Convince me to buy ANOTHER Gyuto

Japanese Knives - by Tokushu Knife
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brooksie967

No more Ashi
Joined
May 21, 2015
Messages
1,222
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564
Location
Coquitlam, BC
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)?

Gyuto

Are you right or left handed?

Right

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

WA

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

240 - 270mm

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

Haven't decided but thinking about something in SLD or ZDP 189

What is your absolute maximum budget for your knife?

$600USD

KNIFE USE
Do you primarily intend to use this knife at home or a professional environment?


At 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.)

Everything veg related

What knife, if any, are you replacing?

Possibly replacing a 240mm takeda k-tip gyuto but i might keep that too.

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/pull/chopping depending on task

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.)

Something beefier but still hella thin behind the edge.

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)?


I don't want a ku finish unless it's reaaaallly pretty

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

rounded everything

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)?

Less reactive. I thinned my takeda enough that it doesn't wedge.

Edge Retention (i.e., length of time you want the edge to last without sharpening)?

Not really a concern as I sharpen everything myself

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

Wood

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

Yes, if i feel like it i can make any of my knives pass the hanging hair test without pastes or sprays on a strop.





SPECIAL REQUESTS/COMMENTS

Something tall. I'm 6'2 and have big hands and wouldn't want anything under 50mm in height. I want a wide beveled knife as I don't want to have to deal with thinning a knife after 20 or 30 sharpenings. I'm comfortable with wide bevels.
 
There's a nice gyuto on Haburn's site that fits your bill....only slightly higher than your max but pretty darned close. His knives are great performers.
 
Forgot about that part. No it's not a wide bevel grind. It's is hybrid performance/food release grind. I've got one in Damascus with that grind and like it more every time I use it. I've also got one of his wide bevels and it's an extremely good cutter but he doesn't have any of those in his store at the moment.
 
My only issue with that is i'm not set up to do thinning on a knife like that (without messing up the finish) after i've used it a lot. With a wide bevel knife I'm used to thinning and maintaining.
 
Smurfmacaw said:
Forgot about that part. No it's not a wide bevel grind. It's is hybrid performance/food release grind. I've got one in Damascus with that grind and like it more every time I use it. I've also got one of his wide bevels and it's an extremely good cutter but he doesn't have any of those in his store at the moment.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure if I'm supposed to post here considering the thread - so mods please remove me if needed.
I haven't addressed this on the forums or with many individuals including SM, but the default grind on all of my knives as of two-ish months ago is my "performance" grind. I see how my description is confusing. Occasionally I'll one with with a heavier spine, but they perform just as well.

I second Chinacats - definitely give Jon a call or pick up the WB gyuto he linked to. In my experience Jon has great customer service, killer products, and an excellent value all around.
 
Have you tried Heiji? Does a really good semi-stainless with nice wide bevels.
 
brooksie967 said:
Why the huge price difference from one site to the next? I know one is white 2 and the other is ginsanko, but is ginsanko really that much more expensive?
Click to expand...

Quite a difference between the 2 sellers. Wow, that's embarassing. There's also the Blue1 that's $50 more.

I had one before (used Gesshin, Blue1). May be too short for you, but a much better-made blade than the Kono Fuji which was quite shoddy. The Kagekiyo was way too light for me, though. To me the $355 at BMS is reasonable, but the $575/$625 prices at the other place seem really cheeky.

brooksie967 said:
My only issue with that is i'm not set up to do thinning on a knife like that (without messing up the finish) after i've used it a lot. With a wide bevel knife I'm used to thinning and maintaining.
Click to expand...

I know you're used to wide bevels and might be pretty experienced with them, but otherwise I'd question the ease of care idea. With the Kagekiyo and KonoF as examples, the wide bevels will be concave and the finish will end up a mess the first time you put them to stones - unless you decide to spend quite a bit of time at that point to flatten out the bevels (for looks and future convenience; when I've done this before it's taken several hours) and then try to create a nice finish with your stones at that time, if as you say you're not set up to restore/maintain the finish in other ways (ie. polishing with slurry, fingerstones). Also, when you do this you'll probably find that the nice uniform shinogi doesn't exactly match the blades' true contours and so then will end up less regular as well, which means the finish will be under further threat. To me the rep knives like these have for being lower-care isn't justified and it's easier to maintain something like a Watanabe or Toyama or Shig or Shigehiro after thinning, because then you just polish heel->tip and then relax.
 
Asteger said:
Quite a difference between the 2 sellers. Wow, that's embarassing. There's also the Blue1 that's $50 more.
Click to expand...

Where's the difference between sellers? Gesshin Kagekiyo 240 w#2 is $350 with saya. At buttermilk the same knife is $355, with lacquered saya.

The gesshin ginsanko and b#1 lines are significantly more expensive but I think they have upgraded lacquer work on the handles in addition to the better steels.

Plus the gesshin kagekiyo "stainless" series (VG10, perhaps?. . . Gasp) is actually cheaper than other vendors. Chubo sells the Kagekiyo VG10 240 for $490, without saya, although with the fancier handle. Gesshin version is $400 with saya and "plain" lacquer handle.
 
Have you tried K&S Sakai Takayuki Syousin Sakura? It's not stainless, but everything is rounded and it feels a mighty gyuto with that handle. Another option would be Watanabe. Again, not stainless (maybe he would make a stainless clad for you) and at least my choil wasn't rounded, but it feels beefier, as you described. Cuts like a dream.
 
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