Which 210 nakiri?

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JaVa

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Hey guys, I'm entertaining the idea of a 210 nakiri, but haven't been looking at those before and I have no idea what's out there other than the Toyama. Probably there's not many choices so just throw out there any that come to mind.

Thanks. :)
 
Watanabe is the benchmark for nakiris right? Certainly the sexiest
 
For some reason I found the Toyoma just a little too large and difficult to handle. Too big for a nakiri and too small for a Chinese style clever. On the other hand, I used to own a Carter 210 he made special for me while he was still in Japan. That was a great knife! But given it wasn't seeing much use, I let it go on the bay. Still not sure if I should have done that.
 
I had a Shig 210 Nakiri (KU) for awhile that felt like a clunker to me. Didn't like it, didn't use it.

Had a few more including a shorter Carter but the Wat has become the standard for me. Was using it this morning and it brought a smile to my face. The good news is that its stainless clad blue and he does that combination quite well. The bad news is the longest length he'll do in stainless clad is 180mm.
 
There's the Toyama currently in stock at JNS, and that's basically it.

I have the 210. It's a very substantial blade, more like a mini cleaver than a nimble Nakiri. Destroys prep and loads of fun!

Just get it while it's available!

Cheers

J :)
 
Could possibly also consider the Shibata Kotetsu...
 
Thanks for all the suggestions! :)

Can't really go for a cleaver. I'm 100% sure it's way too tall for comfort for me.

I have a Tanaka 165 Nakiri and the Wat 180. I like them both, but I wan't to try a more substantial version with more length and like I said a cleaver probably wouldn't work. I've heard here that the 180 is the mostly preferred middle road size and I get that I would loose some of the nimbleness that's identified with using a nakiri, but that's kind of what I looking for with the added weight and length. I also would like to see does the added force compensate for the lost nimbleness the way I'm imagining it would.

So YES, a cleaver-nakiri hybrid sounds just about right for what I was thinking about and this would be a knife just for FUN more than anything else.

The Toyoma is definitely one of THE options, but just wanted to see if I've missed anything else worth considering.
 
Yep. Just get a cleaver. Honestly, 210mm nakiris don't make much sense. I owned a 210mm shig nakiri (maybe I sold it to Dave). It felt like a waste of good craftsmanship.

I love that so many knives have passed through your hands that you actually can't remember who you sold a Shig to :D
 
I should probably mention that I replaced my 210 Toyama with a 180 Wat. Very happy with its weight/size ratio. My other nakiri right now is a 180 Shig I also like it very much but for different reasons than the Wat. Its a very heavy duty knife for its size.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions! :)

Can't really go for a cleaver. I'm 100% sure it's way too tall for comfort for me.

I have a Tanaka 165 Nakiri and the Wat 180. I like them both, but I wan't to try a more substantial version with more length and like I said a cleaver probably wouldn't work. I've heard here that the 180 is the mostly preferred middle road size and I get that I would loose some of the nimbleness that's identified with using a nakiri, but that's kind of what I looking for with the added weight and length. I also would like to see does the added force compensate for the lost nimbleness the way I'm imagining it would.

So YES, a cleaver-nakiri hybrid sounds just about right for what I was thinking about and this would be a knife just for FUN more than anything else.

The Toyoma is definitely one of THE options, but just wanted to see if I've missed anything else worth considering.

I've never been a Nakiri fan least the 165 Moritaka and Takeda I've owned then was able to get my hands on a 180 Kato KU and my former opinion has flip flopped entirely. Moral of the story, never judge a knife until you try it for yourself.
 
I have to say, the Toyama 210 Nakiri is totally different to my Kato 180 Nakiri and CCK 1302 cleaver. I love them for very different reasons.
 
I've never been a Nakiri fan least the 165 Moritaka and Takeda I've owned then was able to get my hands on a 180 Kato KU and my former opinion has flip flopped entirely. Moral of the story, never judge a knife until you try it for yourself.

Good example but I bought a Kato 180 and totally hated it. A forum member in Norway now owns it and seems to think it's fine. To each his own I guess.
 
IMG_20170709_152630_268.jpg

Second from bottom.
 
I have a few cleavers, nakiris, and a nakiri/cleaver hybrid.

My sense is that cleavers are choppers, you can cut with speed and rhythm with the weight behind them. The nakiris are slicers (even my 270).

I had a nakiri made shaped like a cleaver (210x110) seeing if that would be an extremely thin cleaver. While serviceable, it misses the weight behind it.

Like fatboylim, I like both cleavers and nakiris, but they are very different in design and use.
 
There are guys in Japan that you could inquire about doing custom work like a 210mm nakiri. If you want "substantial" or something with some weight on it maybe talk to Heiji. I have a custom from him on the way soon that is quite different from what you normally see from him. His carbon is about as good as it gets for San mai in my opinion.
 
Since the choices are very limited the custom option is something I'll need to look into. Good Idea, thanks!

I'll try to check out some smaller cleavers as well.

:)
 
How different is a 210 nakiri from the 180 version? Some of the feedback here is that 210 is just less nimble and it defeats the purpose of a nakiri already, and 180 is already quite large. Taking Toyama as an example, some people like the 210 Toyama nakiri, others feel it's too much knife.

If you have a knife that is thinner and less workhorse than a Toyama to begin with, would getting 210 over 180 nakiri make sense for that knife?
 
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