Need Help with a Knife Set Suggestion

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Dave Martell

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I have a friend who asked me to recommend some knives. Here's his email....

I need some help. Someone is asking me for some advice on knives. You are the guru, so here goes?


Need western handle.


Stainless.


240mm gyuto.
Paring.
Slicer.
Utility.
Maybe bread.


Don't need to be the same maker.


Need to be relatively affordable.


What do you suggest?


Any help you guys can provide me here will be appreciated, thanks! :)
 
The only knife I will seem to always recommend is Tojiro ITK bread. Can't say enough about it. I have had so many people use mind and ask me to order them one its crazy! Other people will have much more informed opinions on the other choices.
 
i tell you what, I just bought several sets of the Fujiwara FKm series for several of my old cooks whose restaurant burnt down and lost all their knives and was quite surprised by the fit and finish and the screaming sharp edge you can put on them, that I bought a set for myself. I have been using them for a month now and edge retention is great and the handle is more comfortable then my Hiromoto 240Hc and I love that thing. I bought the 240 gyuto $75.00, 270 suji $80.00 and a 150 petty $39.00 + $7 shipping and got it in 2 days from Japan. They are not fancy, but they work damn well and are extremely affordable. I got them from Koki at www.japanesechefsknife.com.
 
...Fujiwara FKm series ... and was quite surprised by the fit and finish and the screaming sharp edge you can put on them, ... They are not fancy, but they work damn well and are extremely affordable...
+1 The only thing I don't agree with is the edge retention is just okay compared to other J-knives in my experience. The blade toughness differentiates it from the Tojiro which is more chippy. I do recommend Tojiro for people that can't live without large handles.
 
Fujiwara FKM utility
Cheap vics parer
Carbonext or Kon HD for the gyuto and slicer not totally stainless but hey you never know, you may get a guy interested.
Tojiro bread knife
 
+1 The only thing I don't agree with is the edge retention is just okay compared to other J-knives in my experience. The blade toughness differentiates it from the Tojiro which is more chippy. I do recommend Tojiro for people that can't live without large handles.
no, I agree with you on the edge retention compared to my Hiro , but for the price range it really isn't bad.
 
You want stainless? the best you can get is a full set of Misono UX10!
:spin chair:

Seriously though....

I've gifted several of the Fujiwara FKM petty and gyuto, everybody thinks they are grand.

My faithful BUDGET stainless setup would be:

MAC paring

Fujiwara FKM 150 Petty

Fujiwara FKM 240 Gyuto

Hiro G3 Suji. Usually I would say 240mm for random folks, but somebody asking for a 240mm gyuto would prolly rather a 270m slicer.

Fibrox bread knife


If not for the western handle factor I would push for a Yoshihiro gyuto. Still not western, but what about Miyabi? On sale at sur la table right now.
 
I'm gonna jump on the Fujiwara-FKM-budget-bandwagon. They are cheap so if your friend just don't like them it's not a big loss(can't remember how the handles was since i rehandled the ones i have).

And that Forschner fibrox bread knife is just a steal for what you get out of it.
 
ok, so i've seen the love for the tojiro bread knife, and i'm not quite sure why. isn't it just like every other bread knife? people were big fans of MAC for the scalloped edges that ?supposedly could be sharpened on stones at home?". OK - i think there needs to be some clarification on this bread knife thing, because I, too, was going to suggest rosewood forschner bread knife, rosewood forschner parer, fujiwara utility, and a CN gyuto ... and for slicer - gee - i think that'll depend on how thin/flexible you want it.
 
I'm still in the process of putting it through the worst possible tests I can think of (i.e I have a loaf of crusty bread sitting getting harder by the day), but it just cuts unbelievably well. I haven't used the forschner so my only other experiences come from a friends Mac & crappy knives and I really just love the FAF of the knife as well as its sharpness. First bread knife that I was actually nervous to run my fingers across. Starts ripping skin straight away.

Also tackles a watermelon pretty darn good. (Take a look at theory's video)

They also say you can sharpen it on stones but I'm not sure yet, it will eventually get to that point and I will have to post some results.

I really can't say enough about this knife, its made me buy more bread and watermelon then I ever did before.

Sorry I can't compare it to the Forschner!
 
ok, so i've seen the love for the tojiro bread knife, and i'm not quite sure why. isn't it just like every other bread knife?

I would never buy a knife just for bread...but I bought a Tojiro bread knife for sandwiches. You see, about 4 hours a day, I am making sandwiches to order. This thing makes almost no crumbs, doesn't snag on things like chicken chunks, and, if you use it right, it won't even compress cheap grocery store bread--slices through without mashing and doesn't make a mess. Stainless, convexed, and cheap to boot. What's not to like?
 
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