Gyuto for my wife

My wife is finally ready to upgrade from her Victorinox knives and has been looking at knives with me and we have narrowed it down to two. I realize there are more than a few other knives that fit into the price range and are similar in many other ways but these seem to be the two that speak to her the most so I was looking on some input of which way to lean.

She is looking at the Fujiwara FKM 240 and Suisin Inox Western 240. These knives seem to be rather similar in most every way but I am unsure of things like how thin they are at and behind the edge, distal taper and fit and finish. As these two are a bit softer I think either will make for a decent introduction into J-knives for her. Later on down the line I have some knives she can take her pick of if she so chooses (she likely won't progress beyond this, though.).

Can someone maybe compare these knives and help me to understand which is the better buy? There seems to be a lot of data on the FKM and videos but I have only found more basic info on the Suisin line. Unfortunately we live in cow country and can not check them out first hand.

(Relevant data: She does not sharpen but I do. She likes to have a flat spot at the heal thus the 240 as I have found most 210s have very little. She does a lot of push cutting rather than rocking. Mostly veggie prep.)

Thank you.

Sounds like you might want to consider a bunka/nakiri/santoku if she's doing veggie, push cutting, and likes it flatter.

strumke said:

Sounds like you might want to consider a bunka/nakiri/santoku if she's doing veggie, push cutting, and likes it flatter.

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We have a Santoku that she thinks is too short. I have no experience with the others and she is used to a chef knife. Maybe in the future.

Thank you, though.

Or a kirutsuke-shaped gyuto?

Maybe you should fill out the questionnaire so that we can give you specifically tailored advice:
http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/s...hich-Knife-Should-I-Buy-quot-Questionnaire-v2

Nemo said:

Maybe you should fill out the questionnaire so that we can give you specifically tailored advice:
http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/s...hich-Knife-Should-I-Buy-quot-Questionnaire-v2

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I appreciate that but I was really only looking to find out which way to go between the two listed Gyutos. I was hoping someone had both and could compare them. I ran a search on the site but only came up with a little information on the Suisin. There is a lot on the Fujiwara and I was wondering how the two compare. I realize they are both entry level knives with similar steel and hardness but I don't know how things such as F&F compare, etc.

I have the 270mm Fujiwarra Kanefusa FKM gyuto. It's thin and tall (55mm at the heel I think) and has a reasonably flat profile. The grind is pretty flat and food release is not brilliant (especially given the semi-mirror finish). It's not all that thin behind the edge though, so can wedge. It is quite asymmetrically ground. The steel is OK. It takes a reasonable edge but not quite as keen as most of my other knives, and certainly not like a carbon knife. Having said that, the tip was certainly adequate to slice my finger open when I had a momentary lapse of concentration last week :O. Deburring is not as easy as a carbon knife but no more difficult than Western stainless IMO.
It holds the edge for a reasonable time depending on what you do with it (it's more abrasion resistant than carbon but not that hard, so probably copes better with slicing than chopping). I probably wouldn't steel it given the asymmetry.

The F&F of the handle is fine. The spine and choil need rounding. Needs some thinning behind the edge. The OOTB edge cut OK but was not a masterpiece- quite a thick (~22 degree) bevel. Not an issue if you sharpen.

BTW, what stones will you sharpen with?

It's a good knife for the price and despite its flaws, I like it and still often use it even though I have some much more expensive knives that do the same job.

Overall, it looks a to me like a harder, asymmetrically ground Victorinox with a much better handle.

Never used the Suisin.

There are other good knives to consider in this price bracket. Look especially at Tojiro DP (I've never used one but it's often recommended).

I would recommend the Suisin over the Fujiwara. Better geometry, F&F and feel in hand. Alternatively the Masahiro MV Honyaki/MV-H 148/149 series would also be a great choice, especially for the profile.

Gyuto for my wife? - Good Trade! OK - someone had to say it...

I'm a fan of the Suisin for anyone that wants a good knife but is not likely to go overboard. One of the questions on that illusive questionnaire is where do you live? In the US the Suisin is available from Korin and also available from Amazon. The Amazon option allows you to try the knife and if it doesn't work for you to return it with little fuss.

For Mrs Kitten I encourage you to consider a 210 vice the 240. I'm at 6' and prefer a 210 for the home kitchen, 240 and up for a lot of prep.

Thank you everyone, I was away for a bit. I have some J-knives of my own and just wanted to get something more forgiving for my wife. That is why I was looking at the entry level mono stainless stuff. As I said we had narrowed it down to the two that she likes. So I just wanted to get some opinions on one over the other as likely she will not upgrade beyond this, at least not for a number of years. She has been using her Euro knives for many years, say 30 or so.

I can ask about the 210 but she wears a size large glove and is 6' as well. I am the short one with small hands that uses the 210 and often times a 180. I believe her Fibrox is the 10 inch model because I don't think there is a normal 9 inch, just the narrow and I know it is longer than my 210's. (That whole sentence just sounds off...)

Moving on: At the moment we are in the United States but that changes at times. Sometimes Dublin or Cork and other times Valencia.

TBH I am not sure that she will notice the upgrade much but at least it will look and feel nicer than the cheaper Fibrox she has now.

Jumping around a bit, I was looking at the Suisin at Korin because I like to support brick and mortar stores (too many have gone by the wayside as is) and JCK for the Fujiwara (there is another fellow that sells them but seems to get a lot of bad press so I figured I'd stick with someone recommended.). One thing I did notice about the Suisin in the whopping one video that I found in the internet is that it is very, very flexible, is the Fuji stiffer?

Thanks again.

Tojiro is best bang for buck but 240 handle may be big. 210 handles in my experience are pretty nice and not as blocky. Similar shape to Fujiwara kanefusa but unlike pakkawood doesn't fade. Pakkawood looks nicer tho, I like the red handled Fujiwara

I'd also throw this out even though it is currently out of stock (210's are available)...may be worth a call to Jon just to see if they'll be re-stocked any time soon. Fit and finish will be very good and if you ask, it will come with as sharp an edge as the knife will take

To my mind, the Fuji doesn't seem flexible in use despite being a 270.

The spine is 2.4 mm thick at the heel and it maintains a thickness of over 2mm until about 5cm from the tip, from whence it tapers to a quite narrow tip.

chinacats said:

I'd also throw this out even though it is currently out of stock (210's are available)...may be worth a call to Jon just to see if they'll be re-stocked any time soon. Fit and finish will be very good and if you ask, it will come with as sharp an edge as the knife will take

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Yep I can imagine I might buy a fair bit of stuff from Jon if I lived in the 'States (the postage to Aus is fairly prohibitive). I guess we are lucky we've got such a great vendor as James here in Oz.

K1tten said:

One thing I did notice about the Suisin in the whopping one video that I found in the internet is that it is very, very flexible, is the Fuji stiffer?

Thanks again.

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Can you provide a link to that vid? The Suisin being flexible has not been my experience at all.

In the states you should check out JKI's Gesshin Stainless line. It compares well to the Suisin, both in price and performance. Differences are nuanced and probably subjective but I find the Gesshin to be the better cutter, the Suisin looks a little nicer on the wall. Whoops, just saw that CC also suggested this one.

daveb said:

Can you provide a link to that vid? The Suisin being flexible has not been my experience at all.

In the states you should check out JKI's Gesshin Stainless line. It compares well to the Suisin, both in price and performance. Differences are nuanced and probably subjective but I find the Gesshin to be the better cutter, the Suisin looks a little nicer on the wall. Whoops, just saw that CC also suggested this one.

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[video=youtube;3Qb0xgQA-_c]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Qb0xgQA-_c[/video]

Flex is at about 1:20

And yes, my wife likes the aesthetics of the Suisin line a lot and the fact that it has a few options in the line that others do not.