Searching for a <$200 gyuto

[sac36555]

The reason people keep recommending the Wakui is it has a fantastic grind, super thin behind the edge, but still feels substantial. F&F is excellent and it has a long, flat profile and is a great slicer. The White steel gets scary sharp and feel amazing on the stones. The SS cladding makes maintenance a breeze. It is made by a n up-and-comer Smith, so the prices are still low. You won’t find a better value in the $200 range period!

If you plan on going with the Tanaka Ginsan, just understand its a lighter knife. Tanaka’s are known for great heat treats and grinds, it their F&F is poor. The lite version is crazy light. I personally like a knife with more weight, but that’s personal preference. If you do get the Tanaka, definitely go with K&S. The F&F from Tanaka is sub par to say the least. James at K&S takes them and rounds the spines/choils and makes them more comfortable and the put on a much nicer handle. Yes they are a little more expensive, but it’s worth it. If you purchase from MetalMaster, you might be waiting 1 or 2 months to get your knife and no communication. James has great communication and will have your knife shipping in a couple days tops!

 

[Grunt173]

The lite version is very tempting with the price it's at. How much more difficult do you find it sharpening Ginsan steel than Aogami #2 or Shirogami #2?

Never gave it much thought actually.None of them are difficult to sharpen.
Reading on,I would beware of M&M. I read to many bad stories from other forum members ,that I personally would not take a chance. I would be gun shy.Ordering from K&S,you will get your knife yesterday.

 

[sac36555]

Never gave it much thought actually.None of them are difficult to sharpen.
Reading on,I would beware of M&M. I read to many bad stories from other forum members ,that I personally would not take a chance. I would be gun shy.Ordering from K&S,you will get your knife yesterday.

Agreed. James is on top of communication and shipping is lightning fast!

 

[Xenif]

$7 MM is SAL shipping,it can take 2-8 weeks, my last purchased item from MM he didnt even ship it out until 2weeks after payment, and took 2.5 months to arrive in total. MM Tanakas are really rough F&F especially the KU, but if you have some time to thin, sharpen and polish them they become amazing. They also dont carry the ginsan version, you will have to go with KnS for that.

Tanaka ginsan is not hard to sharpen, especially for a stainless, its not as as nice on the stones as a white or blue, but its also not "gummy", easy enough to bring up a burr, and deburr.

All this Tanaka and MM talk has me wanting another one, I still dont have a dammy B2 or better yet R2.

 

[LostHighway]

Personally, I would opt for KnS over MM just for the peace of mind and having the knife in hand weeks if not months earlier, not to mention the much better f&f on the KnS knives (save for plain vanilla, Ho-handled, Damascus 210 or the "Lite" version of the Ginsan). However, if it doesn't work financially it doesn't work. I'm sure you're aware that Tanaka, minus the KnS f&f improvements are available from a multitude of other dealers including CKtG. Whether one of the those other options is more viable I leave to your research. I'm not up on CAD exchange rates, save with the USD, or import duties so I can't help you there.
The Wakuis are available from A Frames Tokyo (under his Tesshu brand), Bernal, Epicurean Edge, Carbon Knife, KnS, Cleancut, and probably several others.
IMO going cheaper than Tanka or Wakui is going to buy you much less knife.

 

[Burtini]

Searched around a bit on K&S and came across the Sukenari Ginsanko. Ginsan steel and looks to have a really nice grind and profile. Does anyone have any experience with this blade? I can only seem to find it with the K&S handle.

 

[Lazyboy]

Searched around a bit on K&S and came across the Sukenari Ginsanko. Ginsan steel and looks to have a really nice grind and profile. Does anyone have any experience with this blade? I can only seem to find it with the K&S handle.

The sukenari ginsanko 210 and 240 both seem to be out of stock?
Be aware they run short, so heel to tip are listed as 205mm and 230mm respectively.

I have the 210 YXR-7 K-tip. If it's representative of sukenari, then it is certainly not thin ground (and one comment from James on K&S site about the HAP-40 says "As always, the grind of Sukenari is not the thinnest out there but to me it is still thin enough for most users")

 

[Nemo]

The Nashiji is thinner behind the edge. I've been told the Ginsan is lighter and thinner yet.

I'm pretty suere that both the Tanaka Ginsanko Najishi and the Tanaka blue2 Najishi have effectively identical grinds (obviously there will be knife to knife variation). The grind is a thinnish wide bevel. The profile is fairly curved for a Japanese knife (but nowhere near as curved as a German profile).

Brilliant value knives. The KnS version has nice handles and great spine and choil rounding.

 

[Grunt173]

I'm pretty suere that both the Tanaka Ginsanko Najishi and the Tanaka blue2 Najishi have effectively identical grinds (obviously there will be knife to knife variation). The grind is a thinnish wide bevel. The profile is fairly curved for a Japanese knife (but nowhere near as curved as a German profile).

Brilliant value knives. The KnS version has nice handles and great spine and choil rounding.

Yes.I have both in the 210 mm. and on my scale,they weigh exactly the same,6-1/4 oz. The grinds are the same but my Ginsanko just feels a hair thinner . Sure can't go wrong with either.

 

[parbaked]

Searched around a bit on K&S and came across the Sukenari Ginsanko. Ginsan steel and looks to have a really nice grind and profile. Does anyone have any experience with this blade? I can only seem to find it with the K&S handle.

The Sukenari Ginsanko blade from K&S is stamped and not hand forged like the Tanaka Ginsan and as Lazyboy stated the Sukenari is not a thin behind the edge. James explained the differences to me as follows:

"Tanaka Ginsan is exclusive to K&S and exteremely thin behind the edge. The cuttng performance is unrivaled in its category, and it is a true forged knife.
The Sukenari ginsan is not as thin as the Tanaka but is probably more suitable for users who just get into the Jknife world as the Tanaka is more delicate than the Sukenari (prone to chipping compared to the sukenari)."

 

[zizirex]

You could buy the Makoto Kurosaki AS from Knifewear for 285 CAD. a pretty decent deal. Ai and Om in Chinatown, Vancouver also sell Wakui but they don t have the 240 Gyuto unfortunately.

 

[DanDan]

In short: Listen to the recommendations from this forum.

Your most economical bet is ordering direct from Japan to Canada (re: shipping rates, import taxes & conversion), but I do not have a good specific recommendation for this right now. K&S Tanaka is also economical and highly recommended (as said).

If you want to order from Canada (and can up the budget), I'd recommend to take a look at this Mazaki (leftover from the Knifewear garage sale). Not sure if it meets your specific needs (but someone else may be able to answer this) and with taxes it may be more than another option. If you can wait, they will have another garage sale. They used to be pretty bad, but it looks like they have been brining in some better stuff lately.

Source: bought a Yuki a while ago but if I could do it over (with the current market) I would definitely grab something else.

 

[Burtini]

Anyone know if there's a grind difference between the Kurouchi Tanaka and the Nashiji? Hard to tell due to K&S not including heel shots.

 

[inferno]

I can recommend the JCK blue moon series. Takes a killer edge and keeps it. easy to get scary sharp.

 

[faverodefavero]

My vote goes for Munetoshi Sanjo brand if you can handle a somewhat project knife with great steel, heat treatment and forging. Otherwise I’d go for a Moritaka probably.