LOCATION
What country are you in? US, Madison, WI.
KNIFE TYPE
What type of knife are you interested in (e.g., chefs knife, slicer, boning knife, utility knife, bread knife, paring knife, cleaver)? Chefās knife.
Are you right or left handed? Right.
Are you interested in a Western handle (e.g., classic Wusthof handle) or Japanese handle? Either (see comments).
What length of knife (blade) are you interested in (in inches or millimeters)? ~8ā
Do you require a stainless knife? (Yes or no) Yes (see comments).
What is your absolute maximum budget for your knife? ~$200-400 (not exact, depends if there is an important plateau somewhere)
KNIFE USE
Do you primarily intend to use this knife at home or a professional environment? Home.
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.) This will be a general purpose family knife (I have separate utility / paring / sushi knives).
What knife, if any, are you replacing? Cheap wustof & shun santoku (VG-MAX).
Do you have a particular grip that you primarily use? (Please click on this LINK for the common types of grips.) No.
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.) All.
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)? Better aesthetics, not plastic, made in Japan or USA or anywhere but China and their cheap labor subsidiaries.
Comfort (e.g., lighter/heavier knife; better handle material; better handle shape; rounded spine/choil of the knife; improved balance)? Nothing specific.
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)? Nothing specific.
Edge Retention (i.e., length of time you want the edge to last without sharpening)? On the longer side realizing stainless will hamper this metric.
KNIFE MAINTENANCE
Do you use a bamboo, wood, rubber, or synthetic cutting board? (Yes or no.) Rubber & HDPP.
Do you sharpen your own knives? (Yes or no.) Yes.
SPECIAL REQUESTS/COMMENTS
Used to have a shun classic santoku 10ā which was too large, and by virtue of the lack of care from spouse, it was a chippy situation (Iām working on this part). I am looking for perhaps 2 stages of recommendation;
1: probably a high quality German style knife with a robust edge for when people accidentally contact bones and so forth as a general knife to train on and have on standby for general use. Extended family often come by and abuse my equipment without realizing it.
2: I would also like āthe best all around valueā gyuto knife with a reasonably stainless blade to graduate to once family has demonstrated they can take care of a knife, but I do not want them using my $$$$ masamoto knives. When I say ābest all around valueā I donāt mean cheapest knife that works I mean something that is made by a craftsman of great quality where to go higher in price would have a rapidly declining return on investment. I realize this is a rabbit-hole hobby where the sky is the limit in terms of options, so I am looking for a āif you could have just one gyuto forever and you wanted to target that spot on the ROI curve before it drops off, what would it be?ā Same for the german style chef knife.
Recommended vendors for best price and service also welcomed. Your insights are much appreciated, thank you.
What country are you in? US, Madison, WI.
KNIFE TYPE
What type of knife are you interested in (e.g., chefs knife, slicer, boning knife, utility knife, bread knife, paring knife, cleaver)? Chefās knife.
Are you right or left handed? Right.
Are you interested in a Western handle (e.g., classic Wusthof handle) or Japanese handle? Either (see comments).
What length of knife (blade) are you interested in (in inches or millimeters)? ~8ā
Do you require a stainless knife? (Yes or no) Yes (see comments).
What is your absolute maximum budget for your knife? ~$200-400 (not exact, depends if there is an important plateau somewhere)
KNIFE USE
Do you primarily intend to use this knife at home or a professional environment? Home.
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.) This will be a general purpose family knife (I have separate utility / paring / sushi knives).
What knife, if any, are you replacing? Cheap wustof & shun santoku (VG-MAX).
Do you have a particular grip that you primarily use? (Please click on this LINK for the common types of grips.) No.
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.) All.
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)? Better aesthetics, not plastic, made in Japan or USA or anywhere but China and their cheap labor subsidiaries.
Comfort (e.g., lighter/heavier knife; better handle material; better handle shape; rounded spine/choil of the knife; improved balance)? Nothing specific.
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)? Nothing specific.
Edge Retention (i.e., length of time you want the edge to last without sharpening)? On the longer side realizing stainless will hamper this metric.
KNIFE MAINTENANCE
Do you use a bamboo, wood, rubber, or synthetic cutting board? (Yes or no.) Rubber & HDPP.
Do you sharpen your own knives? (Yes or no.) Yes.
SPECIAL REQUESTS/COMMENTS
Used to have a shun classic santoku 10ā which was too large, and by virtue of the lack of care from spouse, it was a chippy situation (Iām working on this part). I am looking for perhaps 2 stages of recommendation;
1: probably a high quality German style knife with a robust edge for when people accidentally contact bones and so forth as a general knife to train on and have on standby for general use. Extended family often come by and abuse my equipment without realizing it.
2: I would also like āthe best all around valueā gyuto knife with a reasonably stainless blade to graduate to once family has demonstrated they can take care of a knife, but I do not want them using my $$$$ masamoto knives. When I say ābest all around valueā I donāt mean cheapest knife that works I mean something that is made by a craftsman of great quality where to go higher in price would have a rapidly declining return on investment. I realize this is a rabbit-hole hobby where the sky is the limit in terms of options, so I am looking for a āif you could have just one gyuto forever and you wanted to target that spot on the ROI curve before it drops off, what would it be?ā Same for the german style chef knife.
Recommended vendors for best price and service also welcomed. Your insights are much appreciated, thank you.
