Looking for an absolute workhorse pro kitchen knife

[iimi]

To make things easy: I want to commission a stainless/semi-stainless 240+ gyuto for prep and general work on the line. Convex grind is basically a must, I'd prefer some height and weight because swinging a light knife thru cabbage and parsnips gets old. Also prefer a decent flat spot. If I can get it blade only, even better. Budget is around $350, can stretch to $400 if it comes with a nice handle. Favorite steel by far is skd/a2, but I don't mind ginsan or aeb-l. Any ideas?

 

[sansho]

guessing it's at least $100 out of budget, but a shi.han in a2 or aeb-l comes to mind. maybe a custom so you can get the profile you want.

 

[DarwellianEmpire]

guessing it's at least $100 out of budget, but a shi.han in a2 or aeb-l comes to mind. maybe a custom so you can get the profile you want.

Here to echo the work of Shehan. I picked up a secondhand 52100 210 from BST and I use it damn near every day. Good heft and fantastic feeling. I can halve winter squash, cut through fish scales, and dice mirepoix
with ease and confidence all in one go and touch up the edge quickly on a high mid grit and get back to work immediately. The ability of his heat treat and geometry alone is worth the money and once you factor in aesthetics and f&f it’s a no brainer.

 

[daveb]

Marko defines workhorse. Gonna have to reach deeper for a commissioned piece.

 

[Heckel7302]

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[Delat]

There’s really not any well-known makers doing customs for $350. I only know a couple - @MSicardCutlery here on the forums, but he generally does very thin lasers. Also Brian Hanson made me a semi-custom 180mm for $275 earlier this year that I really like; he’s a super nice guy and easy to work with.

You might want to try on BST for a Shi Han as mentioned already, or an Andrei Markin.

 

[timebard]

Sounds like a Shihan, but as others have said that's probably $200 over your budget.

Thinking about makers who might do something in your price range, RDG, Markin, and AG Klint come to mind. Not sure if Ryan does stainless but you can always ask, and his work is quite well regarded here though I haven't tried one. My Markin is more midweight than workhorse but I've seen some monster versions on BST and his prices are reasonable. I ordered a custom small gyuto a while back from Klint and he was able to do a thick 4mm+ spine and great convex grind; I did a poor job communicating what I needed profile wise so it didn't work out for me, but that was on me and it otherwise was an excellent knife.

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

Yep, talk to @MSicardCutlery. Probably tight but that's where I'd start.

 

[MSicardCutlery]

I do have a couple of thicker bars of AEB-L and Nitro-V that I wouldn't mind using up.

 

[pleue]

Could get a semi stainless from heiji directly.