Alternatives to Kippington WP Gyuto

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Some good candidates:

  • Shihan: also a very high performance convex grind, not quite as thin BTE, but a little more robust feeling. In a pinch I would use my Shihan for borderline abusive tasks that I wouldn't put the Kipp on the line for, but IMO you give up a little pure cutting performance for it. Also the WP is quite a bit more finely tapered, while my Shihan holds thickness a ways further out to the tip.
  • Eddworks: my Eddworks ApexUltra feels more like a Kipp laser pony than a workpony, awesome cutter but also requires a little bit more delicate treatment. I think it's also marginally stickier, though not by much.
  • Blank Blades: the passaround I tried recently felt more like a Shihan than a Kippington, although it did have more pronounced taper. Nice knife.
  • Simon Herde: his recent production gyuto feels somewhat similar to a WP with a hidden tang western handle and curvier profile. A bit lighter than a WP of comparable size but similarly has simple but refined feel, great midweight convex cutting performance, and a very thin tip. Also maybe a bit closer to laserpony than workpony territory.
 
I’ve got a WP and an Eddworks. They’re both great cutters but feel pretty different in hand. WP has more pronounced convexing and more distal taper. Eddworks has thicker spin, carries thickness further towards the tip. Convexing on Eddworks seems to be higher up the blade (closer to spine), with a flatter, thinner grind closer to the edge. My Eddworks also has a smaller handle and more forward balance. Again both are great cutters and really good values, but also feel fairly different.

Edited to add: Kipp weighs 206 grams; Eddworks weighs 242. This is one of the biggest difference between the two and effects how they feel in hand.
 
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Also have both, agree with everything above. If youre open to Japanese knives that are as enjoyable to use
okubo- similar to WP in the sense that it just cuts everything fantastically well but ymmv- is wide bevel and has worse distal taper, might require a bit of thinning towards the tip (but also way cheaper)
Also a heavier tetsujin/myojin knife (but ask for specs beforehand, there is a pretty big weight variance, I've seen anywhere from 180g to 230g)
 
My Eddworks is a 180 s grind nakiri, so it's kinda hard to compare. I'll have a yanick to compare to soon, will let you know if it's comparable lol
 
Also have both, agree with everything above. If youre open to Japanese knives that are as enjoyable to use
okubo- similar to WP in the sense that it just cuts everything fantastically well but ymmv- is wide bevel and has worse distal taper, might require a bit of thinning towards the tip (but also way cheaper)
Also a heavier tetsujin/myojin knife (but ask for specs beforehand, there is a pretty big weight variance, I've seen anywhere from 180g to 230g)
My Okubo is a lot of fun but feels nothing like a Kipp. Edit - I'll actually note that there's a bit of overlap with the Kipp workhorse I had a while ago, both have quite pronounced low convexity for food release. Quite different from the workpony grind though.

My Kono MM does feel somewhat similar to a Kipp, its a slightly thinner convex grind (especially towards the tip which is getting pretty close to flat ground) but does have similar cutting feel and great performance. Would hate to have to choose between them.
 
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For me closest thing is
1. Hopwood goods 14C28N gyuto
2. @MSicardCutlery Zwear
3. Simon Herde

For closest l don’t mean these doesn’t perform as good as Kip, they are every bit as good but just slightly different
 
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