Your favourite gyuto under 300$

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JaVa

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Fellow forumites, I'm in need of your knowledge and experience.

No questionnaire here because this is not for what I'm looking for (sort of), It's more about what's perfect for you and WHY? I would like to hear which knives blow you away every time, the one that if you would get the chance to do it all over again you would get it in a heartbeat, the one that if you lost it you would get it again. You know which one I'm talking about. right?

This is a bit premature as I'm looking for any ideas for a knife I'll be getting next month so I'll have a chance to weigh all the options properly. The thing is my personal hit list is getting too short. I have two or three knives I still would like to get and I want to save them for later and I would like to find something fun and out of my comfort zone. Almost anything goes!

I don't want my personal preferences have any effect here. If it's something you like, but others may not, that's interesting to me. If it's something that's often recommended that's great too. The only request I have is that let's leave out the usual suspects like Takamura, Tanaka, Gesshin Ginga, -stainless, -Kagero, Itinomonn, Akifusa, etc.
I have some of them already. Plus just recently I got the Takamura R2 and Itinomonn stainLess is en route. (...finally! wuhuu! :bliss:) They're all great, but I'm looking for something from the left field maybe? ...Or maybe not? remains to be seen?

I appreciate any and all input from you guys and can't wait? :knife:
 
I won't recommend the Tanaka because I always bloody do. I tend to pipe in with Toyama a lot.. guilty. However, the one that's really blowing my hair back at the moment is a 270 Wakui gyuto. So incredibly thin behind the edge but not not flimsy at all.

 
Yoshikane SKD or Itinomonn (semistainless)/Wakui (trained under the former)
 
That Wakui looks oh so lovely. Although as the Itinomonn semi stainless is on it's way already and I believe them to be very very very similar so might too close to home. What steel is your Wakui?

I'll definitely check out the Yoshikane. :thumbsup:
 
I won't recommend the Tanaka because I always bloody do. I tend to pipe in with Toyama a lot.. guilty. However, the one that's really blowing my hair back at the moment is a 270 Wakui gyuto. So incredibly thin behind the edge but not not flimsy at all.

Great shot mate
 
Interesting thread, your favourite gyuto under $300, but lets leave the best contenders out? :) Geeeze dunno, Kurosaki AS Chiku series is well worth the money.
 
$200-$300 is the price range I shoot for with my knives. I use heiji semi stainles (from BST, sub $300), shiro kamo r2, kochi stainless clad carbon, tanaka ginsan, kurosaki AS, and most recently an Itinomonn v2. All 270 gyuto's from K&S, JNS and JKI, i can recommend them all but the kochi ($310?) is the one that surprises me the most when I pull it out. Nice heft and a wicked thin tip, I did request a thicker one from Jon. Makes the knife seem more versatile to me while say the heiji is best for slicing motions. I do look for beefier knives btw, the Itinomonn is the thinnest one I have.
 
Kochi V2 Ku...if you want to keep it under 200, Tanaka
 
Shibata Kotetsu 240 mm gyuto if you like flat profiles and laser thin grind comparable to Takamura R2 (but want longer than 210 mm). Note actual length is around 230 mm, but it's so flat, there's lots of usable length.

Kramer Meiji 8" is also a knife I really like in this price range if you want a tall knife.
 
Masakage or Wakui, Yoshikane and yoshimitsu

Masakage: Which one and why. I've looked at them before, but haven't picked up traction, not sure why?
Wakui: Looks very interesting, the incoming Itinomonn stainLess is probably very similar to Wakui Hairline, but let's see when I get the Itinomonn. If not so, the wakui moves high on the list
Yoshikane: Is the front runner for now
Yoshimitsu: Which one and why?
 
masamoto ks because of profile
munetoshi because of food release and steel
toyama because of grind

Masamoto: Looks very interesting. In the top two for now.
Toyama and Munetoshi: Have been on the radar. Toyama is very tempting but out of budget for now. Probably kinda a lot of knife for my taste, but really want to try one. The Munetoshi I will probably come back to in the future, just not now.
 
Interesting thread, your favourite gyuto under $300, but lets leave the best contenders out? :) Geeeze dunno, Kurosaki AS Chiku series is well worth the money.

Yep, It's because I'm looking for something different from what I have. :thumbsup:

Kurosaki Chiku: It is interesting, but the R2 version even more so. It's one of the knives to get on my three knife list.
 
$200-$300 is the price range I shoot for with my knives. I use heiji semi stainles (from BST, sub $300), shiro kamo r2, kochi stainless clad carbon, tanaka ginsan, kurosaki AS, and most recently an Itinomonn v2. All 270 gyuto's from K&S, JNS and JKI, i can recommend them all but the kochi ($310?) is the one that surprises me the most when I pull it out. Nice heft and a wicked thin tip, I did request a thicker one from Jon. Makes the knife seem more versatile to me while say the heiji is best for slicing motions. I do look for beefier knives btw, the Itinomonn is the thinnest one I have.

Heiji: Not a fan of whats been talked about their grinds.
Shiro Kamo R2: Love his stuff. So much so I'll get a B2 sujihiki and I already have two gyutos. So looking for something else this time. Otherwise super tempted though.
Tanaka Ginsan: I wish, but they're not made any more.
Kurosaki AS: I like the R2 version more.
Itinomonn V2: The stainLess is on it's way already.
Kochi: For some reason never been interested, but recently it's started to edge it's way into the conversation. Maybe at number three spot for the moment.
 
Kochi V2 Ku...if you want to keep it under 200, Tanaka

Kochi: Is starting to gain some traction.
Tanaka: I already have two and love them. Unbeatable value and who doesn't like that? There will be more for sure, jut not now.
 
Shiro Kamo R2 is amongst my current favourites, from all my knives.
Definately the best, by some distance under $300 that I have tried.

Kamo R2: One of my favourite makers. The R2 is probably in the cards eventually, but for now I'd like something different.
 
Shibata Kotetsu 240 mm gyuto if you like flat profiles and laser thin grind comparable to Takamura R2 (but want longer than 210 mm). Note actual length is around 230 mm, but it's so flat, there's lots of usable length.

Kramer Meiji 8" is also a knife I really like in this price range if you want a tall knife.

Shibata Kotetsu: I remember you recommending it to me somewhere before and I have to say It's started to creep up on me. Definitely is something different and a serious contender here.

Kramer: They're not for me and too short too.
 
Masakage I tried 3 line
Koishi, Yuki, mizu all great knives. Koishi among the other for grind edge retention, it s cut like a dream.

Yoshimitsu are simple, rustic and functional (blue n 2 line), full of character cut well and are very thin behind the edge.
 
Many thanks to everyones input here!!! :doublethumbsup:

I've been getting just what I hoped for. Really great!
If there's still some fun options left, I'm all ears.

Oh, and the knife will be a 240 gyuto. Slightly over budget is ok, but not a lot.
Thanks again!
 
I won't recommend the Tanaka because I always bloody do. I tend to pipe in with Toyama a lot.. guilty. However, the one that's really blowing my hair back at the moment is a 270 Wakui gyuto. So incredibly thin behind the edge but not not flimsy at all.


Is that a wakui Kasumi? Like the ones bernal carries? Man I miss mine!
 
The very same! Sort of Koishi, Kochi, Ittetsu thin behind the edge. Beaut of a knife for $210
 
Woof - $300 is a rough price point IMO. It gets you past the very nice and functional entry level (many of the ones you disqualified for being constantly recommended (which tend to max out ~200), but doesn't quite get to the nice custom maker stuff like Marko, Shi-Han, Dalman, etc. That's why I haven't been able to pull the trigger on the very nice Sukenari SG2s that James has.
 
One of my all time favorites: Misono Swedish steel, aka Misono Dragon. Why? It is WAY under your budget, it is carbon, F&F are among the best ever seen. Ok, it comes with Western handle only but at least a good one. Steel and profile are also pretty nice! For me, fantastic knife for the money!
 
Since no one has mentioned it yet, Takamura Pro. The 240 mm is a tad over $300 but includes a saya.
 
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