Hi, I need some help finding a Nakiri. My budget is around $400, but I'm interested in knives below that price if they fit the bill. I'd like something that performs well as a knife, but also that looks good and is somewhat special (not something mass-produced). Thanks for the help in advance and if this is in the wrong thread or needs more information, please let me know.
Help Finding a Nakiri
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nakiriknaifuwaifu
Senior Member
Congratulations!
A $400 USD budget puts you in range of nakiris from some of the best smiths around.
There's a form for finding a new knife - perhaps it would help if you filled it out
LOCATION
What country are you in?
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)?
Are you right or left handed?
Are you interested in a Western handle (e.g., classic Wusthof handle) or Japanese handle?
What length of knife (blade) are you interested in (in inches or millimeters)?
Do you require a stainless knife? (Yes or no)
What is your absolute maximum budget for your knife?
KNIFE USE
Do you primarily intend to use this knife at home or a professional environment?
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.)
What knife, if any, are you replacing?
Do you have a particular grip that you primarily use? (Please click on this LINK for the common types of grips.)
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.)
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.)
Better aesthetics (e.g., a certain type of finish; layered/Damascus or other pattern of steel; different handle color/pattern/shape/wood; better scratch resistance; better stain resistance)?
Comfort (e.g., lighter/heavier knife; better handle material; better handle shape; rounded spine/choil of the knife; improved balance)?
Ease of Use (e.g., ability to use the knife right out of the box; smoother rock chopping, push cutting, or slicing motion; less wedging; better food release; less reactivity with food; easier to sharpen)? General use
Edge Retention (i.e., length of time you want the edge to last without sharpening)?
KNIFE MAINTENANCE
Do you use a bamboo, wood, rubber, or synthetic cutting board? (Yes or no.)
Do you sharpen your own knives? (Yes or no.)
If not, are you interested in learning how to sharpen your knives? (Yes or no.)
Are you interested in purchasing sharpening products for your knives? (Yes or no.)
SPECIAL REQUESTS/COMMENTS
A $400 USD budget puts you in range of nakiris from some of the best smiths around.
There's a form for finding a new knife - perhaps it would help if you filled it out
LOCATION
What country are you in?
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)?
Are you right or left handed?
Are you interested in a Western handle (e.g., classic Wusthof handle) or Japanese handle?
What length of knife (blade) are you interested in (in inches or millimeters)?
Do you require a stainless knife? (Yes or no)
What is your absolute maximum budget for your knife?
KNIFE USE
Do you primarily intend to use this knife at home or a professional environment?
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.)
What knife, if any, are you replacing?
Do you have a particular grip that you primarily use? (Please click on this LINK for the common types of grips.)
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.)
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.)
Better aesthetics (e.g., a certain type of finish; layered/Damascus or other pattern of steel; different handle color/pattern/shape/wood; better scratch resistance; better stain resistance)?
Comfort (e.g., lighter/heavier knife; better handle material; better handle shape; rounded spine/choil of the knife; improved balance)?
Ease of Use (e.g., ability to use the knife right out of the box; smoother rock chopping, push cutting, or slicing motion; less wedging; better food release; less reactivity with food; easier to sharpen)? General use
Edge Retention (i.e., length of time you want the edge to last without sharpening)?
KNIFE MAINTENANCE
Do you use a bamboo, wood, rubber, or synthetic cutting board? (Yes or no.)
Do you sharpen your own knives? (Yes or no.)
If not, are you interested in learning how to sharpen your knives? (Yes or no.)
Are you interested in purchasing sharpening products for your knives? (Yes or no.)
SPECIAL REQUESTS/COMMENTS
Thanks for letting me know about this, sorry for not putting this in my initial post.
LOCATION
Chicago, USA
KNIFE TYPE
Nakiri
Right handed
No preference on handle
Somewhere in the realm of 6 or 7 inches
No stainless steel requirement
$400
KNIFE USE
Home environment
Vegetable cutting tasks
Not replacing a knife
No special type of grip
Mostly use push cut and slicing motion
I would like good aesthetics, I find Damascus to look really good, but I don't have a ton of exposure to everything out there. I would prefer a lighter knife as well. Not too much preference for ease of use or edge retention.
KNIFE MAINTENANCE
I would primarily use this on a wooden cutting board
Yes, I sharpen my own knives
N/A
I already have stones that I use for other knives, but if this knife requires anything special, I'd be happy to purchase that as well.
LOCATION
Chicago, USA
KNIFE TYPE
Nakiri
Right handed
No preference on handle
Somewhere in the realm of 6 or 7 inches
No stainless steel requirement
$400
KNIFE USE
Home environment
Vegetable cutting tasks
Not replacing a knife
No special type of grip
Mostly use push cut and slicing motion
I would like good aesthetics, I find Damascus to look really good, but I don't have a ton of exposure to everything out there. I would prefer a lighter knife as well. Not too much preference for ease of use or edge retention.
KNIFE MAINTENANCE
I would primarily use this on a wooden cutting board
Yes, I sharpen my own knives
N/A
I already have stones that I use for other knives, but if this knife requires anything special, I'd be happy to purchase that as well.
nakiriknaifuwaifu
Senior Member
If you're not very particular about things I was going to recommend a Wat Pro 180mm Nakiri, which is IMO the standard for nakiri.
Since you want something special, I would say if you could get your hands on a Shig Kurouchi 165mm nakiri (which should run you around $300 +/- $50) you'd be doing pretty well. It's definitely got some heft to it though.
Haven't seen a TF Nashiji or Mab nakiri around in a bit, so also an option. Unfortunately the denka is a bit over budget or I would recommend that. You can theoretically get that made to spec with height and thickness but QC is miserable. Maybe if you're a gambling man (like me; I like my denka so I'm a bit biased).
Ashi Ginga makes a good nakiri laser, but I'm not sure how you'd find the looks.
Shigeki Tanaka makes a damascus nakiri in R2 which fits what you're looking for except the prestige (IMO, at least).
Yoshida Hamono makes a 170mm dammy nakiri in ZDP 189 as well. Haven't heard much about that.
I'mprobably missing some other options, maybe others will fill in.
Good luck!
NKW
Edit: +1 to the stainless clad Toyama mentioned below.
Since you want something special, I would say if you could get your hands on a Shig Kurouchi 165mm nakiri (which should run you around $300 +/- $50) you'd be doing pretty well. It's definitely got some heft to it though.
Haven't seen a TF Nashiji or Mab nakiri around in a bit, so also an option. Unfortunately the denka is a bit over budget or I would recommend that. You can theoretically get that made to spec with height and thickness but QC is miserable. Maybe if you're a gambling man (like me; I like my denka so I'm a bit biased).
Ashi Ginga makes a good nakiri laser, but I'm not sure how you'd find the looks.
Shigeki Tanaka makes a damascus nakiri in R2 which fits what you're looking for except the prestige (IMO, at least).
Yoshida Hamono makes a 170mm dammy nakiri in ZDP 189 as well. Haven't heard much about that.
I'm
Good luck!
NKW
Edit: +1 to the stainless clad Toyama mentioned below.
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If you're after pure performance the Watanabe Pro has to be up there. It's always recommended here and for good reason. The go-to is the 180mm which is tall but not particularly lightweight. He also makes a 165mm which would be shorter and probably lighter. Aesthetically not the prettiest (imo) but you can purchase custom handles and possibly ask for a different finish. There are also one off specials on his site which might be worth checking out. I like mine enough that I ordered another custom sized after only about a month.
I also have a 165mm Masakage Koishi which I like too. Fit and finish is better than the Watanabe and it's bit showier with the kuro and hammered finish. Again quite tall and not particularly lightweight. I've got to say that I prefer the Wat though.
The 180mm Toyama is also well regarded. I like the look but it's quite simple. Not sure how it is in use but they are mentioned here a bit. Might also be difficult to find in stock. I only know of JNS and not sure if it's currently in stock there.
I also have a 165mm Masakage Koishi which I like too. Fit and finish is better than the Watanabe and it's bit showier with the kuro and hammered finish. Again quite tall and not particularly lightweight. I've got to say that I prefer the Wat though.
The 180mm Toyama is also well regarded. I like the look but it's quite simple. Not sure how it is in use but they are mentioned here a bit. Might also be difficult to find in stock. I only know of JNS and not sure if it's currently in stock there.
I have used a few nakiris, like the Toyama 180 the best (mine is really on the thin side - just 183g, other are heavier, but even 200+g would not be 'thick'). My Toyama is stainless-clad (carbon clad are not made anymore), but I started to appreciate it, as cladding on carbon-clad Toyama knives is fairly reactive. With a think convex grind comes less pronounced food release though. Optics is one of the better ones. I like the dimensions.
Also Takeda can be nice if the grind is right (I still have one NAS - PM me if you should be interested). Does not fall through food quite as the Toyama does, but has better food release with most foods. Takedas will be the lightest nakiris.
Another nice nakiri is Masakage Koishi - nice finish, well made knife, but I just prefer how the Toyama cuts. It is worth putting a little convex on the relatively wide bevel as it improves cutting performance. It is taller than most what I like.
If you want something on the heavier/workhorse side, look at Shigefusa kurouchi. 165 is easier to find than 180 though. The finish is pretty even.
I have never tried the Kurouchi Watanabe, but I am yet to hear a negative feedback, so it would definitely should be a good option,
Also Takeda can be nice if the grind is right (I still have one NAS - PM me if you should be interested). Does not fall through food quite as the Toyama does, but has better food release with most foods. Takedas will be the lightest nakiris.
Another nice nakiri is Masakage Koishi - nice finish, well made knife, but I just prefer how the Toyama cuts. It is worth putting a little convex on the relatively wide bevel as it improves cutting performance. It is taller than most what I like.
If you want something on the heavier/workhorse side, look at Shigefusa kurouchi. 165 is easier to find than 180 though. The finish is pretty even.
I have never tried the Kurouchi Watanabe, but I am yet to hear a negative feedback, so it would definitely should be a good option,
icanhaschzbrgr
ill-Known Member
Another route could be exploring custom makers. I've seen and tried Nakiri from @Andrei and performance wise they were on par with Watanabe and Wakui. These days there are plenty of makers in US, Australia and Europe to choose from. I think something really custom/fancy would be out of budget, but 400$ should still leave some choices in the custom makers area.
Thanks everyone for all your help, I really appreciate it. Are there any particular websites you all use that have better prices? I have been looking at chef's knives to go and watanabeblade.com. Another question, a name I had seen through previous searching is Takeshi Saji, is his stuff worth looking into more?
Saji makes a great Nakiri, but a bit higher price than that. His Aokami are fairly heavy, not sure on his other lines.
For style and light weight, I think I would recommend an SG2 Damascus nakiri. Those tend to be on the thinner and lighter side : Shiro Kamo, Shigeki Tanaka or Y Kato come to mind.
Thin and performing - Toyama, Takeda
Thin, performing and budget - Matsubara
Performance - Wat Pro, Shig
My first and still used - Masakage Yuki, it’s just a nice Nakiri
For style and light weight, I think I would recommend an SG2 Damascus nakiri. Those tend to be on the thinner and lighter side : Shiro Kamo, Shigeki Tanaka or Y Kato come to mind.
Thin and performing - Toyama, Takeda
Thin, performing and budget - Matsubara
Performance - Wat Pro, Shig
My first and still used - Masakage Yuki, it’s just a nice Nakiri
