What's your favourite workhorse?

Advertise with us
Kitchen Knife Forums

Help Support Kitchen Knife Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Casaluz said:
For me, my workhorse is a knife that can handle any task without being afraid of chipping it or breaking the tip if I am not careful, that is to say, it is robust, and not too thin behind the edge. I would use it without thinking too much regardless if it is a block of cheese, a steak, fish for ceviche, a bunch of parsley or a tomato. It is large enough for most tasks but not so large that I would not use it for a bit of precision work mincing shallots for example. It can hold an edge for a long time, and not too sensitive to patina development. The profile has a long flat edge as I do not do rocking cuts very often (rarely I do) and instead I do push/pull cuts most of the time. It has a confortable handle, pleasant to the touch and not slippery when wet. It is the knife I reach for when I have people around that are not knife-aware in case they use it when I am distracted. This knife is my Aritsugu A type 210 mm Wa-Gyuto with white color buffalo horn bolster and ho wood octogonal handle.
Click to expand...
:plus1:
I think the many criteria listed by Casaluz are as good a definition of workhorse as you're ever likely to get.
 
For what it's worth I suspect the Mizuno San Mai Gyuto with shinogi is similar to miz honyaki(besides the obvious). Miz honyaki is much taller ootb.
 
My definition of a workhorse is a knife that's pretty damn good at just about everything. Gengetsu would be my workhorse. Fave "heavy" knives so far are all well known(watanabe,Toyama, heiji) also Yoshikane v2 Damascus.
 
JaVa said:
To me too workhorse always meant a middleweight no frills knife that can do it all and even take some abuse while never missing a beat. In a pro kitchen those to me would be the yo Tojiros, Misonos, Macs, Brietos etc. Those I see most in pro kitchens and those can take the beating that dumb cooks (like I used to be) put them thru everyday.

After ten years of everyday pro use and my Mac Pro still does everything just as well as the first day I got. That's not to say the performance is great, but it's good. The first two years I even put it thru the restaurants dishwasher about twice a day. That's how ignorant i was back then. These days the Mac does look used but still not bruised. I have semi retired it to beater duties and these days my "workhorse" is the Itinimonn StainLess.

But the way I see it, the "workhorse" fraise has changed thanks to JNS and Kato Workhorse knives. Now guys seem to use that term to describe fat bastards that cut like a dream. Meaning a knife that is a very powerful cutter, but performs with finesse and has good food release properties. Those would be the Katos, Watanabes, Toyomas etc. I don't own any of the "new" kind of workhorse knives yet, so I can't comment about them. One will be coming in in the very near future. I just need to make up my mind which one I want to get.

I think it is kind of confusing at times with the meaning changing from one post to another about which kind of "workhorse" is being discussed. Usually it does become clear from the content, but I feel recently "workhorse" related threads has been more and more about the fat bastards kind of workhorse knives.
Click to expand...

I tend to think of a workhorse as your second definition (fat knife that cuts well, with great food release). But I get that this is a confusing term.
 
If we limit the discussion to this category of workhorse (fat knife that's thin behind the edge with good food release), which are the blades to consider? Kato? Watanabe? Heiji? What else?
 
Kochi from JKI. Though i would say that description is more fitting or better used for a good wide bevel.
 
Eric said:
Tanaka ginsanko 210, home use.
Click to expand...

For me too, and unexpectedly, this is a knife that has really grown on me and that I reach for a lot. When I want to do bulkier (albeit homecooking) prep,
Toyama 270 kasumi gyuto
 
XooMG said:
xEwWVh1.jpg
Click to expand...

I couldn't hear you, you must be a little ho(a)rse. :)
 
Nemo said:
I thought that the Tanaka ginsanko was a pretty thin knife?

Is the Toyama a fat knife but thin behind the edge?
Click to expand...

I'm guessing they are talking about the the original nashiji version and not the K&S Migaki. The Nashiji is supposed to be the thickest line of knives from Tanaka. It's also a wide bevel knife and not convex grind like the migaki.
 
I agree mostly with folks defining workhorse as a more durable knife that can handle tougher tasks without worry about damage, but curiously I don't have such a knife that I actually use.

Since 99% of what I do is vegetables, fruits, and boneless meat, I think my Yongli slicer currently gets the nod for a "get on with it" knife that makes me feel efficient:
DLKS5tB.jpg

(check out that etched core)
 
Nemo said:
Xoo, how is the food release on that cleaver?
Click to expand...
I ground the edge very thin and the bevel rather high, so it does not forcefully separate ingredients and thin sticky slices can climb. However, it is pretty easy to manage due to the height and sticking is generally weak due to convexity, finish, and near-edge thinness.

Performance in that regard really depends on how you set up the bevels.
 
TheCaptain said:
Why do I feel like a day with XooMg teaching me how to sharpen/polish would be like a kid in a candy store?
Click to expand...
Because I work in a candy store.

Seriously though, I am in the same boat as everyone else...a bit of pseudoknowledge, presumption, and self deception; and a bunch of feeling around in the dark.
 
XooMG said:
Seriously though, I am in the same boat as everyone else...a bit of pseudoknowledge, presumption, and self deception; and a bunch of feeling around in the dark.
Click to expand...

Sounds like my love life. :IMOK:
 
Work horses: Delbert Ealy Gyuto and the two pictured below. I don't have a photo of the Ealy but it's a big knife with pronounced geometry and good steel. Used for a large amount of carrots, onions, celery, potatoes etc.
Top photo is a Masashi. I think I got it from CKTG but haven't seen it listed since. Tall mirror polished stainless that keeps the edge a long time. The polish hasn't lost it's luster either. A good one for the above tasks and low maintenance.
The Mizuno suminigashi is my all around favorite but will choose one of the above listed knives for heavy tedious work.
As the Tiger said the honyaki version of the Mizuno is a good work horse as well. It's bigger and thicker than the sumi version.


 
I was surprised when I got mine. A different animal than the suninigashi. A lot more steel.
 
Nemo said:
If we limit the discussion to this category of workhorse (fat knife that's thin behind the edge with good food release), which are the blades to consider? Kato? Watanabe? Heiji? What else?
Click to expand...

So far, other than Kato which has become nearly impossible to get, nobody is mentioning any Western-handled workhorses. Do reasonable ones exist that a normal human can actually purchase?
 
Yep she's a beast. I'll snap a photo when I get a chance. I got it with most of the kurouchi worked off so I got it for a song.
 
Tanaka Sekiso. I evidently got an outstading rendition. Does everything well and now that it has a patina it's easy to care for. Edge retention gives it the edge over the KS.

That said, a friend who has used my Sekiso says his Toyama is like the Sekiso turned up to 11.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top