All Purpose Recommendation Request

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mml

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Hey guys,

Currently shopping for a good, all purpose knife that holds an edge for a long time (i.e. won't dull with a week's use on the line with minimal touchups such as-->), responds well to a black mac ceramic hone, and isn't so delicate that you don't have to be concerned when a fellow line cook decides to try using it without your permission and bones a chicken with it. I'm trying to use it for prep, service, pretty much everything--so an all-rounder. I figured a MAC mighty chef knife might fit the bill but my local cutlery store also carries Togiharu g-1 moly and togiharu moly. They have some more expensive ones too like Misono Dragon and a wide price range of kikuichis--but the kikuichi and the togiharus seem too thin to be as durable as the mac (which is also surprisingly thin). Any thoughts?

I am proficient on the stones, and I own a laser and such...I'm just looking for a more utilitarian option with low maintenance that will still deliver a very solid performance.

Thanks so much! I appreciate your help.
 
MAC's don't get much love here, but I still enjoy mine, in spite of having other knives to choose from. I thinned and re-handled a 9.5" pro chef's knife and still occasionally use a 8" pro, one of my first knives. That said, my favorite right now is a 9.5" Hiromoto I traded pots for. It needs to be re-handled, but I like the edge of blue steel, and the cool factor of an acid etched san-mail.
 
I've owned a Hiromoto AS before and at first thought it was the bees knees but eventually the edge retention and girth of the sucker drove me crazy on the line.
 
Edge retention issues with blue steel?
 
I felt as if the Hiro AS was chippy for my tastes and lost its edge much more quickly than many other knives that I've owned--granted i never tried steeling it. Because of the girth, once it lost its bite it was much more noticeable than other knives. To invite an unfair comparison, my konosuke hd blew it out of the water. I've played with other knives in blue that had much better edge characteristics.

But back to the subject at hand, have you guys tried playing with the MACs, Kikuichis, and Togiharus?
 
Possible, it was my first jknife. I have improved since then but im not in the market for carbon.
 
I'm using a 210mm kikuichi tkc gyuto that I picked up off a fellow forum member as my go to line knife and it is really just about perfect for my needs. Gets sharp and has held it well with minimal up keep. I've read that the steel is similar to the kono hd but takes a little toothier of an edge( a good thing in my book for an all-rounder )but not having an hd anymore to compare it to head to head I couldn't really tell you for sure how I feel about that statement. It has began to take a very slight blueish patina though is for the most part pretty nonreactive( I've got a similar slight patina that has formed on parts of the 19c27 of my suisins ). I like the knife a lot and will probably be grabbing the 270mm come Christmas bonus for general prep duty so I don't have to beat on my suisin IH's too hard( I want to keep these around for a loooooong time <3 these knives ).
 
I don't think any knife will respond well to a Mac rod unless it's very soft steel, I never use mine any more because it kills your edge retention completely and I've tried it on many different knives. What kind of knife are you looking for? I use a 210 petty as an all-rounder/line knife to complement a 270 gyuto
 
+1 for Kikuichi TKC. The steel is SEMI stainless, so it will get some greyish patina on it if you leave it dirty, and will rust if you really abuse / neglect it. The steel is actually really awesome though. Feels much more like carbon than stainless when sharpening and responds well to strops and hones. Factory edge geometry is pretty robust, but I thinned mine out quite a bit and still have no problem with durability.

I have really big hands and find the western handle on mine to be a little cramped on the underside so I eventually had it modified and re-handled.

I know that R ******* and C *** are dirty worlds on here, but the "Remedy" model is essentially a TKC, but with a (IMO) better handle, more robust blade, CPM154 (premium stainless, very tough, very wear and corrosion resistant) blade, and made in the USA. I beat the hell out of one (boned a chicken, cut rib bones, breast, spine, wings) and it didn't even flinch.
 
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