Help buying new knife, home use, mostly for vegetables.

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oeysteinlo said:
Lol, I just read a description of one of these Takamura SG2 knives on an online store.
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I wouldn't judge a knife by the description from an online retailer. That's a sales pitch from the retailer, not from Takamura.

Hz_zzzzzz said:
Yea..it’s fair to not buy a product because you don’t like the production description. Their marketing/sales team surely plays a role in the configuration/specification of their knife, which does correlate the product description with the quality of the knife somehow.
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Again, I don't think the people that write that online retailer's copy are also telling the Takamura brothers how to make knives.

Takamura knives are legit and well respected. They make excellent knives, if you like western handled lasers.
If you are interested, this is marketing copy from their US importer that describes the Takamura more objectively.
https://www.mtckitchen.com/takamura-knives/

If you browse MTC's selection, you will see that Takamura also make a "pro" line of R2 knives with a harder cladding and more durable handles.
 
Well, my comment about that wasn't initially meant as a negative against the knife but rather against the store. I just mentioned it because I found it funny. What's even funnier is that your link is to that same store xD
Then after people said the knife is actually ground too thin, and that this is a well-known issue, I certainly got some doubts about the knife as well.
 
It’s not ground too thin. It’s just the angle of the cutting edge that is too astute. But as said, that is not a big thing.
 
oeysteinlo said:
Then after people said the knife is actually ground too thin, and that this is a well-known issue, I certainly got some doubts about the knife as well.
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As Carl said it has nothing to do with the grind.
You need to understand the difference between how a maker grinds a knife and how the knife is sharpened.
Then you will realize that you are doubting the wrong things in a knife...
 
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Here might be something to look at:
https://www.cleancut.eu/series/ryus...itstart=0&option=com_virtuemart&view=category
I like CleanCut a lot and they’re nice to deal with. They recently added the service called ’extra sharp’ - for approx 9€ you can have knives bought from them to go through an extra sharpening for a better edge. In general that’s a good idea if you’re looking for excellent sharpness ootb. Factory edges can be underwhelming.
 
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Excuse the wrong word. I'm not a native English speaker. Guess that's a language nuance that has passed me by. Sharpened too thin then. It's still not a good thing. Like I said, I made that comment in the first place because I found the marketing ridiculous and funny. And it is. Even more so when it's on the webpage of their US importer.

@Carl Kotte How have I not come across this before? :O Looks interesting, thanks!
 
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Takamura is a great knife. I have the Pro gyuto and had a petty in R2, they’re both excellent cutters and not a pain to sharpen. Mac is also a great knife. In its price range for a general purpose knife it’s one of the best for non-experts; it was my first Japanese knife and my first attempt at thinning which really made it haul noogies. The Takamura slays prep but the edge can be fragile, the Mac is indestructible but could benefit from thinning.

Both are pretty slim in profile and it sounds like you might want something taller though; if carbon core stainless clad is acceptable, how about the Watanabe nakiri already mentioned or a Teruyasu Fujiwara White 1 (Maboroshi)? Otherwise, what about a Shinko Kurokumo from Knives and Stones by Shiro Kamo?
 
I did like the one that was mentioned earlier, but I really do think I want a completely stainless version. I guess having stainless clad sides would make it leave less of a metallic taste on certain vegetables, but I also want it because I'm not always the best at wiping off my knives:oops:

Damn, those Fujiwaras look really nice. But they are also really expensive D:

I'm kind of starting to lean towards a Shibata Kotetsu R2 Gyuto. Don't know what length yet, but they look really nice. It blows my budget a bit though
 
I think the Sakai Yusuke I have now is Shirogami #2, but I'm not completely sure about that. It's supposed to be very reactive, from what I'm reading? I found some places stating that Aogami Super is also fairly reactive. I get the feeling that AS is well-loved though.
 
oeysteinlo said:
That's what those are called! Bunka! I really like the look of this one. But yeah, not optimal for rocking. Then again, I could just get used to doing push cuts more frequently. I think the size is fine. It's not often I need the length of a 24 cm blade, and in those cases, i already have a long knife. It's also about 1cm taller than the Sakai Yusuke that I have, so it would work a bit better for scooping up food after I've cut it. I will look at more bunkas.
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I just picked up the Kurosaki Shizuku R2 Bunka, fell in love instantly. Smooth. Only used on veggies thus far. It's 165mm though, but if you're looking into bunkas, I highly rec this one
 
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