If I gave you $500 which knife are you getting?

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I'd drop the extra $$ to pick up a KU Shihan. If providing additional funds is against the OP Rules id grab a Heiji, or a Yoshikane Black Dammy
 
Too many choices but I'd probably opt for a Hitohira Y. Tanaka x Kyuzo gyuto in Aogami 1. I'd actually prefer the Migaki finish but that takes it over the magic $500 price point so KU with cedar handle.

Close runner ups:
Watanabe 180 nakiri
Konosuke Fujiyama in Aogami 2
Kippington laser gyuto (Sadly, I think his honyakis are now over $500)
 
Matt Zilliox said:
dont most of these cost over 500? is martell really sub 500? thats cool
knives id buy right now under 500:
Lew griffin
Heldqvistmide
Isasmedjan
Joel Adler
The Nine

of course none could be obtained immediately, just purchased
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Think the Nine is also outside that range? Most I've seen on BST is at least :)
 
yeah the ittetsu 240 got restocked and they bumped up in price from $360 to $480. what isn't conveyed readily in the pictures is nice angling and rounding for a right hand user. You can kinda see it in the picture. Plus it's tall for a sakai knife (the misty finish is done almost only in sakai, plus it has a machi). The spine is one the middleweight side of things, but behind the edge its more lightweight thin. Great and consistent tapering and grind. The knife feels quite stiff in hand. The machi gap is really quite nice, the corners are really precise, which helps with finger space

I had handled a 240mm quite a few years ago and the recent one seemed much nicer to me.
 
refcast said:
yeah the ittetsu 240 got restocked and they bumped up in price from $360 to $480. what isn't conveyed readily in the pictures is nice angling and rounding for a right hand user. You can kinda see it in the picture. Plus it's tall for a sakai knife (the misty finish is done almost only in sakai, plus it has a machi). The spine is one the middleweight side of things, but behind the edge its more lightweight thin. Great and consistent tapering and grind. The knife feels quite stiff in hand. The machi gap is really quite nice, the corners are really precise, which helps with finger space

I had handled a 240mm quite a few years ago and the recent one seemed much nicer to me.
Click to expand...
I noticed in the past there was nice rounding for right handed users too.
I don’t what it is, but I love love love ittetsu ho wood handles.
I periodically check for a new batch of 270mm gyutos.
 
refcast said:
yeah the ittetsu 240 got restocked and they bumped up in price from $360 to $480. what isn't conveyed readily in the pictures is nice angling and rounding for a right hand user. You can kinda see it in the picture. Plus it's tall for a sakai knife (the misty finish is done almost only in sakai, plus it has a machi). The spine is one the middleweight side of things, but behind the edge its more lightweight thin. Great and consistent tapering and grind. The knife feels quite stiff in hand. The machi gap is really quite nice, the corners are really precise, which helps with finger space

I had handled a 240mm quite a few years ago and the recent one seemed much nicer to me.
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That sounds awesome. Is the new batch lighter? Iirc someone posted one recently and the weight was a good 20-30 g lighter than the specs Jon put on the website.
 
Honestly I can't recall. If anything the new ones all seemed on the sturdy side of thing. This was compounded by them being taller knives. For instance the 240 uraku KU is on the middle to heavier side of things but the heel height is low. Its not as super lasery behind the edge as kagekiyo seemed, but there is still probably variation between knives, enough for someone to state a preference.
 
Is this like if I only had that 500 to spend? If so:

Another Yanick
Togashi whatevs
Ikeda 240 JKI edition
Or that new w1 knife that Jon is about to release cause it’s siiiiick af.
And probs 10 more I’m forgetting now
 
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Gregmega said:
Is this like if I only had that 500 to spend? If so:

Another Yanick
Togashi stainless clad
Ikeda 240 JKI edition
Or that new w1 knife that Jon is about to release cause it’s siiiiick af.
And probs 10 more I’m forgetting now
Click to expand...

You neglected you mention that 180mm Wat special petty with keyaki handle
 
Probably something catchside, kamon, LE, Xerxes, Evan, HVB, suntravel. Off the shelf Watanabe/toyama
 
Gregmega said:
Is this like if I only had that 500 to spend? If so:

Another Yanick
Togashi whatevs
Ikeda 240 JKI edition
Or that new w1 knife that Jon is about to release cause it’s siiiiick af.
And probs 10 more I’m forgetting now
Click to expand...

I hadn't seen a Yanick until bradleycrew posted one on BST. One of those 'wow' moments when I saw it, big fan of the specs and the pics. He's going on my 'after I finish school' list.

If I had $500 and needed to spend it, I'd look at
  • Sujihiki from Maz, Heiji, Wat, or Toyama
  • Gyutos from Yoshikane, Masashi, Heiji, Yoshikazu Tanaka, Ikeda, or Hinoura
  • Try gyuto from a western maker: Kippington, Robin, Jonas, Shihan, Marko (if <$500), HVB, or Yanick (if my click-fu is fast enough)
Still so much to try :D
 
Remember the original post was;

"If i gave you $500 to spend on a knife and had 2 minutes to buy it, what would you get"?

A lot of ideas won't meet the 2 minute constraint! I know some of the best makers are 2 years at best ;-)
 
Benuser said:
Nowadays with $500 I would contact Dan Prendergast. Much in the very best European tradition, with a very pronounced distal taper, great food release and a slightly forward balance.
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DP is the king of distal taper! (Or, at the very least, European nobility of the distal taper.)
 
I've seen both Prendergast and Catcheside listed in this thread, are they both <$500?
 
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