Why tall knives?
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applepieforbreakfast
Senior Member
I'm actually quite sad I missed this
They're still around. ~40mm at the heel.
Tanaka Ginsan
Tanaka Blue 2
Cooking at home so take it with some salt.
- scooping stuff is great.
- my overly aggressive pinch grip with finger running down from spine to edge now fits .. I feel like I have much more control this way.
- slightly heavier weight but still thin, which I found I like now.
- more area for the other hands' knuckles to guide the blade.
- more area for the grind to curve and maybe better food release because of it, really depends, sometimes worse as more area to stick to as well.
- more area for bling damascus to shine.
- looks more impressive in general .. and yes I care about looks and shape more then most people should, I guess.
- scooping stuff is great.
- my overly aggressive pinch grip with finger running down from spine to edge now fits .. I feel like I have much more control this way.
- slightly heavier weight but still thin, which I found I like now.
- more area for the other hands' knuckles to guide the blade.
- more area for the grind to curve and maybe better food release because of it, really depends, sometimes worse as more area to stick to as well.
- more area for bling damascus to shine.
- looks more impressive in general .. and yes I care about looks and shape more then most people should, I guess.
kennyc
Well-Known Member
Ain't that the truth - large flashy surfaces is about half the reason I started into chef knives at all
jacko9
Senior Member
As much as I love my T-F 150 Petty there is no substitute for a tall Watanabe 240 Gyuto for most products in my kitchen.
I started with a 200/46 Diplôme Gyuto.
Discovered a love for much taller heel using a Rosewood 10" Chef at 255/54.
Had a Misono that was a joy to use except that food was overflowing it like crazy - that's their 210 Gyuto that is really a 220/44. That one was sold since, and certainly not because it's a bad knife. I would use it sometimes if I still had it, but don't regret selling it.
Had a Mazaki nakiri at 187/56. Crazy fun and surprisingly precise for the heft of it. Didn't care much for the absence of tip, because I don't segregate my preps all that much - I choose the best one knife I have for the whole task ahead, and it needs to be good at trimming stuff and doing precise cuts too. Sold since - no regrets.
Have a Moritaka that I feel is a bit short for 240mm at 50mm tall. However it has such shoulders and a thick geometry that it pushes food away, so with some work on the grind I had it flow through stuff without much overflow.
Went full blown into a search for the "perfect" length vs height - and finally settled on a Matsubara 230/55 that is really thin behind the edge and has a nice thickening and convexing far above it. I really love that knife, although with some preps I sometimes would like it to be more heavy, while in others I feel it's perfect. However, I consider myself lucky to like it so much, because I discovered that this kind of height is best suited for at least 240mm - still according to personal equilibrium - and that if any other profile or geometry I could really hate the Matsubara.
Realized that there are too much factors at play in my preferences to continue focusing on a couple simple aspects, but on the other hand I will never be one for too short a Gyuto for the length. Misono is just out of my equilibrium at 220/44, although a very good knife. Mileage will vary, the best is trying as much knives as possible. I'm tall and have long hands and fingers, that inclines me to certain things.
I'm finding joy these days playing around with two 210mm that are both 46mm high. With one I find the overflowing can become a problem in heavy preps. With the other not so much. They have very different geometries and profile, and different areas of expertise. I don't like one any better than the other - I just love both.
It cannot be argued, what you will like best. It may be ill-advised however to focus too much on certain aspects - you could pass by the greatest knife for you for a couple of mm.
Discovered a love for much taller heel using a Rosewood 10" Chef at 255/54.
Had a Misono that was a joy to use except that food was overflowing it like crazy - that's their 210 Gyuto that is really a 220/44. That one was sold since, and certainly not because it's a bad knife. I would use it sometimes if I still had it, but don't regret selling it.
Had a Mazaki nakiri at 187/56. Crazy fun and surprisingly precise for the heft of it. Didn't care much for the absence of tip, because I don't segregate my preps all that much - I choose the best one knife I have for the whole task ahead, and it needs to be good at trimming stuff and doing precise cuts too. Sold since - no regrets.
Have a Moritaka that I feel is a bit short for 240mm at 50mm tall. However it has such shoulders and a thick geometry that it pushes food away, so with some work on the grind I had it flow through stuff without much overflow.
Went full blown into a search for the "perfect" length vs height - and finally settled on a Matsubara 230/55 that is really thin behind the edge and has a nice thickening and convexing far above it. I really love that knife, although with some preps I sometimes would like it to be more heavy, while in others I feel it's perfect. However, I consider myself lucky to like it so much, because I discovered that this kind of height is best suited for at least 240mm - still according to personal equilibrium - and that if any other profile or geometry I could really hate the Matsubara.
Realized that there are too much factors at play in my preferences to continue focusing on a couple simple aspects, but on the other hand I will never be one for too short a Gyuto for the length. Misono is just out of my equilibrium at 220/44, although a very good knife. Mileage will vary, the best is trying as much knives as possible. I'm tall and have long hands and fingers, that inclines me to certain things.
I'm finding joy these days playing around with two 210mm that are both 46mm high. With one I find the overflowing can become a problem in heavy preps. With the other not so much. They have very different geometries and profile, and different areas of expertise. I don't like one any better than the other - I just love both.
It cannot be argued, what you will like best. It may be ill-advised however to focus too much on certain aspects - you could pass by the greatest knife for you for a couple of mm.
Keith Sinclair
Senior Member
Did at work & still do at home a lot of chopping. Tall heels are good for that and forward push cuts.
One knife doesn't do it all also enjoy light nimble blades used those at work too.
Heard about Gengetsu for years before finally got one. White steel wide lamination line just like yours. That knife to me has a superb grind and better than average edge retention for white steel. Easy to get very sharp.
One knife doesn't do it all also enjoy light nimble blades used those at work too.
Heard about Gengetsu for years before finally got one. White steel wide lamination line just like yours. That knife to me has a superb grind and better than average edge retention for white steel. Easy to get very sharp.
Home cook here, I dont need to think fatique, space etc. I like taller blade most for the weight and "room for grind". For example Toyama 240 ss clad which I sold weight around 205gr and the iron clad one weights around 250gr. Both cutted real well and I couldnt really tell difference in performance but the iron clad feels much better in hand and use. I am around 6'2 and bigger hands than averige and my pinch grip fits better with taller blades(most of the handles are too thin for my "normal" pinch grip and that is why my grip is more on the blade size). Beeing said that, I like narrower knives too like Sakai Kikumori sujigyuto(46mm), Ohishi 180 gyuto, Takamura r2 santoku etc
Luftmensch
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They don't want to admit they like santokus
..... weeeeee..... [duck for cover]....
DitmasPork
Senior Member
I was out of the jknife game for a few years, and it seems like tall knives have really taken over as the preference for gyutos. Everyone seems to want like 54+ mm.
Why is that? I understand the desire for knuckle clearance, and I can see how a taller blade might be a bit more stable in the cut, but I definitely don't feel like a 50mm knife is unstable. Nor does it feel like 50mm is too short for the grind to do the work.
The best cutters I ever owned are a ginga 240 (sold, still regret) and gengetsu 240 (recently acquired). Both are about 48mm at the heel. Neither ever seemed short to me. To the contrary, I feel like the dimensions were dialed in about perfect -- at least for me and my preferences. Then again, I have no experience with taller knives like toyama, watanabe, masashi kobo, etc.
I have seen previous threads discussing tall knives and people expressing preferences for them, but I can't find anything specifically explaining why tall knives have taken over.
What am I missing?
"Everyone seems to want like 54+ mm"—who's "Everyone..."? I like both short and tall, preference depends on the knife, my mood and what I'm cooking. Sweet spot for majority of my 225–240 gyutos are 50–53, which suits me fine.
NO ChoP!
Old Head
My Kikumori is 60mm, and cuts more effortlessly than anything I've ever used. The height helps to line up for very straight cuts.
On the flip side I have a 240 Ikeda (actual edge is more like 225) that is only 43mm tall, but the grind is wonderful; robust yet thin at the edge. Feels more like an extension of the hand.
I also own the Tanaka "line knife", which I really dig. I actually use it on heavy meat fab days, when it can pull double duty as a veg prep knife too.
I would say my sweet spot is a true, or slightly long 240mm, and slightly tall 50-53mm'ish.
On the flip side I have a 240 Ikeda (actual edge is more like 225) that is only 43mm tall, but the grind is wonderful; robust yet thin at the edge. Feels more like an extension of the hand.
I also own the Tanaka "line knife", which I really dig. I actually use it on heavy meat fab days, when it can pull double duty as a veg prep knife too.
I would say my sweet spot is a true, or slightly long 240mm, and slightly tall 50-53mm'ish.
