Looking for a gift for my brother in law, a giant

[Carlo]

I am looking for a gift gyuto for my brother in law, who is getting married and essentially catering his own weekend-long bachelor party. He is a good cook and has been drooling over my very modest collection.

I plan to present the gift to him at the party -about half of the attendees have agreed to contribute in order to augment the money I had set aside planning to get him something relatively basic. Now that the total is about $270 I think we’re in the territory of knives that he might never outgrow -unless he starts looking at CKTG every day.


1)Pro or home cook?
-Home

2)What kind of knife do you want? (Gyuto, Santuko, Petty, Paring, Sujihiki, etc.)
-Gyuto

3) What size knife do you want?
-240, taller blade height would be best

4)How much do you want to spend?
-current budget is $270 including saya & finish sharpening, might expand a bit

5) Do you prefer all stainless, stainless clad over reactive carbon, or all reactive carbon construction?
-Probably all stainless/semi-stainless mono or stainless clad powdered steel, he has no experience or knowledge of the requirements of carbon steel and I don’t want to saddle him with that in a gift

6)Do you prefer Western or Japanese handle?
-I really don’t know. Yo would be a safe choice but he’s clearly been interested in my Wa handled knives. Also thought a Wa handle might discourage his fiancée from handling it (he has alluded to concerns about how a nice knife would be treated by her)

7)What are your main knife/knives now?
-Not sure, probably mid level German department store knives.

8)Are your knife skills excellent, good, fair?
-Good for a home cook

9)What cutting techniques do you prefer? Are you a rocker, chopper or push/pull cutter?
-Seems to be a mix of all 3

10)Do you know how to sharpen?
-No, but I will show him how to strop and offer to sharpen as often as he wants to bring it to me, likely 1-2 times a year at most

Please also add any additional pertinent information that can help everyone with suggestions.

-My brother in law is about 6’5” so I’m guessing blade height is an issue, probably need minimum 50mm in height

-I’d love to get him something with a little visual appeal, whether nashiji, kurouchi, or hammered but I think that edge retention and lack of need for wiping down religiously is probably more important. Some of the knives that I’d love to go with, e.g. Kurosaki R2, are going to be out of the price range given that I think I need to include a saya and want to get it finish sharpened so I don’t scuff it up on him.

Current contenders:

-Kohetsu HAP-40 240 -Wa vs Yo handled; I’d love it it someone with big hands could tell me how they feel about wa vs yo handles.

-Makoto Sakura SG2 240; I have the Makoto w#2 210 and he clearly was into it, this has the advantage of being stainless and hopefully having good edge retention

-Tanaka VG-10 240; has some bling and looks tall, I’m not sure about the D handle and edge retention

-If the Chromax was available in 240 I’d probably have that on the short list too

Any others to recommend? I appreciate any thoughts. Thank you!

[Drewski]

I'm 6'2" and have no problems with a wa handle. I use my 240 Kohetsu all the time, never felt it didn't have enough clearance.

[Carlo]

Thanks, Drewski.

Perhaps my post was too wordy.

TLDR version: Looking for stainless 240 gyuto to gift my brother in law who is 6’5” with big hands, limit is about $270 with saya, finish sharpening.

[5698k]

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/yashhagy24.html

It’s not stainless, but it meets other criteria.

[lsboogy]

Another Kohetsu blade to consider is the SLD - littlle taller than the HAP40 blades and stainless

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/kosldgy24.html

Like Drewski, I have great respect for my Kohetsu blades.

[Rufus Leaking]

I’m curious- are you assuming that because the guy is rather large, he may prefer a bigger blade, or has he expressed a desire for a bigger knife? The reason I ask is because I am a big person with large enough hands to comfortably palm a basketball, and I much prefer a 210 over a 240. I find them to be considerably more nimble.

[lsboogy]

I’m curious- are you assuming that because the guy is rather large, he may prefer a bigger blade, or has he expressed a desire for a bigger knife? The reason I ask is because I am a big person with large enough hands to comfortably palm a basketball, and I much prefer a 210 over a 240. I find them to be considerably more nimble.

Thinking about it, it's more a comfort thing. I wear size 9 gloves (XXL - I can palm a ball as well) but my hands are not that fat. On of my old neighborhood dads (he was a surgeon of all things) played pro football and had fingers that were about an inch in diameter, and his hands were not much longer than mine, but huge in diameter. I know he would not be able to use a 45mm height blade (knuckles would have banged off the board every time), and that's about minimum for me for board clearance. I'm much more comfortable with a 48mm+ height, and think that's what the OP is seeking. The length is probably just what many of us think is a good all around size - I prefer a longer blade to do cabbage or other big items as well. Seems the OP is asking for what he thinks best - accommodate him and respect his wishes

[ChefKnivesToGo]

Hi Carlo,

Try this one. He’ll love it. https://www.chefknivestogo.com/kagigy21.html

He’s a good sharpener so save the money and skip the finish sharpening.

[Jeff B]

If you have time to wait I think this knife would be great! https://www.chefknivestogo.com/kaanasgy24.html

It's visually stunning in person. It does have a Blue carbon steel core but is not very reactive, stainless cladding, and it won't require any crazy maintenance to keep its appearance and quality.

Definitely a knife he will be very impressed with and I'm sure to treasure. And I'm with Mark, skip the finish sharpening.

[Carlo]

Hey thanks for your recommendations and thoughts, everyone.

Sboogy, I had considered the Kohetsu SLD but the lattice pattern isn’t to my taste and I have trouble buying something, even as a gift, that I’m not a fan of.

Rufus, I actually prefer 210 blades myself, however for him I’d been planning on a bigger blade. He is literally 11 inches taller and I figured a 240 is average and he’d tolerate it well. But 240 blades in nicer iterations are going to push the budget and I have no reason to believe he wouldn’t love a 210.

Now, Mark has recommended a 210 that I can get behind -the AS version would be near or at the top of my list if I were buying a new Gyuto. The 240 would be out of price range (and this will be pushing it with the saya) but I assume Mark has a better idea than anyone what people will be happy with, so I’m leaning toward his recommendation.

One knife I hadn’t put on the short list because it’s not available in 240 was the gihei HAP40. Anyone have any thoughts about this one? I thought they had a flat profile, but the write-up suggests it’s quite curved and would be an all-rounder.

[Carlo]

... and I just realized the gihei has very low blade height, so would not work. Whelp.

[Ut_ron]

Get the B2 240 Gihei it’s awesome. I am 6’4” with extra large hands. Love the heft of this knife and it can take a killer edge.

[Carlo]

Get the B2 240 Gihei it’s awesome. I am 6’4” with extra large hands. Love the heft of this knife and it can take a killer edge.

Thanks Ron. That B2 is another knife I’d seriously consider for him if it wouldn’t be his first carbon steel blade or if I knew he’d be keeping it clean, dry and touched up -in fact that was the first one I had in mind due to the height and because I got my first gihei recently and I like the aesthetic.

Not sure I want to gift him with a carbon blade without knowing he’s up for it, though I have to say I was unsure about carbon for a long time and now that I’m comfortable with it as a home cook I don’t see it as demanding at all. So I suppose it’s under consideration.

[Ut_ron]

Get the B2 240 Gihei it’s awesome. I am 6’4” with extra large hands. Love the heft of this knife and it can take a killer edge.

Thanks Ron. That B2 is another knife I’d seriously consider for him if it wouldn’t be his first carbon steel blade or if I knew he’d be keeping it clean, dry and touched up -in fact that was the first one I had in mind due to the height and because I got my first gihei recently and I like the aesthetic.

Not sure I want to gift him with a carbon blade without knowing he’s up for it, though I have to say I was unsure about carbon for a long time and now that I’m comfortable with it as a home cook I don’t see it as demanding at all. So I suppose it’s under consideration.

Go for it. With the stainless cladding it does not take a lot to keep up. Educate him on cleaning and drying after use. Bing good to go.