Looking for some input for a Christmas gift - Chef knife/Gyuto

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ajhuff

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I am thinking about getting my Work Wife an upgraded knife for Christmas. Looking for ideas. Filled out the stock form.


What type of knife(s) do you think you want?

Chef/gyuto knife

Why is it being purchased? What, if anything, are you replacing?

Christmas gift


What do you like and dislike about these qualities of your knives already?

I think she has an 8" Mercer Genesis chef knife from her school kit. It could be 10" though, I'll have to check. She takes excellent care of her knives but she does not sharpen them herself. A friend of hers does the sharpening for her on a belt. Can't give more detail than that but given that we live in the sticks it's probably the same belt he uses on tools in the shed. :D I don't see her learning to sharpen or doing any of her own sharpening, ever. It's a nicer knife than one might immediately think. Has served her well and she likes it.

What grip do you use?

Primarily pinch grip, some hammer grip depending on the occasion.

What kind of cutting motion do you use?

I'd say most of what she does is either rock-chop or push cut.

Where do you store them?

Knife kit bag.

Have you ever oiled a handle?

N/A

What kind of cutting board(s) do you use?

Exclusively plastic.

For edge maintenance, do you use a strop, honing rod, pull through/other, or nothing?

Nothing. Once in a blue moon a butchers steel.
http://www.amazon.com/Mercer-Cutlery-Genesis-Sharpening-Steel/dp/B000NY2VZU/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1347510632&sr=1-1&keywords=mercer+steel

Have they ever been sharpened?

Yes, see above.

What is your budget?

Hmmmm... Let's say $200.

What do you cook and how often?

5-6 days a week at a golf course grill. Primary knife tasks are vegetable prep followed by some protein slicing, mainly chicken breasts.

Special requests(Country of origin/type of wood/etc)?

Open minded at this point.

Thanks!!!

-AJ
 
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No. I don't think so. I am pretty open to suggestions. I suppose for a used knife I might send it out to be rehandled to up the wow factor.

-AJ
 
Looking at her kit today I think her knife is 9". Also it says high carbon no stain. <shrug> I think for her I would have to add the caveat, whatever I got her would need to be stainless.

-AJ
 
Not much help here, but I have been looking at the Gesshin Kagero and they seem to be where I would go if I were buying stainless.
 
What about the CarboNext knife? Any thoughts?

-AJ

I have the CarboNext knife and love it. It's not stainless, but it's also not fussy. I've had mine for I guess 8 months or so and nary a patina. Sharpens very nicely. Go 240 mm.
 
Not much help here, but I have been looking at the Gesshin Kagero and they seem to be where I would go if I were buying stainless.

I know that I want a Kagero from Jon but it's just outside of my budget for a gift if I am considering 240mm. The Gesshin Uraku and Suisin INOX are in the budget. I have heard little to nothing about them though.

-AJ
 
I have the CarboNext knife and love it. It's not stainless, but it's also not fussy. I've had mine for I guess 8 months or so and nary a patina. Sharpens very nicely. Go 240 mm.

Thanks for that input. If you knew nothing about the knife, would you have assumed it was stainless?

-AJ
 
Black Friday is right around the corner--EE had some pretty good deals last year. Just something to keep in mind.
 
Black Friday is right around the corner--EE had some pretty good deals last year. Just something to keep in mind.

Good to know. I have never thought of them for after Thanksgiving sales. Unfortunately I am not familiar with many of the brands they sell. :(

-AJ
 
Looking at Epicurean Edge is a little overwhelming. These seem like they might fit the bill:
9.5 in Henckels Miyabi
9.5 in Might Chef MAC
10 in Shun Classic
9.5 in Kumagoro
9.5 in Akifusa

I don't recognize any of these names from reading this forum other than the Miyabi which seems to be 50/50 love/hate here.

-AJ
 
Thanks for that input. If you knew nothing about the knife, would you have assumed it was stainless?

-AJ

Well, I'm not sure. If you read the web blurb on japanesechefknives, it's clear that it is a semi-stainless (the Japanese characters on the blade say &#26412;&#37628;, which means something like "raw steel," probably a tool steel of some kind). But like I said, as you as you don't do something stupid like put it in a dishwasher or leave acidic juice on it for hours on end, I think it behaves pretty close to a stainless steel knife. Hope this helps.
 
One of my concerns is knife maintenance. As I said, she has a friend do it for her, I am pretty sure on belts. She is not one who is going to pick up a set of water stones. I don't want to get her too much knife that sharpening is an issue. I think many Japanese knives would fall in this category. I just want to get something that is noticeably better. I don't know if that is an F. Dick or a CarboNext or what? I know it's not a Devin Thomas, a Gesshin Hide, etc.

Thanks,

-AJ
 
Suisin Inox Western or CarboNext IMO. You don't need to spend any more than that.
 
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