Knife Recommendation Please

[mom4safe]

Hello!

I have had a Shun Kaji chef's knife and paring knife for a while, but I would like to add to my collection.

1)Pro or home cook?
Home. I am a mom of 7. I cook a lot.

2)What kind of knife do you want? (Gyuto, Santuko, Petty, Paring, Sujihiki, etc.)
I currently have a 6" chef knife from Shun, but would like to try a Santuko, I think. I often need a second chef knife as there are many cooks in my kitchen. I tend to use my knives for all things, meat, veg, herbs... I break down a chicken at least once a week.

3) What size knife do you want?
180 mm at the largest.

4)How much do you want to spend?
$100 or less for this knife. Maybe more later with something else.

5) Do you prefer all stainless, stainless clad over reactive carbon, or all reactive carbon construction?
I would prefer to stay from carbon, as I have children in the kitchen, and I don't want them to destroy a knife.

6)Do you prefer Western or Japanese handle?
I have never tried a Japanese handle, so I think maybe Western.

7)What are your main knife/knives now?
I have a Shun Kaji chef's knife, Shun Kaji paring (both from WS), an old Henkels chef knife and a very long Henkels knife I never use.

8)Are your knife skills excellent, good, fair?
They are good. I have no formal training in knife work.

9)What cutting techniques do you prefer? Are you a rocker, chopper or push/pull cutter?
I tend to chop.

10)Do you know how to sharpen?
My husband does that, but with a steel. We need to learn how to sharpen, and welcome information on this.

[Ut_ron]

Within your budget and in stock, I can recommend these:

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/mavg1sa17.html Stainless, very sharp and quite the looker.

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/tavgnasa17.html
Good treatment of this steel. Not fancy looking put great performance.

[lsboogy]

After my experience with the Takamura Chromax stuff at my brother's house, I would look at this one

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/tachpasa161.html

He got a 210 gyuto for Christmas from his wife, it is a solid cutter and stays sharp (very sharp, sharper than any shun I have ever owned). For less than $100 very few knives seem to have this kind of performance. Plain handle, but the blade is what stands out. I have stopped bringing my knives to his house after he got his Chromax - for the price, I could not think of a better knife

[mom4safe]

Ut-ron - Those look good. What do you think about the length? I loved to a 6" chef knife because I find the length of something longer to be cumbersome.

Isboogy - That chromax is interesting.

I'm starting to think I really need to learn to sharpen and I might need a boning knife of sorts with as much poultry as I tend to break down. It's not a lot, but when I buy in bulk, I will do 20-30 pounds of chicken at a time.

This site has become quite the rabbit hole for me.

[JustinP]

I might need a boning knife of sorts with as much poultry as I tend to break down. It's not a lot, but when I buy in bulk, I will do 20-30 pounds of chicken at a time.

If you're breaking down a lot of poultry, I'd highly recommend a MASAHIRO Bessaku honesuki from bluewayjapan on ebay. You can get them in 120, 150 or 180mm. Fast shipping, and great knives for the price. I have the 180mm garasuki from them, but it's a big knife and based on your comments might be too large for you.

[mom4safe]

What do you like about the Masahiro over the other honesuki's CKTG sells here?

I don't know why I struggle with the longer knives. I have biggish hands and stubby fingers. I'm also not trained. I've just watched a lot of videos on knife work.

[lsboogy]

What do you like about the Masahiro over the other honesuki's CKTG sells here?

I don't know why I struggle with the longer knives. I have biggish hands and stubby fingers. I'm also not trained. I've just watched a lot of videos on knife work.

I have a few honesuki said and some debas, the honesuki is a gem of a blade for breaking down chickens - but you can get by with a gyuto easily (or a santoku). I work a day or so a week for a chef bud (no pay, learning how to run a kitchen for when I retire) and I usually know what I will be prepping before I show so that I make good choices in blades, but I had one day where I was asked to do a few dozen ducks after one of the other line folk had to go home. I did them with my line knife in short order. It's a technique more than a knife choice, but my daughter has a Tojiro DP honesuki that she just loves. It stays sharp, and it will last for many many years in a home setting. Some of my knives are over 100 years old and still in good shape. I would guess if you thought about it having a $70 blade that lasts for 50 years it's only a buck a year - and you can sell them for about what you pay for them. keep an eye on pass arounds if you are wanting to try knives.

But the Chromax stuff seems to be a great fit for my brother - he does not know how to sharpen well, so I bought him a basic strop set and showed him how to use it. That knife gets used 4-5 nights a week and is still sharp enough to paper thin slice a tomato - he does just a few strokes on a strop before he starts using it, and it will probably be summer before I even consider taking a stone to it. It's not chippy either - my brother has bad technique (getting better) and I have not found anything on the edge yet.

[JustinP]

What do you like about the Masahiro over the other honesuki's CKTG sells here?

I don't know why I struggle with the longer knives. I have biggish hands and stubby fingers. I'm also not trained. I've just watched a lot of videos on knife work.

I've heard good things about the Tojiros, but can't speak to them personally.

And yeah, I'm not trained either, but I'd go with using whatever size you're comfortable with.

[Ut_ron]

After my experience with the Takamura Chromax stuff at my brother's house, I would look at this one

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/tachpasa161.html

He got a 210 gyuto for Christmas from his wife, it is a solid cutter and stays sharp (very sharp, sharper than any shun I have ever owned). For less than $100 very few knives seem to have this kind of performance. Plain handle, but the blade is what stands out. I have stopped bringing my knives to his house after he got his Chromax - for the price, I could not think of a better knife

That was going to be my first recommendation but was not in stock.

[Ut_ron]

Ut-ron - Those look good. What do you think about the length? I loved to a 6" chef knife because I find the length of something longer to be cumbersome.


This site has become quite the rabbit hole for me.

Both my wife and daughter said they preferred a 6”, until they used a lighter and longer knife. It also helped that it was so sharp. They only reach for the six inch now when cutting sandwich’s.

Give it a try for a couple of weeks. I bet you will like it. If not put it up for sale. You wouldn’t lose much on the price.

Do look in to sharpening. There are some great how to videos on this site. And yes this site can get very addictive.

[mom4safe]

Thank you for the recommendation for the Mahiro Bessake honesuki. I've got it ordered.

It appears as thought most people prefer to use a gyoto over a santoku. I'm not sure I'm ready to get rid of my current Shun. It's been with me a long while, and has helped me to make many a great memory for my family. If I were to choose a 210 gyoto instead of a santoku, any recommendations? I chop a lot of vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, carrots, radishes, onion, zucchini) and a lot of garlic. We are also meat eaters, and I prepare a protein at least twice a day. I cook breakfast and supper from scratch almost 7 days a week, and my kids make their own lunches. They are not currently allowed to use any nice knives, but I am thinking about changing that. They need to learn better knife skills.

Budget is a little higher. Maybe $150? Or do I need to go to $200.

I'm also thinking about getting a 1000 grit whetstone. Is this the best one to start with? Or should I start with stropping?

[gladius]

Since you have increased your budget, consider the Takamura Migaki R2 Santoku 170mm. It is an excellent knife you are sure to enjoy.

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/takamura1.html



A good first stone for that knife is a Shapton Pro 2000x

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/shpro20.html

You can strop on a newspaper for a finer finish or get some compound for an even finer finish.

There is a nice selection here: https://www.chefknivestogo.com/strops.html
but you can create beautifully finished edges with a bar of green chromium oxide spread on leather, balsa or even some scrap wood for the cheap...

[KOs88]

Did u considered Nakiri / Chinese cleaver? I also started with european chef then Santoku and now I wouldnt change my cleaver for anything and I use almost for everything. There are many benefits and since you ve already Gyuto...

For the price I think great value https://www.chefknivestogo.com/cckcleaver2.html

And what about thisone https://www.chefknivestogo.com/kohana16.html the steel should really hold the edge what do u think guys?

[zizirex]

Nakiri would be nice.. or Bunka....