# sujis! kikuichi, misono, or konosuke?



## jgrigs (Dec 14, 2014)

Hello all,

I'm a professional chef looking for a 270mm sujihiki. I'm indifferent on carbon or stainless, and am stuck on what's worth it and what's not. I am biased towards the kikuichis, as I have a gyuoto and utility from them and they are excellent. I'd prefer something very thin and versatile. I'm lost, as all of these sujis seem great and highly reviewed! Any insight would be excellent. I would also prefer an eastern handle, but am much more about performance than aesthetics.

So right now im looking at (but am open to all suggestions):

Konosuke HD2 270mm semi-stainless

Kikuichi Yanagi 270mm Carbon

Kikuichi 270mm seim-stainless

Misono UX10 270mm stainless


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## millionsknives (Apr 25, 2014)

Hello @jgrigs and welcome to cheftalk! What are you using the suji for specifically? Thin isn't always the way IMO. I bought one for slicing BBQ, bacon, and sausages. Other than length, I actually tried to shop for a heftier knife with no flex. If it's going to be a dedicated protein slicer, you don't need to worry about wedging like with a gyuto really.


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## jgrigs (Dec 14, 2014)

I would use it mainly for butchering raw proteins such as beef tenderloin.


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## millionsknives (Apr 25, 2014)

By butchering, you mean just the portioning right? You would use a utility, petty, or boning knife for trimming?

Of the knives you mentioned, I would recommend against a yanagiba for red meat portioning work. I have a 300mm yanagiba for portioning, but I wouldn't use it for red meat which I find tougher on the edge, I save it just for fish.

I have no experience with the Misono UX10, but the carbon one with the dragon had too much flex for my uses. Konosuke is real thin, but I don't know how much it flexes. I'm sure someone else on here with a konosuke can comment.

If you're portioning boneless red meat, or for slicing them, I have this and I love it:

http://www.japaneseknifeimports.com/kochi-270mm-kurouchi-wa-sujihiki.html

On the plus side it is oversized at 285mm. I slice everything from leg of lamb, big bacons, ribeye, sausages, boston butt for bun thit nuong with no problems. Great cutter, easy to sharpen, but definitely a fat knife which may not be for you. Best fit and finish of any knife I've bought and the edge was flawless out of the box, expected from JKI.


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## millionsknives (Apr 25, 2014)

Also, if you're willing to wait and are looking at the misono, I found them cheap on rakuten.

http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/showthread.php/13897-Rakuten-finds?highlight=rakuten

I struggled through ordering using the google chrome translate page feature. All shipping confirmations and stuff were in broken english. Shipping is 2+ weeks for a lot of these stores.

In the states, I'd buy from JKI or Korin. Korin has a 15% knife sale right now, and another 10% if you sign up for their industry program. Worth a look http://korin.com/Knives/Style-Sujihiki_2


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## rick alan (Nov 15, 2012)

I'll second the Kochi, all around it gets good reviews.  For thin the Konosuki, the Masamoto KS is probably in between.

Rick


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