Please help me find a left handed knife for a gift!

[kittyko14]

Hi everyone! I'm need to buy a high-end knife as a gift for someone who cooks constantly, and since you all seem so knowledgeable, I was wondering if you'd lend me some of your expertise. I know you must get threads like these a lot here, but I'm afraid I don't know where to begin looking, so I hoped posting might be the most straight-forward way of finding out what to do.

So, I guess I'll start with the questionnaire!


LOCATION
What country are you in?
I'm in the north-eastish USA.


KNIFE TYPE
What type of knife are you interested in?
I know he'd be interested in a gyuto, but currently he uses a western chef's knife.

Are you right or left handed?
He's left handed, which has been making it a little tricky for me to shop for him.

Are you interested in a Western handle (e.g., classic Wusthof handle) or Japanese handle?
Either one would be fine as long as it's comfortable.

What length of knife (blade) are you interested in (in inches or millimeters)?
I'd say maybe 8 to 9 inches, but I'm leaning towards 9.

Do you require a stainless knife?
I'm looking for a carbon-steel knife specifically.

What is your absolute maximum budget for your knife?
About $325 would be my maximum.


KNIFE USE
Do you primarily intend to use this knife at home or a professional environment?
This will be for home use.

What are the main tasks you primarily intend to use the knife for?
Ahh, it'll be used for just about everything I think, which I know is sort of a cop out answer. He chops a lot of vegetables for prep, and I guess I haven't seen him debone many chickens or anything, hahah.

What knife, if any, are you replacing?
It's like this basic $60 chef's knife. It's decent, but I know he's getting tired of it.

What cutting motions do you primarily use?
Primarily rocking, but some chopping and slicing too, when he needs to.

What improvements do you want from your current knife?
Specifically, it needs to be sharper, which is easy. I'd like it to be fun to use for him, which I know if sort of a vague quality but I hear people saying that about their knives a lot, so maybe you all know what I mean?



KNIFE MAINTENANCE
Do you use a bamboo, wood, rubber, or synthetic cutting board?
It's bamboo, but I'm going to get him an end-grain one eventually.

Do you sharpen your own knives?
He will, yeah.

Are you interested in purchasing sharpening products for your knives?
I'd like to get these too. I know I'll need two different types of whetstones and some mineral oil. I'm really open to suggestions about these.

Here's a preemptive thank you to everyone who reads this! Let me know if I can give out anymore information.

 

[El Pescador]

Misono 240mm Swedish Steel gyuto from Japanesechefknife.com. you can get a lefty version.
http://www.japanesechefsknife.com/SwedenSteelSeries.html#SwedenSteel

 

[chinacats]

Agree with Pesky, Misono is a good choice because you can order a lefty model without too much increase in cost. It is carbon steel (will rust) and will take a very nice edge. Can also be purchased with an engraved dragon.

As to the stones, does he currently sharpen his own knives? If so, find out what he is using currently as it will assist in which direction to go. As to mineral oil, you certainly won't need it with the stones as most of the sharpening stones recommended here are 'water'stones so no oil necessary.

 

[kittyko14]

Well, since he has a pretty cheapo stainless steel knife right now, he doesn't sharpen it properly, he just wipes it down / runs it down a knife steel after use. However, I know he's taken a few classes on knife use and sharpening and has expressed interest in doing the whole routine. I think it's just his budget that's keeping him from really getting into it.

I plan to buy a few sharpening stones to go with this knife. After some basic research, I found out that a stone with a 1000-ish grain and one with a 1500-ish grain at least would be useful, but I'm afraid I don't know much more than that. If you guys have any offhand recommendations for good stones, I would really appreciate it.

Also I know this isn't the point at all, but gosh those misono knives look cool. It's nice that the left handed ones aren't too much extra, however, I don't mind paying a lot for that if I have to either.

 

[chinacats]

As to stones, a 1000 and a 1500 are pretty much the same thing...you may want to look at something like a 1000 and 6000 combo stone something like this or a budget version for probably a $100 bucks less. As to learning to use them, check out the videos available (free of charge) from the vendor of the stone I linked here.

Just to add that the steel on the Japanese knives will be harder than the steel rod he is using so it won't be of use--that said, by virtue of being harder the edges do not roll so there is no need to re-align them.

 

[kittyko14]

Oh man, I was a little hesitant to look at combination stones because I heard they varied in quality, but that one looks super nice. Thank you! I'll have to take a look at those videos too, he may know how to do all this stuff, but I feel a little hopeless, hahah.