konosuke or wait

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I'm really enamored by Anryu, but cannot find it in stock anywhere. My impatience has me leaning towards pulling the trigger on a Konosuke GS+ 210 gyuto. Intrigued by Anryu for aesthetics and cache, Konosuke for performance. Should I wait until the Anryu's appear somewhere or will I be happy with the Konosuke?
 
It's hard to answer this question because Anryu and Konosuke aren't really good for direct comparison. Anryu is a smith in Takefu. I haven't owned any of his knives, but eyeballing them, he seems to consistently favor meaty spines with aggressive, almost wide bevel grinds. Seems fairly consistent across the various lines that he puts out.

Konosuke, in contrast, is a company. They don't make knives -- they commission them from various smiths, usually with certain "enhanced" specifications (better F&F, more refined grinds, etc.), and then sell them under the Konosuke brand. Because Konosuke commissions knives from so many different smiths in so many different locations, they have tremendous variability. You have classic laser grinds Konosukes (HD2, GS, etc.), elevated sakai knives (Fujiyama series), sanjo midweights (YS, Sanjo SKD, Sumiiro SLD), work horse (Kaiju), and so on.

So if you wanted to make a direct comparison between an Anryu knife and a Konosuke knife, you'd first have to identify a kono that is suitable for direct comparison. Probably would be a wide bevel fujiyama. The sumiiro SLD also appears to have a bit of meat at the spine with an aggressive taper. The Kaiju, because it's designed as a workhorse, may also fit the bill.

But in general I would expect the Anryu to be more affordable but still with great performance, and the konos to be more expensive but more refined in several respects.

In other words, I don't think you can really go wrong - it's just a matter of availability and preference.

Good luck!
 
I suggest you should wait if you really want an Anryu knife. Anryu has retired earlier this year and it has passed over to his nephew Takumi Ikeda.
 
Like others have said, they're both excellent brands and I doubt you'll be disappointed with either. And like others have said, if you're enamored with a particular knife, it's best to wait for the thing you want. At least, that's been my strategy and it hasn't failed me yet. Sign up for an e-mail alert on the CKTG site for the knife you want and if it happens to come in stock, buy it *immediately.* Or if you're okay with something second-hand, post a WTB thread here on the BST forum.
 
Anryu is a nice line and a great performer for the price, but the GS+ was not a winner in my experience. While the fit and finish is nice I wasn't particularly impressed by the performance and the cutting feel was kinda dead/uninteresting. Wish I had a better way to describe it. On the positive side, I do suspect it'd be fairly tough for a laser and the khii handle is quite nice.

Not a dig on other Kono lines which I trust live up to the reputation, but this one in particular didn't do it for me.

To broaden it, how did you come down to these two options?
 
Anryu is a nice line and a great performer for the price, but the GS+ was not a winner in my experience. While the fit and finish is nice I wasn't particularly impressed by the performance and the cutting feel was kinda dead/uninteresting. Wish I had a better way to describe it. On the positive side, I do suspect it'd be fairly tough for a laser and the khii handle is quite nice.

Not a dig on other Kono lines which I trust live up to the reputation, but this one in particular didn't do it for me.

To broaden it, how did you come down to these two options?
I have had my eye on the Anryu knives for some time based on aesthetics and reputation. I have a AS nakiri and like the steel. I've also been interested in trying a ginsan knife. Have been looking at the Harukaze, Tanaka, and Kono. Also, I'd like to add a laser-ish gyuto at some point. Your feedback is helpful about the GS+. Thanks.
 
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Anryu is a nice line and a great performer for the price, but the GS+ was not a winner in my experience. While the fit and finish is nice I wasn't particularly impressed by the performance and the cutting feel was kinda dead/uninteresting. Wish I had a better way to describe it. On the positive side, I do suspect it'd be fairly tough for a laser and the khii handle is quite nice.

Not a dig on other Kono lines which I trust live up to the reputation, but this one in particular didn't do it for me.

To broaden it, how did you come down to these two options?

I totally agree on the GS+, I have the GS+ Gyuto 240 and it doesn't feel right and wish I gotten the HD2 instead.
 
GS+ is super thin and super light (mine was 130 gram for a 240 with Ho wood handle). Definitely not for everyone.

Anryu has aggressive distal taper and wide concave bevel. Cutting feeling is good, but the knife overall is a little flimsy (easy to bend).

For the price range you might want to consider S. Tanaka, blue 2 or ginsan. K&S has 10% off everything now.
 
GS+ is super thin and super light (mine was 130 gram for a 240). Definitely not for everyone.

Anryu has aggressive distal taper and wide concave bevel. Cutting feeling is good, but the knife overall is a little flimsy (easy to bend).

For the price range you might want to consider S. Tanaka, blue 2 or ginsan. K&S has 10% off everything now.

totally agree..and i have 4 anryus, its a very accurate description. they are very well made and good cutters but sometimes lack the rigid feel that i like.

if you want kono laser i would recommend the HD2 line.

s.tanaka is my favorite in this price range. its got everything beside fancy f&f.

another good options are matsubara and gihei.
 
Lost patience (for now) waiting for an available Anryu. Ended up with a S. Tanaka Ginasan 240mm gyuto. Love it. Thanks for the advice. There's always the next itch, right?

Great choice! I have the petty from that line and it's a keeper. Glad we could steer you in the right direction.
 
Finally snagged one
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I have an Anryu (still virgin I have to add) and several Konosukes.

F&F on Konos is higger, not making the Anryu a bad knife at all, specially considering the price difference on both knives.

I think both will make you very happy, depends on what you are looking for.

I personally love my Konosuke MB, its a bit thin/laser but an amazing performer, Shirogami #2 by M. Hinoura can get scary sharp

Cheers
 

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