# Best knife for up to $500 or so



## jacoba (Oct 27, 2015)

Hello, I collect knives and I was wondering what all of you had to say is the highest performing knife for this price point. I have been looking at the Kikuichi gold series, Konosuke, and the like. I would like it to look beautiful and slick, but not at the expense of performance. Also, I am pretty sure that I don't want a Damascus blade.


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## alaminute (Aug 22, 2013)

Konosuke if you really want a laser, otherwise teruyasa fujiwara or takeda. No BS or disclaimers, boom.


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## jacoba (Oct 27, 2015)

Thank you.


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## chezpopp (Aug 8, 2015)

What are you looking to cut. Is out just a display piece. Takeda is awesome and i like the ones i have. I recently purchased a musashi which was cheaper than a takeda but the fit and finish is great. I love it and find myself using it more and more. Sld steel with a mirror polish from a youger maker. Bloodroot blades made in the usa have been on my radar as well. Havent pulled the trigger on one yetbut lots of good stuff out there. I am sure you will get lots of opinions about this. Figure out what you needout of this knife and do research.


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## millionsknives (Apr 25, 2014)

Best is so subjective it's kind of ridiculous.  I can love a knife, others can hate it. Neither is wrong.  Before you drop this chunk of change on a knife, really consider what your preferences are.

What are you using now?  What do you like about it or not? 

Carbon or stainless?  Are you left handed? A lot of japanese knives are right hand biased.

Do you like taller knives? (knuckle clearance)

How much do you care about food sticking to your knife?

What kind of food are you cutting?

What kind of handles do you prefer?

If you don't know the answers to these about yourself and what you like, you're not ready to drop $500 on a knife.  Get some mid range stuff first and work your way up.


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## chefjonbailey (Nov 17, 2015)

Glestain.


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## ordo (Mar 19, 2009)

chefjonbailey said:


> Glestain.


Scallops. Not really a good idea if you like your knives sharp.


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## mhpr262 (Dec 6, 2013)

Try kitchenknifeforums.com, that's where the real high end knife freaks hang out. 

But I agree with the poster who said that if you don't already know exactly what you want in a knife, you are not ready to spend $500 on one.


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## galley swiller (May 29, 2013)

Even though this is a somewhat dated thread (3-1/2 weeks old), I will state that the highest performing knife for ANY price point is a knife that is kept sharp. Since all knives eventually will dull through use, keeping your knives sharp is much more important than discussing what knife up to $500 (or any monetary amount) is "best".

If you are serious about a knife as a food preparation tool, then sharpening is much more important than mere knife choice.  The old saying is: "All dull knives are the same".

Galley Swiller


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## hookedcook (Feb 8, 2015)

If its just for looks check out Mr. Ito R-2 customs at Japanese chef knife. All kinds of cool designs. They are awesome but to fragile for my taste for everyday working chef use but looks good next to the others.





  








My knife.jpg




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hookedcook


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Nov 21, 2015


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## mike9 (Jul 13, 2012)

In the $500 range I'd look for a pre-owned Devin Thomas ITK, or a Marko Tsourkan knife.  Both of these makers are excellent.  You might like a HHH knife as well - these are hand made here in the USA.


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## chefjonbailey (Nov 17, 2015)

ordo said:


> Scallops. Not really a good idea if you like your knives sharp.


I dont know why scallops would hinder my knife sharpening? I mean it doesnt. I have 2 double sided stones 1000 to 10000. My only problem is the bevels on the misono ux10 and the glestain. I'm not used to sharpening knifes that aren't 50/50.


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## galley swiller (May 29, 2013)

There can be several problems with "scallops" (aka "hollow ground", aka "Granton edge" - all names for "Kullenschliff" or "kullens").

First, in order to have enough metal for kullens, the blade needs to be thickened.  That promotes wedging.

A second problem can be found on some kullenschliff knives, where the kullens are so wide and relatively deep that if any metal is removed along the vertical sides of the kullen, you can literally cause the blade to come apart.  I bought a Shun Sora santoku (model #VB0718), where by examination I could see that alternating kullens on the two opposite sides of the blade were so wide and so closely positioned that if any metal was ever removed in the vicinity of the kullens, the blade would literally come apart along the ridge between kullens.

That would effectively mean that you could never thin the blade to any significant degree.

Thankfully, I only paid $29.00 plus tax for it.

Galley Swiller


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## brianshaw (Dec 18, 2010)

Interesting. I've never heard of that before.


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## chefjonbailey (Nov 17, 2015)

Galley Swiller said:


> There can be several problems with "scallops" (aka "hollow ground", aka "Granton edge" - all names for "Kullenschliff" or "kullens").
> 
> First, in order to have enough metal for kullens, the blade needs to be thickened. That promotes wedging.
> 
> ...


My Misono ux10 swedish steel has no problems like that but it is a $400 knife. My only complaint is that it's super light. That and the glestain are only scalloped on one side. I just love the Glestain offset 8 1/4. I seriously love it. I have a 12 inch dick that I love and then the Shun Edo boning knife is awesome. Edo chef knife is very heavy and wide I rarely us it.


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## mike9 (Jul 13, 2012)

OP - are you collecting *"knives"*, or are you *"collecting"* knives?


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