Knife recommendation needed for a friend

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Mark Tomaras

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A friend saw a video I made of sharpening and using my Yu Kurosaki Gyuto and she lost her mind. She was about to buy a set of garbage knives and she asked me for some advice. She needs a Gyuto and a petty (chef knife and paring knife were her words). She wanted to limit the spend to $100 per knife, but may go a touch higher. I am searching the online stores for something interesting for her.

She had not even thought of sharpening, and she has one of the garbage sharpeners with the wheels. I know she is not going to dive in to manual whetstone sharpening, so I am recommending the edge pro system for her. I don't need much advice on this part, but I am telling you now so you know how she will be sharpening whatever you recommend.

So, I need a great recommendation for a huge benefit to cost ratio on a 210mm Gyuto and a 100mm or 120mm petty. I would be happy to recommend up to $130-$150 on the Gyuto if necessary and $90 - $120 on the petty.

Thank you!
 
If I had that budget to work with I’d get a $190 gyuto (wakui would be my choice) and a ten dollar vctronix paring knife. She won’t regret it.

fill out the questionnaire and you’ll get better feedback.

gyutos start getting good at about $175. Below that is often a compromise.

These guys have some decent choices.
https://www.cleancut.eu/butik/knifetype/gyuto
 
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watching with interest because i had trouble finding interesting gyuto options in between $40 victorinox fibrox and ~$200 used knife. i was looking for a gyuto for a friend. ended up getting a used 240mm konosuke HD on BST for him.

and imo 8" victorinox chef's knife isn't bad at all.
 
Also, did she like the Yu Kurosaki because of the looks? The recommended entry level knives don't tend to have a lot of visual flash.
 
You get much more use out of a gyuto than a petty.

In addition, she will notice the difference between a good gyuto grind and a poor gyuto grind to a much greater extent.

I advocate putting most of the budget towards a gyuto as this is where she will see the most value. This could get her a pretty decent knife.

As for the parer, a cheap Victorinox parer costs about 15 bucks and does a decent enough job.

Edit: I realise @rickbern already made this recommendation.
 
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I have to second the Victorinox Fibrox suggestion. I've been cooking with one at a friend's place once a week for a while now, and it's a surprisingly good knife. Probably impossible to beat in terms of bang for the buck. The completely flat grind and polished sides don't make for great food release but, regardless, I could live with just that knife if I had to.

For a fancier option, I'd suggest a Kaeru SLD stainless. Again, that's a lot of knife for the money.

Agree with buying a cheap paring knife. You can get something that works well for $10-$15.
 
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I concur with the cheap paring knife. I bought 2 packs of 4 pairing knives from costco a while ago and that's pretty much all I use below 210 except if I'm butchering meat.

I like Kaeru and Takamura at that price range.

Does she want a 210? I gave a 170 takamura santoku as a gift to someone who never used a "good" knife before and she loves it.
 
If I had that budget to work with I’d get a $190 gyuto (wakui would be my choice) and a ten dollar vctronix paring knife. She won’t regret it.

fill out the questionnaire and you’ll get better feedback.

gyutos start getting good at about $175. Below that is often a compromise.

These guys have some decent choices.
https://www.cleancut.eu/butik/knifetype/gyuto

You make a very very good point and I’m embarrassed for overlooking this possibility! Somehow I was thinking that it would be important to get the best petty and best Gyuto within her budget. But now that I think about it I completely agree with you!

Do you have any ideas for a $200 Gyuto in the 180-210mm size range?
 
Also, did she like the Yu Kurosaki because of the looks? The recommended entry level knives don't tend to have a lot of visual flash.

I don’t think so. I’m sure she liked it looks, but when I was showing her how it cuts, I think that’s what got it. In my video I was cutting some very thick carrots and it was sliding through them like warm butter!
 
You get much more use out of a gyuto than a petty.

In addition, she will notice the difference between a good gyuto grind and a poor gyuto grind to a much greater extent.

I advocate putting most of the budget towards a gyuto as this is where she will see the most value. This could get her a pretty decent knife.

As for the parer, a cheap Victorinox parer costs about 15 bucks and does a decent enough job.

Now that I’m reading the forums consensus, I am in complete agreement with this recommendation. Can you think of any $200 Gyutos that stand out in your mind? 180-210mm rage.
 
Tanaka Ginsan Nashiji belongs in this conversation.

I haven't used the Sukenari ginsan but the HT on their YXR7 and AS is spot-on, so I would expect the ginsan to be pretty good too and might be worth a look.

Akifusa SRS15 is a great starter knife if that fits within budget. Excellent edge retention. Decent thinner grind.
 
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Also, if she is gonna use an Edgepro, she will need a plan to maintain the geometry of the edge after multiple sharpenings.
 
Now that I’m reading the forums consensus, I am in complete agreement with this recommendation. Can you think of any $200 Gyutos that stand out in your mind? 180-210mm rage.
https://www.**************.com/gibl2gy21.htmla little bit over the $200 limit
 
I have 180mm wa-handled Akifusa in AS and it is a great knife. Stainless clad and the AS is pretty resilient but as @Nemo said, you can bump up a bit and go for the SRS15. Or maybe look at the santoku to keep price down a little. It's thin and slicey.
 
Another option is the Nexus line. They are western handled, and made in China, but the steel seems to be quite impressive as does the sharpening/grind and fit/finish.
https://www.cutleryandmore.com/nexu...MIpeW7k8XK9QIVKBitBh2HcgC6EAAYAiAAEgKXh_D_BwEhttps://www.cutleryandmore.com/nexus-bd1n-stainless-steel/paring-peeling-knife-set-p139394
I got a set for each of my daughters for Christmas as an experiment with low expectations. I expected them to be equivalent to department store junk, but they were very impressive for the price.
 
Although the idea of putting more emphasis on the gyuto is good, in this case I’d go a different route. My experience is that the ladies gravitate much more towards petty type small-ish knives so I would suggest a bit nicer petty in the mix.
How about a Mac petty? I’d go for the pro line. Those cost around 60$ and they cut circles around anu Vics. Then get a any Takamura gyuto that fits the budget best.
 
Although the idea of putting more emphasis on the gyuto is good, in this case I’d go a different route. My experience is that the ladies gravitate much more towards petty type small-ish knives so I would suggest a bit nicer petty in the mix.
How about a Mac petty? I’d go for the pro line. Those cost around 60$ and they cut circles around anu Vics. Then get a any Takamura gyuto that fits the budget best.
JaVa, normally I agree with most everything you recommend, but on this I disagree. If OP said she watched him cut a carrot and said "I want a knife that can do that", she's screaming gyuto at us. Granted, most women (probably most people) that aren't pros prefer a 210, but still I stand by my original advice, put all the gelt in the gyuto. I have a 180 gyuto in my drawer, good knife, not great for carrots though.

I agree (see, old habits die hard!) that the Mac petty is a good idea; I rarely see a reason to recommend anything higher end than that unless you're a collector. But no petty is going to slay carrots like a gyuto can. My original comment on the vic paring knives had to do with a hard $200 budget, and I really think decent gyutos start at $175.

Okay, now that I got that off my chest, back to cutting my carrots for dinner with my 240 Wakui gyuto!
 
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