AS Core, SS Clad Laser Recommendations?

[hukdizzle]

Hi everyone, first post here! I was hoping to leverage your experience for a recommendation on some lasers. Here is the questionnaire filled out.

Location

US (Seattle)

Knife Type

Hoping to find a matching set (240mm Gyuto and 150mmish Petty). Wa handle, flat belly profile, Aogami Super core (Or other similar steel?!), stainless clad, and of course I want them to be legit lasers. I am willing to go up to $250 for the Gyuto and $150 for the Petty. I am right handed.

Knife Use

I am a home cook who cooks roughly 7-10 times a week. These knives wouldn't likely be replacing anything but my current main knives are a K&S Tanaka Nashiji 240mm Gyuto and a K&S Tanaka Damascus 150mm Petty to give you an idea of what I am using. I like the Tanakas quite a bit, but I want something with a bit more of a flat profile and of course better/thinner grind. I exclusively use a pinch grip and like the balance point to be right on my index finger/thumb or slightly in front of them. I predominately use a push cut motion but I also chop occasionally.

Knife Maintenance

Over the past 10 months or so I have been working on my whetstone technique and will be sharpening the knives myself. I really enjoy sharpening and I think I have become decently proficient. I strop my knives on diamond paste loaded balsa wood strops once a week to maintain them until they need to hit the stones. I use an end grain hard wood cutting board and I store my knives on a bamboo magnetic knife strip on the wall.

So with all that being said I have been heavily interested in the Ikazuchi series from JKI but I am hoping that you guys can provide some other options as well that I can consider.

Thanks for your help!

 

[minibatataman]

Ikazuchi off of Japanese knife imports. I think there's one still available, and it's within your budget.

 

[athel]

You won't be disappointed with the Ikazuchi, I absolutely love mine. Also, it's hard to tell from the pictures, but they come out of the box with a really nice lamination line, it's especially pretty as the core steel starts to patina. Finally, as far as I know, it's the only stainless-clad aogami super laser in your budget.

 

[hukdizzle]

Thank you for the confirmation! Are there any other comparable lasers that might be of a different steel or maybe if I expanded my budget possibly?

 

[labor of love]

Sukenari makes an AS stainless clad line. Looks to be thicker than traditional laser though.

 

[athel]

Commonly discussed lasers include gesshin ginga (available in white #2 and stainless), shibata (available in r2 and aogami super), and konosuke (most widely available in semi stainless). That's not an exhaustive list, but it gives you an idea.

Aside from the ikazuchi, the shibata in aogami super is closest to your preferences, but it's a bit over your budget (and I'm not sure if any 240s are in stock). I've never used his AS laser, but I have used the kotetsu r2, and personally, I like my ikazuchi more. I think it's a tremendous amount of knife for the money. Get it while it's in stock!

 

[hukdizzle]

Fair enough! I went ahead and pulled the trigger on the gyuto! I am going to hold off on the petty for now as Jon has 10 of them in Stock and I actually like my tanaka petty quite a lot. Thanks guys!

 

[Tonsku38]

Shibata Kotetsu AS. Might be little over your budget but surely worth it.

 

[athel]

Awesome, I think you're going to love it. Let us know what you think once you get it! Also, I think that's wise in terms of the petty--I mean, a lot of it comes down to personal preference, but I think you would get less added value from adding a new petty as compared to other things. Just my 2 cents though.

 

[dafox]

What's the profile on the Ikazuchi like? Looks fairly curvy on the JKI site.

 

[athel]

It's got a nice flat spot on the back third of the blade, and then gently rises for the next third, before coming up a bit more steeply to meet the spine. However, the tip isn't that high up. Overall I think it's a nice profile for push cutting. Although I can't speak from personal experience, looking at videos of those knives on the board, I'd say the profile looks pretty similar to the konosuke lasers, or the shibata AS knives.

 

[dafox]

Thanks

 

[Danzo]

My ikazuchi had a gentle curve throughout. Still was a great knife.

 

[dafox]

Thanks much.

 

[JBroida]

yeah... more gentle curve throughout... flatish near the heel, but not flat

 

[athel]

yeah... more gentle curve throughout... flatish near the heel, but not flat

Oops, my mistake on the profile then, I misremembered!

 

[hukdizzle]

Got the knife yesterday and made a bunch of pico with it. It's a fantastic cutter! I would highly recommend the Ikazuchi series to anyone who wants a laser. I honestly think it will be replacing my Tanaka and I will be selling it shortly.