Bang for buck under $40?

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killerfrenzi said:
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What knife, if any, are you replacing? Kiwi knives
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It's not clear to me any of the knives suggested within your budget will be significantly better than what you have. Perhaps you should focus on sharpening skills and stone(s) to optimize what you have, while you save up for a better class of knife?
 
Yet-Another-Dave said:
It's not clear to me any of the knives suggested within your budget will be significantly better than what you have. Perhaps you should focus on sharpening skills and stone(s) to optimize what you have, while you save up for a better class of knife?
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The Kiwi is a 6" santouka that I don't like, and my roommates have taken a whetstone to it so many times. I could practice sharpening on it but I don't enjoy using it when I'm cooking.
 
killerfrenzi said:
The Kiwi is a 6" santouka that I don't like, and my roommates have taken a whetstone to it so many times. I could practice sharpening on it but I don't enjoy using it when I'm cooking.
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OK. Maybe decide what cooking techniques you want to work on. My wife likes a chef's knife with a significant belly because she learned and uses a European/French technique that requires it. I naturally use a more Japanese push cutting technique and of the $40 range knives a Santoku typically has the least curved belly and is my preference. They tend to be shorter than chef's knives, but have a longer usable flattish cutting edge. In your price range 7" is the longest I've seen. (E.g. Victorinox's.) A cheap faux-Japanese knife with a big belly isn't much different than the Euro-style chef knives suggested to you already.

If you changed your price range to "$80-100, $150 max", I'm sure you'd open the door to a better category of Japanese knives. (Some of which have already been mentioned.)
 
I'm going to catch some hate for this comment...

I say spend your money on a whetstone and stick to your Kiwis. Learn how to sharpen while you save a little bit of money for a decent quality knife.

Do not underestimate the Kiwi. I worked for many years a high-volume from-scratch restaurant. Many of our chefs used Kiwi knives exclusively.
 
LoneWolfGang said:
I'm going to catch some hate for this comment...

I say spend your money on a whetstone and stick to your Kiwis. Learn how to sharpen while you save a little bit of money for a decent quality knife.

Do not underestimate the Kiwi. I worked for many years a high-volume from-scratch restaurant. Many of our chefs used Kiwi knives exclusively.
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Kiwi knives serve well as house knives. They suck to sharpen though if memory serves. I'm not sure what kinda performance improvements one can expect with a $40 budget. Tojiro dp or cck/shibazi would be huge jumps in performance For not much more $$$.
 
Actually if we are going the thai route Kom Kom or Penguin are much better than Kiwi and not very expensive. Kom Kom (which is the "pro" version of Kiwi) makes a chef knife that I've never seen in the US but is probably the best really cheap chef's knife I have ever seen. I bought a bunch to give away as gifts when I was in Thailand, I think they ran about $8 each... Their bunka is quite nice although I think the Penguin is better..
 
Tojiro dp would definitely be great, but I can't justify $70 on a knife. If I can find a 210mm at $50 new I would, but that's unlikely.

I'm expecting $40 will give me a decent workhorse knife that I don't mind getting ruined for whatever misuse. The Kiwi I have doesn't seem to keep sharp edge for long, so I'm a little inclined to spend the $40, especially with reviews saying how far the $40 can go.

It seems that it doesn't really matter what I get at $40, as long as the steel and manufacturer is decent , I can make up for where it lacks with a whetstone that I plan to get anyways. If that seems reasonably true.

EDIT: Found this Shun 8" for $60
 
killerfrenzi said:
Tojiro dp would definitely be great, but I can't justify $70 on a knife. If I can find a 210mm at $50 new I would, but that's unlikely.

I'm expecting $40 will give me a decent workhorse knife that I don't mind getting ruined for whatever misuse. The Kiwi I have doesn't seem to keep sharp edge for long, so I'm a little inclined to spend the $40, especially with reviews saying how far the $40 can go.

It seems that it doesn't really matter what I get at $40, as long as the steel and manufacturer is decent , I can make up for where it lacks with a whetstone that I plan to get anyways. If that seems agreeable.
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Well if your budget is $40 for a knife, how much are you willing to spend on a stone?
 
labor of love said:
Well if your budget is $40 for a knife, how much are you willing to spend on a stone?
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I haven't put too much thought or research yet, but looks like I can get a King for about $40.

And then there's a honing rod that I should probably get too.

Looks like CKTG has a it's own gyuto that i can consider for only $30. Maybe that's the winner
 
killerfrenzi said:
Tojiro dp would definitely be great, but I can't justify $70 on a knife. If I can find a 210mm at $50 new I would, but that's unlikely.


EDIT: Found this Shun 8" for $60
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I'm confused by your comments about a 70 knife not being justifiable but then you post a link for a 60 knife. So 10 bucks is your make or break? You realize tax and gas would wipe out your margin of justifiability right?

The shun isn't a bad deal. Its got a vg10 cutting core but it wrapped in cheaper steel. It should last you a few years.
 
Obsidiank said:
The shun isn't a bad deal. Its got a vg10 cutting core but it wrapped in cheaper steel. It should last you a few years.
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That's interesting, I wouldn't have known Shun (and no doubt others) cheap out on the outer steel, and just a few years sounds shocking to me. How bad can it be? (I have some very cheap 'set' knives that are decades old)

Presumably the steel used on the brands I often see recommended here (Takamura, Tanaka, Itinomonn Kasumi) should last for many years?
 
Would be surprised if Obsidiank meant anything other than the cladding steel being cheaper than the core steel which is the case for all the clad knives we talk about - Tojiro, Tanaka, Itinomonn, Takamura, etc.

Pinch grip on a Victorinox Rosewood is doable. The 10 inch has more useable flat to offset that belly curvature to the high tip. Should be around $40-45 if you shop around, it can occasionally found lightly used on ebay for less.
Edge retention of however long is going to depend on your usage and also subjective standards for when an edge has dulled past satisfactory use.
 
Triggaaar said:
That's interesting, I wouldn't have known Shun (and no doubt others) cheap out on the outer steel, and just a few years sounds shocking to me. How bad can it be? (I have some very cheap 'set' knives that are decades old)

Presumably the steel used on the brands I often see recommended here (Takamura, Tanaka, Itinomonn Kasumi) should last for many years?
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There were some rumors about Shun's heat treatment not being the best when it comes to VG10. If it's true, you'll get chipping often. That would require resharpening/repairs. That's about the worst case scenario.

If the HT is well made (like on Tanaka knives) then that Shun should last you a lifetime (assuming proper care and no abuse from user side).
 
If I were in your position, I'd go for the wokshop veggie cleaver
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00018U1J6/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
and a Victorinox parer and put any leftover money toward a water stone down the road. I've got a Tojiro DP santoku (got it for my wife; she uses it from time to time) and I'd take the wokshop cleaver over it any day of the week. Also, as far as learning to sharpen, the carbon steel of the wokshop cleaver will be easier to sharpen and get sharper than the generic X50CrMoV15 steel of the knives you're looking at. It sort of also depends on how much you're willing to tolerate rust, given your roommate situation.

As far as a chef knife, though, that Victorinox for $30 looks like a good deal. The handle on the Wustie looks horrible to me.
 
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Get on eBay and look for a bolsterless old carbon chef knife. Search carbon chef(s) knife, vintage chef knife, etc and filter to used results. Your budget will demand more legwork on your part but you should come away with more knife for your money
 
killerfrenzi said:
Thoughts on this CKTG Line Gyuto (5Cr15MOV Steel) ?
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It looks like a thinning project, to me. I suppose the photo could be deceptive but it looks quite thick behind the edge. I am not familiar with the steel but Cr-Mov steel is normally on the lower end of the spectrum.
 
killerfrenzi said:
Thoughts on this CKTG Line Gyuto (5Cr15MOV Steel) ?

considering this vs wusties, vic, and all the otoher knives being recommended.

btw- I really appreciate the help so far
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Ug! That looks just like the grind on the Artifex I had a few years back. See that little "house rooftop shape" at the very tip on the third picture? What that means it that unless you grind away heck of a lot of metal, it won't cut worth a damn- it'll wedge in everything. I never did get that Artifex right even after hours with stones- just too much evil shoulder there. And even if you get the shoulder smoothed out, the blade itself looks quite thick. I agree with K813zra- that's a project knife. I would suggest avoiding that vendor altogether.
 
The absolute minimum is $60 for a carbon K-Sabatier. Expect some work to be done. Or pay a little more and get a Fujiwara FKH.
 
Well, Shun did (do?) make some solid (massive) vg10 ones too - but is there much advantage except scratch resistance at the price of hard sharpening and fragility?
 
Benuser said:
The absolute minimum is $60 for a carbon K-Sabatier. Expect some work to be done. Or pay a little more and get a Fujiwara FKH.
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I love my FKH and think that is a wonderful suggestion. It is a budget blade but it is one of my favorites.
 
https://www.amazon.de/dp/B01LW6N15Y/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 (the chef knife also exists as a single item in some markets).

Among my favorite cheapos

Seem to be rarely seen in US shops though - bit flimsy round the bolster (tends to be that way with stamped knives), and as I mentioned they benefit from some thinning, but you get a french/japanese profile chef knife made from a specified steel that has an ironic name and doesn't look totally ugly.
 
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LifeByA1000Cuts said:
https://www.amazon.de/dp/B01LW6N15Y/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 (the chef knife also exists as a single item in some markets).

Among my favorite cheapos

Seem to be rarely seen in US shops though - bit flimsy round the bolster (tends to be that way with stamped knives), and as I mentioned they benefit from some thinning, but you get a french/japanese profile chef knife made from a specified steel that has an ironic name and doesn't look totally ugly.
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That seems to be scarcely available in the US.

Looking for something on ebay for a possibly cheap FKH, came along this

The more I look at the random japanese knives available on ebay, the more overwhelmed with options. I can't tell what's good or what's not.
 
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