Hi from Seattle

I enjoy cooking and recently I have some money to spare so I'm thinking getting a nice Japanese knife. My budget is around $300 and I am thinking getting a Masakage Koishi 210mm Gyuto. Any comments on this knife? Also, I plan to get it from knifewear (which seems cheaper compared to CKTG) but it is Canada based, will I encounter any problems from the customs?

Another newbie question, I have never experienced sharpening knives using water stone, can I practice it using my lousy 10 bucks chef knife?

Thanks in advance and I'm thrilled to join the forum!

Welcome to the forum.

There's a "Which Knife?" questionnaire in the kitchen knife sub forum that will get you some more suggestions, tailored to your requirements. In the meantime you might consider perusing some of the sponsoring vendors on this site. Epicurean Edge is in your backyard and offers some very nice product.. Japanese Knife Imports, Korin are also US based so there will be no shipping hassles. Japanese Natural Stones and Knives and Stones are overseas but both offer free shipping at a given dollar threshold. I'm sure I missed a couple.

daveb said:

Welcome to the forum.

There's a "Which Knife?" questionnaire in the kitchen knife sub forum that will get you some more suggestions, tailored to your requirements. In the meantime you might consider perusing some of the sponsoring vendors on this site. Epicurean Edge is in your backyard and offers some very nice product.. Japanese Knife Imports, Korin are also US based so there will be no shipping hassles. Japanese Natural Stones and Knives and Stones are overseas but both offer free shipping at a given dollar threshold. I'm sure I missed a couple.

Click to expand...

Aha never know Epicurean Edge is in Seattle, will definitely check that out this weekend. Thanks for the information!

Yes, welcome! Your budget will do quite well for you from any of a number of sites that will do better than CKTG.

Also, as for practicing sharpening on a $10 chef's knife, don't bother. The cheap stainless doesn't respond well to sharpening in general and certainly not to the same techniques as quality steel. Better to just get a cheaper knife to start with (though still not CHEAP) and realize that you'll screw up the edge a few times but it's fine and you can just try again.

Welcome! And DanHumphrey's advice is sound.