My Humble Knife Collection -- What Should Stay, What Should Go?

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fewlio

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Hey gang, just thought I'd share my knife collection and ask others' thoughts on what I should keep and of what I should rid myself.

Here are the knives and some of my thoughts on them:

Wusthof 9" carbon steel chef's knife. I like the traditional look of the knife. The carbon steel takes a sharp edge and holds it. My longest knife, and robust enough to split corn cobs and does a good job with cabbage heads.

Wusthof carbon steel paring knife. Handle is kind of small. Blade is 3.5" but feels longer than the shun due to where it is held, and it *is* slightly longer anyway. Kinda feels too long for me but it matches my chef's knife.

Wusthoff triple serrated bread knife. This one cuts bread very well, better than a cheaper victorinox, which also cut bred well.

Made in Tosa Nakiri with blue steel #2. Got it for $50 and is wicked sharp. I tend to like the carbon steel patinas. But my mom keeps cutting in a rocking motion and it's not made for that, and there's a small chip in the tip due to this which bugs me. But she won't stop. This knife is infused with Tosa craftsmen spirits!!

Victorinox 8" fibrox chef's knife. Pretty good, pretty cheap. I use it for dirty/risky cutting jobs like cutting in a stainless bowl, for instance. It's kind of a banger knife, but I don't particularly care for it.

Japanese petty knife, core steel is Aogami Super steel. Super sharp. Flatter blade profile than my Shun Classic utility knife (not pictured). Good at push cuts.

Shun wavy serrated utility knife. I'm a huge tomato user, and this knife is my go to for tomatoes. The nice knuckle clearance makes it easier to use than a cheaper victorinox serrated knife I had been using. I really like the handle and feel in hand.

Shun 3.5" paring knife. Feels good in hand, maybe handle a bit small. Greater length from edge to spine make this more stable when trying to make straight cuts through vegetables. Weight and balance is superb.

The following I have not used as I really don't need so many chef's knives. I got them all cheap and have to make a decision on what to keep.

Wusthof Ikon 8" chef's knife. It's stainless with a sharp edge but beefier than my Victorinox. Not sure about the handle feel.

Shun Classic 8" western chef's knife. Great feel in hand, of all my chef's knives this one feels best in hand. Sharp and looks good. Has exclusive VG-MAX core steel that can't be had anywhere else!!

Enso 7" bunka knife. Got this for $50 new, and this is the sharpest knife out of the box I've ever seen. Wow very impressed. Handle is the most comfortable I've ever felt. I love the look of it. To me this knife is like a Nakiri with a tip. So thinking of getting rid of my Nakiri knife as both are good for cutting veggies.

Shun classic petty/utility knife (not pictured). Similar in size to the carbon steel utility knife above. More rounded blade profile than my other one. I'm considering selling this as it's redundant and would probably bring more on ebay than my Aogami super steel utility from an unidentified japanese maker.

So gang, what should I keep, what should go, and what are some other knives I should be looking at??




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Get rid of the tomato knife, and learn how to sharpen. With some sharpening practice, any knife should be able to glide through tomatoes.

It's also really good at bread, so kinda a sandwich knife.
 
Hey gang, just thought I'd share my knife collection and ask others' thoughts on what I should keep and of what I should rid myself.
If they all serve your purposes, no need to rid yourself of any of them. But if you are looking to make upgrades, then you might want to articulate more of what you'd want in your next knives, though.

My thoughts:
* You have the Wusthof Carbon 9" and the Victorinox. I'd recommend keeping at least one of them, since you like having a robust knife for what you describe as "banger" tasks.
* If you're looking to upgrade said Wusthof Carbon with a monosteel carbon-steel knife, you might consider a Suien VC Blue, a Takayuki Western Blue (if you're a righty), or a Misono Dragon (pick one of the appropriate laterality). I'd go for a 240mm/9.4" since you're replacing a 9" and are using it for larger food-items.
* Regarding the nakiri: Are you its primary user? You mention that your mother is using it and uses rock-chopping motions. My possible recommendations might include simply fixing the chipping with a sharpening stone, or replacing it with a gyuto or santoku. You mention that you like your Enso bunka knife; maybe that can take its place.
* Not many people on these forums like Shuns, but if you like your Shun chef's knife then by all means use it. Since you like carbon-steel and you're looking for possible replacements among 8-9" knives, a Shun Blue 8" "kiritsuke" (more accurately it's a bunka) sounds like it could solve several of your problems.
 
I think there's a real question here: is there some motivation to get rid of some of them, such as family or space pressures? If not, Qapla' had a great point that there's nothing wrong with keeping them, especially if they work for you. You can always store the ones that you don't actively use.

Another question is whether you've tried the ones you don't use as much, and whether you enjoyed using them.

Depending on your motivation, many knives can be made enjoyable - for instance, if I owned that Shun, I'd probably reprofile out much of the belly, and thin it substantially. My point is that just because a knife isn't a popular purchase, or perhaps isn't desirable out of the box, doesn't mean it's not worth keeping. Of course, depending on your personal balance of time, money, and enthusiasm, that may be less appropriate. I reprofiled and thinned a miyabi evolution, and now it's one of my favorite knives - but it was many hours of work on the stones spread across a few months.
 
I would get rid of the Shun classic Chefs and Wüsthof ikon as those 2 can generate much cash than your other knives.

The Enso bunka looks nice but it’s not necessary so you could probably get rid of it too.

Your mom loves rocking so why don’t you give her the Victorinox, use the Wüsthof carbon for your own risky jobs, and then get a new nice gyuto for yourself? The cash you’d get from the shun, Wusthof and enso could be $150-200 which could be sufficient for a Tanaka or Takamura.

Just my 2 cents...

Btw, you could round the tip of that Nakiri. It actually looks good in the way. If the HT of the blue 2 it uses is decent, you could make it a fantastic knife by thinning and sharpening it.
 
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1) I agree with the above comment on learning to sharpen and no need to a tomato knife.

2) if all the knives have a purpose and you are happy, then I wouldn’t change anything. If there is something you are not happy with, then let’s fix that.

3) if you just want new knife experiences, then buy something to see if it is better than your existing knives. Sell the knife you aren’t using.
 
Hey! Thanks for the great comments guys. Some very sensible suggestions. Keep them coming!

And here's the story on the Nakiri and the Shun knives. My mom loves the Nakiri because we all cut a lot of veggies and she had never used such a sharp knife in her life. I told her "it has such a hard steel and such a fine edge, and tweaks in your rocking motion could chip the blade...plus it's not really designed for rocking, more for push cutting and chopping." However she just loves the knife and rocking it and it was only 50 dollars. Thing is it was a super bargain as comparable knives go for $100 or more (imo). I like the Nakiri too, but the Bunka looks like it'll do the same work and the handle feel and balance is certainly better.

And I didn't really set out looking to buy Shun knives, but there was a 5 piece classic set for 190 dollars plus tax. 8" chefs, utility knife, and 3.5" paring knife. Also a great hone and wood knife holder. So to my mind I paid about 50 a knife, and 50 for the hone and knife holder. It was a very good deal imo. I'm pretty sure I'll sell the shun classic utility and shun wood knife holder. I'll keep the nice paring knife. And the jury is out on the shun chef's knife. The shun has a thinner spine width than my big Wusthof carbon or Wusthof Ikon, and sometimes that helps to make nice thin slices. It looks nice and feels very nice.

I've never owned a high(er) end Gyoto. Was looking at a nice Miyabi Kaizen 8" chef's for $100...but I snoozed on it too long and the price shot up to $170 at cutlery and more!

I'm also very interested in a Kurosaki fujin style knife. Such beautiful hammered patterns in the knife, it's very striking.

21860.jpg
 
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Hey! Thanks for the great comments guys. Some very sensible suggestions. Keep them coming!

And here's the story on the Nakiri and the Shun knives. My mom loves the Nakiri because we all cut a lot of veggies and she had never used such a sharp knife in her life. I told her "it has such a hard steel and such a fine edge, and tweaks in your rocking motion could chip the blade...plus it's not really designed for rocking, more for push cutting and chopping." However she just loves the knife and rocking it and it was only 50 dollars. Thing is it was a super bargain as comparable knives go for $100 or more (imo). I like the Nakiri too, but the Bunka looks like it'll do the same work and the handle feel and balance is certainly better.

And I didn't really set out looking to buy Shun knives, but there was a 5 piece classic set for 190 dollars plus tax. 8" chefs, utility knife, and 3.5" paring knife. Also a great hone and wood knife holder. So to my mind I paid about 50 a knife, and 50 for the hone and knife holder. It was a very good deal imo. I'm pretty sure I'll sell the shun classic utility and shun wood knife holder. I'll keep the nice paring knife. And the jury is out on the shun chef's knife. The shun has a thinner spine width than my big Wusthof carbon or Wusthof Ikon, and sometimes that helps to make nice thin slices. It looks nice and feels very nice.

I've never owned a high(er) end Gyoto. Was looking at a nice Miyabi Kaizen 8" chef's for $100...but I snoozed on it too long and the price shot up to $170 at cutlery and more!

I'm also very interested in a Kurosaki fujin style knife. Such beautiful hammered patterns in the knife, it's very striking.

21860.jpg
Personnally, I really enjoy my Kurosaki Shizuku R2 240mm gyuto. It might not have a great distal taper but it really glides through produce and keeps on a great edge for a long time. Not to say that there aren't better knives but since you're interested in his knives I think it's worth it. The R2 isn't the most enjoyable steel to sharpen though.
 
Ok. Burrfection on YouTube is my knife guru and says these are great knives. So I ordered this. My first Japanese style chef knife. Aogami super steel!! My most expensive single knife ever . This was $230 shipped from Japanny. Com. Previous high was $100 :p

IMG_6132_0526712c-ba40-4f79-ac0c-bad72a4ae2f2_2048x.jpg
 
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Ok. Burrfection on YouTube is my knife guru and says these are great knives. So I ordered this. Aogami super steel!! My most expensive single knife ever . Previous high was $100 :p

IMG_6132_0526712c-ba40-4f79-ac0c-bad72a4ae2f2_2048x.jpg

Burrfection is a sales rep, not a guru. But he is right sometimes.
 
Ok. Burrfection on YouTube is my knife guru and says these are great knives. So I ordered this. My first Japanese style chef knife. Aogami super steel!! My most expensive single knife ever . Previous high was $100 :p
Don't know the knife you've chosen but Ryky Tran is not a knife guru IMO. Certainly not a sharpening guru either. I'd urge you to look at Jon Broida's knife knowledge and sharpening videos.
https://www.japaneseknifeimports.com/blogs/media
He's a vendor here on KKF and owns Japanese Knife Imports.
 
Ok. Burrfection on YouTube is my knife guru and says these are great knives. So I ordered this. My first Japanese style chef knife. Aogami super steel!! My most expensive single knife ever . Previous high was $100 :p

IMG_6132_0526712c-ba40-4f79-ac0c-bad72a4ae2f2_2048x.jpg
is this vg10 or that cobalt thingy steel? or AS??

either way kurosaki makes very good knives. you will not be disappointed imo. i think he is underrated for what he does. i have 4 kurosakis myself. 3 R2 and 1 AS. with the older square hammered pattern. bad ass stuff.
 
is this vg10 or that cobalt thingy steel? or AS??

either way kurosaki makes very good knives. you will not be disappointed imo. i think he is underrated for what he does. i have 4 kurosakis myself. 3 R2 and 1 AS. with the older square hammered pattern. bad ass stuff.

Blue super so aogami SUPER? AS?
 
Ok. Burrfection on YouTube is my knife guru and says these are great knives. So I ordered this. My first Japanese style chef knife. Aogami super steel!! My most expensive single knife ever . Previous high was $100 [emoji14]

IMG_6132_0526712c-ba40-4f79-ac0c-bad72a4ae2f2_2048x.jpg
You dont need to upgrade your knives anymore, however, you need to upgrade your guru
 
Ok. Burrfection on YouTube is my knife guru and says these are great knives. So I ordered this. My first Japanese style chef knife. Aogami super steel!! My most expensive single knife ever . This was $230 shipped from Japanny. Com. Previous high was $100 :p

IMG_6132_0526712c-ba40-4f79-ac0c-bad72a4ae2f2_2048x.jpg

Nice knife. I guess Dalstrong quit paying him?
 
Burrfection is a sales rep, not a guru. But he is right sometimes.

Not just a sales rep, he's also a youtube entertainer - a profession that demands maximizing the blah blah blah to knowledge ratio. You could probably watch 10+ hours worth of his babbling on the subject of sharpening, and not learn as much as you would from 30 minutes of Jon's succinct instructions.
 
Not just a sales rep, he's also a youtube entertainer - a profession that demands maximizing the blah blah blah to knowledge ratio. You could probably watch 10+ hours worth of his babbling on the subject of sharpening, and not learn as much as you would from 30 minutes of Jon's succinct instructions.

Doesn't help that there's so much blah blah, at least last time I watched him. He talked for 5 minutes about something unrelated to the video, the next 4 minutes he got to the point o_O.
 
Not just a sales rep, he's also a youtube entertainer - a profession that demands maximizing the blah blah blah to knowledge ratio. You could probably watch 10+ hours worth of his babbling on the subject of sharpening, and not learn as much as you would from 30 minutes of Jon's succinct instructions.
He’s good at making video though. I feel all these online retailers would have a better sales number if they could build a popular YouTube channel like Burrfection.
 
Congrats on the knife! Kurosaki does great work!

He’s good at making video though. I feel all these online retailers would have a better sales number if they could build a popular YouTube channel like Burrfection.
He also reviews things that a lot of new people to knives are interested in and no one else talks about .. that surely adds to the numbers. As far as youtube content goes, it's pretty good (Though many in the knife world will think it's far too diluted for them, hence these forums. To contrast other youtube content there's a video with millions of views of some youtuber filming a dead body in japanese forest).

not a knife guru
As for guru or not .. he's probably still more knowledgeable at knives and better at sharpening then 95% of people here, certainly better than 95% of his viewers, but no one here will admit it, of course.
While Jon Broida and the other 5% of people here are _much_ better at sharpening then Ryky, they don't produce nearly the content. So pick your own gurus and be honest with yourself.

To be precise (as it's the internet and someone will argue), what I mean about "content": there are many people here with absolutely stunning collections, truly beautiful sets, but in gallery photos some knives are not even labeled, nevermind 15+minute video about how it feels in use or sharpening. While Rykys collection definitely doesn't approach some of the people here, at least he talks about whatever he has (good, bad or otherwise) ... his setup is still better than 95% of us.
 
Congrats on the knife! Kurosaki does great work!


As for guru or not .. he's probably still more knowledgeable at knives and better at sharpening then 95% of people here, certainly better than 95% of his viewers, but no one here will admit it, of course.

yu kurosaki makes great knives, but as for burrfection, i have to strongly disagree. i'd actually say he is more knowledgeable than 100% of his viewers, because who on earth would watch his videos if they already knew more than him? as for the rest of the world, he might be more knowledgeable than 95% of the general population, but compared to the average kkf reader he's a joke.
 
I may not agree with those % ... but let's roll with it: why does the "upper" knife community here shun (bad pun intended :p) someone who _is_ teaching so many newcomers who wouldn't have even found this forum without first going trough his YouTube. He's improving the general knife knowledge .. I would think most of us should be thankful.
 
i mean, he has already been discussed to death around here, so not much point in rehashing it, nor am i in a hurry to speak for others, but personally, i don't begrudge him the right to make money from the internet, i just don't see him as an authority, or a contributor to the community.
 
fine, let's agree to disagree and get back to how easy on the eyes Fujins are .. one has been in my wishlist for months .. maybe one day I'll break. I just don't need another guyto, but some are so hard to pass.
 
Yeah I'm struck by the hammered patterns of Kurosaki's knives. He has several styles that all look really good. I was thinking of rounding out my arsenal with a 5" range prep knife. I have this 6" petty knife but it isn't perfect for board work as my fingers drag on the board a bit. Plus it's pretty long, it's basically a 6" chef's knife. Something a litter smaller or handier...I'm tempted to buy a Kurosaki prep to go with the Fujin gyoto. But I already ordered and don't want to pay shipping again. And this knife is 70 off at cutleryandmore...sg2 and has a lot of bling. To me, there is beauty in the understated simplicity of something like a Kurosaki, and there is beauty in bling too. Like greek and roman architecture, or japanese zen architecture, vs ornate gothic and victorian styles. Both are beautiful and enjoyable to me. Anyway this baby has sg2 core...something I've never tried. That's interesting! And they clearly were considering knuckle clearance in this design:

37428.jpg
 
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