I'm a pro cook from Texas. I'm working in a restaurant that has way less staff, structure, and business than my previous job. I used to be a manager and trainer for both front of house and back of house stuff and had to deal with money and orders and whatnot. Nowadays I just come into work, set up my station, and basically do whatever the hell I want. I fight off the boredom by cutting stuff. I use a Konosuke HD2 240mm gyuto for everything. I'm here to get recommendations on new knives to try. There's really nothing wrong with my knife but I guess I'm a little addicted to looking at information about knives. Just for fun, here's the questionnaire, since I'm not allowed to post on the other forum yet.
KNIFE TYPE
I'm looking for a k-tip or sabatier style gyuto that's 240mm+.
I'm left-handed.
I prefer octagonal wa handles. Western handles are alright too. Buffalo horn is a deal-breaker for me. I also dislike right-handed d-shaped handles.
I religiously wipe off my knives after using them, but still would prefer a powdered stainless or semi-stainless for piece of mind.
$400 is where I'd start drawing the line for how much I'm willing to spend.
KNIFE USE
This knife is going to be used in a pro environment as well as at home.
The knife will only be used on produce. Slicing, dicing, mincing, decorative work.
I currently use a Konosuke HD2 240mm gyuto
I'm comfortable with a pinch grip and a finger point grip.
I use push-cuts, which often have to be guillotine and glide cuts with my Konosuke. Second would be pull cuts/slicing. Last would be rocking just to mix it up. I never chop.
Aesthetically I think my knife is perfect. I like the plain finish, rounded spine/choil, and the one-piece khii laurel octagonal handle. I don't really want damascus or kurouchi or anything really showy. I could go for a louder handle if I had to.
I don't think I'd want the stain resistance on a new knife to be too much lower than my current one. I've used AS and Blue #2 knives before and never ran into any rust issues, but I'm a bit OCD and don't really want a reason to encourage it further.
I'm torn between trying a KS or Sabatier profile vs a k-tip. The KS profile has elegance and looks like it would be comfortable to use for anything, but I've honestly never tried one, nor have I tried a k-tip. K-tips look a little flatter which seems cool for push-cutting, but they look like they'd be way worse for rocking. Since k-tips aren't really super flat usually either, I wonder if they would even actually make push cutting easier, or would i still be guillotine and gliding while not being able to rock well at all? I don't want buyer's remorse!
Something that I wouldn't mind being better is food release. I can get a sliced onion to stand unmoved with my Konosuke but I have to use pull cuts near the tip. With a super thick beater knife I can slice an onion with push cuts and have it stay.
That being said I don't think I want too thick of a knife since I use my Konosuke for hours every day without really any fear anymore that I'm going to hurt it.
KNIFE MAINTENANCE
I have an end-grain cutting board at home. At work there is side-grain and soft plastic.
I sharpen my own knives with stones at home. I currently only have a 1000 grit and a 6000 grit. I'd like to expand at some point probably but I currently feel alright. I feel confident in my ability to hold an angle and make a microbevel but I haven't tried thinning or changing the finish on something yet.
SPECIAL REQUESTS/COMMENTS
Thanks for reading my monster of a first post! A fun fact about me is that, unlike most restaurant workers apparently, I don't drink a lot of caffeine. Sharing a vente drink from starbucks with my girlfriend is part of the reason why I've stayed up through the night and am posting this at 6:30 in the morning..
KNIFE TYPE
I'm looking for a k-tip or sabatier style gyuto that's 240mm+.
I'm left-handed.
I prefer octagonal wa handles. Western handles are alright too. Buffalo horn is a deal-breaker for me. I also dislike right-handed d-shaped handles.
I religiously wipe off my knives after using them, but still would prefer a powdered stainless or semi-stainless for piece of mind.
$400 is where I'd start drawing the line for how much I'm willing to spend.
KNIFE USE
This knife is going to be used in a pro environment as well as at home.
The knife will only be used on produce. Slicing, dicing, mincing, decorative work.
I currently use a Konosuke HD2 240mm gyuto
I'm comfortable with a pinch grip and a finger point grip.
I use push-cuts, which often have to be guillotine and glide cuts with my Konosuke. Second would be pull cuts/slicing. Last would be rocking just to mix it up. I never chop.
Aesthetically I think my knife is perfect. I like the plain finish, rounded spine/choil, and the one-piece khii laurel octagonal handle. I don't really want damascus or kurouchi or anything really showy. I could go for a louder handle if I had to.
I don't think I'd want the stain resistance on a new knife to be too much lower than my current one. I've used AS and Blue #2 knives before and never ran into any rust issues, but I'm a bit OCD and don't really want a reason to encourage it further.
I'm torn between trying a KS or Sabatier profile vs a k-tip. The KS profile has elegance and looks like it would be comfortable to use for anything, but I've honestly never tried one, nor have I tried a k-tip. K-tips look a little flatter which seems cool for push-cutting, but they look like they'd be way worse for rocking. Since k-tips aren't really super flat usually either, I wonder if they would even actually make push cutting easier, or would i still be guillotine and gliding while not being able to rock well at all? I don't want buyer's remorse!
Something that I wouldn't mind being better is food release. I can get a sliced onion to stand unmoved with my Konosuke but I have to use pull cuts near the tip. With a super thick beater knife I can slice an onion with push cuts and have it stay.
That being said I don't think I want too thick of a knife since I use my Konosuke for hours every day without really any fear anymore that I'm going to hurt it.
KNIFE MAINTENANCE
I have an end-grain cutting board at home. At work there is side-grain and soft plastic.
I sharpen my own knives with stones at home. I currently only have a 1000 grit and a 6000 grit. I'd like to expand at some point probably but I currently feel alright. I feel confident in my ability to hold an angle and make a microbevel but I haven't tried thinning or changing the finish on something yet.
SPECIAL REQUESTS/COMMENTS
Thanks for reading my monster of a first post! A fun fact about me is that, unlike most restaurant workers apparently, I don't drink a lot of caffeine. Sharing a vente drink from starbucks with my girlfriend is part of the reason why I've stayed up through the night and am posting this at 6:30 in the morning..
