Which one of these 2 should i buy?

[Asteger]

Yeah, I tried a 240. Was okay, good along the edge and sharpened well, but the grind was also a irregular and the finish was only ordinary, even considering that it was supposed to be a rustic KU.

 

[cclin]

watanabe is definitely the way to go.

not sure i would agree.

I want to clarify my statement little bit! I didn't mean the watanabe is bad knife. I have own a 240 kurouchi Kochi gyuto + 3 watanabe knives: stainless kurouchi Nakiri & satoku and a 240 pro gyuto (two with Stefan's handle, one has upgrade Ichii wood Handle). I like all my watanabe knives; however, IMO, watanabe needs little bit of works (need replace handle, round spine & choil, thinning behind the edge) to be a great cutter. my watanabe pro gyuto with Stefan's handle & thinned by Dave working beautifully. it is my favor workhorse gyuto. On the other hand, Kochi has decent & much thinner behind the edge OOTB, good quality burnt chestnut handles & best ku finished(thick, stable with rounded spine/choil) I've seen compare to Takeda, Masakage or watanabe's ku finished.
IMOO, I do think 210 Kochi kurouchi gyuto is better value, has better F/F than 180 watanabe stainless kurouchi gyuto

 

[panda]

cclin, i have both a kochi 240 (migaki) and a watanabe pro 270. the wat ootb is insanely sharp and such an amazing cutter! matter fact i have used it for months now and i've yet to sharpen it the retention is that good plus i'm afraid i don't want to mess up its original performance. i believe it is zero ground bevel which i have no idea how to sharpen.

where as the kochi i felt right away i needed to thin it, i have done considerable work to it, and while it is a good cutter, i think it still needs more work, maybe two more sessions. it does take a screaming sharp edge, however does not hold it as long as i would like.

i do agree that the f&f is better on kochi, everything is nicely rounded. wat had a sharp choil, but the spine was fine.

 

[Lefty]

Mods, please delete this if it's offside:

I've sold both makers' knives as was thoroughly impressed by the Watanabes. I believe I have handled four of them now, and every one was impressive. The heft, grind and overall feeling was spot on. The Moritakas I've experienced have all felt pretty good, in hand, and two have been absolute beauties. One other Moritaka, however had such a thin KU finish that I refused to sell it, and I called it a day. The issue is that a problem (perceived problem, for the purpose of not taking sides) does not need to be addressed by Moritaka. I'm pretty sure that if you were to contact each maker and ask for a custom, you'd likely get your Watanabe sooner. Keep in mind, however, neither is a one man outfit, as far as I know.

 

[cclin]

cclin, i have both a kochi 240 (migaki) and a watanabe pro 270. the wat ootb is insanely sharp and such an amazing cutter! matter fact i have used it for months now and i've yet to sharpen it the retention is that good plus i'm afraid i don't want to mess up its original performance. i believe it is zero ground bevel which i have no idea how to sharpen.

where as the kochi i felt right away i needed to thin it, i have done considerable work to it, and while it is a good cutter, i think it still needs more work, maybe two more sessions. it does take a screaming sharp edge, however does not hold it as long as i would like.

i do agree that the f&f is better on kochi, everything is nicely rounded. wat had a sharp choil, but the spine was fine.

I purchased my watanabe pro 240 gyuto thinned & re-handle already, it is a amazing cutter when I received it! I have no ideal how was watanabe pro gyuto's original grind. however, I don't think Dave will thinning a knife if it is not necessary or is won't improved performance! maybe Dave can chime in with more information. watanabe does had history of unstable QC, my watanabe ku Nakiri & satoku have totally different F/F. Nakiri has rough F/F with thinner behind the edge(still not as thin as kochi); santoku has better F/F but with thicker edge.
I haven't try blue#2 kochi. mine v2 ku kochi come with pretty sharp & very thin behind the edge, any thinner edge will be too fragile to use, IMO. Maybe my standards are not up to others here?? I never heard of kochi needs to be thinning OOTB! I could be wrong but I doubt Jon or Dave will thinning new Kochi OOTB......

 

[chinacats]

I haven't try blue#2 kochi. mine v2 ku kochi come with pretty sharp & very thin behind the edge, any thinner edge will be too fragile to use, IMO. Maybe my standards are not up to others here?? I never heard of kochi needs to be thinning OOTB! I could be wrong but I doubt Jon or Dave will thinning new Kochi OOTB......

Same here, I owned the V2 and it was stupid thin behind the edge (read awesome). The kurouchi was the nicest I've seen. I've not tried the blue 2 migaki.

 

[Seb]

Geez, with all this Kochi talk here there and everywhere, I'm a gonna have to get me one too!

 

[labor of love]

if youre set on a watanabe 180mm gyuto but dont like the plastic ferrrule, maybe instead of spending an extra $60 to get a buffalo ferrule you should just go up to the pro series 180mm gyuto with special custom handles for only an additional $40 more?
http://www.kitchen-knife.jp/special/gyutoknife.htm
or just get a 210mm professional series kurouchi gyuto which should come with a decent d shape for $220 plus shipping
http://www.kitchen-knife.jp/pro/
personally i think a 210 gyuto would be best in the long run.

 

[panda]

To.clarify, my Kochi was used, previous owner claimed it didn't need thinning, I just have a different preference for thinness behind the edge. It did not have a whole lot of use on it however and im inclined it was only sharpened a handful of times before got it. The v2 version is probably quite different from the blue as it is a thinner blade stock to begin with, maybe ground differently as well.

 

[JBroida]

both the v2 and blue 2 are hand forged from barstock in the case of the kochi for what its worth... they are not made from stock sheets or anything like that.

 

[panda]

Didn't mean to imply that they were prefab or anything. My only real point is that my new wat pro definitely did not require any work to be a great cutter. Choil did need easing though as it was painful to use.

 

[Mundo]

So...It,s done for the Watanabe, just waiting for it.

Thanks to all those who have taken part in the thread.

If some day you are in Madrid, I invite you to "cañas y tapas" (barrel beer and spanish snacks).


Salud.

 

[Ruso]

Hehehe un espanyol, como mola.
Mundo, do you know mediavida forum by any chance?

 

[Mundo]

Hehehe un espanyol, como mola.
Mundo, do you know mediavida forum by any chance?

Hola... Nop... What is there?

Salud.