Looking for recommendations on soft steel gyuto

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FowlAntics

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Please see the questioner below!

LOCATION
USA

KNIFE TYPE
Soft steel gyuto, as in closer to western style steel (if possible)

Are you right or left handed?
Left

Are you interested in a Western handle (e.g., classic Wusthof handle) or Japanese handle?
I am more comfortable with western style handle but not a requirement.

What length of knife (blade) are you interested in (in inches or millimeters)?
210mm

Do you require a stainless knife? (Yes or no)
Not required but preferred

What is your absolute maximum budget for your knife?
$250

KNIFE USE
Do you primarily intend to use this knife at home or a professional environment?
Home use

What are the main tasks you primarily intend to use the knife for (e.g., slicing vegetables, chopping vegetables, mincing vegetables, slicing meats, cutting down poultry, breaking poultry bones, filleting fish, trimming meats, etc.)? (Please identify as many tasks as you would like.)
Mainly vegetables as well as raw and cooked boneless meats

What knife, if any, are you replacing?
7" Wusthof Ikon Nikiri - This knife gets 95% of the use in my kitchen. I love this knife. It has a blade profile that for me is perfect to slice by pushing forward and down as well as great rocking abilities in the belly for mincing garlic and herbs.

Shun Premier Chefs 10" - The blade pinch grip I use is not comfterable on this knife because the edges on the spine are failry sharp. I pretty much only use this to split watermellon or slice brisket.. It was money poorly spent.

8" Henckles Twin Signature - This is my beater knife that has been around for about 15 years. I use it to open up squash and for family and friends to use.

I also use a Victorinox boning knife for the tasks that my nikiri cannot complete.


Do you have a particular grip that you primarily use? (Please click on this LINK for the common types of grips.)
I pinch grip on the blade.

What cutting motions do you primarily use? (Please click on this LINK for types of cutting motions and identify the two or three most common cutting motions, in order of most used to least used.)
Push forward and down, as well as small rocking motion for mincing. I often times hold my off hand on the tip to the nakiri and use two hands to mince by small chopping.

What improvements do you want from your current knife? If you are not replacing a knife, please identify as many characteristics identified below in parentheses that you would like this knife to have.)
I am looking for a do it all knife that can stand up to the tasks that my nikiri does, but with the addition of a pointy tip. It seems kind of obvious a german 8" chefs knife might be what I am asking for. But I already have an 8" chefs knife and I have always wanted a gyuto in my collection. Is there a gyuto out there that brings the western rough and tough quality steel or leans more that way, versus the hard and brittle japenese steel?



KNIFE MAINTENANCE
Do you use a bamboo, wood, rubber, or synthetic cutting board?
Wood

Do you sharpen your own knives? (Yes or no.)
Yes but it looks like amateur hour

If not, are you interested in learning how to sharpen your knives?
I have less time to sharpen on a stone and more time to run over a steel, thus leading me to that german soft steel again.

Are you interested in purchasing sharpening products for your knives? (Yes or no.)
Not really.


Thank you in advance for any recommendations!
 
Ashi Hamono's swedish stainless steel is surprisingly tough and chip-resistant while also being thin enough for amazing performance. Ashi Ginga knives come in western handles as well if that's your preference. For reference, mine is white 2 which is technically heat-treated to be a bit harder than stainless, and it still bent at the very tip instead of the tip snapping off (still not sure how it happened lol). The stainless should be soft/tough enough to stand up to the tasks you're describing while also holding its edge well, and even if the original edge does micro-chip, it should be easy to sharpen out and likely wouldn't be noticeable in use.
 
Not gyuto but K sabatier or elephant sabatier(Thiers Issard). Only because you prefer to steel and not use stones.
 
Japanese steels are not nearly as fragile as many vendor videos would have you believe. I do all the same things with my thin hard Japanese knives that I did with my German knives. Sure, there's examples that can be a little more fragile than others but there's a lot of misplaced fear mongering out there.

A thin hard edge is much easier to sharpen as well.

:)
 
Thank you for the suggestions everyone, it's much appreciated! Right off the bat the Matsu 210 AUS-8 caught my attention but I will look into each of them thoroughly! I have a starting point now. 👍🏼
 
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