Looking for a knife, but I don't know what to get,

[catridingeeels]

PREFACE
I'll start by saying that I am a complete novice when it comes to knives haha I just spent all night last night looking into knives and this is where that journey took me.
I live in a very small teardrop trailer, that being said I don't have much room for excess of anything and after falling down the rabbit hole of Japanese kitchen knives I'm looking for one knife to rule them all.
I want to buy a nice knife $500-$1000 that I can use forever and grow attached to if that makes sense. I like the idea of it being kinda collectible/rare. For sure hand made.

The setup I have in my mind is 1 knife, 1 sharpening stone. Is that something that I could make work?



LOCATION
USA: Cali

KNIFE TYPE
What type of knife are you interested in (e.g., chef’s knife, slicer, boning knife, utility knife, bread knife, paring knife, cleaver)?
Chef's knife probably, or something smaller that I can still do most things with. I don't often find myself cutting anything larger than a good-sized steak.

Are you right or left-handed?
Right

Are you interested in a Western handle (e.g., classic Wusthof handle) or Japanese handle?
I am really interested in the Japanese aesthetic

What length of knife (blade) are you interested in (in inches or millimeters)?
Big but not huge, 210 mm? I think I would be happy with something smaller too, especially if it looks cool : ).

Do you require a stainless knife?
No

Absolute maximum budget
$1000ish?

KNIFE USE
Do you primarily intend to use this knife at home or a professional environment?
Home

What are the main tasks you primarily intend to use the knife for (e.g., slicing vegetables, chopping vegetables, mincing vegetables, slicing meats, cutting down poultry, breaking poultry bones, filleting fish, trimming meats, etc.)?
A good bit of everything. Slicing meats and vegetables is probably 80% of it.
Nothing super heavy duty though; I almost exclusively buy my chicken as just chicken breasts, so no cutting down poultry or anything like that.

What knife, if any, are you replacing?
The small one with the black handle they sell at Target.

Do you have a particular grip that you primarily use?
No particular grip, but if I get a nice knife I'd like to develop one. Whenever I cook I'm never in a hurry though so I'm usually cutting pretty slowly.

Please identify as many characteristics identified below in parentheses that you would like this knife to have.

Aesthetics
Aesthetics is def the most important to me haha
I've been learning Japanese for the last year or so and I love the Japanese aesthetics.
A cool blade with a sleek handle is probably my favorite look

Comfort
Whatever works : ) I'm not a professional chef so comfort is not too important

Ease of Use and Care
I don't mind a knife that I need to care for. I'm not in a hurry when I cook, I prefer to take things slow anyways. I don't even have a dishwasher either so everything is hand wash regardless.

Edge Retention (i.e., length of time you want the edge to last without sharpening)?
I don't mind sharpening my knife often. I cook around 4 times a week so maybe sharpen once a week?

KNIFE MAINTENANCE
Do you use a bamboo, wood, rubber, or synthetic cutting board?
planning on buying a Hasegawa soft cutting board.

Do you sharpen your own knives?
Not currently but if I buy a good knife I'd love to learn!

Are you interested in purchasing sharpening products for your knives?
Yes

 

[Infrared]

At that price point you can get pretty much anything. Is there a specific look you're interested in?

Just a few examples.

Kurouchi
https://realsharpknife.com/collections/gyuto/products/hinokuni-shirogami-1-210mm-gyuto
Damascus
https://knivesandstones.us/collecti...urokumo-r2-damascus-gyuto-210mm-by-shiro-kamohttps://knivesandstones.us/collecti...suchime-gyuto-210-240mm-with-teak-wood-handle
Tsuchime
https://carbonknifeco.com/collections/kurosaki-knives/products/yu-kurosaki-r2-senko-ei-gyuto-210mm
Mirror
https://shirasagistore.com/product/...ver-steel-3-ginsan-steel-mirror-finish-165mm/
Custom handles are also a thing.
https://realsharpknife.com/collections/customshttps://sugicutlery.com/collections/custom-handles
For me personally, something like this would be my choice if I could only have one "special" knife.
https://knifejapan.com/bizen-osafune-nihon-to-santoku-180mm-honyaki-tamahagane/
Honyaki knives are uncommon enough on their own, but the Tamahagane steel makes it that much more unique. Definitely a "collectible" but usable knife.


For sharpening, a 1000 grit stone will be enough, but you'll also need something to keep it flat.

 

[jedy617]

https://knivesandstones.us/collecti...roducts/sukenari-r2-sg2-damascus-gyuto-240-mm
Does everything well with great looks to match. (They come in 210mm too, but knives and stones is out)

 

[mc2442]

I would not try to max out your budget on your first knife. I suspect there will be more than ont. open your spectrum to santoku as they can be a good bit cheaper and the shorter length might fit your needs. For one stone I would say 1000 grit, shapton glass would work, splash and go. You will not need to sharpen very often, strop at most normally

 

[Heckel7302]

Where in California? Best bet would be to go to a good knife shop. Japanese Knife Imports if near LA, Bernal if near SF. You can easily get a few knives in that budget. Holding knives is the best way to know what will work best for you.

 

[Sparhawk]

Maybe look into shihan

 

[timebard]

Maybe look into shihan

Ding ding ding. A Shihan AEB-L 210 is about as close to a do-everything knife as you can get for this use case. One man shop, strong Japanese influence with simple but refined aesthetics, good tough stainless that you don't need to baby, and cuts real good. Oh and you don't need to deal with a multi-year wait-list. Edge retention isn't a strong suit but if you're not using it extensively and are comfortable sharpening, no big deal.

Myojin SG2 or ginsan (Kagekiyo walnut handle series) would be good too, albeit a little more light and delicate.

 

[tostadas]

Your budget would allow for pretty much anything. For Japanese makers, everything I've seen from Sakai Kikuzuki and also "Kagekiyo" from Baba Hamono have been top tier out of the box. However, without some idea of what you actually like, it's hard to recommend an ideal knife.

 

[Jovidah]

My 2 cents:
-It's nonsensical to spend your whole budget because you have no frame of reference or experience to base your preferences on.
-If your plan is to have just one knife my suggestion would be to make it stainless.
-If you insist on spending so much you'd be better off buying several vastly different knives just to get a feel for what your preferences are.
-Since you're in California your best bet is probably to go to a place like Japanese Knife Imports or Bernal Cutlery where you can actually physically handle a lot of different knives.

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

As I said in your intro post, I would strongly encourage you to step down on the knife and focus on sharpening to begin with.

Keep in mind, above about $250 the performance returns start to narrow and they just get smaller as you go up. I have handmade sub-$100 knives that perform very well and are super easy to maintain.

And as said, you're not really sure what you like yet.

You also need a wooden cutting board to get the most out of your edge. Doesn't have to be end grain but avoid bamboo or those dense hard ones.

You also need a way to protect the edge. If it's going into a drawer either get an edge guard or a saya. These are not the kind of knives you're used to. Although durable, they are more fragile than mass-marketed western styled knives.

Given your living conditions I'd strongly consider a santoku or gyuto in the 165-180mm range. Space is a premium for you. I can do all I need to do for my wife and I with a 165mm knife. Yes it is a compromise but in your case a longer knife is as well, just in a different way.

I'd be very tempted to order something from Knife Japan to get started. Any of the shirogami or aogami or ginsan (stainless) steels will be very easy to sharpen and for you to learn on. Yes they are rustic but they are still very good knives with their own romantic, small-maker charm.

Then you can get a Shapton Glass 500 and 2k and cover a ton of maintenance ground. You'll need some kind of stone flattening plan of which there are many options. A stone holder is nice but you can get by with a piece of 4x4 or a brick or just something to get stone up and give you knuckle clearance.

You'll be in a couple hundred bucks, gain a lot of experience and then when you're more confident and better educated, you can come back and go for that "one nice knife".

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

Another really good option would be a Takamura in R2. Very slicey and well made and the steel is quite durable and stainless.

With that knife and considering your situation, I'd strongly consider going with an Ultra Sharp diamond stone:
https://www.bestsharpeningstones.co...name=Diamond Sharpening Stones&product_id=142
The 1200 would do the bulk of your work. No need to flatten diamonds. Needs a little different technique than other whetstones and may not be as ideal on other steels but absolutely usable.

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

This is also an excellent option:

https://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/threads/kei-kobayashi-sg2-170x50mm-santoku.64625/#post-1003867
SG2 steel is the same as R2 steel.

 

[drrayeye]

You've got a great fantasy, but you need to make it real. You're not really ready to get specific yet, IMO. Hold off on that trophy knife for awhile.

Home cooks I've known in Japan have been mostly using an inexpensive Santoku.
When I was first in Japan, 30 years ago, I was given a budget nakiri that I'm still using for vegetable prep.

Shop around. You may be able to snag a fun santoku to play with for less than $50--less than $100 for sure.

 

[blokey]

Give Jon at JKI a call, he call help you a lot

 

[WifeNotUnderstand]

Being in a camper with limited space and limited storage a shorter knife would be appropriate

When I had my caravan/camper I had a Yu Kurosaki180mm Santoku - Stainless/SG2 with Saya. being 180mm it was a good at most things and handled well in a small kitchen space and stainless makes life easy.

if you wanted something more fancy and reactive you could get
https://www.japanesenaturalstones.com/toyama-noborikoi-dama-santoku-180mm/get some finger stones and you can play around with some polishing

Takamura R2 are also fantastic with a western handle - lots of vendors to choose from
https://www.cleancut.eu/butik/knifebrands/takamura-3-serie3/takamura-r2
You should get a Saya for whatever knife you get, it will protct you knife long term

I saw on IG Cleancut has these cases - something like this will also protect your knives [you wont be able to stop at one!]
https://www.cleancut.eu/butik/knifestorage/knivvaeskor/knifebag_leather-4440-detail

for sharpening a Shapton Professional come in a travel case - if you get 2 grits you can rub them together to keep them flat - this will save you getting a flatting stone

Hope this helps

 

[Reptyle]

I would echo others here in cautioning against spending the full budget on one knife without any personal frame of reference.

However, I get the allure of just buying one special knife and being done.

If I had started with my Kippington, I may never have fallen down this rabbit- hole and been content with just one.

 

[Delat]

Agree with everybody else that there’s plenty of solid offerings <$300 and no need to spend more at this point. Takamure R2 180mm is a great option, as is Yu Kurosaki if you want something pretty (I’d go for Aogami Super if he’s still doing those, if not then R2). For a bit fancier/nicer, maybe Myojin R2 180mm - might be able to score one with a discount from Home Butcher. If a Western maker sounds attractive, look for a Birgersson or Spare 180-190mm for around $400.

Add a 125-150mm petty for $150, like a Y Kato stainless clad AS 150mm for $150 or a Tsunehisa. And maybe a Shun paring around 80mm for in-hand work.

And a Shapton Pro 2k for sharpening, maybe a Shapton field holder to go with it, about $100 total. Or some equivalent diamond stone that doesn’t need flattening since space is at a premium.