shobudonnie
Well-Known Member
Aside from stunning fit and finish, what are some knives that you have used where you don’t just go, this is a great knife, but THIS WAS AN EXPERIENCE!
Experience knives
- Thread starter shobudonnie
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Kamon for sure!
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Matt Jacobs
Senior Member
Bidinger
@Salty dog's Mizu Honyaki. That was bonkers.
First time using Toyama. It's now my gold standard by which everything gets compared.
Shihan is great experience. Goes through everything with so much authority. Had 0 low spots.
Simon Maillet, his recent work with the low bevels is great. Needed a quick thinning session but now it's excellent.
Lucid knives is super legit very similar to shihan grind wise but with a longer flat spot.
Everyone loves Migoto white 1 for the grind which is excellent. But for me the steel is the unrecognised star on that knife. Just stays sharp for ages. IMO I find it better than Tanaka blue 1 in terms of retention.
Shihan is great experience. Goes through everything with so much authority. Had 0 low spots.
Simon Maillet, his recent work with the low bevels is great. Needed a quick thinning session but now it's excellent.
Lucid knives is super legit very similar to shihan grind wise but with a longer flat spot.
Everyone loves Migoto white 1 for the grind which is excellent. But for me the steel is the unrecognised star on that knife. Just stays sharp for ages. IMO I find it better than Tanaka blue 1 in terms of retention.
I haven't tried most of the knives that cost upwards of 4 digits mentioned before, but I was also just amazed how the JNS SS Toyama 240 Guyto cut. Wakui workhorse is also definitively an interesting experience. After being through some more makers, performance wise my Modern cooking Simon Krichbaum is still my top choice, something I would have not thought when I first got it.
Shibata bunka was the first knife that made me weak in the knees. I didn't know a knife could cut like that. On the opposite side of the spectrum, when I held my Shi.Han for the first time I thought, this knife is really heavy, I'm not sure I'm going to like this thing. Then I cut something with it and instantly bonded with it.
aporigine
The slow blade penetrates the winter squash
Kippington Fish Hook
Xerxes workhorse was insane on just how little effort it took.
I’ll also second that a wakui 240/270 workhorse is just insane to use for the sheer weight and heft
I’ll also second that a wakui 240/270 workhorse is just insane to use for the sheer weight and heft
SharpestToolintheShed
Well-Known Member
I keep hearing wonderful things about his work. I can't wait to order one for myself.
For me, the TF Denka is an experience. It handles like no other knife I've ever had. Fast, agile, and the notch in the choil is the chef's kiss.
I have had a couple that have made my jaw drop.
My first was a Karol Karys "gyuto" but as it was noted, It's basically just a long nakiri. It's almost all flat spot on a 240 and it's about perfect.
Francisco Vaz's grind on my gyuto from him is an otherwordly cutter. It was the lens that I looked through from that point forward.
My first was a Karol Karys "gyuto" but as it was noted, It's basically just a long nakiri. It's almost all flat spot on a 240 and it's about perfect.
Francisco Vaz's grind on my gyuto from him is an otherwordly cutter. It was the lens that I looked through from that point forward.
First J knife: Kato bunka. I took it out of the box, sliced some strawberries, and I realized there was no hype, just facts.
Konosuke gyuto: same feeling, maybe moreso. There were others in between, but those all performed as expected, the Konosuke was almost startling.
Shibata Koutetsu. Again, by this point, I knew to trust the reports from the field, but the performance in hand is truly an experience.
Lastly, Wakui V2 nakiri. This one actually caught me off guard. All the reviews were favorable, so I bit, as I had not tried a "real" nakiri (only Kiwi). The specs suggested something midweight to work horsey, but while it will start to wedge in anything about an inch tall, it passes through anything shorter almost imperceptibly, its extreme BTE thinness is assisted by its mass. A genuine jaw dropper.
Konosuke gyuto: same feeling, maybe moreso. There were others in between, but those all performed as expected, the Konosuke was almost startling.
Shibata Koutetsu. Again, by this point, I knew to trust the reports from the field, but the performance in hand is truly an experience.
Lastly, Wakui V2 nakiri. This one actually caught me off guard. All the reviews were favorable, so I bit, as I had not tried a "real" nakiri (only Kiwi). The specs suggested something midweight to work horsey, but while it will start to wedge in anything about an inch tall, it passes through anything shorter almost imperceptibly, its extreme BTE thinness is assisted by its mass. A genuine jaw dropper.
Kato, Yanick, Billipp all hold some magic for me. I think sometimes this comes down to individual knives because I've had knives from those guys that I was only moderately impressed with. But when you get a good one all the other noise falls away.
Honorable mention to HF, Isamitsu (personal preference over Denka due to iron cladding), and Bazes.
Honorable mention to HF, Isamitsu (personal preference over Denka due to iron cladding), and Bazes.
This is why I have to try things for myself. If I had a midweight that was wedgey, it is out the door, even if it cut everything else well. I have a hard time keeping wedging knives. Even WH's, whales, board yachts, whatever term you use, I toss wedgers. I got the most gorgeous santoku. Honyaki, mirror polished, walkschliff, on the line between midweight and WH, yada yada, couldn't make it through a sweet potato. Why would I have a santoku that gets stuck in vegetables (onion too)? God it was gorgeous but cut for $hit (according to my criteria). I traded it with a guy who loved it.
What's interesting to me, and it's always been this way...nothing new...is how few people actually use different makers of knives, yet they claim the one they use is the best. It's that way in all my hobbies and interests.
To answer your question, Shigefusa was the eye opener that got me into better knives. I'm still going.
To answer your question, Shigefusa was the eye opener that got me into better knives. I'm still going.
I was blown away when I got my Eddworks. Thick at the handle, awesome taper to a thin tip, mid-heavy weight and neutral balanced. One of my thinnest knives at the edge, in the same range as my Myojin sharpened stuff and Birgersson, but with more weight behind it. Glides through everything like it's not even there. The only downside is that everything wants to stick to it, but my Myojin stuff has the same issue, plus a lot of stiction.
I was also impressed with my Shig santoku even though a lot of people poo poo on them, which set the bar low for me. The zero edge was insane, but the microchipping is real and it did wedge in dense stuff.
SharpestToolintheShed
Well-Known Member
I can't wait to get a chance to order my custom EddWorks. The guy is amazing to deal with and is probably a future Master Bladesmith. I just have to wait till my turn comes. I've opted for a indented choil for grip and an S-Grid to reduce sticking.
riba
Senior Member
Heiji improved my cutting technique
Reading the OP, these were immediately my first two thoughts. So no surprise that they were the first two replies!
In order of when I experienced the "woah" moment it would go Toyama SS 240 gyuto -> Kippington 225 WP -> Yanick 230 gyuto -> Kamon 260 gyuto -> Milan deep etch 220 -> Bidinger B grind 240
@MSicardCutlery laser. The grind is so thin that it goes through dense foods smoother than anything else I have tried.
Merion Forge 330g monster gyuto. I have thinned and polished mine, and the weight and polish allow the knife to feel like it just falls through ingredients.
Merion Forge 330g monster gyuto. I have thinned and polished mine, and the weight and polish allow the knife to feel like it just falls through ingredients.
I have both. It was in fact the specific knife I had in mind when comparing. There is no objective way for me to measure "better" or " better retention". But I feel it lasts longer.What if it's a Y. Tanaka b1 sold by migoto?
I usually finish edges on chosera 3k or a mikawa nagura. That blue 1is the most refined and sharpest edge I ever got from any knife I own. However that Migoto White 1 steel clicks better with me, even though technically and objectively it might not be the better steel.
Thats what it's all about!
