# Looking for 300mm Chef's knife



## atatax (Jan 8, 2015)

So right now my Chef's knife is a 8" Wusthof grand prix ii and i want to replace with with a better, larger, Chef's knife. I prefer european styled handles and my hand is rather large, laying my hand on a tape measure, the palm width is about 4 3/4 in. My budget while not set in stone is about $300-$350(usd and i am in the USA). I feel like much higher then that and i would probably be too afraid to use it 

So Knives i'm currently looking at are:

Masamoto VG Gyuto 300mm

Mac Ult 12 1/2  Chef's knife

Mac Pro 10 3/4 Chef's knife

Fujiwara Teruyasu 300mm Gyuto Maboroshi

So the Mac Ult and Fujiwara Teruyasu where i'm seeing them are a little over budget, but maybe there are deals somewhere for them or if there is a reputable used knife retailer. Maybe I'm just dreaming a little with the Fujiwara Teruyasu as it is a bit over budget. The Mac Pro is a little shorter then i would prefer and i don't see a longer pro series chef knife. The Masamoto VG is right in the budget and length but i have read its a bit flexible and can be punishing if your technique isn't the best, so probably not the best first large chef knife. Any advice?


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## cheflayne (Aug 21, 2004)

I have the Mac Pro 10 3/4 Chef's knife and love it. Have had it for 2 years now and use it for 97% (or better) of my work. I don't have a tape measure handy (on vacation) but it sounds like my hands are close to yours in size.


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## mike9 (Jul 13, 2012)

Going from 210mm to 300mm is a huge leap. Not to mention there aren't that many 300mm gyutos around. Hiromoto does make one available at - http://www.japanesechefsknife.com/Page4.html

You can also try Rakuten with shipping from Japan - http://global.rakuten.com/en/search/?tl=301392&k=300mm+&l-id=search_regular

On the other hand you can find 270mm gyutos all day -

http://www.chefknivestogo.com/gyutos270mm.html


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## millionsknives (Apr 25, 2014)

270mm is a good size.  300mm is unwieldy. 

If you're getting something this big, it is for massive amounts of prep right? I would say get the lightest thinnest 270mm you can get.  The weight and the time you spend working don't just add, they multiply.  Konosuke, gesshin ginga, or other laser 270mm.


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## mike9 (Jul 13, 2012)

I did a couple of 12" American carbon conversions a few years ago and while being quite nimble with wa handles they were just too much knife to be practical for home use. I moved down to 270mm and used those for quite a while. Now a 240mm, or 10" is my go to knife for prep work. For smaller tasks I use a 150mm petty, or a 210mm line knife, or a cleaver, or any other "special purpose" blades I have on hand.

300mm is generally for Yanagiba and Sujihiki.

I would buy this and rehandle it - I have one that I did and it's not for sale. Amazing profile, great steel, great American maker.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Fine-Vintag...789?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item540ae11fe5

Here's mine - I made the handle from flame maple and blue dyed maple burl.





  








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## millionsknives (Apr 25, 2014)

Yeah, but OP is a professional and probably does more prep work in a day than you do all week.  270mm is a reasonable size for that.  300mm is unnecessary because you should have a long slicer for slicing tasks.


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## atatax (Jan 8, 2015)

yeah, i have a Suji. So sounds like the consensus is that the Mac Pro should be more then long enough.


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## mike9 (Jul 13, 2012)

MillionsKnives said:


> Yeah, but OP is a professional and probably does more prep work in a day than you do all week. 270mm is a reasonable size for that. 300mm is unnecessary because you should have a long slicer for slicing tasks.


Yes, but the difference between 270mm and 10" is 1/2" and that Goodell will cut rings around a lot of "modern" knives. Hey - I'm a carbon junky what can I say? Carbon Devin, carbon Rader, carbon Marko, carbon Carters, etc., etc., etc.


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## duckfat (Aug 7, 2008)

I'd be paying as much attention to profile and intended use as length. 300mm for me is minimal on a yanagi but a beast on a Gyuto.  270mm for a Gyuto is going to be the norm in a working knife. Larger hands do not mean you need a larger knife. Sarah Moulton is about 5' nothing and probably weighs 100# on a bad day. She wields a 12" knife with ease. Gotta roll with what ever works best for you.

For 300mm I'd also look at the Yoshihiro (carbon) on Amazon ($160) or the Tojiro DP ($120) on eBay. This way if you find 300mm too much for all tasks you can still add the 9.5" Mac Pro for less than the cost of the Masamoto alone.


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## atatax (Jan 8, 2015)

ah, great, now you guys have me looking at vintage knives too 

currentling looking at this vintage sabatier http://www.ebay.com/itm/FINEST-Anti...f&pid=100005&rk=2&rkt=6&sd=361202874713&rt=nc


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## atatax (Jan 8, 2015)

If i was to get a carbon knife, is there really an advantage to getting a vintage sabatier or goodell over a modern carbon knife like the Yoshihiro on amazon for $160?


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## millionsknives (Apr 25, 2014)

It'd be soft carbon so you can use a honing steel, but overall edge retention is not as good.


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## atatax (Jan 8, 2015)

Ended up just going with the mac pro 270mm; saw it new on ebay for $210


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## cheflayne (Aug 21, 2004)

Atatax said:


> just going with the mac pro 270mm


I have used a few chef's knives in 40 years and this my favorite so far.


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## atatax (Jan 8, 2015)

cheflayne said:


> I have used a few chef's knives in 40 years and this my favorite so far.


for maintenance, i assume a quick daily hone and then maybe a weekly sharpening with water stones?

also, not crazy about the logo on the knife, looks like imitation american imo. But i guess if it performs well i can live with the logo.


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## cheflayne (Aug 21, 2004)

No hone, just once a week on stones. In general, this seems to be what I routinely do for maintenance purposes during normal weeks.


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## rick alan (Nov 15, 2012)

Our vanished knife guru BDL recommended the Mac Pro over the Masamoto VG and best choice as far as mid-priced stainless gyutos go.

Whether you need to do touch up during the week or not will depend on how acute and angle you sharpen to.  I'd guess that if you are below 36deg inclusive then probably yes, in which case an Idahone can be used if you think Stropping on stones inconvenient.   It will remove a small amount of metal as well as realign the edge, use it gently both for the sake of the Idahone and your new Japanese knife.  I use a fine Arkansas stone with one edge rounded a bit, pressure is nothing more than the weight of the knife.

Rick


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## ajb temple (Feb 2, 2015)

For pro prep I would be be surprised if you can go a week without a a touch up. I would keep a 5000 splash and go stone to hand and give it a few strokes as required.  Personally I think most honing rods do more harm than good - I do use a smooth steel one on my German knives occasionally, but they are pretty much what I regard as guest knives now.


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## mike9 (Jul 13, 2012)

This is where a couple of Shapton glass stones is handy.  They are very flat and true splash and go.


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## atatax (Jan 8, 2015)

how often are you guys thinking? every other day? daily?


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## cheflayne (Aug 21, 2004)

Use the knife and figure out what works for you as you go. For me, once a week on stones is usually fine. At the end of a week I can usually easily still thinly slice, without crushing at all, a tomato. For me, this works...(disclaimer) Your mileage may vary.


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## atatax (Jan 8, 2015)

I was thinking maybe a leather strop, as something i could carry with my knife roll.

also curious if you think it would be desirable to have a stone above 5000, like 8000 or 10000. Is it just going to dull quickly to the point where it was effectively sharpened by a 5000 so quickly that it isn't time effective for a professional cook to go above 5000?


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## atatax (Jan 8, 2015)

my mac arrived today. Just diced an onion real quick before work, love the shape of the blade.


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## atatax (Jan 8, 2015)

damn, a week of light use, already has rust on it, need to buy some oil for it





  








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## ordo (Mar 19, 2009)

Rust? Or patina? You gotta be careful cleaning and drying the blade. There shouldn't be rust on the blade.


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## atatax (Jan 8, 2015)

obviously rust is bad, wrapped it in a dry towel, leaving it out of duty for now, waiting on oil, then probably going to take 5,000 grit stone to the side of the blade, try to get the rust spots off.


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## spoiledbroth (Sep 25, 2014)

the steel MAC uses is very reactive... I would hesitate to call it stainless. If I have anything left on the face of my blade below the edge guard my MAC will rust within 12-24 hours. Not really a big deal just need to be very judicious in wiping off the blade and making sure it's nice and clean and dry before sheathing it and storing.


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## rick alan (Nov 15, 2012)

Amazing, this is the first I've heard of the MAC being semi-stainless.

Rick


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## atatax (Jan 8, 2015)

wasn't even exposed to anything very acidic, a side from using it at home on an onion, which i'm fairly certain i wiped clean the blade promptly, i think i only used it 1 day at work and i just made several dozen orders of fresh linguine, so nothing acidic, just pasta dough.


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## spoiledbroth (Sep 25, 2014)

Rick Alan said:


> Amazing, this is the first I've heard of the MAC being semi-stainless.
> 
> Rick


I think the chef series is not the same steel as the mighty and whatever the higher end model is. I know it's not a semi by composition and am maybe being hyperbolic... they are more reactive than anything I've used to this point (no carbon). Especially where edge guards are concerned, I've seen alot of little rust spots on mac knives. Carelessness, of course.


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## galley swiller (May 29, 2013)

If left out after use for hours without immediate cleaning, I doubt any steel bladed knife will resist starting to rust (i.e., developing Fe2O3 - sorry if I don't have subscript).  Once started, then rust development will continue until it is removed.  Fe2O3 does not form a patina (unlike Fe3O4) and will just merrily allow for further oxidation behind the initial surface.  And it's a cascading effect - it starts out tiny, but grows exponentially.

And it's accurate to call stainless knives "stainless" rather than "stainfree", since they will literally "stain less".  That does not mean they won't rust, if given a chance.

Most "stainless" knives have a high chromium content and atmospheric oxygen will quickly bond to the surface chromium - especially if the surface is clean and dry.  That chromium oxide forms a shiny silverish patina which is resistant to oxygen going below the surface.

That's a major reason why knives should be cleaned IMMEDIATELY after use, dried and then put away clean and dry.

As for the steel in MAC knives - MAC generally only uses one proprietary steel, which I seem to recall BDL supposed was akin to VG-1.  The differences between the "Superior" series, "Ultimate" series and the MTH-80 (8 inch)"dimpled" (i.e., with Kullens) Mac Pro is that they use what MAC refers to as "Superior" steel processing.  It's a different hardening process (probably in the Quenching and Tempering stages) and the blades are noticeably thicker than other similar, non-"Superior" MAC's.

GalleySwiller


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## atatax (Jan 8, 2015)

alright, that was enough of a kick in the pants to take my 5,000 grit stone out and polish out the rust. My birthday is wed, and a friend said he's going to get him a higher grit stone. So i was going to wait until i got it, and until i got oil thurs. but if rust is growing exponentially...


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## mike9 (Jul 13, 2012)

Get a Sabitori (rust eraser) they work quite well.


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## millionsknives (Apr 25, 2014)

Lately I've been using trizact automotive sandpaper 3k-5k grit for the same purpose


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## atatax (Jan 8, 2015)

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http://www.macknife.com/kitchen/pro...110-professional-series-10fq-chefs-knife.html

One more thing. I just noticed today that the picture of the MBK 110 on Mac's official site has 2 rivets on the handle and the knife i received has 3 rivets. Also, the material of the handle looks a little different, might just be the lighting i guess. Could this be a fake?


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## millionsknives (Apr 25, 2014)

Maybe it's changed. CKTG sells one that looks like yours http://www.chefknivestogo.com/macprmichkn1.html


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## atatax (Jan 8, 2015)

yeah, just contacted mac and they said they started making them with 3 rivets in the early 2000s, that the pics are just dated on their site.


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