Knife Recommendation

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Gatsby
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Knife Recommendation

Post by Gatsby »

Hi, I am interested in getting a good Japanese knife for general purpose cooking.


1)Pro or home cook? Home

2)What kind of knife do you want? (Gyuto, Santuko, Petty, Paring, Sujihiki, etc.): Don't know

3) What size knife do you want? Probably 8"-10" (210-270mm)

4)How much do you want to spend? Max $300

5) Do you prefer all stainless, stainless clad over reactive carbon, or all reactive carbon construction? Don't know.

6)Do you prefer Western or Japanese handle? Either

7)What are your main knife/knives now? Had a Messerschmidt 12" Chef knife, a Misono Molybdenum Santoku (around 8"), and a Messerschmidt paring knife. Lost them all in a fire so am looking to replace. I liked the Santoku for general prep because of it's sharpness. The 12" chef was good for larger things, and had a good rocking motioned some heft to it.

8)Are your knife skills excellent, good, fair? Fair

9)What cutting techniques do you prefer? Are you a rocker, chopper or push/pull cutter? Probably a little of all.

10)Do you know how to sharpen? Sort of. Had Japaneses whetstones (again, lost in fire), and could sharpen with them, but was still learning. Recently I bought a Chef Choice Model 15 electric, and one of the questions I had was if that is suitable for use on a really fine knife.


Overall, I don't cook a ton, but I do enjoy using really good knives when I do, so I wanted to invest in something nice. I'll probably end up getting 2-3 knives eventually (or more, depending on my budget), but wanted to start out with something that is good at a variety of tasks. Probably cutting up veggies is the main thing I would use it for, with the occasional meat/fish prep.

I was looking at the Kohetsu 210 AS Gyuto but really with so many to choose from, I could use some advice. Much appreciated.
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Jeff B
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Re: Knife Recommendation

Post by Jeff B »

If you had a 12" chef knife and liked it I wouldn't go any smaller than a 240mm Gyuto to start.
The Kurosaki AS is a great do-it-all knife and is a bargain at its price point. https://www.chefknivestogo.com/kuasku24gy.html
Has a very confident feel, an above average stock handle and is an excellent all around cutter.
If God wanted me to be a vegetarian he wouldn't have made animals taste so good.
Dan_Crubenew
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Re: Knife Recommendation

Post by Dan_Crubenew »

Hey Gatsby, sorry to hear about the losses to the fire.
Jeff put forward a solid knife in the Kurosaki AS. I also would go with the 240 personally, if it were me. I have had the knife pretty much since it was offered on CKTG and I think it is great. I should probably take it to work more, haha.

Another nice choice, for a home kitchen without a set of stones might be this knife
https://www.chefknivestogo.com/kohawagy24.html

I had a Kohetsu in AS for a bit, and I never really vibed with it but I respect it for what it was; A good knife at a good price point. It is a knife you can grow with and it would take a lot to "outgrow" it in terms of knife skills where you would really want something nicer. If I hadn't already had knives in the likes of Konosuke and Masakage, etc who knows? maybe the Kohetsu would still be with me today.

The PM steel in the HAP40 "should" retain its sharpness for a very long time in the home setting, maybe long enough to see a replacement stone set. I would advise you to not put the Kohetsu or the Kurosaki thru an electric sharpener.

I have also heard good things about this knife
https://www.chefknivestogo.com/ya24gywa.html

But I have no personal insight to lend about it.
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Jeff B
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Re: Knife Recommendation

Post by Jeff B »

And as far as the Chef Choice goes, DO NOT use it on a high end knife!
If God wanted me to be a vegetarian he wouldn't have made animals taste so good.
Gatsby
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Re: Knife Recommendation

Post by Gatsby »

Thanks for the advice. After reading the reviews, I"m sold on the Kurosaki. I'm just not sure if the 210 or the 240 would suit me best. My favorite knife before was a 180 mm Misono Santoku, so that makes me think I might be better off with the 210. But maybe I just need to get used to the bigger blade. It sounds like I also need to get up to speed on to keep these types of knifes sharp.
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Re: Knife Recommendation

Post by Dan_Crubenew »

If you have the room I would take the 240 over the 210 every time. But I have been known to be bias against 210 for a few reasons.

That said, a 240 will be generally more useful for most things and once you get used to it can be used for more detailed work. I do however put forward that my Kurosaki is an oversized 240 closer to 245/250 mm in length and is 52 or so mm tall. As a handmade knife you can expect that kind of variety over stamped or machine made knives. Perhaps the 210 will follow that trend and be similarly a bit over the spec.

My biggest gripe about 210 mm knives is a blanket problem - that most of them are shorter at the heel than I like. If you can deal with a knife that is between 43 mm and 46mm tall then a 210 might not bother you at all and indeed would be more familiar to the old santoku you have used previously.

As for maintenance a 1k/6k combo stone is affordable and will be enough to keep the Kurosaki (or most any knife) going for quite a while.
Gatsby
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Re: Knife Recommendation

Post by Gatsby »

Thanks a lot Dan. Maybe I will go with the 240 after all. And thanks for the advice on the stone, too.
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Jeff B
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Re: Knife Recommendation

Post by Jeff B »

Gatsby wrote: Wed Jul 25, 2018 10:49 pm Thanks for the advice. After reading the reviews, I"m sold on the Kurosaki. I'm just not sure if the 210 or the 240 would suit me best. My favorite knife before was a 180 mm Misono Santoku, so that makes me think I might be better off with the 210. But maybe I just need to get used to the bigger blade. It sounds like I also need to get up to speed on to keep these types of knifes sharp.
If you think a 210 might suit you better then go with the 210. It is a good size for everyday home cooking. Lots of cooks out there prefer a 210, you know what you prefer better than us.
Edge maintenance and sharpening is not difficult, you just need to set your mind to learn it and do it.
If God wanted me to be a vegetarian he wouldn't have made animals taste so good.
old onion
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Re: Knife Recommendation

Post by old onion »

Jeff B wrote: Thu Jul 26, 2018 11:12 am
Gatsby wrote: Wed Jul 25, 2018 10:49 pm Thanks for the advice. After reading the reviews, I"m sold on the Kurosaki. I'm just not sure if the 210 or the 240 would suit me best. My favorite knife before was a 180 mm Misono Santoku, so that makes me think I might be better off with the 210. But maybe I just need to get used to the bigger blade. It sounds like I also need to get up to speed on to keep these types of knifes sharp.
If you think a 210 might suit you better then go with the 210. It is a good size for everyday home cooking. Lots of cooks out there prefer a 210, you know what you prefer better than us.
Edge maintenance and sharpening is not difficult, you just need to set your mind to learn it and do it.
I totally agree with Jeff here. I for one seem to have come back to using the 210 more then my 240's after using 240's for awhile simply because some of my 210's just seem to fit the preps that I am doing plus I don't always have the room to work a 240 and sometimes the 210 just seems to fit and feel better.But like Jeff said,only you can determine which size you would prefer. Get both sizes,one size now and one size later,you will find that you enjoy both.Start with one and play it by ear.I did it this way and now I have a dozen knives. :roll:
Gatsby
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Re: Knife Recommendation

Post by Gatsby »

That's what I'm afraid of!! But it's good advice.

How often do people use petty's, or paring knives? I had one before, and it was useful for some things, but I didn't end up using it as much as I thought I would.
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Re: Knife Recommendation

Post by Dan_Crubenew »

Paring knife/Petty Knifes are nice to have sometimes, but I think you said it all yourself when you wrote that you didn't use the one you had as much as you thought you would.

If you find yourself making excuses to use a particular style of knife when you can make do with just one multipurpose blade then I would say you don't really need a petty.

They (Petty Knives) are nice for in hand work, trimming meats, garnish work, etc. If you find yourself constantly wishing for a smaller knife for finer work the MAC pro is good for it. If you are looking for something a bit longer and more showy then the sky is kind of the limit as far as what CKTG offers in petty/paring knives.

If you let me know what you have in mind to use it for I can make a more specific rec, but I'm not hearing the conviction that you actually need one yet.
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lsboogy
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Re: Knife Recommendation

Post by lsboogy »

i used a paring knife last month toureneauing some mushrooms, but the petty/paring stuff mostly just collects dust any more. I use a nakiri/usuba type knife sometimes, and a gyuto (240 mostly - sometimes a 210 or 270) for almost all of my work. I have been using just one knife for everything for the past couple weeks (my first thinned knife) and have had really good results and am learning how to use it for almost everything I cut in the kitchen. I'm getting to the point that I can do most everything with the knife - a good knife for you may be different than what I want, but I am learning I can do most of my kitchen work with just one knife.
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Jeff B
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Re: Knife Recommendation

Post by Jeff B »

I have petties in 150, 165 and 180, they all see use. They might not get used everyday but I like having them around when I need them.
If God wanted me to be a vegetarian he wouldn't have made animals taste so good.
Gatsby
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Re: Knife Recommendation

Post by Gatsby »

I'm not really any sort of an accomplished chef in the kitchen. I don't even know what to "tourneau a mushroom" means. I used to use my paring knife for things like cutting the seeds out of apples after they had been quartered when making a pie, or cutting up a piece of fruit I was eating. So, useful for some tasks, but not something I used a lot in the kitchen. I've read good things about the Kanehide TK petty, and it's only $75 for the 150 mm, so I may just get that as it's not that much of an investment. And the 150mm length as opposed to the shorter one my make it more versatile. Again, thanks for the input.
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Re: Knife Recommendation

Post by dafox »

Jeff B wrote: Sat Jul 28, 2018 8:28 pm I have petties in 150, 165 and 180, they all see use. They might not get used everyday but I like having them around when I need them.
What do you find yourself using the 180 for?
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