What are your opinions about the most respected knife? (Piece of advice for new comers)

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Here’s my thought:

Less talk! More knife buying!

Go buy a 210 or 240 off of BST. Check the vendor price to make sure that you’re getting a reasonable deal on a used knife. Bonus points for buying something that hasn’t been sitting for ages, although it’s hard to recognize as a newbie what will be popular and what won’t. Anyway, buy something! Then try it out. See what you like about it, and what you don’t like. Get some stones and learn to sharpen. Then sell the knife and buy another one. You shouldn’t lose too much money most of the time as long as you didn’t buy new. There are some great deals on BST at the moment, with so many people out of work. Help them sell their knives!
 
To me, respect is different from admiration. I can admire boutique makers who craft a handful of gorgeous high-dollar knives per year for the enthusiast market. But I have more respect for brands that continually crank out solid, affordable knives decade after decade, nailing the basics without extravagant flourishes. In that regard, I have a ton of respect for Misono's moly and swedish series, and CCK.
 
DitmasPork said:
I got my first J-knife before I even heard of KKF, didn't know any j-knife users to get opinions from, think an early influence was ChefTalk and some dude named BoarDeLaze.
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haha that’s a trip... I also started at chef talk and BoarDLaze. Nogents from the best guys, Masamoto KS and Konosuke HD, and Guillotine and glide.
 
I agree with Ian (edit). You can read a thousand pages and watch others dice onions until your eyes fall out, but it is better to just make a sub 200$ pick in the BTS forum. You might lose 20$ if you dont like it and need to re-sell. But then you've learned what you liked and what you didnt and can go from there next time.

My first knife was a kohetsue blue #2 / blue moon. I dont regret the purchase except that it got me started. If only I had chosen a Tojiro....

I still like Tojiros actually.
 
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I bought a Masamoto petty in mid-1980s in New York. A few weeks ago, I got a Munetoshi black gyuto to replace a Sabatier stainless chef's knife I had been using (without any particular joy) for decades. I like the western style knives, but I am getting used to the Munetoshi. What you like now may not be what you like later on.
 
DitmasPork said:
Confucius says, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Just gotta see something you need/want, and “commit” to it, buy it, don’t look back. Everyone starts somewhere, mistakes inevitable.
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Check disorder before it is rife.
A tree with a full span's girth begins from a tiny sprout.
A nine-storied terrace begins with a clod of earth.
A journey of a thousand li begins at one's feet.

...

Because he does not grasp, he does not let slip.
The affairs of men are often spoiled within an ace of completion
By being careful at the end as at he beginning
Failure is averted.

Therefor the sage desires to have no desire,
And values not objects difficult to obtain.

Tao Te Ching, Lao tzu, part of chapter 64
Lin Yutang translation
 
Corradobrit1 said:
Me too. BDL has a lot to answer for :p
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An influential voice of that time, got my Masamoto HC partially because he raved about it so much. It was my intro to J-knives. There're worse places to start off. I'd prob cringe if I went back and re-read some of the posts.
 
DitmasPork said:
An influential voice of that time, got my Masamoto HC partially because he raved about it so much. It was my intro to J-knives. There're worse places to start off. I'd prob cringe if I went back and re-read some of the posts.
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I purchased my Mac Pro and Masamoto VG 210 gyutos because of
BDL's advice, and an Edge Pro. He was kind of like EB White describes Charlotte the spider: a good friend and a good writer. Very patient with newbies and put a lot of thought and care, it seemed to me, into his descriptions. I put learning about and collecting knives away for a few years. Glad to be taking this in again.
 
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Depends on how you measure it. I could say someone like Bill Burke or Mareko Maumasi, who regularly make knives that buyers are willing to spend thousands on based as much on artistry as functionality; or someone like Kiyoshi Kato, master of traditional craft; or a blade made by a pure swordsmith such as Yasha Yukawa or Hiromune Takaba even though the choil shots of Takaba I’ve seen didn’t speak to high kitchen performance ... or Shigeki Tanaka, whose blades cut on a par with knives three times the price, or a Mac Pro, which is invariably orders of magnitude better than whatever you were using before that and as indestructible as a house knife. Or a cheap Chinese cleaver that shouldn’t, by any a priori measure, cut as well as it does in practice.

My personal answer is Bryan Raquin; my instance of his work does actually cut things twice as well as a $300 knife, I got a Mizuno KS style gyuto that I had been wanting so badly and is really just as good of a knife but could’t justify keeping both: I really only needed one or the other and decided to keep the Raquin. And a local knifemaker who has handled and forged a lot of nice knives was quite impressed with that one.
 
Corradobrit1 said:
Didn't know that. Sad to hear. He was one of the original 'influencers', certainly in my case.
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He was for me as well. I found his knowledge and willingness to share inspiring. I thought he mentioned he was writing something about knives. I wonder if he ever finished it, and if it got published. There's so little out there! I'm sorry he's passed.
 
Finding your favorite knives is not the same as finding the best knives. A knife is just a cover, then there is the whole book ...
cutting technique and what you cut, board, sharpening, edge repairs, edge maintenance ... Many very good, sought after, praised knives require many treatments, many favorite knives are not so demanding.
Everyone wants to help and advise well, but some have 100 Japanese stones, others sharpen on "brick", some (or their wives) wash the knives in the dishwasher, and others bathe with knives in camellia oil (necessarily with a full moon and like a cat barks three times )
A long way ahead of you, but even if you step in sometimes ... - the views are really beautiful!
 
The most respected knife will always be the one in your hand, as you cut food with it. You pay respect to the maker(s) with every cut; using a tool that they had pride making and confident it will do its job. You respect the tool by understanding its purpose (buy), appreciating its form (post), utilizing its function (cut) and maintaining its function (sharpen). Sometimes even pass on some of that respect (bst)

If one respects something out of precieved value ($) and name recognition, that would be mere idolization and not respect.

The lesson here is not to drink sake in the afternoon and always buy more knives = respect.

Cheers
 
Xenif said:
The lesson here is not to drink sake in the afternoon and always buy more knives = respect.
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When I first started, I stuck with a knife for a year before I realized I wasn't using it because I resented it for sucking. It was so passive aggressive. I feel like all knives that aren't collectors pieces should be shown ritually to the Thunder Dome; two knives enter, one knife leaves. Sounds brutal, but the whole process of it is very zen.
 
milas555 said:
Everyone wants to help and advise well, but some have 100 Japanese stones, others sharpen on "brick", some (or their wives) wash the knives in the dishwasher, and others bathe with knives in camellia oil (necessarily with a full moon and like a cat barks three times )
A long way ahead of you, but even if you step in sometimes ... - the views are really beautiful!
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no, No, No!

You have to find a virgin to bathe the knife in oil pure, when the cat barks thrice, under the whole moon for you, otherwise tis all for naught. Edge retention is significantly increased if they're wearing fully charged crystals as well.
 
LostHighway said:
Check disorder before it is rife.
A tree with a full span's girth begins from a tiny sprout.
A nine-storied terrace begins with a clod of earth.
A journey of a thousand li begins at one's feet.

...

Because he does not grasp, he does not let slip.
The affairs of men are often spoiled within an ace of completion
By being careful at the end as at he beginning
Failure is averted.

Therefor the sage desires to have no desire,
And values not objects difficult to obtain.

Tao Te Ching, Lao tzu, part of chapter 64
Lin Yutang translation
Click to expand...

and while all these are "wise words" they all mean jack **** imo. and i get why you posted them.
 
The only good kitchen knife:
FOSaussureAustralianTigerIron1.jpg


All the others are garbage. You're welcome.
 
Well for me top cutter is my Kiyoshi Kato 210 WH, then my Kiyoshi Kato 240 KU after that I like my Konosuke Fujiyama 240 B#2, my 240 Stainless clad B#2 Toyama, then my 210 B#2 Stainless clad Watanabe.
 
On a recent facebook poll amongst my non knife nerd colleagues...
The vote was almost universally Global!

Not owning any of the Kato / Shigefusa ... my favourite cutter is my Toyama.

But if I had to choose most respected... I would say whatever JKI recommend for me.
 
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