Looking for new japanese chef knife

[Cheftosh81]

Hi guys!

I'm looking for a new japanese chef knife, there seems to be a hell of a lot on the market out there at the minute all claiming to be the best money can buy, for the last 10 years I've been using mainly German F-Dick 8.5 inch chefs knives, which have served me well but I fancy a change.

I have a decent amount of cash to splash (£150-£200)
ideally something realitivly light (100g-150g) and multi purpose as i don't like having my bench cluttered with multiple knives.

Open to all feedback on do's and dont's.

Thanks in advance!

 

[chinacats]

Chef, it would be helpful if you fill out the 'which knife should I buy questionnaire' at the top of this subforum. It will help us help you find the right knife.

And welcome to the forum!

 

[Cheftosh81]

Superb I will. Thanks

 

[havox07]

Although it sounds like you are looking for a kind of lazer as we call them, very thin, light and sharp knives. A few of the most popular brands are the gesshin ginga from JKI in the US, the konosuke HD2 which you can usually find everywhere, and the Sakai yusuke from bluewayjapan on ebay. The ginga and yusuke can be found in stainless or carbon, I am personally not sure on the konosuke.

As for multipurpose a gyuto is the most multipurpose profile recommended on here and the length depends on what you are comfortable with. 210mm if often recommended for home use while 240mm and up is recommended for work use where you usually have a lot more room.

Now another topic we have to ask about is sharpening, these knives all perform best when sharpening using traditional Japanese waterstones, is this something you have or would be interested in investing in?

 

[Rayuela]

There's a 210mm Sakai Yusuke (very thin, very light) going for peanuts on BST at the moment. And it's located in Europe. Might be worth a thought.

 

[Cheftosh81]

Sweet. I'll give them a look and see what is available at what price on the UK. I do have a selection of wet stones at home, out the way of the apprentices at work.

 

[Dubrdr20]

BTW that's sakai yusuke is carbon, not sure if how reactive it is but it will patina. Something to think about...