Of course, I know why you've started this thread. You vigorously question the utility of a pointed tip at every opportunity and that's fine with me. I didn't even open this thread until today because I'm just tired of the argument but someone told me you singled me out, so here I am. To answer your question, you're absolutely right. If there is no advantage to a narrower, more pointed tip, then all of us ridiculous gyuto, suji, petty, yanagiba, filet knife, funayuki, etc., etc. lovers should sell out and buy cleavers and nakiri. However, it does seem to me that a bunch of people just explained what they thought were advantages. As I've said before, I'm really not sure what you're confused about but I'm okay agreeing to disagree. For the record, I have nothing against santoku, nakiri or cleavers. I own at least one of each of them and I've even ground/reground a few of them so that I'd consider them to be very good cutters. If you don't want to use knives with pointed tips, thats fine with me. By the way, a friend of mine (home cook) just gave away his only santoku to his mom for Mother's Day. I'm not sure if it was the tip but he's keeping the gyuto version of the same line of knives. I'm not kidding.
I don't know at any time if I've ever advocated a particular type of knife as being superior to another. I think all knives have a place in the kitchen, even the pointy ones. Okay petties don't make a whole lot of sense to me, but a lot of people like them and find them useful.
There are certain arguments that are lacking. One of them is about the values argument. Usually it goes like this, for the same amount of money, there are better knives to be had. The problem is nobody states, what knives can be had at a similar price, and how they would be better then the knife in question. Tip work is another argument that keeps moving closer and closer to the values argument. The lack of a pointed tip, is often brought up as an objection to a knife that doesn't have a pointed tip or one that is too long to take advantage of the tip, but nobody ever says why a pointed tip is an advantage, it is just assumed.
TK59 for somebody who is constantly searching for a knife with the perfect grind, who has mentioned more then once that a pointed tip is the critical to the success of a knife design, but cannot explain the advantages of a pointed tip, besides I like them. Something is amiss.
I do think that every knife type has a place in the kitchen. The best all around knife, in the western kitchen is the gyuto. Somebody who is doing a lot of dicing, should look at a nakiri. What makes a sujihiki or yanagiba work, is its pointed tip. A takohiki is an exception to the rule, so there must be more to slicers, then a pointed tip. While I have my doubts about a santoku as a primary knife, I think it would make a good utility knife, or at the very least a cheese knife.
What about my go to knife the cleaver? Do I think its a better knife then a gyuto? No. In my mind they are equal. The gyuto is a much easier knife to use then a cleaver. Put a full size, 240mm, 500-800 gram, cleaver in the hands of most forum members, and I don't think they will be able to drop it fast enough. Cleavers also take time to learn how to use. Pinch grip a cleaver or try to muscle one around, is an exercise in futility. What is the advantage of a cleaver? Production.
Isn't part of being a knife nut, exploring different knife types, finding what knife works best for a particular task?
Jay