Height/Life?

[aikon2020]

Should the height/tallness of the blade for its longevity/lifetime be a factor behind buying a knife? I personally like the feel of a tall blade, but I would lie if I said it isn't very nice to know that I can sharpen it more times than a lower blade and thus it will have a longer life and give more blade for the money in the long run.

My thinking is that a gyuto will turn into a sujihiki, and a sujihiki till turn into a petty and a petty into a paring knife.

 

[Barmoley]

If it is your only knife and you are a pro chef, maybe. The question then is if you are a pro why would you not buy another knife when needed. For a home cook even with 1 knife unless you just like to sharpen, turning a chef into a suji might take decades, so then the question again is why wouldn't you just buy another. Buy the height you like and are comfortable with don't worry about longevity.

 

[SeattleB]

From what I have been reading about sharpening, it really only takes about 10 microns of grinding to sharpen an edge. One hundred full sharpening sessions to take out one mm of knife height. For a gyuto to get worn down, it seems a person would have to be either a very busy prep cook for many years or a very very old home cook.

 

[GBT-Splint]

I guess it depends how you sharpen your knives.
Those guys in trucks can sharpen 1cm out of your blade in one session
If so just buy a cleaver it's gonna be a nakiri soon

 

[aikon2020]

On kind of the same theme, would you say that buying a duplicate is a good or bad idea? In fear of that model going out of production.

 

[kbright]

If your edge tends to chip, it may get shorter more quickly.

 

[adam92]

For normal of point, yes. More height＝more life.
But even in professional kitchen, it took me more than 3 years to shorter my gyuto height, I sharpen everynight after work to keep razor sharp, thinning frequently to keep the geometry. My gyuto only get microchip 2 time in my career.

But the question is, different knife have different purpose, example petty is easier when cutting fruit, instead of clever, that's why we need many different kind of knife.

 

[Barmoley]

On kind of the same theme, would you say that buying a duplicate is a good or bad idea? In fear of that model going out of production.

Once you find the knife that really works for you, you might want to. Some models go out of production or are changed in such ways over time to become different. @daveb has like 20 gengetsus for example, I exaggerate for dramatic effect.

If your edge tends to chip, it may get shorter more quickly.

True, but then you should probably change the geometry enough for it to not chip, assuming good heat treat and appropriate steel for your use.

 

[GBT-Splint]

On kind of the same theme, would you say that buying a duplicate is a good or bad idea? In fear of that model going out of production.

Some people do that, i'd rather buy another knife than the same but I can understand someone that buys another example of his most beloved and cherished blade.

 

[Jason183]

Liked others have said, it took very long time to lose the height on regular sharpening time. My Tojiro DP only loses 2mm of height over the course of 8 years.

So It should not be a factor, unless you chipping/reprofile your knife very often, even if it turns into Sujihiki’s height, you still have to thin the knife often to keep up with the cutting performance, for that much work I rather replacing it with new one.

 

[daveb]

@Barmoly hehe, only 4 gyuto, and 1 is a 270. I should prob sell 1 or 2 but....

Have winnowed down the collection to only those that are a pleasure for me to use. And parted with some nice knives along the way.

 

[DavidPF]

Should the height/tallness of the blade for its longevity/lifetime be a factor behind buying a knife? I personally like the feel of a tall blade, but I would lie if I said it isn't very nice to know that I can sharpen it more times than a lower blade and thus it will have a longer life and give more blade for the money in the long run.

My thinking is that a gyuto will turn into a sujihiki, and a sujihiki till turn into a petty and a petty into a paring knife.

One local butcher shop (they're good people and good meat cutters) has knives that look like what you're describing. I should ask who sharpens their knives, so I'll know who not to go to for help.

 

[ragz]

About 9 years of professional use. Got used all day, constantly worked. Now a long stiff boning knife. It takes so long to get a knife to this point, even with constant use, you will prob have bought many more knives by then.

I only met one guy that was ride or die with one set of knives his whole career-- they looked like a collection of prison shanks. He eventually reached a point where they had to be replaced. I'd say he got his moneys worth. He wasn't too worried either getting a taller knife for maximum lifespan.

 

[DavidPF]

About 9 years of professional use. Got used all day, constantly worked. Now a long stiff boning knife.

You obviously got comfortable with this knife over that time. What made it work for you?

 

[ragz]

For me, misono really landed in a perfect spot of being thin to do precision knife work, while being not too thin to where they can't handle more robust tasks (carbon line). That knife there has probably absorbed the souls of thousands of lobsters alone. It's a very easy carbon to take care of, with that you also get good edge retention while not being to cost prohibitive. They're just great all around knives that you don't have to baby.

I still pretty much only recommend misono to cooks who are looking upgrade their work set and dip into the japanese knife pool.

 

[DavidPF]

Thanks - clearly, with that worn blade, your money and your mouth are in the same place.

 

[mmiinngg]

Guess that if you intend to use a blade this much, stay away of warikomi construction

 

[DavidPF]

Guess that if you intend to use a blade this much, stay away of warikomi construction

Is "warikomi" a Japanese word for "gimmick"?
I'm sure it's not, but this does show that making a blade in one piece from one material does have advantages.