800 USD

Japanese Knives - by Tokushu Knife
Shop Knives and stones on ebay
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.
R

Ruso

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 20, 2013
Messages
2,054
Reaction score
676
Hypothetically speaking which gyuto would you get for 800USD - mid weight, thin behind the edge, good distal taper.

Cheep Honyaki? Some specific maker? Western blade smith? Custom order? Also something that is reasonable to find not like Shigs or Katos.

Or would you just blow it on blackjack and h**kers - Bender style? :upsidedownspin::party:
 
Agree with the custom.
Mid weight lasers. Some people’s favourite western makers, Raquin? Yanick? Kemadi? The9?
It will not be easy to find one tho, most sold within seconds or 5+months waiting list
 
Don't Laseur's tend to be quite laserish and Denka's don't have much distal taper. I guess it all depends what specs are most important and how extreme. Katos and Shigs have a LOT of taper at least on my examples. I would have said Comets would fit the bill nicely but they are hard to come by now.
 
Corradobrit1 said:
Don't Laseur's tend to be quite laserish and Denka's don't have much distal taper. I guess it all depends what specs are most important and how extreme. Katos and Shigs have a LOT of taper at least on my examples. I would have said Comets would fit the bill nicely but they are hard to come by now.
Click to expand...
I believe that Tony will make what you want.
 
I definitely agree that a Marko Tsourkan WH is hard to beat performance wise. Hands down my favorite knife thus far.

I have 2 western handle laseurs and they're great. They are thin but can easily be categorized as a workhorse depending on criteria. The grinds aren't super convexed but stiction hasn't been an issue even though they are laserish and fly through food. Also they have good weight and height to them so they can plow thru S**t too. Fit and Finish are super nice. Not a ton of distal taper but I don't think its needed the way the tip is pointy. It whips through an onion no problem.
 
I'd pick up an Ikeda honyaki from the BST's personally. Nothing any western maker produces will come close to the mystique of a Japanese made honyaki, and Ikeda makes a hell of a knife for the $.

There's a reason only a handful of Japanese makers produce honyaki. It seems every western maker is producing a hamon on their first go. Respect to tradition and craft go a long way with me.
 
J.C said:
Agree with the custom.
Mid weight lasers. Some people’s favourite western makers, Raquin? Yanick? Kemadi? The9?
It will not be easy to find one tho, most sold within seconds or 5+months waiting list
Click to expand...

+1. custom is the way to go but I will think twice before going with Kemadi though :).
 
Interesting that so few people (1.5) suggested Japanese makers.
Marko or Devin are very tempting propositions among other western makers mentioned in this thread so far.

What about some Japanese options for this $$? Let’s not count on BST for the sake of the argument.

Thanks all for the suggestions.
 
Ruso said:
Interesting that so few people (1.5) suggested Japanese makers.
Marko or Devin are very tempting propositions among other western makers mentioned in this thread so far.

What about some Japanese options for this $$? Let’s not count on BST for the sake of the argument.

Thanks all for the suggestions.
Click to expand...
I would love a Toyama honyaki suji or gyuto
 
Catcheside Forged Geometry perform very, very well and would be under budget. Takamura Uchigumo are great knives as well. I also agree with some of the previously mentioned makers, depending on your preferences for steel, handle, dimensions, etc.
 
Catcheside forged geometry would be a good middle-weight choice, awesome food separation and food release. Distal taper isn't too strong but it's enough.
 
Mid-weight, excellent distal taper, thin behind the edge, great steel = Yoshikane SKD or Gengetsu SS.

And you'll have c. $500 left to blow on blackjack and h**kers.
 
Honyaki - thin, agile, very good heat treatment and geometry (not crispy), at a good price - Munetoshi 210mm
 
M1k3 said:
I'd look towards Hinoura, Ikeda, TF, Watanabe custom and specials, umm.... The high-end Yoshikane's...
Click to expand...

I always thought it would be cool to have Watanabe do a custom. I think you would still be hard pressed to spend $800 though, but that is a good thing.
He does a great distal taper. You'd have to request a bit thinner behind the edge since he tends to go meaty, but that would be the most interesting part of the custom is just how his thinness would perform. I bet it would be terrific. How about with a little of that old school concave behind the edge (think vintage Takeda), then make the Gyuto a bit on the tall side... bloody wow.
Damn, now you got me thinking.
 
Which knives did you use so far - which ones did you like, which ones not so much? I would first identify what you want from the point of view of geometry and grind and then start to look for options that go in similar direction.

Many people suggested custom knives, because Japanese honyaki usually cost more than $800 (unless you try some sort of semi-direct order, wait for ages and get something totally different that what you expected).
 
I would personally suggest buying something that fits your description from the likes of Kamon, LE, Xerxes, Tansu (HVB), Catchside, Kippington, Dalman, etc
I would only advice to spend that kind of money if you already know what you are looking for though.
Because there are several knives in the <$300 range that could be ones perfect kitchen tool and it's mostly about nuances and personal preferences above that.

NO ChoP! said:
... the mystique of a Japanese made honyaki
Click to expand...
...... this is what i would personally view as 'marketing'. I mean - is there really any type of tradition in japan in making differentially hardened western chef knives (Gyutos) that goes back more than a few decades? We know that there is no practical benefit for the user whatsoever ;)
 
Last edited:
Like many have already suggested, I'd go for a western custom. I ordered a full custom from HSCIII and got it with a month for less than $500. Similarly, Shihan made me one from his classic KU line, but with custom specs, and I got that in a week... So very little wait time. Both are amazing knives and I'd highly recommend both makeres. I'd also look into knives from Dan Pendergrast. For distal taper, he seems hard to beat, but I've never tried his knives.

Or you could buy a Mazaki, which fits your criteria, and blow the rest!

Let us know where you end up going!
 
So, @Ruso, was this just a fun thought experiment, or do you actually have $800 to burn? I assumed it was the former, but people seem to be taking it as the latter.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top