First knife purchase

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k0wned

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Full questionnaire is below, but here is the summary. I'm a novice home cook looking for my first knife. I am looking for a 210mm or 240mm gyuto. Do not plan on getting a second gyuto or upgrading at a later time, I'd like this knife to be my baby for the long haul.

I'm not looking to take on sharpening, will be paying for professional sharpening (CKTG?). Hope to get a knife with great edge retention, hopefully hold its edge for around a year of light use between sharpenings if possible.

SG-2 (R2) seems to be a recommended steel that seems to fit my needs, without much compromise on cutting performance (I'm open to anything though). The Takamura R2 seems to be the most highly mentioned of this steel type, but is it too thin for an inexperienced cook? I'll be careful, but I don't want a knife would be easy for me to damage while I'm still learning technique.

Thanks everyone, looking forward to hearing your thoughts.



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

Are you right or left handed?
- Right

Are you interested in a Western handle (e.g., classic Wusthof handle) or Japanese handle?
- Either

What length of knife (blade) are you interested in (in inches or millimeters)?
- 210mm or 240mm? Getting a 16x22 or 18x24 cutting board if that helps

Do you require a stainless knife? (Yes or no)
- Not necessarily. However edge retention is very important, so thinking something like SG-2 (R2).

What is your absolute maximum budget for your knife?
- Absolute max is $350. ~$200 is what I'm thinking as of now, but I can be convinced to go cheaper or more expensive.


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.)
- Chopping/mincing vegetables, slicing/trimming meats.

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.)
- New to cooking in general, do not have a particular technique as of now

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.)
- Clean slate to learn whatever the knife is best at

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.)

Edge Retention
- Do not need it to be razor sharp, but would like a knife that retains a usable edge for a long time.

Durability?
- As I'm inexperienced with a knife in general, I'd like it to be able to take a little bit of abuse while I'm learning. I'll be careful and try to learn proper technique, but still. I'd like to avoid buying a "starter knife" if possible.


KNIFE MAINTENANCE
Do you use a bamboo, wood, rubber, or synthetic cutting board? (Yes or no.)
- End grain walnut

Do you sharpen your own knives? (Yes or no.)
- No. Planning to pay for professional sharpening (CKTG?) as of now. Hopefully yearly if the edge retention is good enough?
 
Misono UX10 gyuto is a good first Japanese knife that will hold it edge and cuts very well even after losing the initial sharpness.
The UX10 180 Santoku is also a good choice as a do everything knife.
Korin will do a very good initial sharpening that will last a while.
 
Great suggestions, that Ryusen looks promising. Any idea on the thickness of it?

Also for the Tojiro, what is the difference between that and the Pro on CKTG


Thoughts on the Miyabi/ZKramer SG2 knives? I can get around 30% off of them by stacking together a few deals. From what I've read people think they are good knives, but overpriced.

Birchwood 8" - $160
Artisan 8" - $110
Kramer Essential 8" - $135

Also what is the reputation of Kanehiro knives? I can get the 210mm RG2 for $225.
https://chefknivesjapan.com/products/kanehiro-sg2-hammered-gyuto-chefs-knife-210mm-red-handle
 
I had a chance to handle an 8 inch Kramer at my local Sur la Table and I found it to be pretty handle heavy. Not my cup of tea, but not a deal breaker.
 
Never used a zKramer but I like my Miyabi knives just fine. I have knives from the Koh and Evolution lines. More or less lasers with a bit of backbone. Ghost through everything, mild sticking, easy to sharpen and hold an edge well. Now, these are not from an SG-2 line it is the FC61 (13c26?) but I like them.

I have used a Kanehiro ginsan 165mm santoku and it was a good knife. Medium thin knife, not a laser but ghosts through everything soft. Does respectable through root veg with minimal resistance. No sticking in general that I can recall. It has been about three years now though so I am going from memory. I do have other knives from the same smith and they seem to vary a bit but not as much as some other makers. I think it is a solid choice too. I can not speak for the AS line but I have a few friends who like them well enough to keep them in their main rotation.

FWIW
 
supersayan3 said:
The Ryusen super gold, is a cheaper alternative to blazen and takamura pro,
without saya, and I think it will be more substantial than the takamura red handle.
For your needs, I suggest a 21cm knife.

http://www.knivesandstones.com/super-gold/
Click to expand...
Ryusen Blazen is a very nice all round knife. It has the most beautiful balance. It's thin behind the edge but convexed with reasonable food release. Beautiful fit and finish. If you are serious about only getting one knife (doesn't happen often around here [emoji3] ), you could do much worse.

The Ryusen SG2 line appears to be almost identical but the blade face finish is less well polished.
 
A bit late to the party... but for someone who already admits to being a total newbie and wanting something that stands up to abuse, the Takamura R2 would be far from my first pick. On the German forums it's pretty notorious for absolutely requiring the addition of a microbevel to prevent otherwise almost guaranteed microchipping. Other than that it always gathers acclaim as being a great laser.... but it's not what I would go with for a beginning cook who essentially doesn't even know what their preferences are, nor has any technique to speak of.

The Kramers are very much a 'you love em or hate em' kinda deal. Miyabis are somewhat overpriced...
But honestly... getting a 200+ dollar knife as your 'first knice' when you don't even know your likes, preferences or have no technique to speak of sounds somewhat silly to me. I hate to sound like a negative nancy, but if you don't even know whether you like to push-cut, pullcut, or rock chop, the solution is not to adapt to the 200+ dollar knife... it's to figure out how you like to cut first.

Most of these higher end knives are not what I would consider in the category of 'can stand up to abuse' in the first place, nor would they be what I'd recommend to someone who's still getting their technique down... It's a bit like going for a Ferrari 2 days after you got your drivers license.
 
Eh, I think its fine. My first nice knife was a Masakage Yuki. An upgrade from a $4 Rada 420j santoku. :p To each their own but I think personality plays a big role.
 
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