# Solid First Pro Chef's Knife



## mehungry (Aug 11, 2014)

Hey Everyone, 

Here we go with the can of worms knife question. I have been doing a lot more prep work in the restaurant and the house knives are pretty bad so I want to buy my own. All of the cooks around me have their own blades, from Globals to Macs to Miyab's.  Looking for suggestions on a good starter knife to continue learning with but that I can grow into as well. Medium maintenance, price under $150, leaning towards Japanese. Thoughts?


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## dave kinogie (Feb 16, 2013)

If you want to stay a little lower in price and maybe cop a combo stone and a ceramic honing rod with it, here are a few I'd endorse through personal experience that will be a huge upgrade to house knives and yet be a perfect long term beater for your roll:

Richmond GT Artifex Wa-Gyuto

Tojiro DP Gyuto

Fujiwara FKM Gyuto(same steel as the Richmond but with a no frills Western handle and is cheaper)

If you wanted to go a tad higher and skip the stone and rod for a couple months something like the Sukenari Ginsan Gyuto is pretty nice. It has a crap handle that you'll need to sand down, but at the price point the steel and grinds are really nice, along with nice fit and finish. It's very thin behind the edge but has a workhorse weight and overall profile. It's got a lot of belly to the blade though, so if you like flat profiles it's not the best.

If you want to go carbon, there are a plethora of options as well.

All the above are varying flavors of stainless though.

I don't have tons of experience with other knives or stuff off anywhere but CKTG right now, but that's just an intro first post for you, you'll get a lot more suggests over the next few days.

It's probably best if you describe yourself though, as in your preferred cutting method, grip, profile of blade, what you mainly prep, any specialty stuff you prep, if you prefer SS or carbon or clad, what length blade you want, etc. and I'd definitely suggest getting a stone and ceramic rod to sharpen yourself and daily upkeep, many others will also suggest a strop, even if you just make it yourself.

Lastly, you should checkout the Trade board on here, the Buy/Sell/Trade board on www.kitchenknifeforums.com and the Classifieds on www.chefknivestogo.com There are always great deals on there where you will get maximum bang for your buck and can personally haggle some with the seller because they are just other knife owners thinning out their herd.

Hope this helps some.


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## cheftorres87 (Sep 7, 2014)

I use exclusively carbon steel Japanese Knives...they are a lot of maintenance and up keep, they rust quickly, so keeping them dry is essential, but MOST IMPORTANTLY, KNOW HOW TO USE THEM.

sure a Gyuto is basically the same as a chef's knife, and one can easily make the transfer, but an usuba, a deba, a yanagiba, these things are different, and they are used far differently than western knives are used, they are single bevel and sharpened differently from western knives, the cutting techniques are very different.

For example: 




Please keep this in mind if you are thinking of getting Japanese knives, if you're thinking of only getting a gyuto or santoku, you probably don't need Japanese knives.


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## mehungry (Aug 11, 2014)

Thanks Chef Torres and Dave.

210mm gyuto was what I was thinking. I have a small Wusthof santoku at home that I love using for small veggie prep. Right now I just prep a lot of veggies and fruit at work. I use a pinch grip but really am just starting out so blade profile, type of steel, would probably be lost on me. The more I think about it I just need something that doesn't need a ton of maintenance and allows me to focus on learning my knife skills. Also something that can handle daily wear and tear. While I was leaning Japanese I am totally open to other brands as well.


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## cheftorres87 (Sep 7, 2014)

for minimum maintenance go with a stainless steel knife, a chef knife or gyuto will do you just fine. Just keep it razor sharp and you'll be fine. As far as brands go, the best chef knife is the one that is most comfortable to you. A lot of people buy online without picking it up.

My gyuto is extremely light, my old chef knife was pretty heavy. It's all personal preference. A lot of my friends have global, and I have used theirs, I like them, they are stainless steel, and pretty comfortable, other people hate them soley on appearance. I have never heard anything bad about the miyabi knives, shun are popular knives, but I personally don't like them.

I get all my knives from people I trust and have gotten my knives and stones from for the past year: http://echefknife.com/

A few chefs in the Japanese Cuisine industry out here also shop with http://japaneseknifeimports.com which are a bit more expensive.


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## cheftorres87 (Sep 7, 2014)

This is the one I have: http://echefknife.com/gyuto-molybdenum-steel-japanese-chef-knife.html

It's stainless steel. The reason I got it, I was lacking a chef knife, and needed a stainless steel knife to use for prep work and cutting rolls, since my yanagiba was prone to rust if it stayed moist over long periods of time, I now only use it for cutting sashimi and nigiri, or taking skin off a fish, sometimes for katsuramuki if I'm in a rush.

My carbon steel usuba also didn't get along with onions, so I use the gyuto for those too. Now my Usuba is only used for carrot, daikon, cucumber, and any other root vegetables. Also for katsuramuki technique

but my gyuto is very light weight, I use it only for cutting rolls, assorted vegetables, and mincing stuff. Sometimes chicken and steak at home.


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## dave kinogie (Feb 16, 2013)

Honestly, I'd go with one of the 4 I suggested then, or something similar someone else might suggest.

Something like the Tojiro is actually very thin, nearly laser like and is extremely sharp OOTB as far as any knives go and at 210mm, you can find them on Amazon at sub $70 prices with Amazon or Korin's satisfaction guarantee.

The DP is VG10 steel, which does have a bit of a rep for being chippy and rolly and a tad harder to sharpen, but to me the concerns are very overblown, especially as introductory good knives go, it's more so about your technique and upkeep.

The Richmond is a really nice compromise though, I have Gyuto's in carbon that cost above $300 and it compares quite well if you use common sense and context compared to price point and expectations.

I had the 240mm and it was a really sweet knife for the money. It's Fujiwara's proprietary FKM steel, which comes in at a lower HRC rating, meaning it's not as hard, so edge retention is not as good, but it sharpens up easier and faster and is less prone to chipping, which as you will learn is not the end of the world anyway, most decent 1000 grit stones will fix that issue with a simple 10 to 15 minute sharpening session including progressing to a higher grit.

I do not mean to sound like some expert either, I am a complete amateur when it comes to sharpening. That is actually a good thing, cause it shows you that even though a lot of this can sound intimidating, you will pick up fast and understand it very quickly even if you aren't able to exhibit everything you come to learn.

Mediocre to average sharpening skills and knowledge will come quick through reading on here and limited experience and that is all you need to have a really sharp knife which is maintained properly. Getting above average and beyond is what will get you scary sharp steel that is done properly to a T. That is something I am far away from myself and around a year or so in. That will take you a long time, but that is again not a concern for simple usability and proper upkeep.

Don't let this stuff discourage you. Get a super knife entry level knife, a combo stone like a King 1000/6000, a ceramic honing rod and make yourself a strop and learn and enjoy the virtues through trial and error, you'll look back in hindsight in a year or so and be happy with your decision, trust me.


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## dave kinogie (Feb 16, 2013)

ChefTorres87 said:


> for minimum maintenance go with a stainless steel knife, a chef knife or gyuto will do you just fine. Just keep it razor sharp and you'll be fine. As far as brands go, the best chef knife is the one that is most comfortable to you. A lot of people buy online without picking it up.
> 
> My gyuto is extremely light, my old chef knife was pretty heavy. It's all personal preference. A lot of my friends have global, and I have used theirs, I like them, they are stainless steel, and pretty comfortable, other people hate them soley on appearance. I have never heard anything bad about the miyabi knives, shun are popular knives, but I personally don't like them.
> 
> ...


All good advice and yeah, Jon at JKI is a great site and dude to go through too, I love my Kochi petty and he was awesome with response to questions and sent everything with a very personal touch, he appreciates his customers and the trade.


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## cheftorres87 (Sep 7, 2014)

Dave Kinogie said:


> Honestly, I'd go with one of the 4 I suggested then, or something similar someone else might suggest.
> 
> Something like the Tojiro is actually very thin, nearly laser like and is extremely sharp OOTB as far as any knives go and at 210mm, you can find them on Amazon at sub $70 prices with Amazon or Korin's satisfaction guarantee.
> 
> ...


All solid advice.

I personally don't like combo stones, but that's because I've used them at work, and people lacked stone fixers, so what happened was a huge dip, and you could only sharpen using the center.

In general never bring sharpening stones to work and if you do, insist that only you sharpen their knives and no one touch your stone.


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## dave kinogie (Feb 16, 2013)

ChefTorres87 said:


> All solid advice.
> 
> I personally don't like combo stones, but that's because I've used them at work, and people lacked stone fixers, so what happened was a huge dip, and you could only sharpen using the center.
> 
> In general never bring sharpening stones to work and if you do, insist that only you sharpen their knives and no one touch your stone.


Yeah I agree on combos, still it is my only stone. They seem to dish a lot quicker and easier then other stones and for real don't bring them to work unless you're cool with that lol.


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## dave kinogie (Feb 16, 2013)

I just got my hands on a Kohetsu Blue #2 SS clad 210mm Gyuto and on first impression this is really nice. It's got a nice look to it, solid F&F for the money, a really flat profile, it's relatively light, balanced well and although it's been sharpened up properly by the person I bought it from so I can't comment on OOTB edge, it is really sharp.

So far have only sliced a tomato with it and ticker taped some copy paper, along with the finger test and shaving arm hair off, but I can tell this is a really nice knife capable of getting very sharp.

I'll never really be able to comment on edge retention, I'm going to prep some veggies in a bit, but then it will be off as a gift to a friend.

I'll comment on how it does on the veggies in a little bit though.


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## dave kinogie (Feb 16, 2013)

I wish I would have taken spine and choil shots, but it is already gifted. I did cut up 2 zucchini, 2 yellow squash, a red pepper, a second tomato, an avocado and some mushrooms and it performed pretty admirably compared to it's price point.

It was sharpened up by the guy I bought it from and so had a really nice, even, well done toothy edge.

The grinds are pretty nice. It's got a slight convex on both sides and it's a thin blade behind the edge all the way up to the spine. It's about 50/50 on the edge, I have no idea what these are like brand new OOTB, but the dude I got it from seems to be a well versed sharpener with quality stones and it's nice done up.


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