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shauk

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 28, 2017
Messages
101
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48
LOCATION
What country are you in?
Australia


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)?
1x 8inch Chef knife 1x 6-8 inch Santoku 1x 4.5-6inch paring/utility knife.

Are you right or left handed?
Right.

Are you interested in a Western handle (e.g., classic Wusthof handle) or Japanese handle?
Something similar to shun or miyabi.

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

Do you require a stainless knife? (Yes or no)
Yes.

What is your absolute maximum budget for your knife?
800 - 1000 AUD.


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.)
Slicing vegetables, chopping vegetables, mincing vegetables, slicing meats, filleting fish, trimming meats.

What knife, if any, are you replacing?
Global.

Do you have a particular grip that you primarily use? (Please click on this LINK for the common types of grips.)
Hammer and sometimes blade grip.

What cutting motions do you primarily use? (Please click on this LINK for types of cutting motions and identify the two or three most common cutting motions, in order of most used to least used.)
Slicing/chopping and sometimes rocking.

What improvements do you want from your current knife? If you are not replacing a knife, please identify as many characteristics identified below in parentheses that you would like this knife to have.)
A light knife similar to global but resin wood handles with Damascus pattern, oh and better edge retention- basicly 1/2 tier better than Global.

Better aesthetics (e.g., a certain type of finish; layered/Damascus or other pattern of steel; different handle color/pattern/shape/wood; better scratch resistance; better stain resistance)?
Layered/Damascus, better scratch/stain resistance, harder steel, nice wood pattern and pins(shun miyabi)

Comfort (e.g., lighter/heavier knife; better handle material; better handle shape; rounded spine/choil of the knife; improved balance)?
Same weight or close to global and good balance too.

Ease of Use (e.g., ability to use the knife right out of the box; smoother rock chopping, push cutting, or slicing motion; less wedging; better food release; less reactivity with food; easier to sharpen)?
Better food release would be great.

Edge Retention (i.e., length of time you want the edge to last without sharpening)?
When is needed


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

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

If not, are you interested in learning how to sharpen your knives? (Yes or no.)
Yeah I am not too bad on whetstone as I have stable hands but not good enought and do not have enough space to store to many stones.

Are you interested in purchasing sharpening products for your knives? (Yes or no.)
A ceramic honing rod would complete me for now!


SPECIAL REQUESTS/COMMENTS

Basically I am looking for something similar to Miyabi Birchwood with resin handles Shuns - please recommend a fast shipping and discounted website like Petersofkensingtom. Full price are for suckers XD

thanks in advance
 
Welcome shauk.

Where abouts are you located?

The recommendations you will get here will generally NOT be from a discount site. But we can recommend some knives which are much better than anything you've probably used before at fair prices, probably less than you are expecting to spend.

Note that Shuns (and to a lesser extent, Miyabis) don't get a huge amount of love here. This is for a number of reasons, but essentially, they are seen as pretty poor value for money (even on special) and the profiles, grinds, steels and heat treatments aren't brilliant.

I would recommend starting with 2 knives, a 210-240mm gyuto (chef's knife) and a 130-150mm petty (utility knife).

Do you want Japanese or Western handles?

Some of the priorities that you've set out are at odds. For example, it's difficult to have a damascus pattern which will be more scratch resistant than your globals (damascus patterns at this price range are almost all made out of a soft cladding steel).

Most people here would recommend whetstone sharpening, partly because a guided system like Sharpmaker or Edgepro won't maintain the geometry of the knives over time.

If you are interested in a mass produced, brand name knife similar to Shun, I can't really give a recommendation, as I've never used a knife like this. If you are happy to look at knives from smaller (probably Japanese) makers which cut much better at the same price, I'm happy to make some recommendations. Let us know.
 
Nemo said:
Welcome shauk.

Where abouts are you located?

The recommendations you will get here will generally NOT be from a discount site. But we can recommend some knives which are much better than anything you've probably used before at fair prices, probably less than you are expecting to spend.

Note that Shuns (and to a lesser extent, Miyabis) don't get a huge amount of love here. This is for a number of reasons, but essentially, they are seen as pretty poor value for money (even on special) and the profiles, grinds, steels and heat treatments aren't brilliant.

I would recommend starting with 2 knives, a 210-240mm gyuto (chef's knife) and a 130-150mm petty (utility knife).

Do you want Japanese or Western handles?

Some of the priorities that you've set out are at odds. For example, it's difficult to have a damascus pattern which will be more scratch resistant than your globals (damascus patterns at this price range are almost all made out of a soft cladding steel).

Most people here would recommend whetstone sharpening, partly because a guided system like Sharpmaker or Edgepro won't maintain the geometry of the knives over time.

If you are interested in a mass produced, brand name knife similar to Shun, I can't really give a recommendation, as I've never used a knife like this. If you are happy to look at knives from smaller (probably Japanese) makers which cut much better at the same price, I'm happy to make some recommendations. Let us know.
Click to expand...

I am located in WA, I am looking at 3-4 knifes tops I think the perfect shape would be 1 x gyuto 1x santouku (there's just something about them that makes asian cooking a pleasure) and a small untility knife for fruits and what nots.
 
Have you tried nakiri? I would recommend it instead of santoku.

1.Gyuto, 2.petty and 3.nakiri (in that order) will get you a long way. Maybe later on suji if you have need for one.
 
Are you willing to go carbon or not? And any particular reason why you really want both the gyuto and the santoku? They tend to both fill the same role, especially when you're aiming for an 8 inch chef knife and 7-8 inch santoku.

I second the recommendation for Tanaka's knives (Ginsan series if you absolutely want / need stainless) or the Shiro Kamo knives, both found at knives & stones. Both come with pretty aftermarket handles.
Regarding the petty... there's really 2 types; the types that have a rather high profile - more useful for working on the board, and the ones with a low profile - more useful for trimmming meats, in hand work and that sort of thing. It helps if you know what you'll be using it for.
 
kevpenbanc said:
There are these:

http://japanesechefsknife.com/SHIKIDamascusSeries.html#SHIKIDamascusPremium


I have a shiki petty, 120mm, that's pretty good.

There are loads more options on the website.
Click to expand...

JCK has a few good choices if you're absolutely deadset on getting overly fancypants handles. I'm not a huge fan of a lot of htme, but who knows; some of it might float your boat. JCK's prices are generally unbeatable.
The brands to look for (just click back towards the main page):
-Shiki
-Mr Itou
-Takeshi Saji
There's also some good stuff hidden under the 'specials' page on the main page.
 
Jovidah said:
Are you willing to go carbon or not? And any particular reason why you really want both the gyuto and the santoku? They tend to both fill the same role, especially when you're aiming for an 8 inch chef knife and 7-8 inch santoku.

I second the recommendation for Tanaka's knives (Ginsan series if you absolutely want / need stainless) or the Shiro Kamo knives, both found at knives & stones. Both come with pretty aftermarket handles.
Regarding the petty... there's really 2 types; the types that have a rather high profile - more useful for working on the board, and the ones with a low profile - more useful for trimmming meats, in hand work and that sort of thing. It helps if you know what you'll be using it for.
Click to expand...

Well I have not had any exprience with High carbon and have heard that they will develop rust/patina so I'd rather not risk it!
 
I have not had experience with Japanese handle, a silly question to ask but will it slide out from the handle after years of use?
 
JaVa said:
How about this?
http://www.knivesandstones.com/tanaka-r2-sg2-damascus-gyuto-wa-210mm/
You get the superb Tanaka grind and heat treat in R2 PM steel AND you can even choose the handle to your liking!
...And you get the best customer service experience to boot.

Another solid flashy option is the Takamura R2 Hana 210 gyuto (Takamura is the king of R2 steel land!).
Click to expand...

I have my eyes set on this
http://www.knivesandstones.com/tanaka-165mm-santoku-r2-ironwood/

But its sold out :(
 
shauk said:
Guys what about this ?

http://www.chefsarmoury.com/collect...products/mcusta-zanmai-type-r-230mm-kiritsuke

Mcusta Zanmai?
Click to expand...

It's a good price for an R2 knife.
My only concern would be that k-tips tend to have a fairly flat profile, good for slicing, but can be a bit limiting if you like a bit of a rocking type of motion.
I quite like leaving the tip on the board and cutting in an up/down type motion, not sure what you call it. K tip is not so good for this.


The wa handled Tanaka R2 that java linked to is a beast.
I have a 265 ironwood handled version, and it's a freak of a knife for cutting.
 
F-Flash said:
Have you tried nakiri? I would recommend it instead of santoku.

1.Gyuto, 2.petty and 3.nakiri (in that order) will get you a long way. Maybe later on suji if you have need for one.
Click to expand...

+1 to this set up.

If stainless clad is an option my suggestions would be:

1. Shiro Kamo 210 R2 Gyuto: nice and tall. (knivesandstones.com is in Australia)
Alternatively itinomonn stainLess 210 but these are much shorter in height and not R2. (japanesenaturalstones.com)
2. Teruyasu Fujiwara White 1 Nashiji Petty 150 direct from Japan. It is CHEAP, has character but will need sand paper for the spine.
3. Watanabe 180 nikiri stainless clad blue 2 direct from Japan. Awesome knife.

You get 3 different core steels to play with: R2, White 1, Blue 2 and three specialist knives.
 
Welcome to the forum! I won't make any recommendations - lots of knowledgeable folk helping already. However a comment on Japanese handles - no, they won't slip out of your hand after years of use In fact, with exposure to moisture the ho wood actually becomes grippier. And whenever, it's too oily, a quick sanding sets it right. Very versatile handles IMO.
 
I think he's asking whether the handle will slip out of the tang.

My understanding is that this is not a significant issue. I've certainly never had an problem.

Lots of great advice about knives to try in this thread.
 
Nemo said:
I think he's asking whether the handle will slip out of the tang.

My understanding is that this is not a significant issue. I've certainly never had an problem.

Lots of great advice about knives to try in this thread.
Click to expand...
Oops! My bad - I read the post too quickly. Sorry. But on topic... it's happened to me just once. Easily rectified with a couple of taps - no substances required.
 
Marek07 said:
Oops! My bad - I read the post too quickly. Sorry. But on topic... it's happened to me just once. Easily rectified with a couple of taps - no substances required.
Click to expand...

No worries, I have decided on the Saji R2 damascus gyuto 210mm and Shiki for my petty knife!

Personally I find the Western handle more appealing compared to the WA handles

Thanks guys!
 
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