need a couple stainless “family” knives

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Choppin

Choppin

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So I’m looking for a couple of knives to leave at my parents place. We (wife and I) visit often and like to cook there. My parents cook sometimes as well and would use these knives. They are not “knife people” but can be trusted with basic care like not putting them in the dishwasher and not cutting through bone or frozen food (or so I hope!). Their current knives are the kind of stuff you find in your average Airbnb - cheap, stainless and perpetually dull (I promised I’d sharpen them but stopped mid task as I wasn’t having fun with the really soft cheap stainless).

Anyway I’m looking for a 165 santoku and 180 gyuto / chef’s. I’m set on those profiles and sizes as everyone involved already likes them (from using my own knives).

Other criteria:
- stainless
- something easy to sharpen on whetstones (Shapton, Gesshin)
- not super thin BTE
- a decent handle (pretty much anything better than NSF-style handles like Vic Fibrox). wa or yo is fine.
- plastic boards will be used, but I’m not too worried about edge retention as I enjoy sharpening
- under $150 per knife

Basically something tough that cuts well, feels nice to use and doesn’t suck to sharpen. If JNS had these profiles in the Kaeru line, it would be perfect.

Any ideas? I’m thinking these:
- Misono Molybdenum or 440
- Mac (don’t know which)
- German stuff but bolsterless, like Wusthof Chef Gourmet

thanks!
 
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Maybe Gesshin stainless (by reputation- I haven't used them)
 
I gift the Gesshin Stainless, Suisin Western Inox (Korin) or Mac Pro to family and close friends where I'll be pulling cooking duty.

They're all pretty bulletproof and very adequate for me to use.
 
I’ve gifted Mac pro with confidence to family members.

Ashi Ginga stainless yo handle 180 as a higher performance choice. They’re actually not too thin bte and hold up really well.
 
Tojiro DP are very nice knives no questions but found them too hard/brittle for people who are more careless than most of us.
Gave away my beloved 210mm DP to a friend (back when JCK sold them for 40$) and everytime I visited it had lots of macro-chips along the whole blade!

With that experience made I would rather turn to softer steels (MAC pro, Fujiwara FKM etc., maybe ginsan knives; MAC pro I have, rest is guesswork) or at least away from unknown VG10 variants and generally HRC<=61.
 
Thanks guys, lots of solid tips. I'm taking a look at these suggestions.

@tostadas a Semistainless Heiji duo sounds awesome. My only worry here is rust on core steel - these knives won't be left on the sink submerged but probably will be left on the counter while we eat, possibly wet (my parents and wife fault, not mine lol).

@daveb by Gesshin Stainless you mean Gesshin Ginga, or their more affordable Gesshin Stainless line (like this one https://www.japaneseknifeimports.com/products/gesshin-stainless-210mm-wa-gyuto)?
 
Choppin said:
Thanks guys, lots of solid tips. I'm taking a look at these

@daveb by Gesshin Stainless you mean Gesshin Ginga, or their more affordable Gesshin Stainless line (like this one https://www.japaneseknifeimports.com/products/gesshin-stainless-210mm-wa-gyuto)?
Click to expand...

For non-knife family, I mean the Gesshin Stainless. More robust, more forgiving than the Ginga.

The Gesshin Stainless may be a little better knife, the Suisin Western Inox looks better on the wall (and can be built upon for a "set".

Seeing a lot of Tojiro love here. Last I remember (10 yrs?) though inexpensive, they had universally poor grinds, needed thinning and handles were crap - for me at least taking them out of the "value" category.
 
daveb said:
For non-knife family, I mean the Gesshin Stainless. More robust, more forgiving than the Ginga.

The Gesshin Stainless may be a little better knife, the Suisin Western Inox looks better on the wall (and can be built upon for a "set".

Seeing a lot of Tojiro love here. Last I remember (10 yrs?) though inexpensive, they had universally poor grinds, needed thinning and handles were crap - for me at least taking them out of the "value" category.
Click to expand...
The tojiro pro is actually not done by tojiro. Slightly convexed grind and the handle is again different from the DP line. It's a resin infused wood.
 
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