# Best knife for mid to high level experience



## charcuterie (Jan 12, 2013)

I am new to this forum.

I am not new to the culinary field though.

I work in a Bistro right now doing Garde Manger/ Prep/ Line when needed. I also an in my second year of Culinary School.

So for home and use by just me I want a knife but I do not want a German Knife. This wouldn't be for use at school or at where I work.

I want a Japanese chefs knife but there are so many different choices and different kinds of handles/ steels. Im not looking for something like the Fujiwara FKD. I am looking for something that has a razor sharp edge but is not through the roof price wise. So what is the best middle of the road option. Your thought opinions etc will be greatly appreciated THANKS


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## toddnmd (Jan 23, 2012)

It might help if you could give more info.  Are you interested in stainless, semi-stainless, or carbon?  Wa or yo handle?  Laser or something more robust?  Your cutting style?  It might also be helpful for you to tell why you don't want German (lots of good reasons, of course).  You might also want to be more specific about your budget range--"middle of the road" can vary quite a bit, depending on whether you're on a country lane, or on a superhighway . . . Anything that you're seriously considering so far?

(And of course the inevitable, "How do/would you sharpen?")


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## charcuterie (Jan 12, 2013)

See this is what I dont understand there are so many different kind of metals. Wa is cool wouldnt mind yo either though. My cutting style is quick but precise as I Am in the culinary field. I dont want German bc it is too heavy. Middle of the road meaning 150 to 200. Havent thought about sharpen


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## charcuterie (Jan 12, 2013)

See this is what I dont understand there are so many different kind of metals. Wa is cool wouldnt mind yo either though. My cutting style is quick but precise as I Am in the culinary field. I dont want German bc it is too heavy. Middle of the road meaning 150 to 200. Havent thought about sharpenimg yet


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## grahapes (Jan 13, 2013)

I really enjoy my Yoshihiro 240mm Hammered Damascus Gyuto. VG-10 damascus holds an excellent edge but needs proper stones to spit hairs. NSF approved, and i do use it in a professional kitchen. Yo handle, full tang, pakkawood handle, little heavier and a little thicker than average Gyuto but nothing like a western. Balance point right under the edge start point, where the bolster would be. My go to onion knife.





  








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grahapes


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Jan 13, 2013


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## charcuterie (Jan 12, 2013)

Where do you find that at looks very nice.

Could not find it on the CkTG website.

Have you heard anything about the Tojiro knives?

The ITK is sub 100 and gets great reviews.

Is this a more starters knife?


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## charcuterie (Jan 12, 2013)

Charcuterie said:


> Where do you find that at looks very nice.
> 
> Could not find it on the CkTG website.
> 
> ...


Have you ever heard of Sjecicap seller on ebay I found it on there. I don't about buying knives through ebay though


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## grahapes (Jan 13, 2013)

You can find it on amazon, not a true Damascus knife. The folds are purely cosmetic although the hammered dimples help to prevent food sticking to the blade, similar to a granton or hollow edge blade.

Tojiro are absolutely great knives, and your not going to find much of that quality or reputation at that price point. You can find tons of information on Tojiro on this forum as well as the Internet. They are more of a great Knives to start with, then starter knifes


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## rdm magic (Apr 16, 2012)

Charcuterie said:


> Where do you find that at looks very nice.
> 
> Could not find it on the CkTG website.
> 
> ...


The ITK range also gets its fair share of bad reviews.

You won't consider the Fuji FKM, but you'd consider an ITK? Reasoning?


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## franzb69 (Jul 9, 2012)

the yoshihiro knife posted is identical to CKTG's sakai takayuki hand hammered in VG10. 

the ITK is hard to handle specially on the line coz it's really reactive when new and the kurouchi gets rubbed off over time. as a person who doesn't have time to take care of things like that, i'd go with stainless or semi stainless knives.


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## charcuterie (Jan 12, 2013)

As I stated before I will not be using it on the line at work or school. Its just for personal home usage.


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## charcuterie (Jan 12, 2013)

rdm magic said:


> The ITK range also gets its fair share of bad reviews.
> 
> You won't consider the Fuji FKM, but you'd consider an ITK? Reasoning?


The Fuji FKM looks like it has the J knife styling but looks very simple. Also it still looks very German even though its a J Knife. Also I didn't know this b/c I am not too familiar with these knives but are they comparable?


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## charcuterie (Jan 12, 2013)

FranzB69 said:


> the yoshihiro knife posted is identical to CKTG's sakai takayuki hand hammered in VG10.
> 
> the ITK is hard to handle specially on the line coz it's really reactive when new and the kurouchi gets rubbed off over time. as a person who doesn't have time to take care of things like that, i'd go with stainless or semi stainless knives
> 
> ...


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## charcuterie (Jan 12, 2013)

What would you suggest for the price range? 100-200 even if you think anything is a bargain or a really good buy sub 100

Sorry I am all over the place with responses.


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## rdm magic (Apr 16, 2012)

Heres my opinion.

You need to hammer down your budget. You know how much you want to spend, but when you say 100-200 or under 100, it widens the range too much. Do you want to keep it under 100$, or are you happy to spend 200$? Bang for your buck or real quality?

You have to make a budget for sharpening. You want something with a razor edge, but it won't keep the razor edge. If anything, the sharpening is more important than the actual knife you buy.


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## franzb69 (Jul 9, 2012)

check out jon's stuff on Japanese knife imports, specially the uraku and zakuri lines. you might like something there if you don't mind carbon. sorry didn't read your post well.


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## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

Don't waste your money on a good knife until you can make some sort of time and money commitment to learning to sharpen.  Just about anything can be "razor sharp" if you know how.  An adequate sharpening kit will cost you no less than $100; and better costs more.  Sometimes significantly more. 

The first thing is to wrap your head around the idea that sharp is up to you and not the knife.

There are a lot of good knives for less than $200.  If you want to make a rational choice, you're going to have to come up with a better idea of what you want. 

A recent purchase has me reconsidering the priorities of "first good knife" purchasing, especially for people -- like pros -- who use their chef's a lot.  I'm beginning to think the first question is whether you want an all purpose gyuto which can stand up to a lot of abuse, would rather have something light and agile but which needs a back up for the heavy duty stuff, or are trying to split the difference.  Each choice is valid, but each will lead you to different hardware. 

BDL


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## charcuterie (Jan 12, 2013)

boar_d_laze said:


> Don't waste your money on a good knife until you can make some sort of time and money commitment to learning to sharpen. Just about anything can be "razor sharp" if you know how. An adequate sharpening kit will cost you no less than $100; and better costs more. Sometimes significantly more.
> 
> The first thing is to wrap your head around the idea that sharp is up to you and not the knife.
> 
> ...


Exactly! Why I don't want to spend the money for a really good knife yet.

I do a lot of cooking.

But since it will just be for use at home. I will be taking alright to good care of it. I also like what you said about splitting the difference that is rather true. Basically I am just looking for a good everyday knife that doesn't have to stand up to rigorous beatings. Just something I will be happy with sub 200 pretty much.


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## toddnmd (Jan 23, 2012)

Since your original figure was $150-200, it's probably worth that for a general use gyuto.  You'll get a significantly better knife that you can use for a long time.  Better than spending $80 now and a year later deciding you want to spend $200 on a similar type of knife (unless you're in the very early stages of becoming a knife collector--you'd have LOTS of company on here . . . ;-)   You could go more budget for other knives in your home collection, but you'll likely get quite a lot of value in a good gyuto.

I'd guess carbon isn't the best choice for you, if you're not going into it fully committed to its care.  So, that leaves stainless or semi-stainless, or possibly a carbon core knife clad with stainless.  You know your work habits better than we do, and can better predict the level of care you want to give this knife. 

Is there any way for you to try out a wa handle, either at some store, or by handling one in a store?  My singular data point is that I got my first wa about a year ago, and found the transition a non-issue.  The entire knife is so light it's just a pleasure to use. 

You (or others) may think or feel differently about various aspects of what I've written.  But that's my interpretation of what you've expressed so far, which will hopefully help to guide you to narrowing the decision.

And you will need to come up with a long-term sharpening plan and budget to truly realize the benefits of investing in high-quality knives.


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## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

Posted by *toddnmd* 


> ... I'd guess carbon isn't the best choice for you, if you're not going into it fully committed to its care. So, that leaves stainless or semi-stainless, or possibly a carbon core knife clad with stainless. You know your work habits better than we do, and can better predict the level of care you want to give this knife.
> Is there any way for you to try out a wa handle, either at some store, or by handling one in a store? My singular data point is that I got my first wa about a year ago, and found the transition a non-issue. The entire knife is so light it's just a pleasure to use...


+1 to this stuff.

BDL


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## charcuterie (Jan 12, 2013)

Yes everything you said is correct.

I have used a Wa handle before I like it. Does not bother me in the slightest. My boss has a Shun Elite w/ a Wa Handle its a great knife very sharp. But he beats the crap out of it. So many chips in it already. I would not bring my knife to work with me or abuse it like that what so ever. So what would your recommendation be?


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## charcuterie (Jan 12, 2013)

Was just on JKI and saw this

http://www.japaneseknifeimports.com...u/gesshin-uraku-300mm-stainless-wa-gyuto.html

How are the gesshin's? anyone know anything about them?


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## rdm magic (Apr 16, 2012)

boar_d_laze said:


> Don't waste your money on a good knife until you can make some sort of time and money commitment to learning to sharpen. Just about anything can be "razor sharp" if you know how. An adequate sharpening kit will cost you no less than $100; and better costs more. Sometimes significantly more.
> 
> The first thing is to wrap your head around the idea that sharp is up to you and not the knife.
> 
> ...


Whats the 'adequate' sharpening kit that costs around 100$?


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## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

> Whats the 'adequate' sharpening kit that costs around 100$?


There's no "the," as in one best choice for everyone. There are a number of adequate sharpening kits depending on your knives and whether or not you're willing to learn to use bench stones.

For people who are willing to learn, who also use knives made of modern, strong alloys, which aren't too hard to steel a good example of adequacy on a tight budget would be a decent synthetic, combination water stone, plus a good quality, reasonably priced, ceramic hone.

I think most people in that situation would be better off spending the extra money to buy separate stones, but (a) that's one step better than adequate; and (b) the money for their kits doesn't come out of my pocket.

However, the most important thing is making sure that the sharpening kit will be used. Some people -- a lot of people, in fact -- are much better served by something without a learning curve. For instance a pull-through or electric sharpening machine.

Forget about "best," and focus on "really good" for rdm. Thus endeth the lesson.

BDL


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