Checking In

Kitchen Knife Forums

Help Support Kitchen Knife Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

BobFukinawa

Member
Joined
Sep 23, 2019
Messages
6
Reaction score
0
Location
Murrieta, CA
Looked around the forum for general recommendations for a beginner knife. Just starting to cook at home. I'm looking to find a general gyuto for a beginner.

LOCATION
What country are you in?
USA

KNIFE TYPE
What type of knife are you interested in (e.g., chef’s knife, slicer, boning knife, utility knife, bread knife, paring knife, cleaver)?
Chef's Knife and Paring Knife

Are you right or left handed?
Right

Are you interested in a Western handle (e.g., classic Wusthof handle) or Japanese handle?
I assume Japanese? I'm not sure of the difference.

What length of knife (blade) are you interested in (in inches or millimeters)?
180mm is the general length right?

Do you require a stainless knife? (Yes or no)
Whichever is easier to maintain.

What is your absolute maximum budget for your knife?
Trying to stay below $100


KNIFE USE
Do you primarily intend to use this knife at home or a professional environment?
Home

What are the main tasks you primarily intend to use the knife for (e.g., slicing vegetables, chopping vegetables, mincing vegetables, slicing meats, cutting down poultry, breaking poultry bones, filleting fish, trimming meats, etc.)? (Please identify as many tasks as you would like.)
All but breaking poultry bones.

What knife, if any, are you replacing?
None

Do you have a particular grip that you primarily use? (Please click on this LINK for the common types of grips.)
Pinch grip

What cutting motions do you primarily use? (Please click on this LINK for types of cutting motions and identify the two or three most common cutting motions, in order of most used to least used.)
Rocking motion is what I've learned in school and slicing.

What improvements do you want from your current knife? If you are not replacing a knife, please identify as many characteristics identified below in parentheses that you would like this knife to have.)
Capable of doing a good job with everyday cooking tasks at an affordable price.

Better aesthetics (e.g., a certain type of finish; layered/Damascus or other pattern of steel; different handle color/pattern/shape/wood; better scratch resistance; better stain resistance)?
No preference on aesthetics but would like more scratch/stain resistance. Basically can take a beating because I'm not experienced with knife care.

Comfort (e.g., lighter/heavier knife; better handle material; better handle shape; rounded spine/choil of the knife; improved balance)?
Lighter knife with good balance is most important.

Ease of Use (e.g., ability to use the knife right out of the box; smoother rock chopping, push cutting, or slicing motion; less wedging; better food release; less reactivity with food; easier to sharpen)?
Can accomplish all tasks and easy to sharpen. Can take a beating.

Edge Retention (i.e., length of time you want the edge to last without sharpening)?
I want to not have to sharpen after every use. Sharpen on occasion.


KNIFE MAINTENANCE
Do you use a bamboo, wood, rubber, or synthetic cutting board? (Yes or no.)
No
Do you sharpen your own knives? (Yes or no.)
No
If not, are you interested in learning how to sharpen your knives? (Yes or no.)
Yes
Are you interested in purchasing sharpening products for your knives? (Yes or no.)
Yes
 
Welcome to the forum, moving this to the kitchen knife section.
 
There's also the Kanehide TK (righties only) at $115.
 
Thank you for the prompt replies. I will look into buying both a cheap forschner and practice sharpening before obtaining the Kanehide TK or Gesshin.
 
I'd also recommend buying a cutting-board; your reply regarding use of a cutting board was "No".
 
Last edited:
210mm will take care of most all home duties. Kanetsugu pro M at Japanese chef knives is under 100
It has a very nice grind at the price. They are thin and light, easy to sharpen. Also have comfortable Western handle. Don't spend on a beginner knife. Get one that will go through food little effort. All you need is a little simple knife care. A thinner grind blade is easier to learn sharpening on as well .
 
I'd also recommend buying a cutting-board; your reply regarding use of a cutting board was "No".
Yeah I plan on it, I just meant I didn’t have one yet not that I wasn’t going to use one haha.

210mm will take care of most all home duties. Kanetsugu pro M at Japanese chef knives is under 100
It has a very nice grind at the price. They are thin and light, easy to sharpen. Also have comfortable Western handle. Don't spend on a beginner knife. Get one that will go through food little effort. All you need is a little simple knife care. A thinner grind blade is easier to learn sharpening on as well .
That sounds great! Thanks for the suggestion.
 
I'm not Keith, but if you intend on sharpening knives for the rest of your life, I would buy a decent set that will last you a long time.
Edit, noting your location, take a drive north and see Jon at Japanese Knife Imports in LA.
 
A king deluxe 1k stone will get you started. Amazon 21.00. It will put a nice edge on your knife. They dish faster than other more expensive stones, for home use it will put you on the road to free hand sharpening

Jon at Japanese knife imports has excellent sharpening videos. (Knifesharpeningplaylist) first few vids cover sharpening a chef knife

For Cutting board get wood. Don't need to spend a lot for that either. Sometimes Ross stores have side grain boards for cheap. If you can visit Jon at JKI that would be worthwhile trip.
 
A king deluxe 1k stone will get you started. Amazon 21.00. It will put a nice edge on your knife. They dish faster than other more expensive stones, for home use it will put you on the road to free hand sharpening

Jon at Japanese knife imports has excellent sharpening videos. (Knifesharpeningplaylist) first few vids cover sharpening a chef knife

For Cutting board get wood. Don't need to spend a lot for that either. Sometimes Ross stores have side grain boards for cheap. If you can visit Jon at JKI that would be worthwhile trip.

Do you have a link to that stone? I put in king deluxe 1000 and wasn't able to find it on Amazon. I got that Kanetsugu pro M series and it cuts better than any knife I've ever used. Thanks for the recommendation!
 
Best advice is start slowly so you gain some experience. I began my sharpening journey on a King 1k/6K two sided stone I bought off Amazon for $30. It was also Murray Carter's recommended stone choice until he went to the Darkside:D

As for boards you can do a whole lot worse than these, and for the price, hard to beat. I've had a 22x16x2 in my kitchen as my primary cutting board for the past 4 years, occasionally oiled it with mineral oil, and it looks as good as new. I even have a couple of seconds as amplifier stands in my home theater. I would recommend a board with rubber feet. Stops board sliding, offers clearance for fingers when picked up and keeps it dry to prevent warping. Obviously downside is you can only use one side. He also has 10-15% sales quite regularly and is happy to send pics of his available boards so you can choose your preferred sap pattern.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Black-Waln...8:g:0qAAAOSw8oFXyJyy:sc:UPSGround!75061!US!-1
 
Do you have a link to that stone? I put in king deluxe 1000 and wasn't able to find it on Amazon. I got that Kanetsugu pro M series and it cuts better than any knife I've ever used. Thanks for the recommendation!

Google King 1000 sharpening stone. Glad you like the Kanetsugu Pro M. Feel they are very nice blades for the coin.
 
As for a shapening stone in the 1k area, you could do very well with the Suehiro Cerax 1000!
 
Back
Top