# Starting with a Konosuke HD 270 what next?



## thequixoticone (Nov 12, 2012)

As soon as they come back in stock I have my heart set on getting a Konosuke HD 270 to start to replace my knife set. I have a ton of Wustof Grand Prix and Classic knives as well as Mudial and some other odds and ends. I recently was gifted a Shun 7 inch Premier Santoku ( I know the hate for Shun knives) and I liked it better than any of my other knives so doing some research ( reading this board) I have found that there is even better. I watched some Porn on youtube ... the slicing tomato kind  and that brought me and my Visa to CKTG for a OOS message... So while I wait for them to come back into stock I was going to research what next? I will keep a heavy chef knife but other than that the rest will go... So my question is what other 2 knives would you get? I want to keep the count to 4 including the heavy chef ( I currently have 20+ knives) I am retired now and this is for home use only ... $1000 budget for the 3 knives but I don't want to spend just to spend if you know what I mean.


----------



## dreamwrx (Oct 30, 2012)

I would say a Petty or Paring knife... as I tend to use that a lot.. even more so than my chefs..

Then I would say a suji/slicer of some sort but since you are getting a 270mm I'm not sure you would want/need? to buy a suji. A bread knife perhaps or maybe a cleaver?  With new knives in mind.. how is your stock of sharpening stones???


----------



## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

Don't buy anything -- except maybe a bread knife -- until you've had your Konosuke gyuto long enough to at least know if you like lasers.

You can do just about any kitchen task well with a basic set of four knives: (1) Chef's/gyuto; (2) Slicer/suji; (3) Petty; and (4) Bread. (H/t dreamwrx)

If you can't afford to buy all four at the same time, the one to hold off on until you can afford a good one is the slicer.

If you're wondering whether your petty needs to be the same quality as your other knives, it does not. Unless you reserve a special knife for abuse (I do), the petty will do a lot of jobs which are very hard on kitchen knives, like string, tape, and plastic packaging. In any case it's a very narrow knife, it will get sharpened a lot, and will lose its profile quickly.

If you do a lot of specialty prep -- meat, fish, decorative cutting, etc. -- you'll want specialty knives which help do the job better. You can get away with four knives, but that doesn't mean four is the best or most practical number for you. Your knives should suit you, not the other way around.

If you buy a 6" or 7" petty, one knife you won't need is a European style boning knife. You'll find that your petty does the work just as well and is easier to sharpen. On the other hand, if you do a lot of meat you might want a curved 7" breaker, and a 10" "cimeter" (curved) or butcher's (deep belly, with a top line at the tip you can lean on). A cimeter or butchers can do double duty as the heavy duty knife. A 10" Old Hickory is a very useful knife to have around, so is a Forschner Cimeter.

A 6" petty does nearly all the small tasks as well as a paring knife, and is more comfortable in the hand.

If you use a very light chef's -- like your Kono -- you'll also want something heavy duty as a back up (as you already know).

Use the Konosuke for awhile and see what you think. I feel so in love with mine that I bought a Kono HD 300mm suji and a Kono 150mm stainless petty. It's dumb to pick favorite knives, they're only tools after all. But I suppose the Kono suji is mine. On the other hand, the petty is a very good knife, I have no regrets about purchasing it and when it comes time to replace it will probably buy a Kono HH; but it's just a knife.

Bread knives are easy. The two best, all around bread knives at any price are the MAC SB 105 and Tojiro ITK 270mm, neither of which is very expensive if you're thinking about Konosuke for your other knives, but are kinda pricey as bread knives go. The Forschner 10.25" is almost as good and somewhat less expensive.

_For long term knife use, sharpening is everything. If you don't already have the skills or the kit, that should be your focus. _

BDL


----------



## thequixoticone (Nov 12, 2012)

Thanks Dreamwrx and BDL, Very informative post. I already have a wustof super slicer which was cheap and still works well but I will keep in mind the Mac and Tojiro, if I want/need to replace my bread knife. All of the Konosuke line is sold out and though that was my first choice, I am looking at alternatives like Sakai Yusuke and Gesshin Ginga for the gyuto I am interested to here how you would compare/contrast these or if you have any other brands that I should be looking at. I prefer the longer 180 size petty so I am looking for a good brand that I can get in SS or semi because I do tend to use that size knife when I cut citrus and core tomatoes . btw I love the look of the sujihiki but I think I would get into trouble when my inner ninja comes out if I were to get one


----------



## dreamwrx (Oct 30, 2012)

I think with any of the three (Konosuke, Sakai Yusuke, and Gesshin Ginga) you wont regret your purchase. It's kind of hard to pick the best of the three as they are all great gyutos. If you want stainless Sakai Yusuke, make sure to get the Extra Hardened, to match what the Konosuke HH, and Gesshin Ginga would have offered. 

If you are looking for a Semi stainless then you would have to wait for the Konosuke HD to come back in stock. As for carbon.. Sakai Yusuke probably makes the thinnest laser at 1.6mm spine if you buy the ultra-thin one white #2.

I agree with BDL that a petty should be cost efficient and easily replaceable.


----------

