i started with nice knives in 2017 when i got a gengetsu ss 240mm from jki. in an ocean of options, i probably bought it because it was being discussed here at the time. not that "famous, original version" that @daveb is always going on about, but awesome knife. truly. love everything about it including the chestnut handle. that knife was all i thought i needed until now.
idk what happened, but this summer, i started reading about knives online again. uh oh!
other knives i've used (surprisingly found them in a box of crap at my parents'):
so that's my "journey" of impulsively buying 7 knives in a few months. i hope you enjoyed this noob's perspective on the hobby.
(gengetsu ss 240mm, shi.han petty a2 150mm, carter perfect model kitchen 225mm (oiled in plastic wrap until xmas), tanaka 210mm, kono hd 240mm, victorinox 8" travel beater, SS germany cleaver)
idk what happened, but this summer, i started reading about knives online again. uh oh!
- shi.han petty A2 150mm: i knew i needed a petty, so i grabbed one here. just fell into my lap. basically didn't even know who shi.han was when i got it. dope knife, and i wouldn't mind trying one of his gyutos. but may eventually replace this petty with something else. maybe 180mm? maybe ground a bit thinner? i'd like to try a konosuke sanjo 180mm petty or some kind of takamura sg2/r2 180mm petty. also, the edge retention doesn't seem as good as my gengetsu, but it could be that family members just use it a lot more. i see them reach for it all the time. i think they dig the small size.
- Carter Funyun white1 225mm ("perfect model kitchen"): also from here. kind of for the heck of it. intended as an xmas gift to a family member. i'll let him play with it, and if he doesn't like it, i might sell it and get him something fully stainless/semi-stainless instead of just stainless clad with white core. i only cut up an onion with it, but it's a nice knife. maybe you're paying a lot for the name, but i can kinda see why he's famous. it's a real tall knife which also makes it pretty fun to use.
- Tanaka "Itadaki Serie" Gyuto 210mm white2: there are so many names in the knife world. i didn't know where to even start. after reading the forums daily since late july, i'm only now starting to feel familiar with the main ones. one that kept popping up was Yoshikazu Tanaka, so i grabbed one of his more accessible offerings from miura. my first knife that wasn't at least semi-stainless in some way. boy is it reactive. i enjoy using it. nothing fancy. i liked it enough to consider trying a higher end offering from him. i'll probably eventually sell this, and someone will get a real cheap tanaka to play with.
- Yoshikane SKD Nashiji Gyuto 240mm: the slightly less expensive (but seemingly identical) Hatsukokoro variant from K&S. a gift for a friend, so i resisted the urge to use it beyond a couple of test cuts. very nice! i think however putting an ebony handle on a thin-ish blade like this is possibly a poor choice, or at least not for me. makes the knife seem heavier than necessary, and the balance is too far back for my taste. but it sure looks nice. feels nice too aside from the fact that you can kinda feel the metal spacer (not flush with the handle). aside from the added weight from the handle, it reminds me A LOT of my ss gengetsu. in fact, i would have no problem replacing my gengetsu with some flavor of yoshi skd if it ever got stolen or something. actually, scratch that, i want to get one regardless. i think my favorite variants are the tosho konosuke sanjo followed by the konosuke ys/ys-m. this was actually going to be my next knife buy (was trying to patiently wait for a sale or something), but then other things happened...
- konosuke hd gyuto 240mm: i needed a gift for another friend who did me a huge favor, so i lucked out and found one here at a good price. this thing is very nice. now i see why the HD/HD2 line is so popular. after playing with it, i almost want to keep it or give it to a family member and get him something else. sheesh.
- Hitohira Tanaka x Kyuzo Blue #1 Stainless Clad Gyuto 240mm: grabbed it here. it's originally from carbon, i guess. people were poo-pooing it a little in the knife findings thread. generated a lot of discussion, but maybe the main complaint is that it's too expensive for what it is. or some people don't like wide bevels. whatever. it checks a lot of boxes for me, and it looks sweet af. couldn't resist trying it. i look forward to receiving it soon.
- Naohito Myojin SG2 Gyuto 240mm: managed to snag this from K&S tonight. really descending into degeneracy now with this impulse buy. between the tanaka x kyuzo and this, i might only keep one of them.
other knives i've used (surprisingly found them in a box of crap at my parents'):
- wusthof classic 8" chef's knife: haven't used it enough to form an opinion. seems ok. i sharpened it up and abandoned it at our summer home.
- Victorinox Fibrox Pro 8" Chef's Knife: this is my beater knife. not bad at all! sharpens easily and has decent edge retention. not great food release. i made a cardboard saya for it and bring it places with me like when i'm visiting friends with no sharp knives.
- some kind of made-in-germany SS 200mm cleaver: dunno who makes it because the logo is too worn. i might post a picture and ask later. the heft of it is fun. i'm glad i got a free opportunity to try a cleaver. the edge retention sucks too much to keep it in rotation though.
so that's my "journey" of impulsively buying 7 knives in a few months. i hope you enjoyed this noob's perspective on the hobby.
(gengetsu ss 240mm, shi.han petty a2 150mm, carter perfect model kitchen 225mm (oiled in plastic wrap until xmas), tanaka 210mm, kono hd 240mm, victorinox 8" travel beater, SS germany cleaver)