Going from Santoku to Gyuto, recommandations?

[btbyrd]

I think one of the non-Damascus or "hairline" Sukenari blades would be a good choice, though they're on the higher end of your budget. They're available in ZDP, R2, and HAP40 (which is only semi-stainless, but I'm throwing it in the mix anyway because it's much less reactive than your typical non-stainless carbon steels). The fit and finish on these knives is incredible, as is the grind, heat treatment, and edge retention. They're kinda pricey but you definitely get what you pay for. And if you want to spend vast sums, you can bling them out real nice with the Damascus cladding and custom handles. Or keep it simple and cheap with the stock handle and hairline finish.

 

[Keith Sinclair]

Is the Kagero SRS15? The Akifusa was my first powder steel knife. I thinned it and sold to a cook. Really like that steel not so much the geometry of the Akifusa. Wanted to see a blade with better grind using SRS15.

The Sakai Takayuki Blue#2 is a full on carbon blade tall bevel very thin behind the edge at over 400.00.

Often same knives can vary in price quite a bit at different sites. The Megumi Kurosaki R2 at CKTG is a hammered blade. I like the heel sweep on those knives. I have a Megumi with that heel not the R2 which is a higher end knife.

The Kagero and the Kurosaki are premium stainless knives with good steel and grinds. User friendly to sharpen too. Let us know when you make up your mind

 

[Colonel Mustard]

So, I finally decided and bought the Kurosaki Shizuku. So far, I like it quite a lot. It cuts great (but could probably have an even better edge after sharpening) and is pretty versatile. The tip could be thinner but I can live with that (at least for now ) . Light but not too light. I'll try to post pictures soon. And of course, i'm leaning towards learning to sharpen my knives. I have many videos to watch, many threads to read and a couple of stones to buy.

Thanks again to everyone for taking the time to help me out! Many interesting options but I preferred to have seen the knife before buying. Now, if I can just stop reading the BST forum...

 

[ared715]

I have a few Masakage knives including a 240 Koishi, 240 Yuki, 240 Shimo and more.... sadly, I’ve grown out of almost all of them, however, the Koishi gets by far the most work nowadays.... great grind and heat treat of AS steel, thin tip, and hopefully you will see as many years of use as I have out of it. The Yuki is a wedge monster and honestly, it never gets used even after extensive thinning.
Shimo is super reactive and for some reason I can’t keep it sharp for more than a few ingredients and I’ve tried everything from more obtuse bevels, micro bevels ect....
If you’re planning on learning to sharpen, I would definitely invest in a medium 600-2000, or a combo stone for maintaining your existing knives and the one you may pick up now. Knifewear has their own line of stones and some Naniwa stuff that’s quite affordable ATM....
I would also highly recommend going there and checking out Masashi knives as well, they are very tempting as many on this forum have sung its praises for a while now.... good luck and happy hunting!