Knives that make you go WHOA from the first cut!!

Japanese Knives - by Tokushu Knife
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WifeNotUnderstand

WifeNotUnderstand

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I have gone through a few knives now and as I have refined what I like in a knife there have been a few that from the first cut make me go whoa

Just like this
1634908534409.png


So far in order of Whoa (for me) they have been
  • Toyama 240 Stainless clad
  • Kagekiyo 270 W#1
  • Denka AS 210
  • My first 240 Yoshikane SKD - Thin variant

What's yours?
 
My Carbonext simply because it was my first actual decent knife after all the bargain basement junk... and provided the largest leap in performance.
My Robert Herder paring knife because it was the first really proper thin behind the edge knife that would just laserbeam through anything due to it being so thin.
My Masamoto KS because I actually had somewhat low expectations but for some reason that knife just clicked with me... first knife that required 0 adjustment and that actually felt as if it was tailor made for me. Still my favorite of the bunch if I had to pick one.

I think what causes a whoa however also has to do with what you used before it. My Yoshi didn't give me much of a wow simply because I had already used knives before that which were really thin behind the edge. Had I used it first it would have been on that list instead of the Herder.
 
Konosuke YS-M
Sakai Kikumori Y. Tanaka B2 dammy - still does even today.
I also think my Konosuke HD2 did at first. Sold it now.
 
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My Kochi V2 nakiri. It just falls through food. I made my wife cut a carrot with it and her reaction was "it feels like cutting through a cooked carrot." It's too bad that I still don't really love using nakiri because this one cuts so well. I should dedicate using it for a week or two to see if the shape grows on me.
 
Still sets the standard by which all others have sought to attain ... But fail!

575D8960-D02A-409A-9098-8809DE56D411.jpeg


Machete by Murray Carter.

With an edge so sharp your mind screams at the mere thought of doing a three finger test. I accidentally “skived” a slice of the sheath the first time I put the knife back into the sheath … without realizing I had done it.
 
For pure OOTB sharpness:
Yoshi
Shibata

***I don’t count Toyama because a zero grind doesn’t qualify as a functional OOTB edge for me.
 
From that side of pond:

Gengetsu - Older configuration
Wat iron clad gyuto and stainless clad nakiri
Yoshi - Most of them, esp like the SKD Nashi (sp?) variant

From this side of pond:
Devin, Tillman, Martell, Haburn, and the list goes on

Biggest Yawn:

Shig gyuto, Shig nakiri
 
Messermeister Kawashima in SG2. Sweet potatoes slice themselves when they see it coming.

#1 used knife - Watanabe 210mm Usuba
 
daveb said:
From that side of pond:

Gengetsu - Older configuration
Wat iron clad gyuto and stainless clad nakiri
Yoshi - Most of them, esp like the SKD Nashi (sp?) variant

From this side of pond:
Devin, Tillman, Martell, Haburn, and the list goes on

Biggest Yawn:

Shig gyuto, Shig nakiri
Click to expand...
I've seen you mention the older Gengetsu quite a bit, do you know how they differ from the newer ones?
 
My first knife was a Wakui 240. That was a wow moment. But a week later a Shibata Kotetsu Bunka came in and that was the first holy **** moment. It was the first time experiencing a utterly quiet carrot cutting experience. That knife will always be my first true love.
 
Everyone will have a WHOA moment when they cut with a Kato for the first time; Still get the whoa when cutting with a Kato.


Honourable mentions to:

* Takamura Uchigumo 240mm
* Sakai Takayuki Ginsan 270mm
* Kenji Togashi , sharpened by Tosa Blue1 Honyaki Gyuto (Sakai Takayuki via KnS)
* Denka (eventhough it was a Santoku)

Edit:
* Watanabe Pro KU Blue2 240mm
 
Last edited:
RDalman said:
Biggerson #116
Click to expand...

@Björn Birgersson, did you have the same reaction the first time you tried one of Robin's S-grinds?

Gengetsu comes to mind for me. Seems like the WOW moments for me always come from amazing thin grinds, which are not necessarily the knives I end up wanting to use on a daily basis.
 
First was Kurosaki AS since at the time I hadn’t really experienced hand made knives. Then Toyama stainless clad 240 gyuto and Konosuke Fujiyama FM Blue 1 240 gyuto. Might have something to do with out of the box edges but they are hard to beat anyway.
 
My first hand made knife is an Anryu blue 2 240 and the first cut was an absolutely WHOA moment. The first cut immediately let me regret not getting into handmade carbon knives earlier. After a while it was the Konosuke FM white 1 240 that wows me for being thin and stiff and almost perfect f&f. Then Watanabe SS clad 240 that wows me for how easy it cuts despite the thick spine. That knife basically changed my belief about laser vs workhorse. Then it was the KnS Yoshikane SKD 240 which was on par with Kono FM in terms of cutting easiness but being 30% cheaper. Then it was Kato for how comfortable it is to pinch grip and how natural it feels in up-down chopping. Kato is almost an extension of my arm, maybe the only knife that I can say this.
 
ian said:
@Björn Birgersson, did you have the same reaction the first time you tried one of Robin's S-grinds?

Gengetsu comes to mind for me. Seems like the WOW moments for me always come from amazing thin grinds, which are not necessarily the knives I end up wanting to use on a daily basis.
Click to expand...
Yes I did! 🙂 we help each other
 
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