Help me choose a new Gyuto

LOCATION
USA

KNIFE TYPE
Gyuto

Right or Left Handed?
Right - Have only used double beveled knives.

Western or Japanese handle?
No preference.

Length of Knife?
240mm (not opposed to more)

Do you require a stainless knife?
No

Absolute maximum budget?
Shooting for $150-$200, but up to ~$250


KNIFE USE
Home or a professional environment?
Home

What are the main tasks you primarily intend to use the knife for?
Standard home chef's knife use. Mainly slicing, chopping, mincing vegetables and herbs, and some meat slicing.

What knife, if any, are you replacing?
210mm Tojiro DP Gyuto

Do you have a particular grip that you primarily use?
Only use a pinch grip.

What cutting motions do you primarily use?
Mostly push-cut, some rocking and some slicing

What improvements do you want from your current knife?
Size, steel type/hardness.


KNIFE MAINTENANCE
Do you use a bamboo, wood, rubber, or synthetic cutting board?
Yes

Do you sharpen your own knives?
Yes. Edge pro, trying to improve my freehand stone technique.

Are you interested in learning how to sharpen your knives?
Always looking to learn more.

Are you interested in purchasing sharpening products for your knives?
Not at the moment.


First off, thanks for taking the time to view this and possibly offer your advice and opinion.

I've been using a 210mm Tojiro DP as my main kitchen knife for a few years now, which was my entry into better kitchen knives. After a few years of use and abuse at times :O, and having purchased a couple carbon knives since then (blue #2 sujihiki and white #1 nakiri), I'm thinking it's time to upgrade to a new toy.

I'd like to continue with the Japanese carbon steels but I don't have a preference on the exact blend. From what I've picked up, the heat treatment and skill of the bladesmith can often be much more important than #1 vs #2 vs Super, etc. Due to my lack of experience with the multitude of companies and craftsmen out there, and the ever changing availability, this is where I come to you all for help.

As mentioned above, I would like to stay under $200, however if you feel that there is a definite step up in quality for something more expensive, I'll hear you out. The blade forging (hardness, edge profile, etc) is more important to me than a brand, logo, or aesthetics.

Finally here are a few I've found that seem to be good candidates if you'd like to weigh in. (sorry, seems like some URL's aren't loved here)

Masakage Mizu Blue #2
Kohetsu Blue Super
Ikazuchi 240mm Blue Super
Kagayaki Blue #2

Thanks again for your time!

Gabe

Gabe, a 240 gyuto between $150 - $250 opens up a huge amount of possibilities. Do you have a sense of what sort of grind you're looking for? Laser, workhorse, wide bevel, etc? Or what type of profile? Do you like taller knives? Put a premium on flat spot?

These sort of things will help narrow down further

The Kagayaki blue #2 are rather fat behind the edge. Consider the Misono Swedish carbon, or a Masahiro Virgin Carbon instead.

Thanks guys, I'll have to look into those.

Good questions. I plan to make it my primary knife. I would also say that I would put a premium on the grind quality and from what I know, I would definitely be interested in a wide bevel knife. I would like this knife to be a little on the taller side but it's not a deal breaker, and I don't have much of a preference on the locations/length of flat spots.

Shiro Kamo from Knives and Stones are worth a look. The new Shinko Seilan in aogami super comes in under budget with a nice ebony handle. I only own a suji from Shiro Kamo so can't comment on the gyutos, but read lots of praise around here and they're definitely tall! Tanaka at Knives and Stones fit the bill as well. My blue 2 damascus 240 is one of my favorite knives, really nice on the stones and just inspires a lot of confidence when cutting. Reactivity of the cladding has been my only issue, which according to others here has been significantly curbed in more recent batches.

The Tanaka ginsanko might also be worth a look.

Nemo said:

The Tanaka ginsanko might also be worth a look.

Click to expand...

Always worth a look. Sweet knife.

It seems you've encountered the auto-censure that stips links to Wally Mart, K Mart and those further down the spectrum....

I've wanted to try the Ikazuchi, stainless clad for awhile. As my preferences have evolved I find that almost all of my "keeper" Gyutos are stainless clad or stainless and everything I hear about that configuration is positive. (This is a URL that is well loved here)

https://www.japaneseknifeimports.co...uchi-240mm-stainless-clad-blue-super-wa-gyuto

A couple that are at or near the $200 price point, well regarded here, and that I have used are the Gessin Uraku and the Itinomonn Stainless. Both are solid knives, no bling just well made knives.

https://www.japaneseknifeimports.com/products/gesshin-uraku-240mm-stainless-wa-gyuto

http://www.japanesenaturalstones.com/itinomonn-stainless-kasumi-240mm-wa-gyuto/

James at Knives and Stones offers the aforementioned Tanaka G series and has just added a new line that he calls the best value he has. And he knows value well.

http://www.knivesandstones.com/tanaka-ginsan-nashiji-gyuto-240mm-with-ebony-handle/

Finally someone asked me about the Hiragatake knife that I had never heard of before. Found it on EE, hammered finish, SLD steel, decent handle, under $200 bucks. Looks somewhat like the Tanaka but have no first hand experience with it.

http://www.epicedge.com/shopexd.asp?id=95570

Confused yet?

Good luck in your search.

Edit: Aw chit. Just saw the carbon preference. Ewwwwwwwwwww.

For tall/wide bevel gyuto at your price range I would consider an order direct from nakaya heiji:

http://www.nakayaheiji.co.jp/contents/hocho/hocho-English.html

They can do semi-stainless or swedish carbon. A 240 gyuto comes in at just about $230 USD.

Beyond that, I would also suggest trying a WTB in BST and seeing if anyone wants to part with a stainless clad kochi KU, should still be right in your price bracket.

Let me tell you something i've learned over the years. Most knife vendors on-line are selling something with some fancy private label name out of Sekai.

I think you are really better off buying a mid level, off brand no name Sakai knife made of whatever steel you interested in. Then spend the rest on a set of stones. Even high end knives don't come with perfect edges, and if they do, you still have to maintain it.

Spend 100$ on a knife and another 150$ on stones and accessories for sharpening. It's a temporary investment, but you will always have a sharp tool around the house. I don't believe how much malarkey there is out there regarding knives. Japanese knives are fantastic quality, but there is no reason to get caught up folklore of blacksmiths and boutique products.

A great blade with a junky handle, or a great blade with an exotic handle at an exotic price...Sometimes it's nice to have bling, but compromise as much as you can with aesthetics and go for functionality.

Wow. Thanks a ton for all the great recommendations. Considering the fact that knives like these don't have a massive archive of product reviews like you may find on mainstream retail sites, it's nice to hear some thoughts from those who have some experience. Plus, I'm sure they would get far too many 1 star reviews from users complaining that their "expensive knife is rusting" after they ran it through the dishwasher...

CutFingers - Forums can often be nothing but a heated battleground of minor differences and opinions. I have had plenty of posts (not here) hijacked into an all out flame war which completely abandon the subject or intent of the OP. Thank you for responding with what I'm considering to be very sound advice, and I'll be sure to keep it in mind when making my decision.

I do need to invest the time and money with/on the stones and luckily, I now have some older knives that I can practice on without crying when I scratch and mar them all up. That being said, it may be a while before I'm comfortable thinning a blade that I just dropped $150 on, so a decent grind OOTB would be appreciated. Maybe my income will make that more relative one day, and hopefully my improved skill will make it moot.

Does anyone have experience with the single steel carbon knives like Benuser mentioned? I would think the protection of the san-mai cladding could be good for more of a workhorse knife, but if they aren't too reactive with the standard carbon steel care, they are appealing.

Some really nice looking knives. Not going to be an easy decision.

Gabe said:

Does anyone have experience with the single steel carbon knives like Benuser mentioned? I would think the protection of the san-mai cladding could be good for more of a workhorse knife, but if they aren't too reactive with the standard carbon steel care, they are appealing.

Some really nice looking knives. Not going to be an easy decision.

Click to expand...

It comes down to how much you xan rely on your cleaning/maintenance regime.

San mai does give you added protection if you are likely to leave it sitting wet or with food on it for a while after use, though the edge can and will still rust. So it isn't as safe as stainless is in that respect... like a midway.

But a mono carbon will likely develop a patina quickly from use which provides some protection during use and then you just have to make sure you wipe it during use occasionally and cleab and dry well when finnished.

I typically fill my sink with warm soapy water when i cook dinner so I can wipe and clean while i cook. And that way if i feel like swapping blades mid prep is easy. Quick wash and dry and grab the new blade.

chiffonodd said:

For tall/wide bevel gyuto at your price range I would consider an order direct from nakaya heiji:

http://www.nakayaheiji.co.jp/contents/hocho/hocho-English.html

They can do semi-stainless or swedish carbon. A 240 gyuto comes in at just about $230 USD.

Beyond that, I would also suggest trying a WTB in BST and seeing if anyone wants to part with a stainless clad kochi KU, should still be right in your price bracket.

Click to expand...

4 months lead time.

I'm still waiting, two months down, two to go