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Consequence

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 5, 2015
Messages
151
Reaction score
13
Location:
What country are you in?

Singapore (buying from overseas isn't an issue)



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)?
Two knives I want,
Gyuto, nakiri

Are you right or left handed?

Right

Are you interested in a Western handle (e.g., classic Wusthof handle) or Japanese handle?
Both are fine, but wa is nice. I'm not picky

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

210~240 (mm) gyuto , 165~180 (mm) nakiri

Do you require a stainless knife? (Yes or no)
No, but I don't mind either.

What is your absolute maximum budget for your knife?
250~300 usd



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

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.)

Mostly dealing with vegetables, meat and fish portioning sometimes

What knife, if any, are you replacing?
I wouldn't call it replacing, but I'm using a Hiromoto 190mm AS santoku

Do you have a particular grip that you primarily use?
Pinch.

What cutting motions do you primarily use?

Push and chopping

What improvements do you want from your current knife?

Better aesthetics
Kurouchi or Damascus would be nice, but any finish is fine. I'm more Concerned about performance

Comfort
Something slightly blade heavy.
A handle that isn't too cheap eg:( no plastic ferrules, and no 'steps' in the handle and ferrule)

Ease of Use
smooth push cutting, less wedging; better food release; easier to sharpen.

Edge Retention (i.e., length of time you want the edge to last without sharpening)?
This doesn't really matter. But not too short an edge life.


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

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

If not, are you interested in learning how to sharpen your knives? (Yes or no.)
I am interested in improving my technique

Are you interested in purchasing sharpening products for your knives? (Yes or no.)
Yea, because my stones and tools at the moment are extremely limited.


SPECIAL REQUESTS/Comments.
If you are recommending a project knife, that would be cool too. :)
 
Munetoshi nakiri
Itinomonn stainLess gyuto 210 or 240

Dont have experience with either one. But have itinomonn petty and munetoshi slicer. Both great knives and very good for the price. Would love to try other knives from the makers.
 
If you want blade heavy than I would suggest you stay with wa handles. Munetoshi is a fantastic knife and incredible value, but is indeed on the workhorse side of things and will wedge in hard and tall vegetables, other than that I love it. It should be noted, that it has relatively flat profile. In general I would recommend thinking of what profile would suit you better - that depends not only on cutting style, but also on the height of the kitchen counter relative to your physical weight. Just give it a though with a knife in hand.

If you want a really nice kurouchi, than have a look at the following knives - Kochi from Jon (JKI), Munetoshi from Maxim (JNS) and Wakui. There surely are others, but these 3 I have seen first person. I have Kochi kurouchi 180 santoku (k-tip) and that knife is incredibly thin behind the edge, while having enough spine thickness that gives it some weight.

Both Jon and Maxim offer fantastic sharpening stones. You will need a separate budget for that though as 3 stones would cost you $200 - $300. Maxim is also an expert when it comes to natural stones (but once you go there you may find telling yourself that you NEED that $500 Aka Renge Ohira rather fast)

Also - Shinichi Watanable gyuto would be a great choice, but I guess that one might be out of your budget (I hear his 'standard' knives come with a handle you explicitly want to avoid, but other may comment more on that). Shinichi is also very easy to communicate with, so if you like his knives then just send him an email. He also does kurouchi knives. I have briefly used a 240 gyuto from him and man that was a great knife. It felt larger than 240 in spite of still reasonable weight of 235g. The blade height of 55mm might have something to do with that. Watanabe has also large selection (and knowledge) when it comes to natural stones. Accidentally - I just bought several from his as he is just offering some very attractive discounts.

On top of that I would recommend to shoot an email to Jon from JKI - he is a super nice gyut and he can give you some great advice (I had already several discussions with him).

If you would consider stainless or semi stainless, than the already mentioned Itinomonn SemiStainless is a great knife and again, very good value. Mine came with some of the best finished HO-wood handles I have seen. I would definitely recommend 240 over 210 as the knife is not too tall and is also not too heavy. I got 210 just to play around, but would get 240 if I plan to keep it for longer time.

And then there are many, many more knives :)

Have fun :)
 
I would second the Kochi suggestion, as I have the chef, santoku, and nakiri in differing formats. Very thin, fun to use.

But as Matus says, there are many fun knives out there.
 
+1 for F-Flash rec.
The Munetoshi nakiri and Itinomonn kasumi (semi) StainLess 240 pair are very solid choices. I don't have the Munetoshi, but want one and it gets all kinds of love here. I prefer that 180 size that it comes in. I do have the Itinomonn and it is a wonderful knife

If the 300$ was the total budget then check out the Tanaka VG10 damascus nakiri and B2 SS clad 210 gyuto at Knives & Stones. I have lots of knives from Tanaka and they're all great. His stuff are much loved here also. Plus James from K&S is a joy to deal with.

Another stellar under 300$ option is Shiro Kamo B2 Migaki line and B2 Black Dragon line at Cleancut (they're web store is only in Swedish but I just use Google translator) The Migaki line knives are super thin lasers and the Black Dragon line knives are sturdy middleweights. You can mix and match, but I'd go with the Migaki Nakiri and Black Dragon gyuto. I've got several Kamo knives (from these two lines too) and they are some of my favourites.

Like others have said the Kochi line from JKI would be great. Don't have any but they do get a lot of praise.

Pick your favourites, enjoy them and remember get back with an update of what did you get and how you like them? :)
 
Also look at the Shiro Kamo Syousin Suminagashi line in R2 (powder metallurgy stainless) steel. I recently got my 270 from James at K&S who is, as mentioned, a delight to deal with. ~300AUD for 210mm, ~315AUD for 240mm gyuto.

It's blade-heavy but not unwieldy. It's a tall blade with an understated damascus cladding. Sturdy but quite thin behind the edge, so no issues with wedging. Tip is thin enough for fine work. Balance point on my 270 is 3-4cm in front of my pinch. Great F&F (James rounds spine & choil). Takes a fine edge and holds it a fair while. The convex blade doesn't easily get stuck in wet foods (onion, potato) like some thinner flat grinds seem to.

The rosewood handle is quite nice and suits it well (but I can't wait to see what James comes up with when/if he gives it the full "K&S treatment").

In my hands (home cook, OK, but not pro knife skills), it does nearly everything very well. It's my go-to workhorse. I think it's an attractive knife and great value.
 
Last edited:
F-Flash said:
Munetoshi nakiri
Itinomonn stainLess gyuto 210 or 240

Dont have experience with either one. But have itinomonn petty and munetoshi slicer. Both great knives and very good for the price. Would love to try other knives from the makers.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your suggestions!
However whenever I'm on JNS, many of the knives that are interesting and some of the ones you recommended here are out of stock or unavailable. And usually when they are back in Stock again I can't get my hands on one as they are usually snatched LOL. I will email Maksim and see what I can work out with him. :)
 
Matus said:
If you want blade heavy than I would suggest you stay with wa handles. Munetoshi is a fantastic knife and incredible value, but is indeed on the workhorse side of things and will wedge in hard and tall vegetables, other than that I love it. It should be noted, that it has relatively flat profile. In general I would recommend thinking of what profile would suit you better - that depends not only on cutting style, but also on the height of the kitchen counter relative to your physical weight. Just give it a though with a knife in hand.

If you want a really nice kurouchi, than have a look at the following knives - Kochi from Jon (JKI), Munetoshi from Maxim (JNS) and Wakui. There surely are others, but these 3 I have seen first person. I have Kochi kurouchi 180 santoku (k-tip) and that knife is incredibly thin behind the edge, while having enough spine thickness that gives it some weight.

Both Jon and Maxim offer fantastic sharpening stones. You will need a separate budget for that though as 3 stones would cost you $200 - $300. Maxim is also an expert when it comes to natural stones (but once you go there you may find telling yourself that you NEED that $500 Aka Renge Ohira rather fast)

Also - Shinichi Watanable gyuto would be a great choice, but I guess that one might be out of your budget (I hear his 'standard' knives come with a handle you explicitly want to avoid, but other may comment more on that). Shinichi is also very easy to communicate with, so if you like his knives then just send him an email. He also does kurouchi knives. I have briefly used a 240 gyuto from him and man that was a great knife. It felt larger than 240 in spite of still reasonable weight of 235g. The blade height of 55mm might have something to do with that. Watanabe has also large selection (and knowledge) when it comes to natural stones. Accidentally - I just bought several from his as he is just offering some very attractive discounts.

On top of that I would recommend to shoot an email to Jon from JKI - he is a super nice gyut and he can give you some great advice (I had already several discussions with him).

If you would consider stainless or semi stainless, than the already mentioned Itinomonn SemiStainless is a great knife and again, very good value. Mine came with some of the best finished HO-wood handles I have seen. I would definitely recommend 240 over 210 as the knife is not too tall and is also not too heavy. I got 210 just to play around, but would get 240 if I plan to keep it for longer time.

And then there are many, many more knives :)

Have fun :)
Click to expand...

Thanks for taking the time to reply!

I will keep my eyes peeled for these knives and websites you recommend.
However I really do not dare to foray into natural stones, im really afraid of many problems and I have many queries regarding natural stones. I will shoot emails to Jon and Maksim to see what I can do.
Yes, thanks for mentioning shinichi's website, I will have an in depth look as well, I have never heard of him prior to this.
Have a good day!
 
I will look at the kochi lineup. :)
What are these magical fun knives that you and Matus speak of? 😂I wouldn't mind hearing about these as well.
 
Last edited:
JaVa said:
+1 for F-Flash rec.
The Munetoshi nakiri and Itinomonn kasumi (semi) StainLess 240 pair are very solid choices. I don't have the Munetoshi, but want one and it gets all kinds of love here. I prefer that 180 size that it comes in. I do have the Itinomonn and it is a wonderful knife

If the 300$ was the total budget then check out the Tanaka VG10 damascus nakiri and B2 SS clad 210 gyuto at Knives & Stones. I have lots of knives from Tanaka and they're all great. His stuff are much loved here also. Plus James from K&S is a joy to deal with.

Another stellar under 300$ option is Shiro Kamo B2 Migaki line and B2 Black Dragon line at Cleancut (they're web store is only in Swedish but I just use Google translator) The Migaki line knives are super thin lasers and the Black Dragon line knives are sturdy middleweights. You can mix and match, but I'd go with the Migaki Nakiri and Black Dragon gyuto. I've got several Kamo knives (from these two lines too) and they are some of my favourites.

Like others have said the Kochi line from JKI would be great. Don't have any but they do get a lot of praise.

Pick your favourites, enjoy them and remember get back with an update of what did you get and how you like them? :)
Click to expand...

I will consider knives and stones offerings, they look really cool.

Of course, I will check back with what I got and update you guys on the new stuff
Thank you!
 
Nemo said:
Also look at the Shiro Kamo Syousin Suminagashi line in R2 (powder metallurgy stainless) steel. I recently got my 270 from James at K&S who is, as mentioned, a delight to deal with. ~300AUD for 210mm, ~315AUD for 240mm gyuto.

It's blade-heavy but not unwieldy. It's a tall blade with an understated damascus cladding. Sturdy but quite thin behind the edge, so no issues with wedging. Tip is thin enough for fine work. Balance point on my 270 is 3-4cm in front of my pinch. Great F&F (James rounds spine & choil). Takes a fine edge and holds it a fair while. The convex blade doesn't easily get stuck in wet foods (onion, potato) like some thinner flat grinds seem to.

The rosewood handle is quite nice and suits it well (but I can't wait to see what James comes up with when/if he gives it the full "K&S treatment").

In my hands (home cook, OK, but not pro knife skills), it does nearly everything very well. It's my go-to workhorse. I think it's an attractive knife and great value.
Click to expand...

This sounds really sweet, however I am worried about R2. Is it really hard to sharpen? I'm used to sharpening whites and blues. Maybe blue super. I've heard a lot of things about how the powder steel settles, and that it's hard to sharpen?
 
Consequence said:
This sounds really sweet, however I am worried about R2. Is it really hard to sharpen? I'm used to sharpening whites and blues. Maybe blue super. I've heard a lot of things about how the powder steel settles, and that it's hard to sharpen?
Click to expand...
It's a little harder to sharpen than carbon steels but not that much harder. The Shiro Kamo is really thin behind the edge so not really difficult to sharpen at all.
Ive sharpened R2/SG2, SRS-15 and HAP40- none of these were very difficult to sharpen (all the knives were quite thin behind the edge, though).
I've never sharpened ZDP189 but I've heard people say that it can be a bit harder to sharpen.
 
Nemo said:
It's a little harder to sharpen than carbon steels but not that much harder. The Shiro Kamo is really thin behind the edge so not really difficult to sharpen at all.
Ive sharpened R2/SG2, SRS-15 and HAP40- none of these were very difficult to sharpen (all the knives were quite thin behind the edge, though).
I've never sharpened ZDP189 but I've heard people say that it can be a bit harder to sharpen.
Click to expand...

i will give it a shot, thanks for replying!
 
The budget is for each blade. Shiro kamo looks like a good contender, along with the kochi, munetoshi, itinomonn, and other knives recommended above :)
Thanks to all for replying. I will decide and purchase one soon!
 
Consequence said:
i will give it a shot, thanks for replying!
Click to expand...

One point I should make is that I use Naniwa Chosera (?identical to pro) stones, which cut fairly fast. Some here have said that they would not want to sharpen zdp189 with slower stones. I don't think this applies to R2/SG2 (which is much less abrasion resistant) but I'm not 100% sure.

The guys in the Sharpening Station could give you a good rundown on this I guess.

If you decide on the Shiro Kamo, you could also email James at K&S about the best stone setup for R2.
 
Consequence said:
The budget is for each blade. Shiro kamo looks like a good contender, along with the kochi, munetoshi, itinomonn, and other knives recommended above :)
Thanks to all for replying. I will decide and purchase one soon!
Click to expand...

I don't think there are any bad options here. You'll have a cool knife whichever one you choose.

Be sure to show the knives to us when they arrive 😎.
 
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