# New Knife Assistance



## Redtablepapercut (Dec 31, 2017)

I have read probably 50+ threads on good budget home knives and have taken away the following to be crowd pleasers and good bang for buck:

Fujiwara FKM 
Tojiro DP
Richmond Artifex

I am concerned about the Tojiro handle. The Artifex does not look quite as nice as I would like. I like the FKM best but would like a matching set of knives.

I am hoping to stay under around $300 for everything but can budge to maybe $400 if there is a significant upgrade. I would like a chef knife (gyuto), bread knife, and paring knife (all matching for looks). Ideally I would also get a Santoku and some sort of sharpening kit.

I like these Mac Pro that are on sale but from what I have read a cheaper knife set with a better sharpening kit may be more beneficial. 
https://www.macknife.com/products/professional-series-set-3-pcs-pro-31

Any thoughts please? It is greatly appreciated!


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## brianshaw (Dec 18, 2010)

Follow your heart.


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## kevpenbanc (Jan 18, 2014)

The Macs are well regarded and the set you linked to seems a reasonable set of knives.

You can pick up a king 1000/6000 stone for around us40 ish, so still below your 400 upper limit.

There are plenty of other choices, but the Macs will do the job for you.


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## Redtablepapercut (Dec 31, 2017)

Do the dimples really effect sharpening that quickly?

Does anyone have experience with these knives? Cannot find a whole lot of information on them.

https://www.seisukeknife.com/collec...uki-tus-steel-gyuto-japanese-chef-knife-210mm


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## rick alan (Nov 15, 2012)

They're $25 more than the Fujiwara, I'm thinking they may even be made by the same factory. Never heard mention of this ST.


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## rick alan (Nov 15, 2012)

As far as the MACs go, the dimples here are so high up they won't actually cause a problem, but at $300 it doesn't sound like any kind of real bargain. There are a number of chef knives about $150 that are a pick over the MAC, Tojiro bread knife if you really need one of those, and a nice petty can be had for $50-60. You'd be under $300, then $60-100 for stones. It's late now though, nighty night.


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## galley swiller (May 29, 2013)

A few problems right off.

First, Redtablepapercut hasn't told us where he or she is. It's a basic issue that cutlery availability is entirely dependent on where the purchaser will be receiving the blades. Shipping within a country is one thing. Customs and Duty rules, national availability and hassles are another magnitude of problems.

For the sake of simplicity, I'm assuming that Red is in the USA. If not, then, Red, will you enlighten us?

What I'm also not seeing here is Red directly addressing sharpening gear or cutting surface. Without knowing whether either of those issues are within the $300 budget or not, makes any recommendations almost moot.

If Red has sharpening gear and a decent quality board, then we're just talking about cutlery, and I would have no problems with the MAC set. However, I would probably prefer the MAC MBK-95 over the MTH-80. At $185 on discount, I would choose length as more fundamentally important than dimples. I would also buy a basic MAC HB-55 as a paring/utility knife (about $40 on discount), and I would get a Victorinox fibrox-handled bread knife. But, then, that's me.

But, without a good cutting board, Red will probably need to spend at least $60 for something like a Michigan Maple Block 2 inch thick end grain maple board, along with $4 for a pint of supermarket-purchased food grade mineral oil. The main problem is that it's 15 inches square, and not the more easily used 12 inches x 18 inches.

As for minimal sharpening gear, then a King Combination stone (1K/6K), for under $25 from Amazon. Add AngleGuides for $11, and you may have to reduce the cutlery budget by $100, down to $200.

With just $200, I'd forget MAC Professional. I'd instead go for MAC's Chef series. A MAC HB-85 knife is just $70 on discount through either eBay or Chefknivestogo. Add a MAC HB-55, a Victorinox bread knife for mebbe $30-$40 and you're still running much less than your intended budget.

Galley Swiller


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