Recommendations for a Gift Knife

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metal.for.dinner

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Hello! I’m looking to buy my friend his first Japanese knife. I have my own small collection so I’m not totally ignorant, but I do need suggestions as I’m not familiar with that many makers. I filled out the form below. Some makers I have considered so far are Takamura, Kurosaki (yu and makoto), Shibata. So basically looking for a thin blade from a reputable maker. honestly the only reason I haven’t just gone with the Takamura chromax santoku is it’s out of stock. I found the Takamura SG2 santoku in stock, but I have that knife and I’d like to explore some other options before getting my friend the exact same knife I have.

Thanks in advance for anyone contributing to this thread!

LOCATION
USA

KNIFE TYPE
What type of knife are you interested in?
Santoku or Gyuto

Are you right or left handed?
Right

Are you interested in a Western handle (e.g., classic Wusthof handle) or Japanese handle? Either is good


What length of knife (blade) are you interested in (in inches or millimeters)?
165-210mm

Do you require a stainless knife? (Yes or no)
Stainless cladding around carbon 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, daily 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.)
Slicing/chopping soft vegetables, some meats. No bone.

What improvements do you want from your current knife? Overall I just want a well rounded knife. Since it’s a gift there’s no real deal breakers here except for the fact that I don’t want a thick workhorse.


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

Do you sharpen your own knives? I will sharpen his knife periodically using stones.
 
You can get a Fujiwara Mabaroshi 195mm gyuto (with either wa or western handle) for 33,000 yen ($220 USD) plus shipping, and you can request a free name engraving service.

Fujiwara's knives have a definite mystique about them, and adding the engraving would make it very personal. That said I've heard that Mabaroshi's can be chippy, but I've never used one myself.

Here is the direct link for the wa handle version: https://www.teruyasu.net/products/japanese_knife_gyuto_maboroshi_finger_rest.html

If your friend doesn't have good knife skills/habits or isn't comfortable with rust, I'd pass on this one though.

--

Personally I've gifted more than one of these: https://knifewear.com/products/haruyuki-mugi-santoku-180mm

I find the western handle, softer steel and tsuchime aesthetic make it a good gift knife. Stainless means less maintenance, softer steel hopefully means less chips, western handle makes it less awkward and foreign for someone with poor knife skills to use.

Despite all this people have managed to rust and chip these knives anyway, so I've learned that if you're going to gift someone a Japanese knife, just assume they will beat the hell of it, twist it, and let it sit in water and have no idea how to remove rust. I'd never gift someone a Maboroshi, but put it up there because you seemed to really want carbon.
 
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Big question is how good is your friend at caring for knives?

Can they care for non-stainless steel, or is it gonna sit in a sink or go into the dishwasher?
Are they abusive on edges? In which case, a thinly ground knife is going to become a serrated breadknife in no time.
Do they use the knife to pry open cans?
 
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yoyoma said:
Fujiwara's knives have a definite mystique about them, and adding the engraving would make it very personal. That said I've heard that Mabaroshi's can be chippy, but I've never used one myself.

Here is the direct link for the wa handle version: https://www.teruyasu.net/products/japanese_knife_gyuto_maboroshi_finger_rest.html

If your friend doesn't have good knife skills/habits or isn't comfortable with rust, I'd pass on this one though.

--
Click to expand...
I've only experienced microchipping with the factory edge. The steel is very hard and a course abrasive is used to achieve the microbevel. Under the microscope the edge is very jagged which causes the instability. Put an even edge on the blade and no more microchips, obviously with normal careful usage.
A TF is not really a beginners knife and I would only give one to someone who understands proper handling of reactive blades/core steels.
A Tojiro, Ashi Ginga or Mac are good places to start the journey. A TF is also a good start for the right owner. I would never give one to my parents, who are used to Globals.
 
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jacobwilder5 said:
Ashi Ginga Stainless. Both wa or yo handle are great. Just a great all around knife and a excellent entry into j knives imo.
Click to expand...
Would be my pick too... great performer while still feeling somewhat robust.
 
yoyoma said:
You can get a Fujiwara Mabaroshi 195mm gyuto (with either wa or western handle) for 33,000 yen ($220 USD) plus shipping, and you can request a free name engraving service.

Fujiwara's knives have a definite mystique about them, and adding the engraving would make it very personal. That said I've heard that Mabaroshi's can be chippy, but I've never used one myself.

Here is the direct link for the wa handle version: https://www.teruyasu.net/products/japanese_knife_gyuto_maboroshi_finger_rest.html

If your friend doesn't have good knife skills/habits or isn't comfortable with rust, I'd pass on this one though.

--

Personally I've gifted more than one of these: https://knifewear.com/products/haruyuki-mugi-santoku-180mm

I find the western handle, softer steel and tsuchime aesthetic make it a good gift knife. Stainless means less maintenance, softer steel hopefully means less chips, western handle makes it less awkward and foreign for someone with poor knife skills to use.

Despite all this people have managed to rust and chip these knives anyway, so I've learned that if you're going to gift someone a Japanese knife, just assume they will beat the hell of it, twist it, and let it sit in water and have no idea how to remove rust. I'd never gift someone a Maboroshi, but put it up there because you seemed to really want carbon.
Click to expand...

I got my son a new Mabs when he landed a job at fine dining restaurant. I asked to have it engraved with his name, thinking in would be done in tasteful kanji. Unfortunately, his name was engraved with what looks to have been an electric engraving pen in block letters reminiscent of a 1st grader with a green crayon. The engraving is actually bad enough that is has proven to be a bit of a joke between us.

The knife is lovely, even with a small bit of TF imperfection, but I don't think I'd get the engraving done if I planned to gift a TF to anyone. Also, as others have noted, a TF is probably not the best for knife neophyte.
 
JASinIL2006 said:
I got my son a new Mabs when he landed a job at fine dining restaurant. I asked to have it engraved with his name, thinking in would be done in tasteful kanji. Unfortunately, his name was engraved with what looks to have been an electric engraving pen in block letters reminiscent of a 1st grader with a green crayon. The engraving is actually bad enough that is has proven to be a bit of a joke between us.

The knife is lovely, even with a small bit of TF imperfection, but I don't think I'd get the engraving done if I planned to gift a TF to anyone. Also, as others have noted, a TF is probably not the best for knife neophyte.
Click to expand...

And yet this is quintessential TF. If the engraving was perfect we’d all suspect you bought a knockoff.
 
I have a 180mm funayuki from this maker, from the same steel & cladding, which is a real pleasure to cook with and to sharpen. It’s nicely finished at its price level, too.
6EFD6771-C2CB-46C6-AD73-FC93ABCE8E92.png
 
tostadas said:
Big question is how good is your friend at caring for knives?

Can they care for non-stainless steel, or is it gonna sit in a sink or go into the dishwasher?
Are they abusive on edges? In which case, a thinly ground knife is going to become a serrated breadknife in no time.
Do they use the knife to pry open cans?
Click to expand...
My bad! I had notifications turned off accidentally and didn’t even realize people had responded!

So, to answer your question. My friend actually used to work for Cutco and although it’s a slimy company he has grown to appreciate knives but has never bought a nice one for himself. He’s still using the Cutco set he got for free as an employee.
I highly doubt he would abuse the knife. He would probably baby the **** out of it actually / be scared to use it! At the end of the day, He would treat it exactly as instructed to.
 
Stevem627 said:
This is a good low maintenance quality knife. Nothing fancy, but everything is good.

https://www.japanesenaturalstones.com/kaeru/

If you want a santoku in chromax, I have bought several of this knife...including one for my use. VERY nice and hits WAY above its price point. I can’t believe how nice this is for the money

https://miuraknives.com/japanese-kn...02-japanese-knife-kagekiyo.html#/35-size-18cm
Click to expand...
Wow, I’m confused by that second link. Is that a custom Takamura chromax? The blade itself looks identical to the Migaki SG2.. chromax has the hammered surface no?
 
metal.for.dinner said:
This looks very nice. You have experience with this?
Click to expand...

I have a wa-handled Akifusa in AS and it is very nice. They're OEM knives so very consistent. Lean very much to the laser side of things. The SRS-15 should hold an edge for a good bit. I suspect after years of Cutco, this would be a mind-blowing knife for your friend.
 
I’m not sure, but I figured the Chromax santoku is just made by Kagekiyo. It could be made by Takamura. One thing I know for sure is that I really like this santoku. I also love our Takamura Chromax gyuto.
 
xsmx13 said:
Hatsukokoro Hayabusa AS
Hatsukokoro 3-layer Silver 3 bunka
Hatsukokoro 3-layer Silver 3 santoku
Hatsukokoro 3-layer-Silver 3 210mm gyuto
Hatsukokoro 3-layer-silver 3 210mm k-tip gyuto
Nigara 230mm sg2 k-tip gyuto

These are all a great deal with the 30% off code good for today only: adayoutoftime

Personally, I really like the Silver 3 Hatsukokoro for the money and have it in the 210mm and 240mm versions.
Click to expand...
Looking at the silver 3 santoku… very pretty knife, I love that handle. Sadly I can’t find this particular knife anywhere online. I usually like seeing real videos or photos of the knife before purchasing.

Do you happen to have any of the knife you own? Just hard to trust listing photos 😅
 
metal.for.dinner said:
Looking at the silver 3 santoku… very pretty knife, I love that handle. Sadly I can’t find this particular knife anywhere online. I usually like seeing real videos or photos of the knife before purchasing.

Do you happen to have any of the knife you own? Just hard to trust listing photos 😅
Click to expand...
I own the Hatsukokoro silver 3 and Nigara gyuto, but don't have the Nigara with me at the moment. Happy to send you some pics of the Hatsukokoro when I get home later.

I should note that unfortunately that coupon is no longer active, but Phil runs discounts in the 20-30% range fairly often.
 
metal.for.dinner said:
Looking at the silver 3 santoku… very pretty knife, I love that handle. Sadly I can’t find this particular knife anywhere online. I usually like seeing real videos or photos of the knife before purchasing.

Do you happen to have any of the knife you own? Just hard to trust listing photos 😅
Click to expand...
If you wanna ruin your friend for life (in a good way) find a Shibata R2 and get the Shibata. For ootb edge, it shares first place with my Kuwabara white 1 and is stainless to boot.

Not counting my honyaki fish weapons, it is the most thrilling piece of cutlery I have handled. It is surprisingly versatile for a lasery laser that’ll lase. (If lasers are his style! Some here much prefer a stouter geometry.)
 
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