opinions on a kiritsuki

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Mingooch

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I am looking to buy my first kiritsuki. I currently own and love both carbon and SS knives. I am trying to decide between the Doi, Suisin, Konosuki HD and Konosuki White steel kiritsukis in the 270 mm length. This new toy will be getting a nice wa-handle from Stefan. Please feel free and give opinions on those knives as well as any others that you might feel are better in that price range.
Thank you for your input.
 
Well, the HD is double-bevel only, the Konosuke white can be either single- or double-bevel, and the Doi and Suisin are single-bevel only. So the first thing you would need to decide is how you intend to use the kiritsuke and therefore whether you want a yanagiba-usuba cross or a kiritsuke-style gyuto.

Let us know first what you have in mind, and then it'll be easy to pull opinions from those of us who use either form of kiritsuke :)
 
I am open to either style at this time. I will eventually own both styles knowing myself and my addiction to knives. I am torn as to which one to start with.
 
Well the double bevel versions would basically be very flat-profiled gyutos and can be used as a multipurpose knives. The single bevel knives are a totally different beast with the super thin edges and the limitations that come with them. One thing to keep in mind either way, you are most likely going to want to make sure the tip curves up slightly.
 
I have the Doi and love it. All edges are nicely rounded and polished, came shaving sharp ootb, overall fit and finish is excellent. It does have its limitations, mainly cutting any dense vegetable, but is superb through raw protein. Has just enough slight curve to blade, about 4mm spine above heel which tapers nicely to tip, mine does have a slight uneven spot in blade road near heel only in the cladding that should fix itself with sharpening. The knife is rather versatile in Japanese style cutting, useless in western style other than slicing.
 
Basically, Japanese tend to make perfect thin slices. Western tends to be about making chunks so wedging and splitting and steering tend to be more of an issue and you get a lot more vigorous board contact.
 
I think people fall in love with kiritsuke (me included, though no longer) for the profile. If you must have it and you cook Western food and don't have good yanagi or usuba skills, then you should probably go for a double beveled.

I have seen many single beveled kititsuke come in go in For Sale section. It's one of those knives that people buy for looks and fail to master.

A gyuto made to resemble kiritsuke will have very flat profile, but kiritsuke shaped gyuto from the likes of Nenohi will have an adequate curve. A flat profile will force you to do mostly push cutting and raise the angle a bit and your tip is stuck in the board. :)

M
 
I have to agree that it's better to go with a double-bevel kiritsuke gyuto unless you know for sure that you like using single-bevel knives. Single- and double-bevel kiritsuke should be used quite differently, and given that the kiritsuke is a hybrid it's not really the best choice for being your first single-bevel experience.

That being said...

The Kono HD for double-bevel is a really nice knife. Comfy, good steel, a pleasure to use. I went with a custom profile on mine with less belly than the standard, but still with some curve so it's not dead-flat. For single-bevels, the Kono single-bevel kiritsuke I've handled feels really nice in the hand, but in terms of use I really like the Suisin knives.
 
I just purchased the Konosuke HD kiritsuke with water buffalo ferull and ebony handle from CKTG and it looks to be an excellent knife. I havent had a chance to put it through its paces yet as it just arrived this weekend but I think it will make a nice addition to the kit.
 
cookin, I would love to hear from you about it when u get to play with it a little.
 
I agree w/ the above comments about the true single bevel kiritsuke vs a double bevel kiri-gyuto - which is really a gyuto f/ a flat profile and sword tip. Look awesome, but...

I have the Moritaka 270, and don't use it all any more. Had to have it when I saw it when I first discovered J-knives. Now I just think it's a fun knife to have in the block. It's clunky, blade heavy, too flat for many tasks to be a good all-around'er (even though I broke the very tip and re-profiled it during the repair w/ a bit more curve towards the tip). I find the kiri-tip combined w/ such a flat profile to be too pointly and awkward to be useful for any tip-oriented tasks. I basically use it like a chinsese chef's knife/cleaver and the flat, wide profile has some advantages there.

But that Kono kiri-gyuto w/ the ebony handle is one SWEEEEEEEEEEET looking knife!!!
 
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