How would you choose a grail general purpose knife for your personal home cooking?

Japanese Knives - by Tokushu Knife
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Nemo said:
No way was it worth my time to spend 6 hours on it... but... It's a great way to teach yourself a lot about grinds, so was definitely worth it from that point of view.
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"Worth" is a multi-functional word, indeed.

Which knife did you work on?
 
Nemo said:
There is 240mm gyuto going for $150.

The Fujiwarra Kanefusa FKM (also) that I have previously thinned was fairly similar in geometry and also performed much better after thinning. I think I bought it (a 270mm gyuto) for $130 a bit over 4 years ago, but they are a but more exxie now.
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Noice.

I was beginning to doubt my Google-fu after not being able to find the $120 one :)

I think my next Gyuto is going to be 180mm, maybe a bit smaller. My 200 (admittedly, a Shun) is a bit unwieldy at times. Or maybe I'll just get a petty, or something completely different.
 
juice said:
Noice.

I was beginning to doubt my Google-fu after not being able to find the $120 one :)

I think my next Gyuto is going to be 180mm, maybe a bit smaller. My 200 (admittedly, a Shun) is a bit unwieldy at times. Or maybe I'll just get a petty, or something completely different.
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Do you use a pinch grip? It effectively shortens the knife by circa 30mm but gives much better control, especially of rotation.
 
You are way too overthinking it and bombarding the forum with questions like this. I get it when I started I kept reading and reading until I took the dive. Since I work with knives professionally I already knew what I kinda liked since I tried quite a lot at work. There is no perfect knife and everyone prefers different things. Also your preferences might change over time. You live and learn.
The knife and your preferences depend on a lot of things like your cutting style, your pinch grip, the height you are cutting at, what you cut the most...
Take the leap and go from there don't be afraid and you will find many great and different knives you wil like for different reasons.

My recommendation was start with a good but not too expensive knife.
There is a thread about best knives under 300$. A Yoshikane, Kaeru, Shigeki Tanaka from K&S or Wakui is a great start and already pretty much everything you need. With the knives you own you will learn what you like and what you don't. The knife game is a journey, sit back and enjoy the ride.
Take it easy.
 
JayS20 said:
You are way too overthinking it and bombarding the forum with questions like this. I get it when I started I kept reading and reading until I took the dive. Since I work with knives professionally I already knew what I kinda liked since I tried quite a lot at work. There is no perfect knife and everyone prefers different things. Also your preferences might change over time. You live and learn.
The knife and your preferences depend on a lot of things like your cutting style, your pinch grip, the height you are cutting at, what you cut the most...
Take the leap and go from there don't be afraid and you will find many great and different knives you wil like for different reasons.

My recommendation was start with a good but not too expensive knife.
There is a thread about best knives under 300$. A Yoshikane, Kaeru, Shigeki Tanaka from K&S or Wakui is a great start and already pretty much everything you need. With the knives you own you will learn what you like and what you don't. The knife game is a journey, sit back and enjoy the ride.
Take it easy.
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I would go even further. Get a simple, middle-of-the-road carbon steel blade. Think a Misono Swedish. Get used to its asymmetry and have fun maintaining it. You may explore and develop your preferences and fine-tune your technique, before spending a lot of money on a great knife that perhaps doesn't exactly fit your needs.
 
Benuser said:
I would go even further. Get a simple, middle-of-the-road carbon steel blade. Think a Misono Swedish. Get used to its asymmetry and have fun maintaining it. You may explore and develop your preferences and fine-tune your technique, before spending a lot of money on a great knife that perhaps doesn't exactly fit your needs.
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Yep, sometimes the knives that you don't spend too much on are the ones that you aren't too scared to work on, so you spend a lot of time and effort on them, devloping a connection to them and in the process learning a lot from them.
 
I have way too many knives, but always come back to my Misono Swedish. It's like an old pair of jeans. Maybe not the hardest steel or the most refined grinds, but it's what I learned on. If I have to throw down and get stuff done, there's nothing better. I also like Moritaka and Munetoshi precisely for the reasons above. They get better with use, as I dial them in for my preferences.
 
josemartinlopez said:
I'd like to start a thread so that I can visualize a future grail knife, general purpose, for personal home cooking. Not something to buy right away but to keep in mind as I explore my preferences with Japanese knives. Also interested in what questions I need to ask myself to visualize a personal grail knife beyond a specific knife recommendation. I browsed several other threads but couldn't find one about visualizing your personal grail knife, hence this thread.

LOCATION
Singapore. The hot and humid island at the equator featured in "Crazy Rich Asians".

KNIFE TYPE
General purpose, think "if you could only have one knife for everyday use..." Probably a gyuto though I wonder if santoku/bunka is the better answer.

Right handed.

Japanese handle.

Probably 240 mm gyuto or 180 mm santoku/bunka.

Stainless not required.

No budget for discussion purposes, but I want to visualize a knife I would use every day for actual cooking and would exclude inserting diamonds into the handle etc (kidding).

KNIFE USE
Home and personal use.

General purpose tasks, probably slicing/chopping/dicing etc. vegetables and simple jobs with fish and meat. I honestly don't see myself cutting down multiple turkeys, cutting up a huge slab of beef with bones or filleting large fish anytime soon but who knows where the rabbit hole leads.

No specific knife being replaced, grip or cuting motions, for discussion purposes.

No specific improvements, for discussion purposes, since I am visualizing a grail knife that would necessarily have all the improvements I could possibly want.

Not focused on aesthetics unless they do not affect utility/comfort. I would think the quality of a grail knife would show in itself, and simple aesthetics would only showcase that quality better. Wouldn't mind exploring a custom handle and nice finish since we are visualizing a grail knife. But my mindset is that it's the edge doing the cutting, not the handle or finish.

Would want a comfortable knife in terms of handle and balance, but I am still feeling out my concept of comfortable (ex. lighter/heavier).

I'll leave ease of use open since it can be defined in a few ways. Push cutting and slicing over rock chopping is probably fine. Don't think I'm concerned by food release up to a point, but would love a discussion on what the right mix of characteristics for a grail knife is. I wouldn't mind something high quality that you have to wash immediately after use or put in extra effort to learn to sharpen.

Edge retention is not a big deal, for discussion purposes, up to a point. Something that needs a few passes on a fine whetstone after every few uses should be fine (right?).

KNIFE MAINTENANCE
Assume the grail knife can be provided with the right wood cutting board it needs, and the board will follow the knife.

Assume the owner will sharpen the knife personally.

SPECIAL REQUESTS/COMMENTS
I'd love to own and use a knife where you can appreciate the workmanship and heritage reflected by the knife each time you slice.
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I've had nothing but wonderful experience with my Hitohira Togashi 240 in stainless clad (Hitohira Togashi Blue #1 Stainless Clad Gyuto 240mm Taihei Ebony Handle) ABSOLUTE pleasure to look at and use.

Holds and edge really well, only light sharpening throughout my 12 months of use, fit & finish is impeccable, stainless clad, and most importantly the grind really slides through food.

Being a wide bevel it does stick a little, but it does not annoy me at all.
 
For home cooking, if I could only have one, it would be something like Misono Dragon, Masahiro VC, Mac Pro, Kanehide, or similar: good and tough enough to be able to handle anything. Those Togashis sound great to me. If it were my only knife, I might be a little concerned about using it on some rough stuff. At a minimum, I think there should be a beater available. When I'm alone in the kitchen and able to pay attention, I like to pull out my Y. Tanaka B1 Damascus or a Fujiyama. For in between, for getting stuff done that doesn't involve acorn squash, chocolate, nuts, or bones..., Kamo (I think he's under-rated), Ashi, Wat, Mazaki... Lasers, usually stainless or semi-stainless, for small jobs; Sanjo or a Chuka for bigger ones.

I think one should prioritize profile, grind, and weight. Consider how many people you cook for, how often: what's the balance of bulk prep to small jobs.
 
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