Help me find a Big bad prep beast!

[Thefungui]

1)Pro or home cook? Pro I work in a medium to mid high volume catering kitchen.

2)What kind of knife do you want? Gyuto although I am open to other styles.

3) What size knife do you want? 240mm I own 3 210s.

4)How much do you want to spend? 450 is my max

5) Do you prefer all stainless, stainless clad over reactive carbon, or all reactive carbon construction? no I am open to them all, although I do lean towards stainless as I live in the south and my one all reactive knife I have problems with in my knife roll rusting sometimes.

6)Do you prefer Western or Japanese handle? Wa

7)What are your main knife/knives now? Takamura Migaki 210mm I love this knife. I think for the money it is absolutely an amazing knife. Edge retention and thinness are why its my go to.

8)Are your knife skills excellent, good, fair? excellent. I use a knife a lot a work.

9)What cutting techniques do you prefer? Are you a rocker, chopper or push/pull cutter? depends on what i'm cutting. So i tend to use different techniques for different reasons, i.e the ingredient or what cut I am making. I rock the most.

10)Do you know how to sharpen? yes. I use Shapton glass and pro stones. 320 glass 1k glass 2k pro 4k glass. leather strop progression etc.

So I am looking for some bigger then my other 210s. I own the Migaki, Masakaga Yuki, and a Anryu Damascus B#2 in 210mm. I have some others in different styles, another Migaki petty and a honsuki by kurosuki san. I love them all and they do their jobs well. I just want something bigger that I can cut more with at once with. Edge retention is big for me. I cut a lot of things and many different things in any given day so it has to hold up. This knife will be very well taken care of, but it is going be used heavy and daily. I also have medium sized hands if that helps.
Knives i'm looking at hard. Takada 240 NAS, Konosuke HD2 240, Konosuke SKD 240, and the Moritaka AS 240. Now I am in love with all of these, and more. I just can't deiced and I would love to hear what you guys think. I am totally open to any other suggestions. If you guys know of any other knives I am passing over please enlighten me. Thanks

[dAviD]

i vote for the Konosuke HD 240mm.
i picked up a western handled version after owning a few over the years and they are just great all around knives.
especially in a professional kitchen. im going to end up picking up another one soon here because they just work.
the western ones are a little cheaper and very handy in a pro environment because you don't really have to worry about the handle.
another option is the Konosuke GS+ Togatta Gyuto 240mm.
at $195 you can't beat that price for a Konosuke.
thats another one im looking to pickup.
I'd seal the handle probably, but thats just me.
bonus is with the money you save you can afford to pickup something else for your kit.

[delmar]

If edge retention is absolute, might look at HAP40 and R2 (SG2). SRS tends to hold edges very well too. Aogami super at high HRC also, although that starts to lean back to carbon edges.

If you go Kono route, consider 270. Ends up being 255-260 on edge, and are prep monsters. I've owned a few 270mm HD, and they are beasts.

[Jeff B]

A true beast - Gihei Blue #2 Gyuto 240mm https://www.chefknivestogo.com/gibl2gy24.html

Has been put on the same level as Toyama by some but for less than half the price.

[Carlo]

A true beast - Gihei Blue #2 Gyuto 240mm https://www.chefknivestogo.com/gibl2gy24.html

Has been put on the same level as Toyama by some but for less than half the price.

Ooooh I’ve been wanting one of these. The 210 is my most used knife. Love it. That said, it’s definitely no laser.

[lsboogy]

i vote for the Konosuke HD 240mm.
i picked up a western handled version after owning a few over the years and they are just great all around knives.
especially in a professional kitchen. im going to end up picking up another one soon here because they just work.
the western ones are a little cheaper and very handy in a pro environment because you don't really have to worry about the handle.
another option is the Konosuke GS+ Togatta Gyuto 240mm.
at $195 you can't beat that price for a Konosuke.
thats another one im looking to pickup.
I'd seal the handle probably, but thats just me.
bonus is with the money you save you can afford to pickup something else for your kit.

HD2 Seconded. And the 270 is the way to go if you can find one.

[Nmiller21k]

Kanehiro AS 240.
https://www.chefknivestogo.com/kaasgy270.html

Not a laser, performs like one, amazing heat treat, truly a beast of a cutter.
Super agile performer with great edge retention.
This is / was my main prep knife, that gets rotated out with a Toyama 240.

[Nmiller21k]

Neither Konosuke will have edge retention of well heat treated AS.
If you need the edge retention go for AS steel or R2 HAP40

[jbart65]

Kanehiro AS 240.
https://www.chefknivestogo.com/kaasgy270.html

Not a laser, performs like one, amazing heat treat, truly a beast of a cutter.
Super agile performer with great edge retention.
This is / was my main prep knife, that gets rotated out with a Toyama 240.

Ditto. Great knife, one of the best all rounders available. If I were a pro the Kamo R2 would also be high on my list.

[dAviD]

Neither Konosuke will have edge retention of well heat treated AS.
If you need the edge retention go for AS steel or R2 HAP40

this is true. but, in practice with good technique and aproperly sharpened i regularly use my HD for 12-15 shifts without a significant lose of an edge. worse case a couple of quick strops and im off and running again.
that's even with shitty plastic cutting boards common in most kitchens. thats what made me start thinking about what really works for me in the kitchen.

also i had a https://www.chefknivestogo.com/gibl2gy24.html
that was a great work knife. especially after a little bit of thinning and tweaks my former prep cook got it and still uses it a ton. price is great too.

[Igalor]

I used an hd2 for about a year as my main knife, but the edge retention and food release sucked, enough for me to move on. Lasers are fun, but there are better options out there, at least for me.

As pro knives go, few options are better than a ryusen blazen, impeccable fit and finish, good all aroud profile, excellent grind, the knife starts with a much thicker spine, which makes it soooo much comfortable to use in extended sessions, and the distal taper and grinds are so good, the you would never notice while cutting, the steel can go for ever, it cuts as well as a laser, but is a much better knife.

Another good option is the tanaka r2, which cuts just as well as the ryusen, tanakas r2 is the best ive tried, easiest to sharpen, but only sligthly better than the ryusen in my opinion. This knife has no distal taper, but this allows for a convex grind all through the knife, which gives superior food release.

[Igalor]

Neither Konosuke will have edge retention of well heat treated AS.
If you need the edge retention go for AS steel or R2 HAP40

Onky kono that ended up being a keeper for pro use was the ys. Konos look and feel great, but for pro use, I need a little more than that.

[thetoe]

Takeda! First thing I think of when I hear "Beast".

[Nmiller21k]

Takeda! First thing I think of when I hear "Beast".

Takeda are very particular, you will either hate it or love it.
I'd find one that I know I'd like before trying one.

[Thefungui]

So many new knives to think about now. Wow.
So the kenahiro AS is really nice. You have peaked my interest in that one. I am already a fan Kato's work. AS is also a really nice steel, I once had a Koishi 210mm Gyuto.. I loved that knife. It was my first really dive into this world. Alas it was stolen at an old job I left long ago.
The Gihei seems to also come highly recommend from you all. After looking into it a lot this one is fastly heading to the top of my list. I just haven't had any really experience with B#2. I have read a bit about it and the knife it self. Seems like it's a true beast. Has anyone had any first hand experience with the knife? How was the edge retention? How does it feel going through food? Does it make you smile when you use it? All things I want to know lol

So this brings me to the Takada 240ishmm NAS Gyuto.. when I first started down this road to find a bigger badder prep knife. This was the knife I first thought of and drooled over for a bit until I started really doing my homework. Now I'm here and I have more knives on my to buy list than before.

[Thefungui]

Kanehiro AS 240.
https://www.chefknivestogo.com/kaasgy270.html

Not a laser, performs like one, amazing heat treat, truly a beast of a cutter.
Super agile performer with great edge retention.
This is / was my main prep knife, that gets rotated out with a Toyama 240.

Ditto. Great knife, one of the best all rounders available. If I were a pro the Kamo R2 would also be high on my list.

Could you tell me why the Kamo is High on your pro list? It is absolutely a beautiful knife.

[jmcnelly85]

The Kamo, kanehiro, and Kurosaki rec’s are all great middle weight all-a-rounders that shine in pro kitchens. None are true lasers, if you are a full blown laser only guy they might be close enough in thinness where they might still work for you. The gihei is more of an anti laser heavyweight, certainly moves through food with authority and without problem, might be so far from a laser that it will either tickle a fancy you didn’t know you had, or completely rub you the wrong way. All of them have high end steels treated properly that’ll take and hold an edge long enough to be suitable for pro use.

[jmcnelly85]

I just noticed you mentioned moritaka... I recently picked up one of his nakiri’s so I’ll try to keep some observations general not knowing how much will translate from a long Nakiri to a 240 gyuto... the moritaka seems like a stiff middleweight with a lower grind than say a kurosaki or kanehiro. The grind shoulders are noticeable on horizontal cuts through onion while moving slowly but zipping through at speed is no issue whatsoever. If the grind mine came with wasn’t a zero grind it’s damn near as close as you can get to a zero grind. The flat portions are dead flat, the absolute flatness coupled with the extreme hardness make for a meticulous need for precise form. If your push and chop game is spot on, it will reward you with an extremely precise and fun cutting experience. Reactivity so far hasn’t been an issue on the cladding, if you keep your knives clean and dry as you go it shouldn’t be an issue. I’ve held the idea that gihei’s treatment of blue steel is e gold standard I judge other steels against, but moritaka’s AS is the first steel I’ve found to act noticeably better on the stones. In no way are moritakaa’s knives for beginners or slobs, but if you feel your game is up to the task it seems like a quirky knife with its own personality. Some people are knife snobs, this knife is a snob. Holy hell are they a lot of fun, though.

[thetoe]

Takeda! First thing I think of when I hear "Beast".

Takeda are very particular, you will either hate it or love it.
I'd find one that I know I'd like before trying one.

Why on earth would anyone hate a Takeda?

[slickmamba]

Takeda! First thing I think of when I hear "Beast".

Takeda are very particular, you will either hate it or love it.
I'd find one that I know I'd like before trying one.

Why on earth would anyone hate a Takeda?

They are known to wedge. Its on a knife by knife basis tho. The older grinds were much more consistent.


OP you should add Toyama/watanabe on your list. Seems to fit everything but slightly above the price.