180mm petty - Ashi Ginga stainless or Konosuke HD2
- Thread starter henkle
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I'm not a petty guy, but I did own the HD2 180 for a while. Wicked sharp scalpel of a knife. I got to handle both the Ho wood and Ebony ones at Tosho before I bought the one I had - I preferred the Ebony one as it more presence in the hand.
BillHanna
Gotta get ready for ARM
You got the length exactly right..
Of the two cited, I would choose the Kono HD. Had a Gesshin Ginga and liked it but didn't love it. The HD will never be pretty but is cutting machine.
Would encourage you to price a stainless clad Wat - that's the one that rides in my roll. (When I'm not carrying another)
Of the two cited, I would choose the Kono HD. Had a Gesshin Ginga and liked it but didn't love it. The HD will never be pretty but is cutting machine.
Would encourage you to price a stainless clad Wat - that's the one that rides in my roll. (When I'm not carrying another)
Kono
I don't have any experience with the Ashi, but I would trust Dave's judgment. I will put forth my vote for the hd2. I love the steel, very useful little knife. I also would like to honorably mention mazaki and Marko Tsourkan as my other favs. And I'll bet that Watanabe is a legit option too.
Marko>Wat>Gengetsu>HSC
All excellent.
Marko is silverskin machine.. Wat is great all rounder.. Gengetsu is 180mm suji. Only downside (for me) of HSC is that it's a little thicker (robust) than my preference. Great for popping joints.
And then the HD and Ashi.
Important to remember that there are no bad choices amongst them.
All excellent.
Marko is silverskin machine.. Wat is great all rounder.. Gengetsu is 180mm suji. Only downside (for me) of HSC is that it's a little thicker (robust) than my preference. Great for popping joints.
And then the HD and Ashi.
Important to remember that there are no bad choices amongst them.
That's pretty much a "chicken or the egg" kind of question. As far as I've been able to determine, it's all in the sales description or the eye of the beholder. Perhaps someone has a better answer but I think it's pretty gray.
Height, thinness and grind are among the variables with height being the easiest to quantify.
A taller petty will function more like a short gyuto. Can readily do some board work. Less capable on trimming silverskin and other suji tasks.
The shorter and thinner, suji like petty, is ideal for that silverskin and other small suji tasks.
A shorter but thicker with good grind is very good for trimming tasks and some deboning.
Many if not most are good all-rounders. Give a little here to get a little there.
My favorite all rounder is the stainless clad Wat.
Easy button is to buy 3 or 4 and see what you like.
A taller petty will function more like a short gyuto. Can readily do some board work. Less capable on trimming silverskin and other suji tasks.
The shorter and thinner, suji like petty, is ideal for that silverskin and other small suji tasks.
A shorter but thicker with good grind is very good for trimming tasks and some deboning.
Many if not most are good all-rounders. Give a little here to get a little there.
My favorite all rounder is the stainless clad Wat.
Easy button is to buy 3 or 4 and see what you like.
MattPike4President
Well-Known Member
Are Watanabe's petty grinds thinner than his Gyutos? My 240 Wat Pro is pretty hefty everywhere but immediately behind the edge
Impossible for me to verify, but I've read multiple times on KKF that the kono hd2 is actually made by Ashi hamono. So if that's true, then the hd2 is basically a semistainless version of the ashi ginga with some minor F&F upgrades (eased spine/choil?). But the ginga is a wonderful knife and nothing to sneeze at, especially with the friendlier price point.
A relevant anecdote. When i first got into jknives, i remember that Jon at JKI was kind enough to talk me through a similar dilemma. I was curious about lasers and wanted his opinion on the ginga vs. the hd2 vs. the suisin inox honyaki vs. the tadatsuna. He basically said look, you would be happy with any of them. It's like picking a puppy from a litter, he said. You'll love it regardless. The differences are extremely minor and come down to personal idiosyncratic preference.
So as for the kono hd2 vs the ashi ginga, i really think that your decision should be guided by availability and price point. Western handle vs. wa handle, stainless vs. high carbon. Find the configuration that best matches what you're looking for, and if it's available, pull that trigger. You won't regret it and if you do, it should be easy to rehome any of those knives here on BST.
A relevant anecdote. When i first got into jknives, i remember that Jon at JKI was kind enough to talk me through a similar dilemma. I was curious about lasers and wanted his opinion on the ginga vs. the hd2 vs. the suisin inox honyaki vs. the tadatsuna. He basically said look, you would be happy with any of them. It's like picking a puppy from a litter, he said. You'll love it regardless. The differences are extremely minor and come down to personal idiosyncratic preference.
So as for the kono hd2 vs the ashi ginga, i really think that your decision should be guided by availability and price point. Western handle vs. wa handle, stainless vs. high carbon. Find the configuration that best matches what you're looking for, and if it's available, pull that trigger. You won't regret it and if you do, it should be easy to rehome any of those knives here on BST.
The petties can be a bit taller but not always.
I have both HD2 and Ginga White 2. HD2 holds an edge longer. the rest is just different handles and steel since the same maker made both of them.
The Gesshin Ginga stainless from JKI comes in at a reasonable price ($40-100 less than the kono, but not currently available). Are there any differences between the Gesshin and the aforementioned Ashi (from say CKC)?
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Slightly harder heatrratment, 59+-1 HRC vs 61+-1 HRC, probably better fit & finish but Ashi is already pretty good.
This petty looks very similar in terms to the others with similar specs to the Ashi. Does anyone have experience with this knife?
https://knife-life.jp/catalog/sakai...knife-180mm-7-1-magnolia-buffalo-horn-handle/
https://knife-life.jp/catalog/sakai...knife-180mm-7-1-magnolia-buffalo-horn-handle/
not sure about that but it looks like a copy of Suisin Inox Honyaki with Ho wood and no Saya.
So after all that, with an unfruitful worldwide online search for a Kono or Ashi, and communication with Jon at JKI about the ETA on the availability of a Gesshin, my inability to wait patiently led me to pull the trigger on a Sukenari SG2 165 petty which I stumbled across at K&S at a good price. I hope going 165 instead of 180 doesn't make me too much of a heretic, but the post-covid dearth of knives out there was slim-pickens.
Don't know about their shipping, but they have the 180 HD2 in stock
https://foodgear.dk/collections/konosuke/products/konosuke-180-mm-utility-hd2-khii-ebony
