Recommendation Requested ~ $500+ Gyuto / Lefty

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LawChef

LawChef

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Afternoon.

Family would like to give me a gift. Looking for a recommendation of a Gyuto around $500. Willing to go closer to $1000 or lower to $300, as some good quality knives on JKI seem to be in that range. Lefty, using it for mainly produce and soft protein and the like, not breaking down a full chicken or a cow with the knife. Prefer 240 or something close to 240. Not dead set on Japanese, would consider something like a lower line Kramer. Does not have to be new either, would consider purchasing on the group a ie. (numbers for demonstration) pre-loved $1000 retail knife for ie. $500, in fact may lean towards a gently pre-loved knife. Ultimately prefer a fantastically made knife over an artistic piece, but will value it as a piece of art. Moderately proficient at sharpening, have stones, need more practice to reach the level of ie. a full time chef. Thank you in advance for your help and advice.
 
for the core steel, do you care about carbon steel vs stainless vs semi? and what about the cladding?
 
sansho said:
for the core steel, do you care about carbon steel vs stainless vs semi? and what about the cladding?
Click to expand...
Prefer carbon or semi but not a deal breaker. Just means need to give it the care it deserves or it will rust. Probably a blue #1/#2 or white #1, likely the former, and does better with single bevel edge too. Blue Super probably going to be a little bit too brittle for my liking. In terms of cladding no strong preference. Makes it easier to sharpen/maintain and a bit stronger, and aesthetically ie. a damascus can look nice. Also open to non-Japanese makers in the States or Europe that make in the style of a gyuto. The classic Wusthoff/Henckels is a bit bulky for me, but I still like some heft to a knife, nothing super light. Looking at some on JKI from Kochi Kurouchi on the lower end, which I understand is still a great knife, to Tanaka, Gessin, Tangetsu to Tanganryu, different material entirely. Saw user H15SULO is looking to sell a Tanaka Kyuzo Blue #1, which is interesting and an option, although at the ask I might prefer a little more more movement on the price.
 
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YeopAsda Knife Sharpening Stone Set - Premium 4 Side Grit 400/1000 3000/8000 Whetstone Sharpener Kit - Non-Slip Bamboo Base,Cut Resistant Gloves, Angle Guide,Flatting Stone,Honing Guide,Leather Strop
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YeopAsda Knife Sharpening Stone Set - Premium 4 Side Grit 400/1000 3000/8000 Whetstone Sharpener Kit - Non-Slip Bamboo Base,Cut Resistant Gloves, Angle Guide,Flatting Stone,Honing Guide,Leather Strop Dember
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Since your preference is not clear other than you are a lefty, I’ll throw in some knives that I like that are usually symmetric.

This one looks like a lefty to me and it’s a functional collection piece.
https://knivesandstones.us/collecti...scus-gyuto-240mm-with-ironwood-western-handle

This is also nice. Myojin knives are usually very symmetric and well regarded.
Myojin Riki Seisakusho SG2 Gyuto 180mm / 210mm / 240mm

One more Myojin in carbon. I’m seriously attempted to buy this one for my self.
Konosuke Tetsujin Blue #2 Gyuto 240mm Khii Laurel Handle (Small Spot)


If you like flat profile, this is the best and as far as I know they are symmetric.
https://knivesandstones.us/collecti...ashiji-finish-teak-handle-with-free-teak-saya
 
LawChef said:
But definitely on the higher end I'm sure. All look like they produce amazing stuff. Would be a tough choice.
Click to expand...

The custom makers listed above should all come in under 1k, some significantly less. The tricky part with customs is lead time though - some might be a couple months, others might be a year, and some might not even be taking orders. But a custom will get you a true lefty-biased knife, which you won’t get otherwise. Also check out Steelworks66 on instagram, I have one of his customs and love it and his prices are reasonable.

With a “stock” or standard knife, the best you can hope for is a symmetric grind. The majority will be righty-biased. For Japanese knives I can enthusiastically second the recommendation for Myojin.

But as this sounds like your first hand-made knife, you might want to try another post with this questionnaire filled out so you can get more targeted recommendations. It’ll be helpful to clarify your preferences even if you decide to go the custom route.
Questionnaire

LawChef said:
would consider purchasing on the group a ie. (numbers for demonstration) pre-loved $1000 retail knife for ie. $500, in fact may lean towards a gently pre-loved knife. Ultimately prefer a fantastically made knife over an artistic piece, but will value it as a piece of art.
Click to expand...

I might be misinterpreting what you’re saying, but you won’t see a 1k knife discounted by 50% on BST. Typical discount at that level varies from 0 to 20%. Heck, the price might even go up with rarity.

But if you do see a knife you like on BST, you can definitely ask the seller if the grind is symmetrical. Many Western smiths make symmetrical grinds so you might get lucky. And if you end up not liking it, you can probably resell for almost the same price.
 
Japanese Handmade stuff will have inconsistencies within the line of knives, meaning varying degrees of symmetry from knife to knife-I literally sent a vendor some questions about a gyuto a couple hours ago and he’s going to let me know if he has a 50/50 lefty friendly knife instock from the line im interested in. I always do this.
Basically if the vendor sends you choil shots you just want to make sure the left side isn’t more flat than the right side and instead has close to equal convexing etc etc. I’m not good at explaining this…
Just talk to the vendor. They could have a crazy right handed and left handed knife from the same batch of knives and they should work with you to pick out the right one for you.
 
LawChef said:
Good advice thanks. I'll actually be in LA in a week and thinking of stopping by Jon at JKI before I leave LA proper/
Click to expand...
Well it’s always better to go into a shop and check out the stuff you’re interested in person over playing an internet guessing game of “I think this will work for me” based on photos and specs from a web page.
I believe jki has one ginrei left. It’s a special knife IMO.
 
esoo said:
I'm still waiting on my knife, but ShiHan would also be a good western choice. You may have to message him as he's not listing what were his stock options previously.
Click to expand...
And Shihan is a lefty himself, so he understands lefty grinds.

PS: Shihan = Ginrei, so you can check it out when you're at JKI.
 
Some good deals on BST. Not half off kind of deals, those almost never happen.

https://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/threads/kurosaki-as-laser-240-price-drop.58170/
The Spare on here looks real nice
https://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/...ack-two-sticks-simon-sacco.59867/#post-919372
a little over budget, but these are real nice
https://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/...e-1-kuro-uchi-gyuto-240mm-extra-height.59936/
Or something with a little Sanjo flavor
https://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/threads/konosuke-sumiiro-240-sld-gyuto.59706/
Likely stellar Blue 1 on this knife
https://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/...240mm-gyuto-kurouchi-finish-new-in-box.60006/
Shi.Han at a good price
https://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/threads/shihan-240-52100-gyuto-dropped.59741/#post-918307
This Togashi would be a good buy
https://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/threads/togashi-and-isasmedjan-240-gyutos.59344/
 
Heckel7302 said:
Some good deals on BST. Not half off kind of deals, those almost never happen.

https://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/threads/kurosaki-as-laser-240-price-drop.58170/
The Spare on here looks real nice
https://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/...ack-two-sticks-simon-sacco.59867/#post-919372
a little over budget, but these are real nice
https://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/...e-1-kuro-uchi-gyuto-240mm-extra-height.59936/
Or something with a little Sanjo flavor
https://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/threads/konosuke-sumiiro-240-sld-gyuto.59706/
Likely stellar Blue 1 on this knife
https://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/...240mm-gyuto-kurouchi-finish-new-in-box.60006/
Shi.Han at a good price
https://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/threads/shihan-240-52100-gyuto-dropped.59741/#post-918307
This Togashi would be a good buy
https://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/threads/togashi-and-isasmedjan-240-gyutos.59344/
Click to expand...
Just take that Tanaka, it been whispering to my ears while I'm sleeping.
 
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