A friend went a little overboard and wants to purge a few knives... what should he move along?

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OkLobster

OkLobster

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Yeah.

My friend really went off the deep end after I gifted him something special about a month ago and would like to ask for advice. However, he is lazy as all hell and thus I am the intermediate posting for him.

At the moment his collection is along the lines of:

240mm Yo-handle Denka Gyuto
240mm Kagekiyo Blue #1 Gyuto
240mm Takada no Hamono Suiboku White #2 Gyuto
240mm Takada no Hamono Suiboku Blue #1 Gyuto
225mm Jiro #287 White #1 Wa-Gyuto
180mm Wat Pro Nakiri
165mm Shig KU Nakiri
150mm Kono Sumiiro Petty

His thoughts in no specific order:

Kagekiyo vs Takada no Hamono Suiboku Blue #1, both made by Tanaka with top tier F&F but both in the same steel from the same smith.

Takada White #2 would make the most logical sense out of them all given redundancy between the Jiro and Suiboku Blue #1.

The Shig KU Nakiri is a grail (its Shig after all) but is less flexible in general use compared to the longer Wat Pro.

What would you all decide to move?
 
What is your buddy's back ground? Any cooking experience? Do you know what knives he has used. Do you have any feedback from him at all? What is his mainstay, proteins vegetables? Any preference to what type of cuisine he prefers? All things considered.
This will be an interesting post to watch.
 
Why is Shigefusa a grail? Why keep a knife if you find it less useful? Is he just a collector? If so, keep whatever tickles his fancy.

If he actually uses his knives, this gets a lot easier: keep whatever he actually likes to use. To my point - if he likes using both the Takada and Kagekiyo in B#1, why not keep both. Trying to evaluate whether this guy should keep various knives or not based purely on perceived rarity or "specs" or whatever seems kind of weird.

In any case if this is how he thinks about these things, I think he's missing a lot of the good points of having nice knives.
 
Hard to have this conversation without his feedback on what he likes unless we're just guessing what's going to appreciate most in value. For example, if you love Tanaka's work with Blue 1, you might well want the different versions, from elite sharpeners. Or you might decide to get rid of both and hunt down a stainless clad version, or any number of other possibilities. If he doesn't like the Shig, by all means, move it on.
 
Your logic is impeccable - I’d agree on both your choices fwiw - but you’re underestimating the sentimental appeal of knives and the way that seemingly minuscule variations in grind, balance and feel in hand can affect the cutting experience.

There’s also probably a reason why your friend is seemingly lazy here. I would steer well clear unless he’s begging for an intervention (or owes you moulah)
 
matchplay18 said:
What is your buddy's back ground? Any cooking experience? Do you know what knives he has used. Do you have any feedback from him at all? What is his mainstay, proteins vegetables? Any preference to what type of cuisine he prefers? All things considered.
This will be an interesting post to watch.
Click to expand...

He's a general home chef (both proteins and vegetables) and has a fair bit amount of experience — certainly not a professional chef but with knife skills that are good enough. I'll ask him for his feedback when I have the chance but no preferred cuisine.
 
240mm Yo-handle Denka Gyuto - either keep or sell to me heh
240mm Kagekiyo Blue #1 Gyuto - wide bevels suck, sell (fite me guaise)
240mm Takada no Hamono Suiboku White #2 Gyuto - sell (white 2 is boring if you have blue 1)
240mm Takada no Hamono Suiboku Blue #1 Gyuto - keep (because convex > wide bevel esp. when maintaining)
225mm Jiro #287 White #1 Wa-Gyuto - ehhhhhh jiro is overrated but prices are going up
180mm Wat Pro Nakiri - KEEP, best $ for $ performance in a nakiri
165mm Shig KU Nakiri- I didn't like it, but if he wants a shig to have a shig then sure
150mm Kono Sumiiro Petty - Sell because Konosque is poopoo pants
 
I'd tell him to sell them all for cheap here on BST so they can go to people who will appreciate their performance instead evaluating them mainly by their status and what boxes they check.

Actually, tell him to keep the Shigefusa because it's the 'grail' but also the least practical. That type of person will enjoy every minute of inconvenience as long as someone tells them it's rare and prestigious.
 
spaceconvoy said:
I'd tell him to sell them all for cheap here on BST so they can go to people who will appreciate their performance instead evaluating them mainly by their status and what boxes they check.

Actually, tell him to keep the Shigefusa because it's the 'grail' but also the least practical. That type of person will enjoy every minute of inconvenience as long as someone tells them it's rare and prestigious.
Click to expand...

why the sour comment

When folks are just getting into the hobby it's not a bad thing to go by status and what boxes they check before they develop tastes and learn what they want.

Also, a shig KU is an affordable (and a very nice) piece of the Iwasaki steel lineage. I kept mine for the same reason before I bought my kitaeji.
 
nakiriknaifuwaifu said:
why the sour comment

When folks are just getting into the hobby it's not a bad thing to go by status and what boxes they check before they develop tastes and learn what they want.

Also, a shig KU is an affordable (and a very nice) piece of the Iwasaki steel lineage. I kept mine for the same reason before I bought my kitaeji.
Click to expand...
Because I'm a sour old man who dislikes spoiled lazy people who see the world this way. Also, I have no vested interest in this friend, but I do have an irrational attachment to objects and I believe my advice would be the best thing for the knives.
 
spaceconvoy said:
Because I'm a sour old man
Click to expand...

As a fellow sour old man I still think you‘re over-assuming the egg pudding here. I don’t know this bod from Adam, but neither do you and things seems more than a little judgmental here. For all we know he may have been rendered temporarily lazy after donating his kidney to save the ailing remaining son of Kato, this intervention happening in partial recompense for the buying spree following the death of both his parents in a tragic waterskiing incident. The proceeds from these knife sales will go to a local unicorn sanctuary to boot.

Or he could be a right Veruca Salt too...
 
I had a Shig KU Nakiri - was like using a license plate with a handle - couldn't sell it fast enough.

My suggestion is to id the knives your friend enjoys using and sell the ones that are marginal or he just doesn't like.

One of the rationale most of us use here for buying to many knives is they retain value pretty well and we can part with them and only suffer a small "usage" tax.
 
Looks like a good start. Let us know when he really starts buying.

Seriously, this doesn't look too bad and having five gyutos to play with at home is perfectly fine because they can feel very different. The Denka and the Jiro for example would feel very different.

I'd sell/trade 1-2 of the Kagekiyo or Takadas if you feel there is redundancy (or don't like wide bevel). And sell/trade the Shig if he doesn't like using it.

White 2 over blue 1 isn't very helpful thinking here.
 
I'd say just keep them all in rotation for a few months and ditch whatever sees the least use. He'll figure out his preferences over time eventually.
 
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