Recommendation for first Gyuto

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Trith
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Recommendation for first Gyuto

Post by Trith »

My name is Cody, im from Kentucky, and a deal with knife lust syndrome. :D

I've been wanting to buy a "good" knife for a while, and I've decided to finally make the plunge. I'm not an avid cook, but I cook enough to want something better than what I have. There's a certain knife in the classifieds here that catches my eye, but more ideas and opinions are always a good thing.

1)Pro or home cook? I'm a home cook.

2)What kind of knife do you want? - (Gyuto, Santuko, Petty, Paring, Sujihiki, etc.) I definitely want to start with a Gyuto, but eventually I would like to replace all of my current knives.

3) What size knife do you want? - I currently don't have anything beyond 210mm, but I think I would be happy with a 240. I do have a rather large cutting board.

4)How much do you want to spend? - $200-ish A little more or a little less is fine.

5) Do you prefer all stainless, stainless clad over reactive carbon, or all reactive carbon construction? - I'm looking for full reactive, I have no reason to be fast in the kitchen, so I don't mind babying a good knife.

6)Do you prefer Western or Japanese handle? - I definitely want to try a Wa handle. I've never used a knife with one before, but I've tried pinch gripping my knives and I feel like I would prefer it with the right handle.

7)What are your main knife/knives now? - They're all cheap hand me downs. I have a Chicago cutlery santoku, a 3 piece set of Tramontina carbon knives from a 8.5in chefs knife down to a paring. I have a no name cleaver and bread knife. Not terribly impressive for a collection.

8)Are your knife skills excellent, good, fair? - I'd say fair. Being more precise and developing better technique is something I'd like to do.

9)What cutting techniques do you prefer? Are you a rocker, chopper or push/pull cutter? - Probably more rocker/chopper, although I'm open to switching that up.

10)Do you know how to sharpen? - Yes, I've been sharpening for about a year. I wouldn't describe myself as an A grade sharpner, but I've gotten knives to the point of shaving my arm with them. I have a 200 DMT Stone, and 1k/6k King stone, which I'm looking to upgrade at some point.

I feel like spending more on a knife that doesn't need a bunch of fixing and sanding and a new handle, and that looks good, will be more enjoyable. By the time I've done all that stuff I might as well spend more.

And I'm an advocate for buying used with most valuable things. If it's already depreciated from it's new cost in someone else's hands, then it has more resale value for me. If I decide to sell the knife I get in the future, recouping most of the cost of a used knife is a lot easier than a new one.

I've been perusing the classifieds and found a few knives that I like, one in particular. Used just seems like the logical way to go. But I'm open to different ideas.
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Jeff B
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Re: Recommendation for first Gyuto

Post by Jeff B »

An excellent bang for the buck knife. Carbon core with stainless cladding.
Harukaze AS Wa Gyuto 240mm https://www.chefknivestogo.com/haas24wagy.html

Absolutely nothing wrong with checking out BST. You can find some great deals there!
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Re: Recommendation for first Gyuto

Post by lsboogy »

Rocker/chopper leads me to think you might want to check out a Sabatier profiled knife.

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/kogs24frstgy.html

This one is stainless, but it's a Kono and is done with classic French (Sabatier) profile. Long flat spot for chopping and a decent belly for rocking. The profile is why we are seeing so many makers now producing KS profiled knives - I grew up with French blades due to my mom and Julia Child, and seem to wander back to the profile every chance I get. I'm getting a custom knife from Carter Hopkins for Christmas this year, and through several exchanges we now have a blade that's about half flat spot, good belly, and very tall. Moden interpretation of the classic. I drool thinking about it.
Trith
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Re: Recommendation for first Gyuto

Post by Trith »

Thank you both for the recommendations. I would like to stay with a carbon steel core, at least for this first knife. And one thing I forgot to mention is that I'm partial to korouchi finish. I don't know that I'd want all of my knives to have it, but I'd like at least one. And since I've never had a knife with it, most of the knives I've been looking at the past couple of weeks have it.

Initially I was dead set on white #2 steel, but I've since relaxed that requirement to include blue and AS steel. I've heard that white paper steel is easiest to sharpen, and can reach the most refined edge, but is it really that big of a difference? Are the aogami steels really that much more difficult to sharpen?
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Jeff B
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Re: Recommendation for first Gyuto

Post by Jeff B »

Blue steels sharpen almost as easily as White steels and take nearly as good an edge. If I gave you a knife with White steel and one with Blue I bet you wouldn't be able to tell the difference. AS steel(Aogami Super) is a little harder to sharpen than Whites and the other Blues and it is noticeable but it is not "hard" to sharpen. It just takes a couple more minutes to do. AS holds its edge longer than the other carbons too though.
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Jeff B
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Re: Recommendation for first Gyuto

Post by Jeff B »

Again, excellent bang for the buck, Harukaze AS Morado Gyuto 240mm https://www.chefknivestogo.com/hamoasgy24.html

Best $200 knife you will ever buy. You can enter your email address to be notified when back in stock.
Makoto White #2 Gyuto 240mm https://www.chefknivestogo.com/mawh2gy24.html
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Trith
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Re: Recommendation for first Gyuto

Post by Trith »

Jeff B wrote: Wed Dec 04, 2019 5:14 pm Again, excellent bang for the buck, Harukaze AS Morado Gyuto 240mm https://www.chefknivestogo.com/hamoasgy24.html

Best $200 knife you will ever buy. You can enter your email address to be notified when back in stock.
Makoto White #2 Gyuto 240mm https://www.chefknivestogo.com/mawh2gy24.html
I've been eyeing that Makoto for a couple of weeks now. I agree, it seems just about perfect at the price. Unfortunately it seems that they've been out of stock for quite some time now, and that he's been focusing on different lines of knives. With so many knives to choose from, it can be so tough to choose!
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jbart65
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Re: Recommendation for first Gyuto

Post by jbart65 »

Get the Makoto Ryusei instead. I like it better anyway. In stock too.
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Jeff B
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Re: Recommendation for first Gyuto

Post by Jeff B »

You can email Mark and see if he has any Makoto's on order.

Where are you in Kentucky?
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Jeff B
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Re: Recommendation for first Gyuto

Post by Jeff B »

I see you sent a PM on that Shiro Kamo. A good knife at a great price, you'll be happy with it!
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Trith
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Re: Recommendation for first Gyuto

Post by Trith »

Jeff B wrote: Wed Dec 04, 2019 9:11 pm I see you sent a PM on that Shiro Kamo. A good knife at a great price, you'll be happy with it!
A week ago, I was really wishing the Makoto White #2 240mm was in stock, and I had even considered the Yahiko Sanjo White #2 Nashiji Gyuto, although it's a bit pricier. But the snakewood handle of that Shiro along with the price just keeps pulling me back, I hope it works out.
Jeff B wrote:Where are you in Kentucky?
I'm in Paducah, almost as far west as Kentucky gets.
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Jeff B
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Re: Recommendation for first Gyuto

Post by Jeff B »

Trith wrote: Wed Dec 04, 2019 10:10 pm
Jeff B wrote: Wed Dec 04, 2019 9:11 pm I see you sent a PM on that Shiro Kamo. A good knife at a great price, you'll be happy with it!
A week ago, I was really wishing the Makoto White #2 240mm was in stock, and I had even considered the Yahiko Sanjo White #2 Nashiji Gyuto, although it's a bit pricier. But the snakewood handle of that Shiro along with the price just keeps pulling me back, I hope it works out.
As mentioned you can email Mark through the store to see if he expects to get any Makotos in the near future.
If you have an interest in the Yahiko Sanjo you might also consider the Yahiko White #2 Kurouchi Gyuto 240mm, a little closer to your budget. A very similar knife in geometry and performance with just a little different finish and handle.
Trith wrote: Wed Dec 04, 2019 10:10 pm
Jeff B wrote:Where are you in Kentucky?
I'm in Paducah, almost as far west as Kentucky gets.
Born and raised in Louisville most of my life. My parents have a nice Farm just south of Elizabethtown.
If God wanted me to be a vegetarian he wouldn't have made animals taste so good.
Trith
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Re: Recommendation for first Gyuto

Post by Trith »

In short: I ended up ordering two (and half) knives.

After reading about chinese cleavers, I knew I had to try one, especially if the price was right. Many sources pointed to the CCK Small Cleaver, and the price was right, so I bought it. I'm excited to try it out, and see if the hype is real. I also threw in the Tsubazo 180mm Gyuto because it was only $23 and I figured I could always give it to someone.

But, while checking my email for the order confirmation, I noticed another email from CKTG from earlier in the day. It was notification that the Kurosaki AS 240mm Gyuto was in stock. Suffice to say, I had my order placed within minutes. I'm REALLY excited to try out this knife. This was the kind of thing I was initially looking for. Kurouchi finish, nice octagonal handle, thin grind. I'm certain I'll be pretty happy with it, the reviews certainly give it a lot of praise. The grape video on the sale page certainly didn't hurt either, well, other than my wallet.

So my spending got a little out of control (compared to my original budget), but I think it'll be worth it. Both knives should be arriving Wednesday. Pictures and thoughts will follow.
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Jeff B
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Re: Recommendation for first Gyuto

Post by Jeff B »

That Kurosaki is a lot of knife for the money, own one myself. It's a great knife that I think you love!
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