 50 bucks i think i have ever spent!

Do you work in a kitchen using it everyday? I need a nice bread knife the "suisin" serrated slicer I got from Korin is a piece of ****.
 
If you're considering a santoku have a look at Hiromoto AS 190mm, a great all purpose knife if space is restraint.
 
^^

This. Very light weight nimble santoku. Like having a 240 gyuto, but in a 190 size.
 
I challange you for a cleaver :)

CCK Large Cleaver is cheap and you can go on the Buyt/trade/sell to find one :)
Ill chip in 10 dollars just to hear about your story :)
 
I didn't think of it before, but you might want to look at a little Carter.
 
I'd rather get a 180mm gyuto in Hiro G3 than a santoku if you want that size. That would at least allow you to do some fine work if needed.
I don't have anything against the santoku, there's a couple of them in my block, but if I were only going with 2 or 3 knives I can't see a situation where it would make the cut (so to speak).
 
Fujiwara FKM would fit the bill nicely as a beater...and it is very inexpensive and would stand up to poly boards quite well.
 
Good call, Caddy!
The FKM santoku is one of very few santokus I've ever been drawn to. It looks really nice!
 
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