Line Cook Knife

[Alexec]

My choice is Misono UX10 but my colleague does not aggree.
What would you suggest him?

Requirements:
Gyuto 180-210mm
Stainless
All around work knife cutting anything from vegies to meat during a busy service in a small work space
Wa or Yo does not matter
Easy sharpening is a must
Really soft steels arent prefered

 

[daveb]

I've tried most of our makers "line knives" and liked almost all of them. But I've found a very good fit for my requirements with a 180mm Gesshin Ginga gyuto.

 

[GorillaGrunt]

I like Yoshikane SKD 210 and Hiragatake 180 for that purpose. This other isn’t the sort of thing that gets widely recommended here, but I have a Sakai Genkichi 210 blue steel funayuki gyuto that is a great line knife. Something like $80 from Blueway, gets wickedly sharp, holds an edge well through service, gets quite thin and pointy for detailed work. Not good for hard squash, though. Needed some reprofiling out of the box. All carbon, but haven’t had problems with rust, just tarnish.

Also maybe check out Tanaka and Makoto, and Shibata Kashima if you want a laser.

 

[cheflife15]

Line knives are pretty personal. Ive seen some cooks handle fine dining restaurants with similar tasks with a long petty. I've used a bunka in the past in tight spots as well. The misono will be fine, but I always felt those knives were a bit over priced. You can get a takamura at 180mm. Thin, solid, better edge retention.

 

[rick alen]

None of those mentioned so far are on the "soft" side except the lower-end misonos', I'd say the Geshin Stainless fits your bill best here. You might be concerned about damage resistance, but that aside something like the Takamur should get you through a shift without touchup.

 

[GorillaGrunt]

Forgot about Takamura, definitely a contender!

 

[rebornhj]

price range?

 

[Danzo]

I think you’d be happy with the ux10. I had the ux10 in 210 as a prep knife, ultimately it was too small for my purposes as a prepster so I sold it. When I moved to the line I picked up a cheaper misono440 in 180mm and it was awesome for the line. Wish it was the ux version because it’s sexy, I also wish I still worked on the line.

 

[cheflife15]

I found the misono 440 to be kinda eh. Didn't keep its edge as well as similarly priced knives

 

[labor of love]

What is it about the misono you want to improve on? Thinner blade and harder steel?

 

[Danzo]

I found the misono 440 to be kinda eh. Didn't keep its edge as well as similarly priced knives

I thought it got pretty toothy pretty quick. It served its purpose at a busy weekend bar place.
Aren’t that what line knives are though? Short and sweet and can handle a certain amount of neglect?

 

[daveb]

What I've heard over the years about the UX-10 is that it's not enough a significant performance improvement over the Moly to warrant the price premium and that the 440 is the optimum price/performance combo of the Misono line up.

 

[MrHiggins]

Hattori VG10 with the micarta handle is awfully nice. There's a lot of hate of VG10 on this forum, but I really like mine. Bulletproof.

 

[labor of love]

It’s been a minute since I handled a 440. But I believe it’s very asymmetrical, very nice fit&finish, and pretty durable soft steel. Misono carbon and moly are the best value misono lines IMO. UX10 sharpens pretty good to me but I believe it approaches ginga in price( like ginga a lot more).

 

[cheflife15]

I found the ux 10 to sharpen faster and hold a better edge for longer in my experiences. Honestly I always felt like misono was over priced.

Takamura chromax is a great option too. All the benefits of carbon with little reactivity. Sharpens beautifully and can handle any ingredient.

For a line knife, I want something tough that stays sharp and is on the cheaper side.

 

[labor of love]

OP, if you want stainless+ease of sharpening then ginsanko tadatsuna gyuto, Tanaka ginsanko gyuto, ginga gyuto would be the direction I would look....or Sukenari ginsanko. There’s nicer options with higher prices too. But as a matter of function this is the sorta stuff I would look at if I was in your shoes.

 

[Barmoley]

What was that ginsanko that panda picked up a while back as his beater. That looked pretty good and I think panda said it was pretty good.

 

[panda]

What was that ginsanko that panda picked up a while back as his beater. That looked pretty good and I think panda said it was pretty good.

Yoshihiro mono ginsanko western. It is not cheap at $250 and it wasn't 'good' until after I did a ton of work on it, lol. I really like misono swedish carbon 210 for a line knife of wanting to stay cheap. Once you force a patina it's not very reactive at all.

 

[Alexec]

Well he came up with some preferences so we moved this to another topic. Thanks all