What were your first three and last three J-knives acquired?

Japanese Knives - by Tokushu Knife
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Things I've noticed over this journey:
- Turns out I like 'em tall, flat and the thinner the better ...
- I'm a bit of a sucker for presentation ...

FIRST (2016-2017)
Yoshihiro NSW vg10 210mm Gyuto
From: Amazon
Why: Appeared to be a fine first purchase, when knowing little to nothing about jknives. Sold later, but still think it was a fine knife.

Hamonoya-san 105mm ko-Deba blue 2
From: Seki Hamono
Why: Was driving through Seki, can't _not_ get a knife of some kind, picked smallest cool looking one .. turns out it's a very useful small knife, still serves me faithfully today.

Honmamon "Kaji crafstmanmade" Funayuki 165 white 1
From: Amazon
Why: I wanted to see more of carbon knives, but without breaking the bank, cheapest j-knife I've ever owned ($36). Honestly, still serves me great today next to some much more expensive knives.

LAST (last 3 months)
Dalman 220
From: Forums
Why: Because Dalman (I like lasers, this is my long-ish laser endgame, I only wish to get my hands on 240+ now)

Daovua Leaf Spring Gyuto 240m
From: CKTG
Why: It looks cool, something different to try/play with, very reasonable price, good performance at this price.

Shibata Kotetsu Bunka
From: De Meesterslijpers
Why: I like lasers, this is my small-ish laser endgame.
 
First:
1. Hattori FH 210 gyuto Western (sold it, handle too small), JCK
2. Hattori KD 210 gyuto Western, Japan
3. Konosuke HD 270 gyuto Western (sold it, too long, too laserish)

Last:
1. Wakui Hairline 180 gyuto, BST
2. Watanabe Pro 180 gyuto, BST
3a. Carter Muteki 215 gyuto (strictly no J-knife), Carter
3b. Ryusen Blazen 240 gyuto Western, hamono.nl / messenslijpen.nl
 
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daddy yo yo said:
Last:
1. Wakui Hairline 180 gyuto, BST
2. Watanabe Pro 180 gyuto, BST
3a. Carter Muteki 215 gyuto (strictly no J-knife), Carter
3b. Ryusen Blazen 240 gyuto, hamono.nl / messenslijpen.nl
Click to expand...
Boo, that's four, not three! ;)
 
First 3:
1) Sakai Takayuki VG10 180 Santokou
2) Kobayahi Raicho Noren Nakiri
3) Konosuke HD2 240 Gyuto

Last 3:
1) Shigefusa Kasumi 210 Gyuto
2) Konosuke Sanjo YS 240 Gyuto
3) Konosuke Fujiyama 240 Gyuto in Blue 1 - Frost Finish
 
First 3
Shun 240 Gyuto
Shun Santoku for the wife
Shun parer

Last 3
Kochi 240 carbon, will never sell this gem.
X
X
For the last 2 years or so, I have been reading this forum and procrastinating.
One day I may buy a couple more, for now I am good.
Thanks to all that make this place interesting.
 
pncnyi6.jpg
Click to expand...

would you mind posting a link or pic of the tilman gyuto on the bottom? :)
 
2010 240 misono dragon
2012 240 ktip konosuke hd
2012 Murray Carter petty eBay buy that led me here.

2018 240 Tanaka b1 240 Gyuto
2019 240 corian western hd Gyuto
2019 240 the.9nine wrought iron b2 Gyuto
 
Hei, I have three J-knives now so they are both my first three as well as my last three:

Kai Shun Kaji Gyuto 210mm (KDM0006)
Mac Yanagiba 290mm (FKW-10)
Mac Nakiri 160mm (JU-65)

I actually bought the two Macs primarily for my wife's use and she already used them to make a huge sushi feast for us this past weekend.
 
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My first three japanese knives were:

1- Yoshikane hammered SKD santoku (165 mm) bought locally, around 2013 from the only store specialized in japanese knives at the time for way too much money without being able to know who had made the knife. But since it was my first time trying a japanese knife, I was way impressed and thought the price was legit. I still enjoy the knife even though I mostly use gyutos (I had bought the santoku mostly because of my budget and because I didn't know of other places where I could buy a quality gyuto for the same price.) I just screwed the finish on this one but that's another story.

2- Kurosaki Shizuku R2 gyuto (240 mm) bought locally as well (last year) but from another source and after double checking prices. I thought the R2 would be a good idea for edge retention since I wasn't sharpening but I ended up buying stones not long after the knife. Really good cutter and beautiful knife. I think Kurosaki's work is often underestimated.

3- Mazaki W2 kasumi gyuto (240 mm) bought from JNS at the end of 2018. Since I had started sharpening, I thought it would be nice to sharpen a full carbon knife. It is indeed! I love the weight and feel of this knife and it's easy to get it really sharp. I chipped the tinyest bit of the tip but that's also another story...

My last three japanese knives:

See above :)
 
daddy yo yo said:
Last:
1. Wakui Hairline 180 gyuto, BST
2. Watanabe Pro 180 gyuto, BST
3a. Carter Muteki 215 gyuto (strictly no J-knife), Carter
3b. Ryusen Blazen 240 gyuto Western, hamono.nl / messenslijpen.nl
Click to expand...
Let me add one thing: it happens rarely that a knife really impresses me after having tried so many. I have been interested in the Blazen since the beginning of my journey in 2012. For some reasons I have never bought one, although I had almost bought one several times... Anyway, I have been eyeing a Blazen again since late last year and finally pulled the trigger. First of all, the buying experience with Elwin from hamono.nl/messenslijpen.nl was a pleasure. Shipping was very fast, packaging perfect - and then I tried the knife. Now I understand why there was such a craze about this knife and why it has been around for such a long time. Again, it rarely happens that a knife impresses me so much... The Blazen did. It is a keeper for me!
 
First 3 I think in 2015
Kikuichi molybdenum 240 Gyuto
Wanted a J-knife but didn’t want to order one online. My local store had a limited selection and this one felt right for me.

Akifusa PM 210 Gyuto
Wanted a smaller line type knife with harder steel

JCK Carbonext 150 Petty
Wanted a petty and to try something that wasn’t stainless

Last 3
Gesshin Ginga stainless 210 Petty
Gesshin Uraku white #2 180 Usuba
Syousin Gin-Sakura K-Tip 240 Gyuto
 
Seems like a lot of those who've posted—including myself—start with western handled stainless knives, then move on to wa handled carbons. Then again @labor of love seems to be rediscovering westerns.
 
First three:
Masakage shimo nakiri 170mm
Masakage koishi bunka 170mm
Masakage yuki sujihiki 270mm

Last three:
Hinoura river jump petty 150mm
Shigefusa kitaeji santoku 165mm
Shigefusa kitaeji «gyutohiki» 260mm
 
First Three:

(2012) 120mm Tojiro ITK petty- like so many, came upon CKTG and ChefTalk forum before other vendors and this forum. Sort of a nasty little knife- crappy handle, kurouchi comes off if you look at it funny, kept popping carbides off of the tip. Reactive as can be. Still, it got plenty sharp.

(2012) 150mm Fujiwara FKM- This one didn't speak to me. I didn't love the steel or the handle, and the height seemed a little low to me for board work.

(2012) Suien VC cleaver- VERY nice steel, and overall a well-made knife. I didn't like the handle and the balance of the thing, though... with a small handle and heavy blade, it always felt like is was just about to slip out of my hand. Also, the newer versions of these cleavers have a profile that is way too curvy for me.

Middle Four (since I've only every purchased 10 Japanese knifes, I figure I'll include them all):

(2013) 225mm Ashi Hamono cleaver (custom for someone else)- Ah, wonderful. I like everything about this knife. Getting really nit-picky, I'd have maybe a slightly flatter profile, but that's it. Gets very sharp, very easily, and seems to hold it for a good while, too. I think Ashi got the white #2 heat treatment just right on this one.

(2013) 150mm Tanaka Blue #2 petty- Nice shape and grind. A bit more reactive than I like. Replaced with VG-10 version in 2015.

(2014) 240mm Zakuri blue super gyuto- Definitely a monster of a knife. Liked the steel quite a bit. Large handle, long blade, and workhorse thickness made it a bit cumbersome for me. Thought I'd try a nicer gyuto than the crappy Richmond Artifect I'd had. It IS nicer, but still didn't sell me on gyutos.

(2015) 240mm Ashi Hamono “Ginga” gyuto in Swedish stainless- This one was a looker, for sure, at least to my tastes. Very nicely finished. Profile not flat enough for me. I still found myself always grabbing my Ashi cleaver instead. Sold the gyuto locally.

Most Recent Three:

(2016) 170mm Tojiro DP Santoku- I was sort of hoping that my wife and I would both like this knife. It didn't work out that way. Don't like the handle, don't like the profile, overall... just no. Bad juju for me. Just sold it today.

(2016) Seki Ryu SR510 cleaver- Cheapo $18 (at the time) veggie cleaver. As near as I can figure, made of 420J2 steel, which is totally bottom-of-the-barrel steel. Nice flat profile. I thinned it a lot when I got it. The Chinese-style oak handle is slippery, so I wrapped it in rubber. I use it a lot for small stuff with the small board.I have an unreasonable affection for this humble knife.

(2017) 150mm Tanaka Petty in VG-10- This replaced the blue #2 version I had before. No surprises, nice grind, nice profile. I like this steel as much as I did the blue #2- neither one really does it for me like the Ashi white #2 does, but still, a very useful knife. This is what my wife uses most of the time.

Ten J-knives knives in seven years- I guess I'm not much of a flipper!

What I've found out:

-I like cleavers... I don't seem to miss the point on a gyuto much, especially since I'm a vegetarian.

-Rounded profiles don't do it for me.

-I like simple carbon steels.
 
DitmasPork said:
Seems like a lot of those who've posted—including myself—start with western handled stainless knives, then move on to wa handled carbons. Then again @labor of love seems to be rediscovering westerns.
Click to expand...

Just a bit of musing: I could easily do everything I need at work and at home with my first two, maybe the Hiromoto and maybe not even, and a beater or cleaver — but only with also the techniques and knowledge of thinning, sharpening, profiles, grinds, etc. I’ve gained from the other few dozen!
 
GorillaGrunt said:
Just a bit of musing: I could easily do everything I need at work and at home with my first two, maybe the Hiromoto and maybe not even, and a beater or cleaver — but only with also the techniques and knowledge of thinning, sharpening, profiles, grinds, etc. I’ve gained from the other few dozen!
Click to expand...

I think 90% of my knives were acquired because of 'want' and not 'need.' I could've stopped after my first J-knife buys. My 240 Masamoto HC and 150 Mac Pro petty did the job well.
 
First 3
1) Suien Cleaver
2) Sakai yusuke 210 regular
3) Masakage Mizu Petty 120

Newest 3
1) Takeda Nas Small
2) Shigehiro Usuba
3) Gesshin Hide Antique Style
 
DitmasPork said:
Seems like a lot of those who've posted—including myself—start with western handled stainless knives, then move on to wa handled carbons. Then again @labor of love seems to be rediscovering westerns.
Click to expand...

It seems like if one mostly uses pinch grip then the shape of handle becomes largely irrelevant in a sense that it mostly provides a counter balance for the blade. The goal seems to then be to have a handle that is noticed as little as possible. Western handles are on average larger and heavier and because they are not actually being used as handles per say they interfere more than they help. Also, intricate and anatomically advanced western handles are a waste if one is not actually holding the knife by the handle. Then again I have a TX gyuto with a western handle which is very good in a pinch grip, but it is not due to it being western.

labor is just bored, he already tried every knife with WA handle in existence, so he doesn't really have a choice, has to go western at this point.
 
First three:
1. Tojiro DP 21cm gyuto
2. Tojiro DP 12cm petty
3. Mac Superior 10.5" bread knife

Latest three:
1. Gesshin Heiji 24cm gyuto
2. Watanabe Pro 18cm nakiri
3. Misono UX10 27cm sujihiki
 
Barmoley said:
Intricate and anatomically advanced western handles are a waste if one is not actually holding the knife by the handle..
Click to expand...

I'm gonna disagree slightly here, the grip on a western knife can sometimes be used differently than a wa-handle. You're essentially right about the forward pinch grip, but there are times when you want to do work with the tip of the knife, where the handle allows you to (for example) get more reach or change the wrist articulation quite significantly.

But in general a wa-knife is a differnt animal and really bette at slicing/drawing and flat-cutting, and other techniques that only really glance the cutting board with light pressure. The western chef really excells in rocking, leveraged cuts, draw-cuts (tip down) with more pressure, and splitting chickens etc where there tends to me more kinetic energy against the board or more leveralge there, and the handles sometimes are gripped differently in ways that make sense (at the back for maximum lever arm, etc).

Sort of playing devils advocate because its better to use the tool the way the tool works, than the way the handle on the tool works ;)

But there are some other shapes like petty knife or hon/garasuki where westen handles and this pointing/tip issue are more important than gyuto.
 
HRC_64 said:
I'm gonna disagree slightly here, the grip on a western knife can sometimes be used differently than a wa-handle. You're essentially right about the forward pinch grip, but there are times when you want to do work with the tip of the knife, where the handle allows you to (for example) get more reach or change the wrist articulation quite significantly.

But in general a wa-knife is a differnt animal and really bette at slicing/drawing and flat-cutting, and other techniques that only really glance the cutting board with light pressure. The western chef really excells in rocking, leveraged cuts, draw-cuts (tip down) with more pressure, and splitting chickens etc where there tends to me more kinetic energy against the board or more leveralge there, and the handles sometimes are gripped differently in ways that make sense (at the back for maximum lever arm, etc).

Sort of playing devils advocate because its better to use the tool the way the tool works, than the way the handle on the tool works ;)

But there are some other shapes like petty knife or hon/garasuki where westen handles and this pointing/tip issue are more important than gyuto.
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I absolutely agree, there are times and techniques where ergonomic Western handles rule. I was just commenting on DitmasPork's observation that members of this forum tended to start with Western handles and transitioned to WA. Since most here are into Japanese style knives and majority are into gyutos they tend to use pinch grip or similar and cutting techniques that go along with such knives and grips most of the time.
 
DitmasPork said:
Seems like a lot of those who've posted—including myself—start with western handled stainless knives, then move on to wa handled carbons. Then again @labor of love seems to be rediscovering westerns.
Click to expand...


Most entry level knives are western handled, then, as you upgrade, there are many more options available if you open up to wa handles, and the western counterparts are usually more expensive. Most of the guys going back to westerns are going for high end knives, with great handles and excellent balance.
 
I actually have a preference for western handles too whenever they are provided. I realized that “fall through food” feeling is more easily produced when the knife isn’t as blade heavy and more balanced. The kind of weight, ebony, ironwood, etc... adds cannot compare to a proper full-tang knife.
 
My "first three" was actually a set and my "most recent three" are only actually two so far.

"First Three"

Set of Shuna Soras (Chef, Bread, Paring)

Honestly, it wasn't a bad introduction to J knives, imo. I bought the set on impulse, which is a rare occurrence for me, after seeing Alton Brown shill them in a video. I think I was down to the last 200 USD in my bank account at the time and went "**** it, let's spend the last of my money on something nice that I can at least enjoy." They aren't great knives by any stretch of the imagination, and were probably overpriced for what they are, but I've had trouble finding any catastrophic flaws in them. They're all, at least along the edge, VG10, but they sharpen up really readily and hold an edge for a lot longer than I had hoped. The only big knock on the knives is the plastic handles.

"Most Recent Three (Two)"

Yoshikane (presumed Migaki) 210 mm gyuto, stainless clad W#2

I got this one from Panda here on the forum. This thing has been great. From my limited experience it seems to me to be a very good all around-er sort of knife. It's middling in just about everything that I can tell - length, beefiness, food release, in a way that makes it maybe not perfect for any one individual task, but that allows it to have far above satisfactory performance in basically anything you throw at it. It's easy as all hell to sharpen, and I'm sure my affection for it will only increase as my sharpening skills start to come along more. Also, the handle seems to me to be of exceptional quality. It has a pleasing but not cumbersome weight to it, and a sort of smooth compression to the wood like an old chair that's been heavily used. I'm not sure if that's from it being used already when I got it or if that's just how Yoshikane handles are, but it's really nice.

Masakage Koishi 150mm petty, stainless clad AS

This was from Knifewear and it's absolutely wicked. It's no laser by any stretch of the imagination, but it's incredibly thin behind the edge, and the taper to the tip is wild. It's not the best thing in the world for push cutting, as it's not really tall enough for your hand to not be in the way, but pull cutting with the first 1/3 of the blade feels like the food isn't even there. It's also small enough that I can use it as a sort of large paring knife so long as I'm careful around the choil. I haven't had it long enough to comment on edge retention or give a super in depth analysis but so far I'm really enjoying using it. The handle feels maybe cheaper than the Yoshikane's but I'm not sure. It may just not have the heft as it's a much smaller knife, or it may just be the wood still feels a little bit raw because it hasn't been handled so much.
 
First three:


Konesuke honyaki blue #2 210 mm gyuto
Carter HG 150 petty
DOI Blue #2 270 mm yanagiba

Last three:

Shigefusa 240 mm Usuba
Ikeda mizu honyaki 300 mm yanagiba
Shigefusa 180 mm deba

The first three have all been given to friends, and the last three (along with a Hinoura tall parer and heavy Chinese cleaver) do most everything in our kitchen, though I wish the usuba was 210 mm or even 180 mm- 240 is just too much knife for me.
 
1st three: Misono Swedish honesuki, Ghesshin Uraku 270 yanagiba Itinomon SS 210 gyuto
last three: Masamoto Tsukiji 180 petty, Mazaki 220 gytuo, Evan Antzenberger 240 honyaki gytuo
special mention: Jean-José Tritz differentially hardened 450 parang *evil laughter
 
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