# Three Fave Knife Brands



## morphone (Mar 9, 2013)

We all have our favorites, and I'm looking for quality knife brands that I may not have heard of before. What are your three favorite knife companies? Links would be great, if you've got them.


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## jasonjjj (Jun 5, 2013)

Wusthof, Shun, F.A Porsche


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## debo (Oct 3, 2013)

Kikuichi, Masamoto, both great knives and can get them at chefknivestogo.com 

And Mac a great small American company and my favorite, Thomas Keller has a line of knives with them.


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## aerophex (Jan 15, 2013)

Shun - so sexy

MAC - workhorse

Victorinox Forschner - cheap =/= bad


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## petemccracken (Sep 18, 2008)

Sharp

Sharper

Sharpest

Not really in jest, but regardless as to brand, the key is sharpening.


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## kristopher (Feb 18, 2010)

Misono

K sabatier

richmond


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## dhmcardoso (Apr 29, 2013)

Konosuke, Misono and k-sab


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## anton kudris (Aug 7, 2013)

Shigefusa, Itinomonn, Yoshiaki Fujiwara (Kato)


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## notswedishchef (Oct 24, 2013)

Gessin, Masamoto, vintage sab


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## chrisbelgium (Oct 2, 2010)

PeteMcCracken said:


> Sharp
> 
> Sharper
> 
> ...


Exactly!


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## simar (Oct 17, 2013)

Shosui Takeda knives

Keijiro Doi knives

Hiromune Takaba knives


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## morphone (Mar 9, 2013)

Lots of Japanese knives here. They're great, to be sure, but are European and American knives so poor as to be rarely mentioned at all?


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## anton kudris (Aug 7, 2013)

morphone said:


> Lots of Japanese knives here. They're great, to be sure, but are European and American knives so poor as to be rarely mentioned at all?


Speaking about kitchen knifes there are a number of makers in US who are able to beat almost any Japanese knife.

Naming some of them: Devin Thomas, Bob Kramer, Bill Burke, Marko Tsourkan, Michael Rader, Mario Ingoglia and others

In Europe there are some great makers including Will Catcheside and Genady Prokopenkoff. TC Blades from Israel also worth noticing.

The only problem with all those custom makers is that you have to wait for years to get yourself a knife, is demand for their knives is overwhelming.


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## simar (Oct 17, 2013)

morphone said:


> Lots of Japanese knives here. They're great, to be sure, but are European and American knives so poor as to be rarely mentioned at all?


The value for money offered by the Japanese makers is undeniably better than European and American makers. Custom makers generally have long wait lists and cost significantly more than Japanese makers for similar products.

The carbon steel used by the Japanese makers while needing more upkeep does indeed offer great edge retention and allows for great geometry. Given the cost, its worth while to put up with the upkeep to me.


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## mhpr262 (Dec 6, 2013)

I recently got the "Platinum" 23 cm Chef's knife from this company:

http://www.felix-solingen.de/

Haven't tried it out yet, so I cannot comment on edge retention but the handle and the balance are nice, as is general build quality. The manufacturer seems to be aiming more at the commercial market, so these are no-frills knives, nothing fancy.


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## galley swiller (May 29, 2013)

Looking at the website shows that it's "DIN-4116" steel, which is the same as "X50CrMoV15", the stock, standard same steel as Wusthof, Mercer, Victorinox/Forschner, etc., etc.  Unless you know the heat treatment process, the steel characteristics will be a bit of a guessing game, but will likely be pretty much the same as almost all of the other "X50CrMoV15" steel blade knives.

Galley Swiller


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## atch71 (Apr 18, 2014)

*I have 4 knives from http://www.newwestknifeworks.com/* *a 9" chefs, a 7 1/2" santoku, a chopper chef knife, and a 5 1/2" petty, The new Crucible CPM S35VN* *High Carbon Stainless Steel is 62HRC sharp and are really comfortable in the hand. That they are U.S. made is a big plus in my book. I've had Henkels 5 star and found them to be lacking. I haven't tried a Japanese knife yet** but am currently looking for one. I am learning much thanks to this forum, so the choices are narrowing** thought I'd add my 2 cents FWIW.*


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## fritz mackrieg (Apr 17, 2014)

1) Takeo Murata (Buho) for utilitarian kuro uchi home knives

2) Konosuke (Fujiyama line w/ Ebony handles only) for high performance + top notch fit and finish

3) Sakai Ichimonji (via bluewayjapan) for traditional single bevel hon kasumi Japanese styles (yanagi-ba, usuba, deba)


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## chef konstantin (Apr 13, 2014)

NELLA NELAA NELLA

I have yet to see a knife in the kitchen that gets the job done like NELLA


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## mike9 (Jul 13, 2012)

American makers:

Murray Carter

Devin Thomas

Delbert Ealy

Japanese makers:

Masamoto

Konosuke

Shigeki Tanaka


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## dareos (Sep 15, 2015)

John Neeman (Latvia) www.neemantools.com


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## millionsknives (Apr 25, 2014)

It looks like a lot of stuff I see at knife shows by outdoor makers who have never worked in a kitchen in their life.


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## pennman88 (Oct 2, 2015)

Houston Edge Works

Cut Brooklyn

Misono UX10


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## harrisonh (Jan 20, 2013)

My everyday knives are Tojiro Senkuo line but they make lots of great stuff including SuperA san mai and Blue2 and SperA monosteel.
But there's lots of great stuff out there but cost matters for me. I'd say in addition to Tojiro, I'd also include Masamoto, Yoshihiro, Togiharu to name just three because I've used them recently.
Of the American stuff. I like my New West Chef9, Santoku and Petty. I'm not thrilled with their paring knife unless I use it exclusively for long lengths of time, for several days, it's different (weird) to use but once you're up to speed, it is pretty comfortable.


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## mike9 (Jul 13, 2012)

harrisonh said:


> Of the American stuff. I like my New West Chef9, Santoku and Petty. I'm not thrilled with their paring knife unless I use it exclusively for long lengths of time, for several days, it's different (weird) to use but once you're up to speed, it is pretty comfortable.


You owe it to your self to try some of the custom American makers like Carter, HHH, Ealy, Tsourkan, Devin, Rader, Burke, etc. They can be expensive, but you will appreciate an whole 'nother level of knife that few can compete with. Even the really high end Japanese knives are expensive.


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## atatax (Jan 8, 2015)

Is Tsourkan still making knives? www.tsourkanknives.com isnt working for me


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## mike9 (Jul 13, 2012)

Marko posted this on 9/30/15:
[h2]New Web Site is in Works[/h2]


> Folks,
> I have had some issues with my old web site, and rather than fix them (it was built on a shoestring budget), I commissioned a new one.
> 
> This one should have a much better store, but still retain features such as surveys.
> ...


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## robertoo (Mar 4, 2014)

favorits;watanabe; bleu steel sharp and it will stay sharp

             itinomonn;white steel cheaper and also good

             tojiro;vg 10 cheap as hell and very good performer for its price


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## jacko9 (Oct 25, 2014)

I like the Teruyasu Fujiwara knives and you can buy direct from him at very reasonable prices. I bought a 240mm Gyuto and a 150mm Petty from him with ebony handles and they arrived sharp as I've ever seen right out of the box.

http://www.teruyasu.net

I also like the Konosuke Knives that I bought from Chefs Knives to Go.

http://www.chefknivestogo.com/konosuke-knives.html

I still use my Wusthof knives a lot.

http://www.wusthof.com/usa/index.jsp

Jack


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## full sack (Oct 19, 2014)

Murray Carter

Masamoto KS

Konosuke


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## atatax (Jan 8, 2015)

Mac is great. If you want stainless, great way to go.

My vg10 tojiro knives are prone to chipping. I've pretty much stopped using my sujihiki because of it.

Wusthof is good quality and if you don't sharpen too sharp of an edge onto it, the edge retention is good enough. If you put a sharp edge on them, they'll be dull with 30 mins of use on a plastic cutting board.

i havent gotten my itinomonn yet, car problems, shouldn't try to do the drive to the parents until i have it fixed. If i get it fixed next day off and drive down my next day off after that, id get it the 15th, and my parents are visiting the 16th or 17th. So i'll just get them to bring it up.


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## rick alan (Nov 15, 2012)

Wusthof Ikons will [for a German knife] take an impressively thin, steep and relatively keen edge thanks to an RC higher than the other Germans but, yes, really not practical to use in this state for anything but cutting in-hand/off-board.

Rick


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## full sack (Oct 19, 2014)

The knife I favor now is my Muteki by Carter.  It has a white carbon steel core blade laminated with stainless steel, 271mm in blade length with a wide blade height of 56mm, a thin spine of 1.4mm, and light in weight - 185grams.  The handle is made of Arizona hardwood.

The Muteki knives are made by Murray's apprentices under his supervision, so the price isn't shocking, and, unlike other high end knives that interest me, not always out of stock.  One of Murray's apprentices, whom I met and watched at work, Shamus, has studied under Murray for 11 years and is a dedicated bladesmith.


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## chrislehrer (Oct 9, 2008)

Masamoto KS
Aritsugu Tsukiji (weirdly cheap)
Masamoto KK


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## rick alan (Nov 15, 2012)

ChrisLehrer said:


> Masamoto KS
> Aritsugu Tsukiji (weirdly cheap)
> Masamoto KK


A quick search turned up nothing for Aritsugu Tsukiji. Do you have a link?


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## chrislehrer (Oct 9, 2008)

Rick Alan said:


> A quick search turned up nothing for Aritsugu Tsukiji. Do you have a link?


www.aritsugu.jp


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## 86pride (Jul 26, 2015)

Tamahagane, Mcusta Zanmai, konosuke.


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## rick alan (Nov 15, 2012)

Yeh I know about the site [that is in english] but found no knife by Aritsugu called Tsukiji, though there is a Masamoto by that name.

Rick


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## cookerman (Sep 22, 2015)

Global,Henckels,Chicago cutlry.


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## chrislehrer (Oct 9, 2008)

Rick Alan said:


> Yeh I know about the site [that is in english] but found no knife by Aritsugu called Tsukiji, though there is a Masamoto by that name.


Aritsugu Tsukiji is in Tsukiji market, Tokyo. Aritsugu Kyoto is in Nishiki market, Kyoto. They're not the same company. The Tsukiji stuff is good and oddly cheap. The Kyoto stuff is good--but nobody would call it cheap.


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## ones (Jul 22, 2015)

My current go-to knife is Shiro Kamo's 240 gyuto in R2. I think the value it presents for a knife in R2, and therefore stainless, is fantastic (especially as it is a damascus knife) . It is somewhat chippy (but I am a home cook without pro knife skills, so that is probably my problem....). I am starting to accumulate a few other knives but it remains the one I reach for first.


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## ronney jung (Jan 14, 2015)

Shun blue steel
Kikuichi


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## rick alan (Nov 15, 2012)

OneS said:


> My current go-to knife is Shiro Kamo's 240 gyuto in R2. It is somewhat chippy (but I am a home cook without pro knife skills, so that is probably my problem....).


Micro-bevel, do a forum search.


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## ones (Jul 22, 2015)

That's a good idea, Rick, had forgotten about them. I'll try that when it next needs sharpening - its been a bit off rotation since a couple of new knives have arrived.


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## rick alan (Nov 15, 2012)

All PM steels have poor edge stability.  You can sharpen them to as steep an angle as you want, but the edge will just chip right away on board contact without a 15deg/side microbevel.  Just a few light stropping strokes at the elevated angle to finish is all.  There will be little loss in performance because your edge is still very thin, and there will be a tremendous increase in edge retention.

I do have my Takamura at about 10deg/side, but that one never sees the board except the tip as I finish a slice, no whacking, and most of my cutting with it is actually done in hand.  No problem with micro-chipping there.

Rick


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## ones (Jul 22, 2015)

I also wonder if the chipping I was seeing might have been from the OOTB edge. I've always been uncomfortable about sharpening the OOTB edge before actually playing with it a bit first. Since I sharpened it I don't think I have seen as much (if any) chipping. But, as I said, I haven't used it as much recently due to novelty factor of my Christmas purchases. I'll definitely have a crack at the micro-bevel soon; have a new Kitayama 8000 which needs breaking in.


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## rick alan (Nov 15, 2012)

Yes, it will take a handful of sharpenings to get past the "factory edge" with your typical PM steel knife.


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## martinz (Feb 19, 2016)

Hi all,

Masamoto vg
Misono 440
Sakai Takayuki Grand Chef

Best OOB sharpness is Masahiro MV-H, really really sharp !


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## bsmiddy (Jan 13, 2017)

Takeda- Razors

MAC- Workhorse

Messermeister- When something needs a beating these keep on ticking (F.Dick- Some nice specialty blades and Equip.)


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