Double Bevel Kiritsuke?

[Kekoa]

I am considering a double bevel Kiritsuke. My two knives right now that I most enjoy are my Yoshimitsu 210 Gyuto, and my 8 inch Dexter Chinese Cleaver. I find that my Gyuto works great but has a bit more belly than I like, and my Cleaver has a profile I generally prefer, I cut a lot of veg, but it is not as good of a grind or steel. So my thought process is that a Kiritsuke might be the ideal middle ground. What do you think? If you own one what do you like, or dislike about them?

[Miles]

With the different ktips that I’ve bought, they’re pretty interchangeable with a gyuto, but with the addition of how a lower tip effects the geometry of the arc of the cutting surface. They are typically flatter (not always) and more working area for push/pull. I think the old school kiritsukes were shorter in height 45-48mm and now they range from 48-54mm. It’s not going to replace a cleaver but it is nice to have a little more height I towards the front tip when you’re push/pulling. Beyond that, they look cool.

[cliff]

I think it's a knife to knife situation, but, yes, all things equal, a k-tip will tend to have a flatter profile. If you're looking for a flat profile, though, why not just look at makers like Yoshikane and Moritaka that have flatter profiles? How do you feel about height? That may be an issue as well. Those two makers don't usually offer much heel height, except, for Yoshikane ..., some of the k-tips.

[Robstreperous]

I have the following KTips: Yoshikazu Tanaka 210, Yoshikazu Tanaka 165 (ish as I recall), Shi.han 210, Shibata Koutetsu 210.

Leaving the Shibata out of the equation since it's really a different kind of knife, the other 3 are excellent on vegetables if I'm doing a lot of chopping. I also find I need to be mindful of the KTip since it's more fragile than a traditional gyuto tip. Unless I'm prepared to pay attention to making sure I'm not going to tip the knife ... I gravitate toward my gyutos.

Please don't get me wrong, each of those knives is among my very favorite and I always look forward to using them. My comment's really more along the lines of "different horses for different courses."

[cliff]

For Ktips, I have the Shibata Bunka, a Shiro Kamo Bunka, a Yoshikane Gyuto, and a Sukenari Gyuto. Yoshi's are always pretty flat; I think the Sukenari is flatter than their regular gyuto profile. But I see other Ktips that are pretty curvy. In the end, in terms of cutting style, I think flatter is better with push cuts, but otherwise I can't say I prefer these knives to my other Gyutos for vegetable preparations. For me, the more important criteria are, above all, how much work do I have? I prefer thin and light for small tasks and a little heft if I'm going to be at it for awhile. Then there's the issue of soft vs. hard veg in terms of how thin or convexed (or s-ground) I want my knife to be. I like longer knives when I have a pile of greens, garlic, or herbs on the board.

Perhaps because they are quite flat, both my Yoshi and Sukenari feel longer than their stated lengths and are good for relatively compact spaces, though, as Rob notes, one has to beware not to tip them.

ETA - In thinking about it, I reach for the Shibata and Yoshi when I really want to be precise -- more because of how thin they are than their profile. The Sukenari is more of a mid-weight workhorse that I'll grab for all kinds of things.

[Radar53]

My first thoughts were Shibata Koutetsu 210 or the Shibata Koutetsu 185 bunka but see above Rob has already suggested the former and you already have the latter, as do I. The K tip really makes these very versatile for fine dicing eg garlic etc, while the generally flatter main profile is great for most things fruit & vege. My wife has effectively taken over the 185 and become the owner

[Kekoa]

Thanks for the thoughts everyone.

[trancher]

It seems that juice grooves in cutting boards could be even more of a problem with a bunka/kiritsuke type of knife. That delicate tip moving into that depression at any sort of speed might tip the knife. Gyutos should be less of a problem, but still, another reason to not have a juice groove, unless you are doing something that's gonna juice up the board.