can I get anything OK for ~$100? (for sushi)

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poutine_boy

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May 17, 2012
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What type of knife(s) do you think you want?
yanagiba / deba
Why is it being purchased? What, if anything, are you replacing?
home use, recreational
What do you like and dislike about these qualities of your knives already?
currently cutting sashimi with $10 knife, not looking too good.

What grip do you use?
grip?
What kind of cutting motion do you use?
interested in breaking down fish, and slicing for sashimi
Where do you store them?
cupboard
Have you ever oiled a handle?
nope
What kind of cutting board(s) do you use?
plastic cheap ones
For edge maintenance, do you use a strop, honing rod, pull through/other, or nothing?
???
What is your budget?
~$100, might stretch ~$150 all in
What do you cook and how often?
sushi, once a week
Special requests(Country of origin/type of wood/etc)?







I want to break down whole fish (1-3lb range), and slice for sashimi. If i only had $100-$150, where should I put that money into first?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Japanese-SA...ltDomain_0&hash=item5893d30d42#ht_2916wt_1150

is something like that not any good? or will this price range still be a huge step up from $5-10 regular kitchen knives?

and do I need stones to get started? or will the knives come sharpened?

most of the recommendations for yanagiba and deba in knife threads I've searched on this forum, exceed $200 a piece, That's out of my price range.
 
No idea but I love your user name. Poutine rocks!

-AJ
 
I'll take the first stab.

Yanagiba--Fish Filet slicer. Good skinner too.
Deba--Fish Butcher.

Single bevel knives are not multi purpose. Think of them like a tire iron.
Must be very knowledgable about knives in a holistic sense to know how to sharpen.
Reasonable traditional single bevel knives are expensive cause the edge must be flat on one side and beveled on the other. Like a V missing one side of the V. But must be strong too. Thats where all the talk about different steels comes into the discussion.

If you're a knife nut. A single bevel knife is an essential part of your kit. thats cause you dig knives no matter what their purpose.

HOWEVER, unless you desire this sickness/condition/self-fulfilling must-have material item, buy a 300 Suiji, 240 Gyuto and never look back. Spend a grand on this kit. Hear me. Never look back.

Lastly, the more questions you ask, the more the questions you will have. Thats how she grows.

On the upside, the disease does lead to some very nicely sliced tomatoes!
 
I think you would be dissappointed in the quality of a single bevel knife at that price point...for one let alone two. Of the two knives you mentioned, I'd let go of the Deba first. Until I had one, I broke down fish all the time with a Gyuto. I think a quality Gyuto would make sense. If you really care about slicing the fish, you might consider a Suji as Mucho suggests, instead of the Gyuto. You can get a CarboNext Suji that fits your price point at JCK.

But as Mucho says...click on those websites at your own peril...you'll be looking for extra knife storage in no time.
 
that's what I thought too.....

so what price point do I have to move up to, to get a decent single bevel yanagiba? I'll probably hold off on the deba for now, would rather add to a collection slowly then buy bad quality equipment.

can I get one for $150ish?



not trying to dodge the recommendations for other kinds of knives, but my priority is nice cuts of sashimi.
 
If you were dead set on yanigiba found this http://korin.com/Stain-Resistant-Yanagi?sc=22&category=52108
They have a suisin for around $200. That being said a sujihiki would probably have more use for you.
For your information you can get free knife sharpening. He is very good, but then you have to agree to no return policy because it was sharpened. The plus is you can get it very sharp and in your price range/style.
 
^i'm as newbie as it gets, never heard of sujihiki

Ill look around the net, thnkx


edit: what's the reason for recommending a sujihiki?

tbnkx
 
truth is blueway sells some nice stuff and a lot of us have made purchases from him and have been remarkably surprised both by the low price and the quality of his products. He uses lesser known brands and makers, but that does not necessarily translate into lesser knives. I have heard good things about the Sakai Yoshiharu knives and never anything bad about them. Obviously they aren't on the high end, but you aren't going to loose anything trying it out. Just remember that lacquer will flake off eventually, so think about a rehandle or just spend a little extra if you are concerned.
 
For home use I think, its perfectly fine to use stones cheaper singlebevels, just concentrate on technique. a lot of people working in Sushi restaurants use some crappy knives but they get by at acceptable levels
 
@Poutine_boy: Where do you find sashimi-grade fish here? I'm not sure where Miyamoto gets theirs, possibly United?
 
I use a cheap Kanehisa for cutting sashimi, skinning, etc. I love it. I would choose it over any gyuto I own.

As a beginner, get an inexpensive yanagiba. Sharpening a single bevel knife is very different than a double bevel; if you mess it up, it's not going to be as costly of a mistake.

I second that comment about the lacquered handle. I would try and get a plain handle instead; because you're cutting a lot of fish, your handle will get wet and that lacquer will come off eventually.
 
I use a cheap Kanehisa for cutting sashimi, skinning, etc. I love it. I would choose it over any gyuto I own.

As a beginner, get an inexpensive yanagiba. Sharpening a single bevel knife is very different than a double bevel; if you mess it up, it's not going to be as costly of a mistake.

I second that comment about the lacquered handle. I would try and get a plain handle instead; because you're cutting a lot of fish, your handle will get wet and that lacquer will come off eventually.

yanagi handle should not really be getting wet at all. My deba also pretty much doesn't get very wet either, but I never filleted under running water as I've seen in a lot of videos.
 
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