Semi-stainless or clad

I am considering semi stainless or clad gyuto. What knives would you consider under 150 dollars? I'm also interested in wa handle.

Blue moon from Japanese chef knives $98 plus $7 shipping. Stainless clad 210mm blue #2 core. Beauty of a knife. Wakui is also an option from bernal cutelerly. Smidge over budget but a beast of a blade all the same.

Is there a carbonext equivalent with wa handle?

Godslayer said:

Blue moon from Japanese chef knives $98 plus $7 shipping. Stainless clad 210mm blue #2 core. Beauty of a knife. Wakui is also an option from bernal cutelerly. Smidge over budget but a beast of a blade all the same.

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Thanks, I saw blue moon on JCK. seems great. Any feedback from this oval shaped handle?

jbou2 said:

Thanks, I saw blue moon on JCK. seems great. Any feedback from this oval shaped handle?

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It seems nice and flush with the ferrule but also depends on your grip.
I'm using pinch grip most of the time, so don't really mind whether it's oval, D shaped or western handle. (Prefer wa though.)
You can get used to it quite soon, or get it rehandled.

Yes i have been using pinch grip for the last few weeks and i feel good with this grip.
Around this forum and the net, I found those Gyutos as semi stainless or clad :
Entry level :
Blue Moon JCK (clad) (98$)
JCK Carbonext, but it is Yo handle, and I would like Wa handle.

Upper level :
Tanaka Ginsan (140$)
Wakui shirogami (182$)
Kohestu HAP40 (185$)
Itonomonn Kasumi (184$)
Konosuke HD2 (223$ !)

I'm not sure a can get all of these delivered to France. I would prefer staying under 200$.
Do you have any advice on these knives, and where to find them cheap for Europe?

All retailers in eu have higher price due the import taxes.
Only one you can buy knives with low shipment cost and no VAT are chubo and JCK.

Others retailers have very good service but they will charge you every single penny.

In ebay Bluewayjapan have a very good prices, but most of the time the products are sold out.

Tanaka ginsanko is now vg10

If I understand, Blade of Carbonext is made of steel containing half percentage of chromium vs classic stainless. So it is called semi stainless (!). But for other knives it is only clad carbon or different steel like ne high tech stell like HAP, HD, etc.
Where are other real "simple" semi stainless like carbonext, but with wa handle?

Heiji

Just FYI, these two are not mutually exclusive. More makers are making stainless clad knives with semi-stainless clad cores. If maintenance is holding you back from going full carbon, there are options for stainless clad with carbon cores so all you have to worry about is a little patina on the edge, which is a look I like but that's personal preference.

Clad? I'm guessing you mean a stainless steel clad knife with a carbon core or a semi stainless knife? Are you looking for easier maintenance with that criteria and is the reactivity the reason you are not interested in carbon knives and if so, is there a reason you've excluded stainless steels from your list?

Most Japanese knives these days are cladded (three layer / san mai)
carbon core - iron clad
carbon core - ss clad
ss core - ss clad
semi ss core - ss clad

There is much less mono steel options (semi ss or otherwise). So if you're open to ss steel that opens up more possibilities.

What size are you looking for?

Last weeks, I got conscious that I do not take enough care of my knife, so I finally ordered a stainless mono steel knife : 240 ashi ginga swedish steel. A little bit over my budget but I wanted it.

I think clad looks better than SS, more rustic

Is there any advantage to an iron clad compared to a ss clad except of the beautiful patina?

I imagine thinning should be easier with iron clad?

bennyprofane said:

Is there any advantage to an iron clad compared to a ss clad except of the beautiful patina?

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Iron/low-carbon steel cladding is a little easier to thin than stainless but IMO mainly from a scratch refinement perspective. On the right stones, soft stainless isn't bad to thin from a grinding standpoint, and can take a nice finish at the end of the day. However, I have noticed recently that carbon-cladding is easier to refine; stainless clings onto the scratches you instill longer. With certain stones, it can also feel gummier, with a less linear abrasion rate to iron cladding. Otherwise, SS cladding is nothing to worry about in my experience, and often I prefer it for its lower reactivity with acidic foods. When thinning, it's also less likely to rust than reactive cladding, which needs some vigilance with so much water exposure. The cladding is typically much more reactive than the core steel.

- Steampunk