Name that one most underrated knife

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Masashi SLD.

Considering this dude banged with Yoshikane for who knows how long i'm surprised his knives don't get more traction. His laserish grinds are on point despite the torpedo shape of the gyutos that is seemingly what keeps people away. Flat spot for days yet the not so common tip style allows for rocking where it and the flat intersect. Taller than average, my 270 runs about 58mm i believe) is something that I notice people ordering from western makers yet was being done by him before much of the hype. To top it all off, his SLD heat treat is truly something to brag about; it's perhaps the toothiest steel i've used to date and just lasts and lasts and lasts through even the most acidic cutting target!
 
The SKD hammered has been around a long time. I have a 270 suji that is at least 10 years old. They definitely had their run with popularity on forums of old.

The newer nashiji is a different animal. A bit thinner, leaner. The SKD is rather robust imho.

I think its a good example of Yoshikanes ability to make timeless pieces, as well as keep up with more modern trends.
 
Masashi sld. Really impressive knives.I have a 210mm gyuto & a 270mm suji. At first. I hated the profile, but after giving it an honest try, it has become one of my top knives. I also love my Kaeru. I only have a 150mm petty, but it always finds its way on to my cutting board.
 
Edited to add: my Yoshis perform better than my Kaeru (although at a higher price point).

I had a different experience. My Kaeru performed much better than my Yoshikane SKD, even after Bernal thinned it.
I would definitely try a W2 Yoshi, if they are thinner.

I think the Misono Swedish carbon knives are underrated given their quality and consistency...
 
I had a different experience. My Kaeru performed much better than my Yoshikane SKD, even after Bernal thinned it.
I would definitely try a W2 Yoshi, if they are thinner.

Depends on what you are after, I guess. My Yoshi SKD Tsuchime is certainly a thicker than my Kaeru, but food release is significantly better with the Yoshi (more than would be expected given the difference in thinness).

Yes, the Amekiri are much thinner. I don't know if this applies to all of the white2 Yoshis or just the Amekiri.
 
To me personally, the most underrated knife I have used is my Munetoshi honyaki gyuto. It has been my daily driver for a month now. After thinning, it is a darn good knife, the steel and heat treat is amazing, profile is pretty good, price is very reasonable as well.

I'll second this. I have both the 240 and the 210 and they are excellent even though there hasn't been a ton of discussion about them. The 210 is very thin, with better finishing out of the box than the 240 I have. I also like that the hamon on the 210 is a fair amount higher than on the 240. The steel is excellent.
 
Pallarès Solsona, C60 @60Rc. Prices around €20-30 depending on the size.
I am intrigued by your post, and looked up Pallares on line. Nice catalog.. Can you tell me what the catalog numbers of the knifes you recommend are..
They make such a broad array of products I am at a loss to see which you suggest, and I would rather go with an expert.

Thanks
wak
 
I am getting a bit the impression that Toyama stainless-clad knives are underrated - judging from the interest in new and used.
I have a feeling that people are looking for older Toyama, because they were more unique. They are great cutters of workhorse persuasion, from a food release and weight stand point. The new ones are great cutters too, but they seem to be significantly lighter and thinner. This might make the new ones better general purpose knives, but they lost some of that unique, single minded purpose of ingredient destruction that older Toyama have. Heat treat seems to be the same and all are great knives, but older ones from iron cladding that changes over time, stinky handles, weight, thickness and the fact that they are not made anymore just have the character that the new and improved ones lost a little.
 
Well, yes, the stainless clad Toyamas do seem a little lighter across the board - as an example - my friend has a 270 carbon and stainless clad gyutos. The stainless one weights 240g and the carbon 276(ish). So while the stainless clad is lighter, for many it will be closer to 'medium weight', but I do understand what you mean with the 'ingredient destruction'. Yes - patina has its charm, yet I would have not expected to see such a difference in interest.
 
Well, yes, the stainless clad Toyamas do seem a little lighter across the board - as an example - my friend has a 270 carbon and stainless clad gyutos. The stainless one weights 240g and the carbon 276(ish). So while the stainless clad is lighter, for many it will be closer to 'medium weight', but I do understand what you mean with the 'ingredient destruction'. Yes - patina has its charm, yet I would have not expected to see such a difference in interest.
Well, for one, anything that is not made anymore is always better:LOL:

New ones are great knives and I would argue could be better tools, not sure how much harder the stainless cladding is to thin, but for most the new ones might work better or at least as good.
 
I would say that for Western makers, I think Shi.Han is underrated. His knives are excellent and all that I've tried (five) have had excellent heat treatment and feel wonderful on the stones. Good balanced geometry (nothing extreme). He puts the time in to get to know the steel before producing it. Definitely traditionally (Japanese) influenced.

For Japanese 'smiths, I would echo others comments about Masashi.
 
I still think Mazaki is a nice performing blade overall....

For higher end... .. Mizuno doesn't get all the love it deserves

completely agree on Toyamas and Wakui...
 
Well, yes, the stainless clad Toyamas do seem a little lighter across the board - as an example - my friend has a 270 carbon and stainless clad gyutos. The stainless one weights 240g and the carbon 276(ish). So while the stainless clad is lighter, for many it will be closer to 'medium weight', but I do understand what you mean with the 'ingredient destruction'. Yes - patina has its charm, yet I would have not expected to see such a difference in interest.
I echo the New stainless clad Toyama. Out of the box, my 210mm beat everything I have including Kurosaki, Mazaki, Shigefusa, its neck to neck with my Twice tinned TF, I am still testing These two.

The new Toyama has a subtle s-grind, the bevel is convex, plus the top half is slightly thinner than the middle.
 
I would say that for Western makers, I think Shi.Han is underrated. His knives are excellent and all that I've tried (five) have had excellent heat treatment and feel wonderful on the stones. Good balanced geometry (nothing extreme). He puts the time in to get to know the steel before producing it. Definitely traditionally (Japanese) influenced.

For Japanese 'smiths, I would echo others comments about Masashi.

I think Shi.Han has the same issue masashi has. The unique profile is polarizing. Many people just can't get used to it.
Honestly if there's a western knife maker who's work is underrated it's Martell.
 
I echo the New stainless clad Toyama. Out of the box, my 210mm beat everything I have including Kurosaki, Mazaki, Shigefusa, its neck to neck with my Twice tinned TF, I am still testing These two.

The new Toyama has a subtle s-grind, the bevel is convex, plus the top half is slightly thinner than the middle.

I love my new Toyama 240 mm stainless clad gyuto - one of my favorites now (along with my Konosuke FM). I didn't notice an S-grind and assumed mine is convex but I'll have to check later. Toyama seems well loved on this forum (perhaps underappreciated on some others forums), but I also get the sense that this stainless model might be underrated here. That said, I haven't tried the older carbon clad, so can't compare performance.

I can also confirm the stainless run a little lighter than the old ones, though. Mine is 209 g.
 
I do not care about the sentiments - but this thread will not be turned to witch-hunt of Martell. Use PMs if you feel the need. Uninformed may use the search engine or simply look at Dave’s subforum - it is all there.
 
Apologies to those who asked, but I will follow Matus’ wishes.
I make zero comment on quality, as I have no experience whatsoever and won’t claim otherwise.
Merely an ethical choice.
 
Apologies to those who asked, but I will follow Matus’ wishes.
I make zero comment on quality, as I have no experience whatsoever and won’t claim otherwise.
Merely an ethical choice.
Wasn’t aware of any Matus expressed wishes........ maybe one of you can expound?
 
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