Help needed. Want to buy a set of good japanese knives.

[Walterm]

Hello Members,

I want to intruduce myself.
My Name is Markus, I´m 32 years old and from Germany. I love cooking an so I´m searching for some good new knives. At the moment I´m using a set from Zwilling.

LOCATION
Germany


KNIFE TYPE
I want 3 japanese Knives. A small universal one (about 80-120mm), one for vegetables and one for meat. I think a middle-sized Santoku (150-180mm) and a large-sized Guytoh (about 240mm).

I am right handed.

A stainless material would be nice, but it is not necessary needed.

Budget would be about 500 – 900,- € for all 3 knives together.


KNIFE USE
Do you primarily intend to use this knife at home or a professional environment?
At home

What improvements do you want from your current knife?
I want a sharper an lighter knive for the daily work. If it also looks prettier that would be nice.


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)?
Damascus would be nice but is not necessary needed.


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)?
It should be very sharp out of the box and also should stay sharp for a longer time. I´m learning the sharpening with stones at the moment because I have no experience yet.
(My Stones that I have are 1.000 and 3.000)



KNIFE MAINTENANCE
Do you use a bamboo, wood, rubber, or synthetic cutting board? (Yes or no.)
Bamboo

Do you sharpen your own knives? (Yes or no.)
Yes

If not, are you interested in learning how to sharpen your knives? (Yes or no.)#
Yes

Are you interested in purchasing sharpening products for your knives? (Yes or no.)
Yes, please give me some advice, which is necessary.

I totally forget to mention, that I still like these knives:
- Miyabi Zwilling 5000 mcd
- Yaxell Gou 101
- Bob Kramer Stainless
- Kotetsu (but here I´m not sure because they are very thin and so I think they are not right for daily use)

Has anybody experience with these knives and can give me an advice or mention an other product?



Thank you very much for your advice and you experience.
Markus

P.S.: I´m sorry for my bad English. It´s a long time ago, since I was using.

 

[Tobes]

Hallo und herzlich Willkommen bei den Messer -Verrückten! Erstmal glaube ich, dass du kein Santoku und ein Gyuto brauchst. Beides sind universelle Küchenmesser und praktisch für das selbe Einsatzgebiet zu gebrauchen. Ich persönlich komme mit einem 150er Petty, einem 240er Gyuto und einem 270er Sujihiki klar. Damit hast du so gut wie alles abgedeckt was du jemals in der Küche machen willst.

 

[Tobes]

So, lets continue in English. Thats quite a budget you have for your first japanese blades. Personally I would suggest starting off a little lower and see for a while what you like and actually need. I would recommend starting off with a 210 or 240 Carbonext Gyuto and a 120-180 Ashi stainless Petty. Those knives will blow your mind and will by far exceed anything you likely will have ever used. I had a block full of "high quality" Zwilling, Wüsthoff and Dick knives. Apart from one Beater F.Dick they are all retired by now. A Gyuto can easily handle all meat cutting tasks. Instead of a suji right away rather get first a decent endblock cutting board that is not bamboo to save those precious sharp edges and get the best edge retention out of your cool new knives.

 

[Walterm]

Guten Morgen Tobes,

danke für deine Rückmeldung.
Ein Santoku und ein Guytoh habe ich gewählt, da ich immer gemeinsam mit meiner Lebensgefährtin das Essen zubereite und hier möchte ich keinen Streit um das schärfste Messer entfachen.
So könnte einer ein Guytoh und der andere ein Santoku verwenden. 2 völlig identische Allzweckmesser hierfür zu kaufen hielt ich für sinnlos.

 

[Walterm]

Thank you for your advice.
I want a knife that look´s a little bit more "japanese" if you know what I mean
I also think, that a good knife last very long. That´s the reason why I want to buy a high quality knive directly.
Maybe I shound start with two good alrounders (for me and my girlfriend) an then buy the next knives from time to time.

 

[thisisputt]

If you want a harder edge retention I would recommend you carbon steel, but it requires maintainance(it rusts easily).
Also are you aiming for a globally (more famous) brand name knives e.g shun
Or you have no problems with a 'local' japanese brand e.g masamoto(tsukiji) http://www.tukijimasamoto.co.jp/
I would recommend buying a 'local' japanese brands

Question:
Why would you need a santoku? A gyuto does the same job (maybe even better).

 

[Walterm]

If you want a harder edge retention I would recommend you carbon steel, but it requires maintainance(it rusts easily).
Also are you aiming for a globally (more famous) brand name knives e.g shun
Or you have no problems with a 'local' japanese brand e.g masamoto(tsukiji) http://www.tukijimasamoto.co.jp/
I would recommend buying a 'local' japanese brands

Question:
Why would you need a santoku? A gyuto does the same job (maybe even better).

Thank you for your advice. I have no problems with a local japanese brand. I only need a dealer for those.
A want a Gyuto and a santoku because I always cook together with my girlfriend a so I need two alrounders. And buying the same
knive twice is boring ;-)

 

[Tobes]

If its gotta look japanese get an Ashi Gyuto from https://www.google.de/url?q=http://...ggXMAY&usg=AFQjCNGsvQONbS2GS2INZiN9gbys-xJnzw or from blueway on ebay and some fancy santoku. The kotetsu bunka is one heck of a knife ...you just have to treat it gently

 

[thisisputt]

Thank you for your advice. I have no problems with a local japanese brand. I only need a dealer for those.
A want a Gyuto and a santoku because I always cook together with my girlfriend a so I need two alrounders. And buying the same
knive twice is boring ;-)

Ok i see.
You could always buy from the internet.
If you are trying to find a dealer or agent maybe this link could help: http://www.knifeforums.com/forums/printpost.php?tid/849993/

 

[Jkts]

Perhaps a nakiri over a santoku. You would generally find the nakiri sharper and more useful if you cut lots of vegetables.

 

[thisisputt]

Perhaps a nakiri over a santoku. You would generally find the nakiri sharper and more useful if you cut lots of vegetables.

He says he cooks with his girlfriend so he want 2 all rounders (as said above)

 

[Kristoff]

Hi,

I would recommend the kotetsu if you prefer stainless and sharp out of the box. I just bought a gyuto and petty and they are a joy to use even tho I need a bit of getting use to since they are so light. Their edge last quite awhile and I use them in a pro kitchen. I have the knives for a week already and only touch up on a 2k/3k stone and I believe the thinness of the blade does make it seem to last "sharper" a tad longer for me. But I don't think it's ideal for the rocking technique now. Never tried rocking cause I only chop and pull/push card. Great knives.

And 900€ for a start up! You can get a mizuno honyaki for that money!!

Chris

 

[daveb]

Thank you for your advice. I have no problems with a local japanese brand. I only need a dealer for those.
A want a Gyuto and a santoku because I always cook together with my girlfriend a so I need two alrounders. And buying the same
knive twice is boring ;-)

Best reason I've heard to own a Santoku:thumbsup:

Have you browsed JNS (Japanese Natural Stones) in Denmark? He's a supporting vendor here and has very gut selection of both Jknives and sharpening equipment.

Agree with the Nakiri suggestion for vegs. Fun knife to use, you and gf will be arguing about who "gets" to cut the vegs. Maybe not instead of Santoku but in addition to it.