Getting a Gyuto as a gift from my wife

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zorkieo

Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2022
Messages
7
Reaction score
21
Location
san diego
Hey everyone. I have been searching through the forums and lurking about for a while now but thought I would give this a try. Looking for a Gyuto to become my primary knife and my wife has volunteered to buy me one. I have a carbon petty knife (suisin) and have managed to take care of it without any rust issues. That said I am open to just about any steel and am sort of interested in maybe getting a carbon knife with cladding. I like the idea of having a little extra protection and If I go carbon I would prefer not to get the absolute most corrosive / high maintenance steel.

I really liked the thread "knives that make you go WHOA from the first cut!! I felt this way when I got my first Japanese petty knife. I want to get that same feeling from my Gyuto. I want a super sharp knife but I don't want to feel like it will break or chip from one wrong move either.


Seen a lot of good reviews and praise for Konosuke, Mizuno, Toyama, Wantanabe.

LOCATION
USA - San Diego

KNIFE TYPE
Gyuto

Are you right or left handed?
Right

Are you interested in a Western handle (e.g., classic Wusthof handle) or Japanese handle?
Japanese (but open to western if nessissary)

What length of knife (blade) are you interested in (in inches or millimeters)?
240mm

Do you require a stainless knife? (Yes or no)
no

What is your absolute maximum budget for your knife?
$600

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?
veggies, some meat. basically all cooking related tasks that I used to use my german knife for.

What knife, if any, are you replacing?
german chef knife knife. Keeping it for bigger heavy tasks like pumpkin, spatchcock, handling meat or fish with bones in it.

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

What cutting motions do you primarily use?
Push cut, chop, with occasional rock chop (only herbs)

What improvements do you want from your current knife?
sharpness, edge retention, but still don't want to get something too chippy.

Better aesthetics?
don't care.

Edge Retention (i.e., length of time you want the edge to last without sharpening)?
Most good Japanese knives seem to hold an edge better then my wusthof classic. An important but I don't mind sharpening and stropping
KNIFE MAINTENANCE

Do you use a bamboo, wood, rubber, or synthetic cutting board? (Yes or no.)
I have a rubber board and an HDPE board

Do you sharpen your own knives? (Yes or no.)
YES (currently using a king two sided with great results) will upgrade soon if the steel I buy requires it.
 
Toyama/Watanabe gyutos live up to the hype and fit your "great cutter but not too fragile" criteria really well. Had one, shouldn't have traded it. Only downside is the tip is a bit too thick for fine work IMO.

Shihan is also nice, mine is not as smooth a cutter as my Toyama was but has a more functional tip and 52100 mono feels totally bulletproof in hand. Great craftsmanship.

My Kippington workpony is the GOAT in this category but his books are closed and they aren't easy to find used.

Way below your budget, but Wakui's stainless clad white #2 is a great package, nice fit and finish, good all around cutter, outstanding profile, punches well above above it's weight.

I haven't used anything from Andrei Markin but his work has gotten consistent positive attention here lately, is in budget, and I believe his books are open.

If you posted a WTB thread in BST you'd probably get a lot of interesting options.
 
I'd second the Watanabe as great cutter without being fragile. Grind is similar to the Wakui migaki/hairline version but much taller and slightly more convex.

For shorter knives in the 230-235 range you can look at the Sakai offerings such as Konosuke FM (thin), Myojin SG2 (thin), Nakagawa/Morihiro (medium). There's a lot of really good options. Hard to pin down exactly what you might want without maybe a bit more detail about preferences. But you definitely won't run short of opinions.
 
TAKAMURA 210 MM SG2 GYUTO

She will love it and will save you some $
 
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