jkonst
Member
Hi all,
Thanks for the super informative and welcoming forum! I'm looking to pick up a nice knife for home use for myself and my wife. With us being home a lot (a whole lot) these days, I'm trying to upgrade our kitchen experience a bit - control what we can. With that, I'd love any help/guidance you can offer!
LOCATION
USA (NYC)
KNIFE TYPE
Leaning Gyuto, but open to Santoku.
Are you right or left handed?
Right
Are you interested in a Western handle (e.g., classic Wusthof handle) or Japanese handle?
Japanese
What length of knife (blade) are you interested in (in inches or millimeters)?
Somewhere in the 180-220mm range. Both of my current knives are 180mm and we're both comfortable going a bit longer, but I think 240mm might be too much.
Do you require a stainless knife? (Yes or no)
Ideally yes given this knife will be shared and I'm not confident I can enforce a "don't leave wet" rule. But open to flexing on this.
What is your absolute maximum budget for your knife?
$325 (less is preferable, of course)
KNIFE USE
Do you primarily intend to use this knife at home or a professional environment?
Home
What are the main tasks you primarily intend to use the knife for (e.g., slicing vegetables, chopping vegetables, mincing vegetables, slicing meats, cutting down poultry, breaking poultry bones, filleting fish, trimming meats, etc.)? (Please identify as many tasks as you would like.)
Chopping, slicing, and mincing vegetables. Very rarely fish and not any meat, and vegetables are usually on the smaller side (onions, garlic, broccoli, etc. as opposed to squash).
What knife, if any, are you replacing?
Right now my primary knife I think would be classified as a Sujihiki (I think it's very cheap - got it as a gift a few years back, and it says Ginsu Chikara Series on it), and I also have a Victorinox chef's knife that's extremely dull right now (can't get anything professionally sharpened at the moment). I like using both. Both are 180mm in length.
Do you have a particular grip that you primarily use?
Hammer grip, though I intend to start using finger point after learning more here
What cutting motions do you primarily use?
Rock chop, slice (going to work on improving general knife skills/add to these)
What improvements do you want from your current knife? If you are not replacing a knife, please identify as many characteristics identified below in parentheses that you would like this knife to have.)
A bit more heft and a sharper edge
Better aesthetics (e.g., a certain type of finish; layered/Damascus or other pattern of steel; different handle color/pattern/shape/wood; better scratch resistance; better stain resistance)?
Something aesthetically interesting sounds great, but I don't have any particular look in mind
Comfort (e.g., lighter/heavier knife; better handle material; better handle shape; rounded spine/choil of the knife; improved balance)?
Mid-weight, but otherwise I'm not chopping for hours, so I'm flexible
Ease of Use (e.g., ability to use the knife right out of the box; smoother rock chopping, push cutting, or slicing motion; less wedging; better food release; less reactivity with food; easier to sharpen)?
Easy maintenance would be preferable, for sure - I have a Chef's Choice Trizor XV15 that is on its way here, since getting my knives professionally sharpened isn't really possible at the moment. I've since discovered that's probably a bit controversial on this forum, so please don't yell at me!
Ideally I'd love to be able to use the CC without damaging the knife (so probably not a single bevel, for example), disrespecting the knife maker, or generally making people here angry at me. But I can also just use that on my older knives and just get the new knife professionally sharpened when that's possible again (or try to learn how to use a whetstone). My parents have the world's dullest knives, so I can always send them the CC if it's not a good idea to use it on the knife I buy.
Edge Retention (i.e., length of time you want the edge to last without sharpening)?
Sort of depends on the factors above. I'm not sure if sharpening will ever become a hobby of mine, so longer is probably better in general.
KNIFE MAINTENANCE
Do you use a bamboo, wood, rubber, or synthetic cutting board? (Yes or no.)
Cheap plastic board currently. Looking to get a Hasegawa or something along those lines. Open to ideas for small, dishwashable cutting boards (I also posted a thread in the What's Cooking forum about this).
Do you sharpen your own knives? (Yes or no.)
See above - I have the Chef's Choice but also have professional sharpening options available in normal times.
If not, are you interested in learning how to sharpen your knives? (Yes or no.)
Maybe - I'm open to learning how to sharpen my own knife without using the Chef's Choice, though frankly my apartment is pretty small and my wife will probably toss me out if I buy much more stuff!
Are you interested in purchasing sharpening products for your knives? (Yes or no.)
Potentially.
SPECIAL REQUESTS/COMMENTS
I'm open to buying from anywhere. It seems like some of sites recommended here are running promotions at the moment, though I'm not sure how common that is. Also, I'm open to purchasing from the buy/sell section on this forum, if there's anything available there that you all think makes sense for me. This isn't super time sensitive, but I'm also pretty bored sitting at home and would love something new to work with.
Thank you all!
Thanks for the super informative and welcoming forum! I'm looking to pick up a nice knife for home use for myself and my wife. With us being home a lot (a whole lot) these days, I'm trying to upgrade our kitchen experience a bit - control what we can. With that, I'd love any help/guidance you can offer!
LOCATION
USA (NYC)
KNIFE TYPE
Leaning Gyuto, but open to Santoku.
Are you right or left handed?
Right
Are you interested in a Western handle (e.g., classic Wusthof handle) or Japanese handle?
Japanese
What length of knife (blade) are you interested in (in inches or millimeters)?
Somewhere in the 180-220mm range. Both of my current knives are 180mm and we're both comfortable going a bit longer, but I think 240mm might be too much.
Do you require a stainless knife? (Yes or no)
Ideally yes given this knife will be shared and I'm not confident I can enforce a "don't leave wet" rule. But open to flexing on this.
What is your absolute maximum budget for your knife?
$325 (less is preferable, of course)
KNIFE USE
Do you primarily intend to use this knife at home or a professional environment?
Home
What are the main tasks you primarily intend to use the knife for (e.g., slicing vegetables, chopping vegetables, mincing vegetables, slicing meats, cutting down poultry, breaking poultry bones, filleting fish, trimming meats, etc.)? (Please identify as many tasks as you would like.)
Chopping, slicing, and mincing vegetables. Very rarely fish and not any meat, and vegetables are usually on the smaller side (onions, garlic, broccoli, etc. as opposed to squash).
What knife, if any, are you replacing?
Right now my primary knife I think would be classified as a Sujihiki (I think it's very cheap - got it as a gift a few years back, and it says Ginsu Chikara Series on it), and I also have a Victorinox chef's knife that's extremely dull right now (can't get anything professionally sharpened at the moment). I like using both. Both are 180mm in length.
Do you have a particular grip that you primarily use?
Hammer grip, though I intend to start using finger point after learning more here
What cutting motions do you primarily use?
Rock chop, slice (going to work on improving general knife skills/add to these)
What improvements do you want from your current knife? If you are not replacing a knife, please identify as many characteristics identified below in parentheses that you would like this knife to have.)
A bit more heft and a sharper edge
Better aesthetics (e.g., a certain type of finish; layered/Damascus or other pattern of steel; different handle color/pattern/shape/wood; better scratch resistance; better stain resistance)?
Something aesthetically interesting sounds great, but I don't have any particular look in mind
Comfort (e.g., lighter/heavier knife; better handle material; better handle shape; rounded spine/choil of the knife; improved balance)?
Mid-weight, but otherwise I'm not chopping for hours, so I'm flexible
Ease of Use (e.g., ability to use the knife right out of the box; smoother rock chopping, push cutting, or slicing motion; less wedging; better food release; less reactivity with food; easier to sharpen)?
Easy maintenance would be preferable, for sure - I have a Chef's Choice Trizor XV15 that is on its way here, since getting my knives professionally sharpened isn't really possible at the moment. I've since discovered that's probably a bit controversial on this forum, so please don't yell at me!
Ideally I'd love to be able to use the CC without damaging the knife (so probably not a single bevel, for example), disrespecting the knife maker, or generally making people here angry at me. But I can also just use that on my older knives and just get the new knife professionally sharpened when that's possible again (or try to learn how to use a whetstone). My parents have the world's dullest knives, so I can always send them the CC if it's not a good idea to use it on the knife I buy.
Edge Retention (i.e., length of time you want the edge to last without sharpening)?
Sort of depends on the factors above. I'm not sure if sharpening will ever become a hobby of mine, so longer is probably better in general.
KNIFE MAINTENANCE
Do you use a bamboo, wood, rubber, or synthetic cutting board? (Yes or no.)
Cheap plastic board currently. Looking to get a Hasegawa or something along those lines. Open to ideas for small, dishwashable cutting boards (I also posted a thread in the What's Cooking forum about this).
Do you sharpen your own knives? (Yes or no.)
See above - I have the Chef's Choice but also have professional sharpening options available in normal times.
If not, are you interested in learning how to sharpen your knives? (Yes or no.)
Maybe - I'm open to learning how to sharpen my own knife without using the Chef's Choice, though frankly my apartment is pretty small and my wife will probably toss me out if I buy much more stuff!
Are you interested in purchasing sharpening products for your knives? (Yes or no.)
Potentially.
SPECIAL REQUESTS/COMMENTS
I'm open to buying from anywhere. It seems like some of sites recommended here are running promotions at the moment, though I'm not sure how common that is. Also, I'm open to purchasing from the buy/sell section on this forum, if there's anything available there that you all think makes sense for me. This isn't super time sensitive, but I'm also pretty bored sitting at home and would love something new to work with.
Thank you all!
