OT: Help Me Pick a Gyuto

dmourati

I'm indulging myself by buying a new kitchen knife. I have some decent ones but would like to level up in quality.

Here's my current lineup:


1. 8" Wusthof Classic - Cook's Knife w/Hollow Edge
2. 7" Shun Premier Santoku
3. 5" Global Hollow Edge Santoku

I mainly use the Shun.

If anyone of you also happen to be into Japanese kitchen knives, I'd greatly appreciate some pointers. I respect y'all for your good taste in Fiddlebacks and hoping to parlay that.

My wife has graciously conceded to my $500 budget request. I'd like a 210/240mm Gyuto with some bling factor. Beyond that, pretty open.

Links appreciated.

nolaegghead

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/

DoubleEgger

Masamoto 

HeavyG

That's a pretty healthy budget for a gyuto so lots of choices. Too many actually!

Knifewear.com has their February sale on the Masakage knives. Masakage has a few lines of knives some more basic, some with lots of bling. I bought a Masakage from them last February. Was looking to buy another one this sale but the one I wanted is out of stock.

Chefknivestogo.com was already mentioned and I've bought a few things from them.

I was looking to add a 240 gyuto to my lineup last autumn and wanted to buy one from a specific maker - Tanaka. CKTG had one I liked but looking around I found a shop in Australia that offers his knives and they offered the same blade but with some nice upgrades for a few bucks less.

The CKTG - https://www.chefknivestogo.com/tanakagyuto1.html

The K&S - http://www.knivesandstones.com/tanaka-blue-2-damascus-gyuto-240mm-with-custom-octagonal-ebony-handle/

I bought the one from K&S and it was shipped DHL and I had it in my hands in four days. Very nice knife for the money.

There is bound to be a decent Japanese knife shop in your area - I'd find one and go check them out in person and see what feels right to you. This looks like it would be worth a visit - http://bernalcutlery.com/

Anyway, there are lots of knife vendors and knife makers to consider. Good luck!

dmourati

Tanaka and Masamoto are both at the top of the list.

GrateEggspectations

Takedas are pretty slick. It’s likely my favourite in my current lineup. 

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/takeda-knives.html

Photo Egg

http://www.knivesandstones.com/tanaka-r2-sg2-damascus-gyuto-wa-240mm/

I have the step down from this and it's beautiful, classic finish. This was not in my budget.

gdenby

Another source: Japan Chef Knife

No particular recommendation. But some things to consider.

If you have only ever used stainless knives, you will have to learn to be very careful if you go with carbon. They MUST be wiped during use, and washed and carefully dried after use. I tend to avoid them, because I've messed up a few times. Carved some fatty meat for a dinner, came back after the meal, and saw that the fat residue had already started to corrode the edge. Etc.

The upside is that they tend to be much more readily sharpened.

I like the Japanese standard octagonal handle, but prefer the D shape if I can get it.

Look at the Rockwell hardness. They will give you a good idea how fine an edge it will take. The heat treatment is very important for that, so you may find many steels above 60 HRC.

The downside is that you will probably have to find a professional sharpener, or by equipment, and learn yourself. If you go w. a sharpening service, still consider having strops and compounds on hand for touch up. My main knives only need sharpening every 9 - 12 months, but they greatly benefit from frequent stropping.

Note that there is high demand for the top end steels. Last time I looked at CKTG, all of the new arrivals w. the best steel were already out of stock. VG-10 used to be fairly hard to come by, but is more available now. It is outclassed by others at present, but if you don't want to wait, it is quite fine.

So, after you have a good place to store them, and a sharpening kit, make sure you have some bandages and some bleed stop powder. On the day I got my sharpest knife, I was distracted by a sound from another room, and felt something brush my left arm. The edge had grazed my forearm, and sliced off a patch about the size of 2 quarters. The knife is literally a 9" long razor.

fishlessman

my most used knife is a goko gyuto 240 mm. extremely light knife for its size. no idea what core it has as it went up as a new arrival on cktg sold out quickly and never saw another that looked the same. the goko takes an extreme edge and its odd at first to hold an almost weightless knife.

northGAcock

dmourati said:

I'm indulging myself by buying a new kitchen knife. I have some decent ones but would like to level up in quality.

Here's my current lineup:


1. 8" Wusthof Classic - Cook's Knife w/Hollow Edge
2. 7" Shun Premier Santoku
3. 5" Global Hollow Edge Santoku

I mainly use the Shun.

If anyone of you also happen to be into Japanese kitchen knives, I'd greatly appreciate some pointers. I respect y'all for your good taste in Fiddlebacks and hoping to parlay that.

My wife has graciously conceded to my $500 budget request. I'd like a 210/240mm Gyuto with some bling factor. Beyond that, pretty open.

Links appreciated.

What you should be looking for is a good onion knife

BYS1981

Bernal Cutlery is a cool knife shop for any Bay Area folks (SF Bay Area) looking for knives, they have IG and a website too.

dmourati

Thanks. Masamoto KS FTW.

gdenby

Nice. As the saying goes, "food will fall apart in front of it."  & it comes w. its own saya.

logchief

 I only have several of the Shun Classics, my favorite is the Kiritsuke.  Also have a paring, nakiri, flex blade and boning.  Also check out Japanese Knife Imports, a small outfit in LA, they have several lines of quality knives from small companies in Japan.  One of these days I'm going to splurge and get a couple of knives from Jon at JKI.

I'm certainly sold on Japanese Knives, now I need to get skilled at Japanese water stones, which I'm working on.  Jon at JKI has some great videos out on all things Japanese knives.

I'd skip the Wusthof and get a Gyuto or Kititsuke

saluki2007

I currently have a Shun DM0723 Classic 6-inch chef's knife.  I'm looking at getting a Nakiri to add to my collection.  Logically I would get the Shun Classic to match, but the price to move up to the Premier line is only $15ish more.  Anyone have experience with both lines of these Shun's?  Is there a noticeable difference in the knifes or is it more just the quality of the handle?  I saw that the Premier has 3 extra layers of steel on each side.

dmourati

saluki2007 said:

I currently have a Shun DM0723 Classic 6-inch chef's knife.  I'm looking at getting a Nakiri to add to my collection.  Logically I would get the Shun Classic to match, but the price to move up to the Premier line is only $15ish more.  Anyone have experience with both lines of these Shun's?  Is there a noticeable difference in the knifes or is it more just the quality of the handle?  I saw that the Premier has 3 extra layers of steel on each side.

Try upgrading from the Shun imo. Lots of nicer stuff out there. 

HeavyG

dmourati said:

Thanks. Masamoto KS FTW.

Well, that was quick. I would have taken three weeks just to decide what color handle I would want.

Nice choice.

dmourati

I was hemming and hawing and going down so many rabbit holes. I just needed a budget and then I quickly pulled the trigger. Had been looking for 2+ days straight. 

If someone had come on and said: No! do this... I would have reconsidered.

gdenby

dmourati said:

saluki2007 said:

I currently have a Shun DM0723 Classic 6-inch chef's knife.  I'm looking at getting a Nakiri to add to my collection. 

Try upgrading from the Shun imo. Lots of nicer stuff out there. 

Stop talking about nakiris. I really don't need one. Really. Well, maybe just this one.

DoubleEgger

dmourati said:

I was hemming and hawing and going down so many rabbit holes. I just needed a budget and then I quickly pulled the trigger. Had been looking for 2+ days straight. 

If someone had come on and said: No! do this... I would have reconsidered.

When the wifey approves a budget like that, you have to act quickly. You are wise grasshopper. 

lousubcap

I don't know the final price vs the budget but if there is a decent surplus then time to jump into the SRF brisket world.  Once you get buy-in for those purchases you are definitely in for sustained goodness.
Great acquisition right there.   Congrats.

dmourati

lousubcap said:

I don't know the final price vs the budget but if there is a decent surplus then time to jump into the SRF brisket world.  Once you get buy-in for those purchases you are definitely in for sustained goodness.
Great acquisition right there.   Congrats.

About $64 surplus by my calculations. Not quite SRF money methinks.

Now on to the cutting boards.

GrateEggspectations

dmourati said:

lousubcap said:

I don't know the final price vs the budget but if there is a decent surplus then time to jump into the SRF brisket world.  Once you get buy-in for those purchases you are definitely in for sustained goodness.
Great acquisition right there.   Congrats.

About $64 surplus by my calculations. Not quite SRF money methinks.

Now on to the cutting boards.

Three words: Maple End Grain. 

lousubcap

Good luck with the MEG and your surplus.  You may need to beg more forgiveness.  

dmourati

Separate (and larger!) budget for the cutting boards...   

saluki2007

dmourati said:

saluki2007 said:

I currently have a Shun DM0723 Classic 6-inch chef's knife.  I'm looking at getting a Nakiri to add to my collection.  Logically I would get the Shun Classic to match, but the price to move up to the Premier line is only $15ish more.  Anyone have experience with both lines of these Shun's?  Is there a noticeable difference in the knifes or is it more just the quality of the handle?  I saw that the Premier has 3 extra layers of steel on each side.

Try upgrading from the Shun imo. Lots of nicer stuff out there. 

@dmourati What would you recommend then that is approx in the same price point?  Would like to stay in the $150 range.

dmourati

saluki2007 said:

dmourati said:

saluki2007 said:

I currently have a Shun DM0723 Classic 6-inch chef's knife.  I'm looking at getting a Nakiri to add to my collection.  Logically I would get the Shun Classic to match, but the price to move up to the Premier line is only $15ish more.  Anyone have experience with both lines of these Shun's?  Is there a noticeable difference in the knifes or is it more just the quality of the handle?  I saw that the Premier has 3 extra layers of steel on each side.

Try upgrading from the Shun imo. Lots of nicer stuff out there. 

@dmourati What would you recommend then that is approx in the same price point?  Would like to stay in the $150 range.

How about this for $75:

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/takuna16.html

Warning, is not stainless steel but you should learn a lot about carbon steels with an awesome knife and a low commit point.

mgoblue0484

interesting topic. Very limited knowledge of knives. What does the weight have to do with the type of the knife? How do you tell a crappy knife from quality? Thanks for any help.

thetrim

https://monnierwoodcraft.com/products/random-pattern-end-grain-cutting-board-1

Killit_and_Grillit

gdenby said:

Stop talking about nakiris. I really don't need one. Really. Well, maybe just this one.

@gdenby damn you. 

HeavyG

thetrim said:

https://monnierwoodcraft.com/products/random-pattern-end-grain-cutting-board-1

I don't think he understands what random means.