My next step knife suggestions please

[Cutuu]

Hey man, about the not being able to go to the store: just suck up and order on line. In the long run you will be much happier. You wait a couple days or a little more and it arrives like a Christmas present.

Ill use this analogy. When i lived in Texas, i used to visit Austin whenever possible. When i would eat out, the food scene was quite good there. I felt like i could almost walk in to wherever and get a great meal. Not all cities are like that. That's kind of the difference of shopping at a place like cktg. You could pick out any knife and most likely get way more value than trying to discern through your options at williams Sonoma or bed bath and beyond. I like gladius's recs.

I started from the bottom inexpensive knives, learned, and worked my way up. While i learned alot, its not the cheapest route. You pay more cash in the long run doing that. If you spend the little extra like the $20 to stepup to the harakaze, it "may" satisfy you for longer and even be a knife that you never totally outgrow. Gladius has lots of knives and still seems to love that one. I have the srs15 version of that knife and also still love it, despite having others. Its a really great all purpose profile imo. The AS version looks like it has a really nice handle. I wouldnt even think about shopping in bed bath and beyond for cutlery. Im not being a snob. That thought has just become ludacrious to me.

[jbart65]

The best knife in your price range is the Makoto White if you can snag one at the "introductory" price. He's been trying to build his brand with ridiculously low priced knives. I don't know if the basic wa handled Makoto White will come back in stock at $99, but get on the email alert and jump on it if it does.

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/madaw2gy21.html

For a mere $75 the Yoshimitsu Fugen bunka is a killer deal. I just tried one on a passaround. Supposed to fully reactive but it acted like stainless.

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/yofuwh1.html

I owned the Kanehide PS60 240 and second Gladius' recommendation a little higher up the price scale. Very good knife and not just as a starter. But yes, for $20 more the Harukaze fully opens up the door to the world of j knives.

We all have budgets and I understand that. It was harrd for me to plunk down $130 for my first PS60. I've since bought knives costing up to $500 and used others that could double the amount. What I found is that the best knives are in the $200 to $300 range (240 size). They are good enough to last a home cook a lifetime and even be passed down.

You can get amazing knives at lower prices, especially if you go to a 210 or santoku. Goko, Gihei, Harukaze, Ittu Ryu, Tanaka, Makoto, Kohetsu, Masakage Yuki. As others have said, it's better to save a bit more over time and get the right knife instead of letting the itch drive you to buy something not fully satisfactory over the long run.

If you post enough and become a regular, you can also join knife passarounds and try different knives for just the cost of shipping. Lots of us even swap knives.

Before you go that route, though, you have to love to cook - and be prepared to excape how you now think about knives and value. This site radically altered my view on the nature of that relationship.

[Lounge_Fly]

Hey man, about the not being able to go to the store: just suck up and order on line. In the long run you will be much happier. You wait a couple days or a little more and it arrives like a Christmas present.

Ill use this analogy. When i lived in Texas, i used to visit Austin whenever possible. When i would eat out, the food scene was quite good there. I felt like i could almost walk in to wherever and get a great meal. Not all cities are like that. That's kind of the difference of shopping at a place like cktg. You could pick out any knife and most likely get way more value than trying to discern through your options at williams Sonoma or bed bath and beyond. I like gladius's recs.

I started from the bottom inexpensive knives, learned, and worked my way up. While i learned alot, its not the cheapest route. You pay more cash in the long run doing that. If you spend the little extra like the $20 to stepup to the harakaze, it "may" satisfy you for longer and even be a knife that you never totally outgrow. Gladius has lots of knives and still seems to love that one. I have the srs15 version of that knife and also still love it, despite having others. Its a really great all purpose profile imo. The AS version looks like it has a really nice handle. I wouldnt even think about shopping in bed bath and beyond for cutlery. Im not being a snob. That thought has just become ludacrious to me.

Thanks for the comment. I did "suck it up" and order online. I just wanted to see different knives at a store to get a feel for what I would like. I don't want to deal with returning any more. I'm not too concerned about the cost. I'm not saying that I've got oodles of cash at my disposal, I just don't know knives well enough to see spending much more than $100. When I taught guitar I always recommended guitars for beginners that were far better than what they were considering but still very affordable. That is why I'm here on this forum and shopping this store. I read that the lower cost knives sold here will be better than what I currently have. A lot better!

I've been cooking since the 7th grade. Had to make a dish for a class. I made homemade chicken a la king. I'm 45 now. I just never thought about going to the next level of enjoyment. For me, that level includes getting a nicer knife and educating myself about herbs and spices and yes, learning how to chop things quickly. That's fun! I don't have the need for anything too expensive at the moment. I feel I'll enjoy learning to use a sharper knife while gradually stepping up to the more expensive metals.

By the way, I ordered the Fujiwara FKM 210. I liked the look of the 240 I returned so why not just go with that in the size I like. I also paid for the sharpening. I'm excited to use my first professionally sharpened knife.

Once again, thank you all for the comments and help!

[Lounge_Fly]

The best knife in your price range is the Makoto White if you can snag one at the "introductory" price. He's been trying to build his brand with ridiculously low priced knives. I don't know if the basic wa handled Makoto White will come back in stock at $99, but get on the email alert and jump on it if it does.

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/madaw2gy21.html

For a mere $75 the Yoshimitsu Fugen bunka is a killer deal. I just tried one on a passaround. Supposed to fully reactive but it acted like stainless.

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/yofuwh1.html

I owned the Kanehide PS60 240 and second Gladius' recommendation a little higher up the price scale. Very good knife and not just as a starter. But yes, for $20 more the Harukaze fully opens up the door to the world of j knives.

We all have budgets and I understand that. It was harrd for me to plunk down $130 for my first PS60. I've since bought knives costing up to $500 and used others that could double the amount. What I found is that the best knives are in the $200 to $300 range (240 size). They are good enough to last a home cook a lifetime and even be passed down.

You can get amazing knives at lower prices, especially if you go to a 210 or santoku. Goko, Gihei, Harukaze, Ittu Ryu, Tanaka, Makoto, Kohetsu, Masakage Yuki. As others have said, it's better to save a bit more over time and get the right knife instead of letting the itch drive you to buy something not fully satisfactory over the long run.

If you post enough and become a regular, you can also join knife passarounds and try different knives for just the cost of shipping. Lots of us even swap knives.

Before you go that route, though, you have to love to cook - and be prepared to excape how you now think about knives and value. This site radically altered my view on the nature of that relationship.

I almost bought one of the knives you have in your comment. My cart had 5 or 6 knives in it. I just felt this was getting ridiculous. I really just want something I'll like better than what I have and learn how to sharpen it. I've really only sharpened pocket knives, lawnmower blades, I have even used sharpening stones on some sharp guitar fret ends. I've never been able to get a good edge on a chefs knife. I only sharpened it a few times. Otherwise I just used a rod... poorly. So, I stuck with the knife I just had but in the size I'm more comfortable with.

Thank you for the help!

[Cutuu]

I think you will like the fujiwara. They are quality knives that will make cooking much more fun.

[Lounge_Fly]

I think you will like the fujiwara. They are quality knives that will make cooking much more fun.

I'll like it. I liked the look and feel of the 240. I will need to either learn to hold the knife better or sand down the top where I grip it. That was too edgy on the 240. Thanks for all the help!

[Cutuu]

I think you will like the fujiwara. They are quality knives that will make cooking much more fun.

I'll like it. I liked the look and feel of the 240. I will need to either learn to hold the knife better or sand down the top where I grip it. That was too edgy on the 240. Thanks for all the help!

Honestly, you may have to use sandpaper on the 210 also. That spine may be the same. My srs15 was more than twice the price of that knife and it bugged me the same on the spine. I had to sand it.

[salemj]

Yeah, the sanding is just part of the game. I've had to sand several knives well above $300 in price before. It is just one of the "cultural" differences that Japanese knives reveals to us! However, it is so easy and takes so little time that you should not hesitate to do it for a second—it makes a HUGE difference in how you connect with the knife.

[Lounge_Fly]

Thanks. I'm sure I'll be sanding it soon.

[Cutuu]

Thanks. I'm sure I'll be sanding it soon.

Yeah, its super easy. I procrastinated untill it peased me off enough to just do it.

[Lounge_Fly]

Thanks. I'm sure I'll be sanding it soon.

Yeah, its super easy. I procrastinated untill it peased me off enough to just do it.

Just curious.... did it leave a bunch of scratches? Any tips on how to avoid that or will all be just fine???

[Lepus]

It won't leave any scratches. You just need to set the knife in a stable position and draw some medium grit sandpaper over the spine in a shoeshine motion. A vice is ideal, but not required.

[Jeff B]

I've used a sharpening stone and used it like file, so to speak, to ease a spine before. Worked well.
You can hold the knife with one hand in a similar position as in the video and just brush the spine with the stone.

[Lounge_Fly]

Good lord, that is too easy to even discuss it! Thank you.

[Cutuu]

Thanks. I'm sure I'll be sanding it soon.

Yeah, its super easy. I procrastinated untill it peased me off enough to just do it.

Just curious.... did it leave a bunch of scratches? Any tips on how to avoid that or will all be just fine???

+1 to what the others said. You can also tap the blade and then you wont scratch it. I just tapped the blade and held it while i buffed woth some sanding pads i had from cktg.

[Lounge_Fly]

I can't wait to get this knife. Should be here in a day or two. I am already looking to get a damascus steel knife. My oldest son was asking if I got one. He learned about damascus steel in a class at school. I'm guessing I could bump the budget up to around $300 for that. I'm looking forward to the next round of research for a kitchen knife!

[Puduu]

I just today tried the phonebook and shoeshine method. Works a treat. Masked the whole blade and handle, and then used 400 wet/dry followed by 1000 to smooth it out.

[jbart65]

A Damascus is mostly cosmetic in terms performance. Steel, heat treat and profile are more important. If anything a Damascus is more likely to harm than help, but there are plenty of great performers with that kind of finish. Like my best knife, a Tanaka Sekiso.

[Lounge_Fly]

A Damascus is mostly cosmetic in terms performance. Steel, heat treat and profile are more important. If anything a Damascus is more likely to harm than help, but there are plenty of great performers with that kind of finish. Like my best knife, a Tanaka Sekiso.

I didn't know that. It does look cool though!

[Lepus]

Since this has largely been happily concluded, here's the skinny on Damascus.

What people call Damascus steel can refer to different things. The steel used in Syria to produce weapons for hundreds of years largely outperformed other steels produced at the time. A few countries in the Near East produced it or near equivalents, but Damascus was famous for its weapons. The steel's method of production is unknown, though modern attempts to recreate it have gotten closeish. It has an striking, inconsistent dappled pattern.

Modern pattern welded steel is made by layering and welding together two or more types of steel and grinding the resulting steel block down until the different layers present themselves for visual effect, jawbreaker style. The steel can be twisted, hammered, and otherwise manipulated while it is being worked to present predictable patterns. It has a passing resemblance to Damascus steel, but most modern pattern welded knives usually look pretty structured. After it is forged and shaped the steel is typically etched or abraded to bring out the contrast between the layers.

Most Japanese pattern welded knives are not made entirely from one piece of pattern welded steel. They are instead made with a core steel that forms the edge and a cladding layer of the pattern welded steel wrapped around most of the outside. If you look at a picture of a Tanaka Sekiso, you'll see the entire edge section is all one steel. For the cook the knife performs largely like one made from just the core steel, which is selected for how it sharpens and holds an edge, while still looking neat because of the jacket.



This sort of construction is also used with claddings made from one steel. Most artisanal Japanese knives are made with some type of cladding because layered knives are more elastic and so are less likely to snap during production, keeping costs down.

Knives can also be made from pattern welded steel without a cladding. It's usually a bit pricey and most of the time there knives are made by Western smiths. This does mean the knife's steel performance is based on the mixture of the two steels used to make it, but most of the time good makers select steels in part based on how they can be heat treated and how they perform together. All else being equal pure pattern welded knives are not going to be better than knives with a single steel on the edge and are in theory perhaps a little worse. If you want to see some truly remarkable modern pattern welding, Randy Haas makes pattern welded steel that almost beggars belief. There may be people who do more remarkable things, but I have never seen it.



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