Questionnaire v2 -- Western Gyuto, Forward Balance, Daily Workhorse

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jferreir

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 16, 2015
Messages
66
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LOCATION
What country are you in?
Canada

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 Knife/Gyuto

Are you right or left handed?
Right

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

What length of knife (blade) are you interested in (in inches or millimetres)?
210-240mm

Do you require a stainless knife? (Yes or no)
No, but I'm looking for low maintenance

What is your absolute maximum budget for your knife?
TBD



KNIFE USE
Do you primarily intend to use this knife at home or a professional environment?
Home use only. I'm looking for a go-to, daily workhorse.

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.)
Quite literally everything, save for hacking bones and cutting frozen food.

What knife, if any, are you replacing?
I love my Takamura R2, so I'm looking for something similar but a bit more robust/forgiving. I need something that can take a bit of a beating as a daily workhorse. Honestly, I'm afraid to work fast/loose with the Takamura, which is probably a good thing because it's forcing me to improve my knife skills and overall technique. But sometimes, I just want to whip something together without worrying about chipping or torquing a ridiculously thin/sharp blade.

Do you have a particular grip that you primarily use? (Please click on this LINK for the common types of grips.)
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.)
Push-cut, draw, slice

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.)
Essentially the same characteristics, but a bit more robust and forgiving. Further details below.

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)?
- Stamped kanji
- Smooth/refined handle (Takamura R2 is a tad rough)
- Good scratch resistance (petty, but I like shiny things)
- Excellent stain resistance
- Mirror polish finish. I like the look of the Kurochi finish, but have no experience with it.
- I absolutely hate the look of damascus and carbon blades. Sorry!


Comfort (e.g., lighter/heavier knife; better handle material; better handle shape; rounded spine/choil of the knife; improved balance)?
- Fully rounded spine/choil
- Prefer a light/nimble blade, but something that still feels robust and sturdy
- I want the exact same forward balance as the Takamura R2


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)?
- Expecting better food release with a thicker blade
- Don't want to worry (as much) about chipping/torquing


Edge Retention (i.e., length of time you want the edge to last without sharpening)?
- Edge retention must be decent compared to the Takamura R2, which is quite good.



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

Do you sharpen your own knives? (Yes or no.)
Yes and no.

I have the stones, just not the technique. I'd probably get them sharpened professionally, and only touch them up on the leather strop. My apprehension is well deserved. Trust me.


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

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



SPECIAL REQUESTS/COMMENTS:
Here are all the characteristics I'm looking for:
- French profile, similar to Takamura R2 (perhaps a tad bit taller)
- More robust/forgiving than the Takamura R2, with better food release
- Blade thickness of about 2.0-2.5mm at spine (to achieve the above)
- Fully rounded spine/choil
- Western handle only (I really like the tapered handle of the Takamura)
- SS clad, or non-reactive finish for easy maintenance. Mirror polish preferred
- I love the welded bolster of the Takamura R2, so something very similar
- Slightly forward balance, just like the Takamura R2 (perfection IMO)
 
Easiest thing to do would probably be pick up one of the many good moly/AUS-8 knives and round the spine/choil yourself with a hobby file and bit of sandpaper, takes like 15 min.

Suisin Inox, Fujiwara FKM, Gesshin Stainless, lots of options. Would recommend Mac PRO MBK85 for good fit and finish but priced higher and pretty thin/flat grind, although very chip resistant.


Edit: will not have edge retention comparable to the r2 though. Problem is you want a stainless workhorse with good toughness but edge retention that requires higher hrc and therefore (on average) more brittleness. Tough to balance these factors.

Hmm maybe AEB-L or similarly fine grained stainless heat treated to ~61 HrC but hard to find in workhorse grind without getting custom.
 
Do you have a ballpark figure of what you're looking to spend?
 
try the akifusa/haruyuki/artisan yo handled knives or tojiro pm?
 
Hmm, I think there are so many constraints listed, it's hard to come up with much...
 
If you can leave out stamped kanji, mirror polish finish and fully rounded spine/choil (the last one is easy to do yourself), then I would be able to come up with something. The knives suggested so far by others don't hit *all* your requirements, and frankly you have too many. But if you leave out the three requirements I referred to, then one that comes to mind would be a Misono UX10 240 mm gyuto.
 
Another option would be a Masakage Yuki (stainless clad and, i imagine, more of a workhorse kind of knife). I have Masakage Yuki honesuki, used to debone chicken, and i like its performance. Easy to take care.
 
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