Wakui 240mm Gyuto- best value knife under $200. Prove me wrong!

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No need to be confused, most of the knives mentioned are very good and excellent for the price. Different people like some better than others, but they are all worth trying to see what works best for you. Just get whichever one interests you the most or is available and go from there. Hard to make a mistake among the choices discussed.
 
minibatataman said:
Okay so for us noobs looking, wakui, Tanaka, mazaki, or munetoshi?
Or at least how would you compare them to each other? (Pros and cons of each basically)
I've been going back and forth for months about which one I should buy :s
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Wakui = thinnest behind the edge and the one that drops through food the most. Very consistent quality

Tanaka = next thinnest. Still thin but a good-at-everything grind. Very consistent quality

Mazaki = second beefiest. If you get a good one I can definitely see how it’d be a good knife. That said, they have wildly inconsistent grinds and if you get a fatty you have absolutely zero chance as a noob to fix it on the stones. As an experienced sharpener it took several hours and sessions to get it right. Unfortunately Maxim is selectively allowing only good product reviews to go on his site now like chefknafstogo as my review of my Mazaki was never allowed. I know for a fact that another buyer who got lumped with an utterly useless, crazy reactive piece of pointy metal would have made their decision differently in the face of a balanced product review section. You also have zero chance of getting a fair view round here in the face of a torrent of fanboy hype. They’re also quite a bit north of $200.

Munetoshi - beefiest, but solid looking knives.
 
Unfortunately Maxim is selectively allowing only good product reviews to go on his site now like chefknafstogo as my review of my Mazaki was never allowed [/QUOTE said:
.



That is incredibly disappointing to hear. Did you contact him to ask why it your review was disallowed?
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Badgertooth said:
I know for a fact that another buyer who got lumped with an utterly useless, crazy reactive piece of pointy metal would have made their decision differently in the face of a balanced product review section. You also have zero chance of getting a fair view round here in the face of a torrent of fanboy hype. They’re also quite a bit north of $200.
.
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I know you’d singing a different song if you’d received my Maz, but mine is also version 3.4.25 from a different vendor, and for that I’m sorry. But there’s always one rotten in the bushel, guessing it was the one that landed at your door...[emoji24]
 
tgfencer said:
I mean not if you think about it logically. Do you want stainless or carbon? Do you like flat profiles or more curve? Do you want a beefy spine or do you value thinness behind the edge? All the answers have been provided, you just need to determine what attributes you want the most.
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But thats exactly my point, it's hard to decide what you like when you haven't tried that much, and cant afford buying multiples.
But yeah I have a rough idea what I want now, thanks for all the input you guys
 
minibatataman said:
But thats exactly my point, it's hard to decide what you like when you haven't tried that much, and cant afford buying multiples.
But yeah I have a rough idea what I want now, thanks for all the input you guys
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Errr, just get one. Your problem can't be solved by others. They already gave you the best options with their particular characteristics. What else are they supposed to say? There's no single best knife option, that doesn't exist, different people like different stuff. And guess what? Others can't figure out what you like for you.
Just go with any of those and it will be a good knife at worst.
 
You 'll need to dive at some point.
I came , as you, not long time ago on this forum as newbie with japanese knifes and got more or less the same advices.
Ain't easy to decide when unable to try one or other but looks like steel price is going north soon. So better take a dive quickly, more or less
I went Kaeru route and had a chance to have my brother involved and to find a nice forum member selling his Munetoshi.So I'll be able to handle both :)
If you are not pleased ,you can either trade or sale it here on bst , there always will be newbie as I am to buy second hand BNIB

Suerte
 
Does anyone have the Wakui KU gyuto (Cleancut) AND Migaki hairline version (Bernal or Epic Edge) that can speak to the grind of each?

I have the KU gyuto and Migaki hairline nakiri. The grind couldn’t be more different, but that may just be a result of the different knife type.

I’m curious how the gyutos stack up against each other.
 
[QUOTE="tgfencer, post: 580287, member: 22966" That is incredibly dissapointing to hear. Did you contact him to ask why your review was disallowed?]

“That is incredibly dissapointing to hear. Did you contact him to ask why your review was disallowed?”

Na, what’s the point of another unanswered email? The last person I know of that returned a Mazaki got treated with such contempt and charged a restock fee. It must be pointed out that in my ordering notes I very specifically asked for one that was thin behind the edge - a perfectly reasonable request.
 
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Tanaka (KU) B2 was my jumping point, that thing was rough, so many low spots ..... But it taught me a lot about caring, maintaining, sharpening, polishing, etc. and at that price I wasn't too hesitant to try diffrent different things, the total experience gained was worth many many times that of the knife imho.
For practical purposes I think the Kaeru is hard to beat, tough, (mostly)stainless, low maintenance, and the profile is stellar. But it also the most right handed grind of the bunch mentioned. One of those knives you want to reach for all the time without thinking.
Between Mazaki and Munetoshi, I preferred the Mune steel a lot more, I have the "Charcoal White 2" Maz steel and it didnt really impress me at all. The Mune steel is harder, crisper, but still felt great on stones, winner by my books.
Tanaka Ginsanko are light and thinnish, my fav stainless.
Another knife to add to the $200 class is probably the Ginga in #w2 and swedish stainless, those are pretty great if you like the lighter, thinner, less heel height.
 
Badgertooth said:
Na, what’s the point of another unanswered email? The last person I know of that returned a Mazaki got treated with such contempt and charged a restock fee. It must be pointed out that in my ordering notes I very specifically asked for one that was thin behind the edge - a perfectly reasonable request.
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Bah, that's frustrating. A restocking fee is acceptable I suppose- it is stated in his terms and conditions- but contempt and padded reviews are not. Put this alongside things like a $1600 price tag for a 25mm thick ohira suita and the reasons for doing business with him are decreasing. I've had good experiences myself in the past, but perhaps 'the past' may be key there.[/QUOTE]
 
I briefly owned a KU Tanaka blue 2 from James. I think it was only $150ish and that’s including a nice James ebony handle.
The stainless clad blue 2 Tanaka’s and ginsanko Tanaka’s should be a step up with rounding of spine and choil for a few more bucks. Can’t speak for high/low spots in grind from a comparative basis. But they all cut in a superior fashion at this price point.
 
labor of love said:
I briefly owned a KU Tanaka blue 2 from James. I think it was only $150ish and that’s including a nice James ebony handle.
The stainless clad blue 2 Tanaka’s and ginsanko Tanaka’s should be a step up with rounding of spine and choil for a few more bucks. Can’t speak for high/low spots in grind from a comparative basis. But they all cut in a superior fashion at this price point.
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I should add mine was the El Cheapo MM version, but was also like $120 or less. And yes it is a great cutter.
 
minibatataman said:
But thats exactly my point, it's hard to decide what you like when you haven't tried that much, and cant afford buying multiples.
But yeah I have a rough idea what I want now, thanks for all the input you guys
Click to expand...
Just bite the bulletand try them all one at a time like the rest of us.
 
Badgertooth said:
Wakui = thinnest behind the edge and the one that drops through food the most. Very consistent quality

Tanaka = next thinnest. Still thin but a good-at-everything grind. Very consistent quality

Mazaki = second beefiest. If you get a good one I can definitely see how it’d be a good knife. That said, they have wildly inconsistent grinds and if you get a fatty you have absolutely zero chance as a noob to fix it on the stones. As an experienced sharpener it took several hours and sessions to get it right. Unfortunately Maxim is selectively allowing only good product reviews to go on his site now like chefknafstogo as my review of my Mazaki was never allowed. I know for a fact that another buyer who got lumped with an utterly useless, crazy reactive piece of pointy metal would have made their decision differently in the face of a balanced product review section. You also have zero chance of getting a fair view round here in the face of a torrent of fanboy hype. They’re also quite a bit north of $200.

Munetoshi - beefiest, but solid looking knives.
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hey... just curious if this is the product that you're talking about, as I can see a negative review on there that may belong to you
http://www.japanesenaturalstones.com/mazaki-kasumi-gyuto-240mm/
 
yup... i could see that happening... i just wanted to look into it because maksim and I use the same review system, and sometimes i have issues with reviews not showing up properly or showing up on the wrong item, and its hard to fix.
 
Badgertooth said:
That’s the one [emoji121]️ that was submitted 24 Oct and wasn’t there as recently as a few days ago when I cross referenced based on an inbound message from another member who received a fatty.
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for what its worth, i alnost never touch our review system (except to get rid of spam stuff and overtly blatant trolling from time to time), but reviews dont always post right away automatically... just a function of how yotpo seems to work
 
Yeah, let’s get it back on track, apologies for the rant. Wakui hairline 270, Bernal version:
IMG_5039.jpg
 
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