# ok i think i might have all the knives i need now



## ruscal (May 5, 2011)

well its been real fun learning about knives, trying different types of knives, and, of course, buying knives. but i think i might finally have every knife i might possibly need.


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## ruscal (May 5, 2011)

sorry - picture fixed now. didn't see it had error'ed on me.


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## rdm magic (Apr 16, 2012)

Nice collection, what are they all?


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## ruscal (May 5, 2011)

ok, from top left going clockwise....

Konosuke stainless 270mm Suji with ebony octagonal handle, 2mm silver spacer & water buffalo horn 

Ashi 61HRC stainless 210mm Petty with ebony octagonal handle, 3mm silver spacer & water buffalo horn 

Konosuke stainless 150mm Petty with ebony octagonal handle, 2mm silver spacer & water buffalo horn 

Konosuke stainless 240mm Gyuto with ebony octagonal handle, 2mm silver spacer & water buffalo horn 

Masamoto VG 240mm Suji with POM handle

Masamoto VG 240mm Gyuto with POM handle

MAC Superior 270mm Bread knife with wooden handle

MAC Professional 80mm Paring knife with wooden handle

Masamoto VG 120mm Petty with POM handle

Masamoto VG 150mm Petty with POM handle

Masamoto VG 180mm Santoku with POM handle

Masamoto VG 210mm Gyuto with POM handle

Global GF-32 drop-forged 16mm Chef's Knife


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## the meal man (Apr 13, 2012)

I like that kono 270 suij for sure. How do like those wooden magnet blocks? I was thinking about either making myself a set or picking some up as you did?


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## ruscal (May 5, 2011)

the magnetic blocks? yeah i like 'em. the only problem with these ones is they have magnets at set distances apart. which is great for making your knives look pretty cause they're a similar distance apart. but its a bit scary when you have a couple of big knives right next to each other...

if i was starting over i think i'd buy one from these guys:

http://benchcrafted.com/Magblok.html


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## the meal man (Apr 13, 2012)

ruscal, I was eyeing those up but gezz $50 for 18". Seems kinda pricy to me. I'm thinking about picking some nice wood and filling them with neodinium magnets. Maybe someday when i ahve nothing better to do. don't hold your breath.


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## mano (Dec 16, 2010)

Very nice collection.  Any reason for the duplicates (e.g. 2 x 150 petty) and similar knives (240 and 270 suji's)?

If it's the reason I think, then if you get more wooden magnet blocks you'll just buy more knives to put on them.


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## ruscal (May 5, 2011)

hahah - mano i think you might be right /img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif

to be honest the knives i couldn't live without would be the masamoto 240 suji, 180 santoku, 150 petty and the MAC 270 bread knife

the japanese handle stuff i kinda only use for "special occasion" kinda cooking. so i consider those 4 knives a totally different kinda thing.

i use all the other knives but not nearly as much as those first 4 knives


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## rdm magic (Apr 16, 2012)

You prefer the suji to the gyuto?

Why?


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## chinacats (Feb 4, 2012)

Easier to peel apples with Suji:>)


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## spikedog (Feb 21, 2011)

you should try some knives by devin or nubatuma!


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## colin (Sep 12, 2011)

Nice looking collection. Surely there's room for a few more ...

Re holders, I just did one of these: http://www.kjmagnetics.com/blog.asp?p=magnetic-knife-holder about 40" long.

Works like a charm, with a nice even pull.


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## duckfat33 (Oct 21, 2011)

I wouldn't say you 'need' one, but have you considered a nakiri?

There's nothing you couldn't do with a santoku or gyuto, but damn they are good fun to chop vegetables with. I bought the JCK white steel Fu-Rin-Ka-Zan 165mm kuruochi finish nakiri and I have to say it is definitely the most fun knife I use. Super sharp too.


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## ruscal (May 5, 2011)

rdm magic said:


> You prefer the suji to the gyuto?
> 
> Why?


i wouldn't have thought to say i prefer the suji to a gyuto. i guess i would say that i prefer the santoku to a gyuto, but i'm not really sure why. maybe its cause the size of it means i can work more stuff on a chopping board. like i made a potato dauphinoise the other day and managed to slice all of the potatoes on the same board using the santoku without transferring any of them anywhere else to make extra room.

i don't do a massive amount with the suji but when i do use it i can't imagine using anything else. like last night i was slicing up chicken breasts long ways so i had nice thin fillets to cook on the griddle and the suji is so perfect for that. i guess you could do the same thing using a gyuto, but the suji feels much more comfortable for me.



duckfat33 said:


> I wouldn't say you 'need' one, but have you considered a nakiri?
> 
> There's nothing you couldn't do with a santoku or gyuto, but damn they are good fun to chop vegetables with. I bought the JCK white steel Fu-Rin-Ka-Zan 165mm kuruochi finish nakiri and I have to say it is definitely the most fun knife I use. Super sharp too.


i've never really been a fan of the nakiri's. i have no idea why. although i would like to learn to do that thing where you peel a cucumber japanese style. 

for veg i normally use the santoku. or sometimes a gyuto.


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## duckfat (Aug 7, 2008)

ruscal said:


> i would like to learn to do that thing where you peel a cucumber japanese style. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif


Do you mean Katsuramuki? Like this...






I think that is more a technique for a Usuba than a Nakiri. The Santoku seems to be the red headed step child of J-knives here but they are getting quite popular.

BTW Nice collection! I guess I'm not the only Masamoto fan!

Dave


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## ruscal (May 5, 2011)

DuckFat said:


> Do you mean Katsuramuki? Like this...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


hey dave

yup - thats the thing i was talking about. i have no idea what i'd use those cucumber wafers for, but they sure do look pretty. 

so whats the difference between an usuba and a nakiri? is an usaba a single beveled knive and a nakiri is a double beveled knife? or is it to do with the tip of the knife being a different shape?


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## duckfat (Aug 7, 2008)

I'm not a Usuba user but I've always thought of them as a very special use knife where the Nakiri (which I also don't use) should offer more flexibility. Hopefully Chris Leher (sp?) will chime in or you can search the knife forum for his posts. IIR he uses one and can offer some detailed background on the Usuba and the different regions that the Usuba styles represent in Japan. I've thought about buying one from time to time as well as a kiritsuki for no particular reason.

Dave


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## chrislehrer (Oct 9, 2008)

Somehow I missed this discussion. In case anyone notices it:

The usuba is the Japanese traditionalist professional's vegetable knife, teamed with a deba (for breaking fish and for very heavy mincing) and a yanagiba (for slicing raw fish). All other knives are, from this point of view, specialists; these three are the generalists, and most especially the usuba is the workhorse or anchor of the kitchen. It's fabulous for vegetables, and pretty rotten for everything else.

The usuba is very expensive: a cheap one is not worth the effort unless you are working in a traditionalist's kitchen, with all the background support that entails. Expect to spend $200 minimum, for right-handed. Don't go less than 180mm, and preferably start at 195mm or 210mm.

You will need instruction, in a book or from a human being, on how to use it. It doesn't handle like anything else in my experience. If you fight it, you will chip it and probably cut yourself into the bargain. No joke. You must cut the way it wants to cut, which is more or less backwards and inverted from everything normal to a French chef's knife or the like. As a rule, you cut up off the board when possible, flat parallel to the board when possible, and straight down only under deliberately chosen circumstances -- and then you MUST NOT use the stock down-a-bit-and-roll-or-flatten-out cut that is normal for French-style knives; if you do this, you will chip the tip at best, and at worst you could end up with very serious damage to your knife, your hand, or both.

Short answer: the usuba is its own world. In the hands of an expert, there is simply nothing like it: no knife cuts most vegetables like this, fast and clean, perfect every time. An expert can literally beat out a mandoline for cutting potato chips from raw. I have seen it done, and not for show. The problem is that it's a complete re-training of everything, and in the meantime you will be stuck with a knife that doesn't like you. Be under no illusions: an usuba is out to punish and preferably maim every beginner who isn't utterly focused on obeying its weird whims. It's sort of like trying to drive an old Bugatti or something, where if you shift wrong the thing blows up and kills you. Okay, that's an exaggeration, but it's in the direction of truth. At base, a French chef's knife wants to be your friend; an usuba is out to get you. If you master it, it's wonderful, but in the meantime it pretty much stinks.

I adore mine. I fought with it, and for most things I would want to do, I have more or less won. I am not especially good with it, but I can use it without fear, and I find it quick, clean, and reasonably easy. It's just altogether different from my chef's knife. But it took 6 months to be functional, and a year to get where I am now. To improve and get actually good with the thing would take another 6 months of focused effort, and then I'd start to get really rolling. In the meantime I am basically treading water, but then, I'm not a professional so I can afford to do that. Mastery, well, that's another thing, but the same goes for any really great knife.

If you want to try one, you're making a mistake, but I'll give you a piece of advice. Everything you read that suggests that some knife is a little cheaper, or a better deal, or easier to sharpen, or a great compromise, or whatever -- it's all BS. Buy a good-quality piece of white steel professional cutlery, have it professionally opened, keep it literally sharp enough to shave your face in the morning, and expect to suffer for a good long time. Eventually, you might thank me for this. Bear in mind that you will need a lot of good sharpening stones, because you will chip it often and badly and have to resharpen thoroughly. This is not for "in-case": you _will_ chip it badly, more than once, and at least once you _will_ take the whole point off. Don't even think about having someone else sharpen it for you: you must be able to do this yourself or it's not even worth contemplating buying an usuba.

For some reason, every time I write a post like this, people say I'm nuts for encouraging people to take up the usuba. Did I ever say it was a good idea?


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## matt weisberg (Oct 15, 2012)

Man, I think you need a few more! A carbon deba, suji, and honesuki for your prep-time proteins!


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## sizzle563 (Feb 2, 2015)

Very nice collection! How's the 180 masamoto santoku holding up? 

P.s. sorry to rise this thread from the dead


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## rick alan (Nov 15, 2012)

rdm magic said:


> You prefer the suji to the gyuto?
> 
> Why?


I use a suji/slicer primarily myself. I have a 10" chefs I use for rough cutting carrots, beets, swede and the like, and dicing onions. I do a lot of fine-slicing vegetables in-hand, Charcuterie too, and you can't beat a suji for this, though a Usuba would be interesting also, but a righty might find himself needing a lefty usuba for this as cutting in-hand typically calls for the right blade face resting on the item being cut. Slicing sub-1mm wafers from things like celery and broccoli stems is much easier with a suji also, better control compared to the tall bladed chefs/gyotu. And I much prefer the exceedingly nimble feel of a suji.

Rick


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## atatax (Jan 8, 2015)

Love my Suji, but my chef's knife is pretty meh, I figure eventually i'll get a nice chef's knife, until then using my Suji for slicing and a Nakiri for cutting.


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## atatax (Jan 8, 2015)

well, i think i've finally reached the same point as the OP




  








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atatax


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Mar 27, 2015


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## ordo (Mar 19, 2009)

Atatax: a chinese cleaver is missing there, he, he.


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## kuan (Jun 11, 2001)

How are they sticking to the wood?  Is there a magnet behind?


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## rick alan (Nov 15, 2012)

Dry humor Kuan?

Rick


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## atatax (Jan 8, 2015)

Benuser said:


> What is that gyuto, second from left?


270mm mac pro


Rick Alan said:


> Dry humor Kuan?
> 
> Rick


or maybe his vision isn't what it used to be


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## mike9 (Jul 13, 2012)

Funny I divested my self of most of my "high end" knives recently.  I probably recouped about $4k this past month - what a load off.  I have a core rotation of my favorites and I add a refurbished piece of ODC from my stash every now and when I can work in my shop.


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