270 Sujihiki Recommendation

[Bluenoser87]

1)Pro or home cook?
Home
2)What kind of knife do you want? (Gyuto, Santuko, Petty, Paring, Sujihiki, etc.)
Sujihiki, or may even Yanagiba (lefty though)
3) What size knife do you want?
300 really but I think it's probably too big for my space so 270
4)How much do you want to spend?
<$300
5) Do you prefer all stainless, stainless clad over reactive carbon, or all reactive carbon construction?
Prefer stainless clad over carbon, but fully carbon ok
6)Do you prefer Western or Japanese handle?
Prefer Japanese but western ok
7)What are your main knife/knives now?
Anryu Hammered blue #2 240 gyuto and 150 petty plus a bunch of cheaper Wusthof
8)Are your knife skills excellent, good, fair?
fair/good
9)What cutting techniques do you prefer? Are you a rocker, chopper or push/pull cutter?
a bit of everything depending on situation but push/pull for this
10)Do you know how to sharpen?
yes

So I've recently jumped into using Japanese knives with the 2 Anryu knives mentioned above after mostly using Eruopean style knives forever. So far I'm really impressed and kind of feel like I've been missing out for a long time. I've been eying a Sujihiki to add to my block. I've mostly been looking at the Anryu hammered (out of stock at the moment), the Kohetsu Blue #2 Nashiji, and Misono Swedish. I make a bit of sashimi at home but it'll be mostly for slicing boneless steak, chicken, tri-tip, etc. I'm tempted to get a Yanagiba just to try a single bevel but a Sujihiki seems better suited for what I'll be doing.

A couple of questions:
-Will a 270mm Sujihiki offer much over the 240mm Gyuto I have now? I guess getting nothing is an option, but that doesn't seem like much fun.
-Being a lefty, should I even be considering the Misono? It has a 70/30 grind I think
-The Anryu and the Kohetsu appear sort of similar. I'd probably just get the Anryu to match the others I have but it's out of stock. I don't have any experience with other Japanese knife brands here except for the Anryus and playing around briefly with Shun/Miyabi in stores. Is it worth waiting for the Anryu to come back in stock? I know there's a lot more out there than just Anryu, I just don't have much basis for comparison.
-Any suggestions for anything else?

Thanks!

[jacko9]

No you don't "need" one if you have a 240 gyuto BUT - I "had" to have one to satisfy my "need". There is a gem on the store site in the close out section for you to consider;

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/sporforjo1.html

Jack

[Bluenoser87]

Hmmm...I haven’t checked the close out section before. I wasn’t really looking for stainless but this one looks interesting. Is this going to be harder to sharpen compared to blue #2 steel? Also, is it an even 50/50 grind?

[Bluenoser87]

Yeah, that’s usually the way I end up “needing” things too...

[Jeff B]

Hmmm...I haven’t checked the close out section before. I wasn’t really looking for stainless but this one looks interesting. Is this going to be harder to sharpen compared to blue #2 steel? Also, is it an even 50/50 grind?

It won't be more difficult to sharpen but will probably just take a few minutes longer than a carbon. And yes, it is a 50/50 grind.

As a home cook I have plenty of gyutos that would work just fine to slice with but where's the fun in that. I bought a 300mm suji and yea, that is one LONG phucking knife! Comes in handy sometimes but is overkill most of the time. And when it comes to sujis, most are going to perform very well for you. I would just look at knives in your price range and in what steel you might be interested in and get the one that keeps grabbing your attention!

[Lepus]

CKTG brought that sujihiki in for the forum at a deep discount. It is at least good at anything you need a slicer to do and is outstanding at many things. I'm a little surprised they haven't sold out, but full sized sujihikis aren't too popular outside professional kitchens. For your purposes as a general purpose slicer the knife would fill the roll wonderfully, but if you want something more exotic there are plenty of other good choices. Aesthetically this Konosuke is completely pedestrian. I would look for a knife with similar dimensions, though, with reasonably low heel height and thin spine. Taller, thicker sujihikis don't do as well slicing sashimi as knives lile this Konosuke.

My own Konosuke Swedish stainless has cemented its place in my knife roll, which sets it ahead of all but one gyuto.

[Bluenoser87]

Not too concerned about how exotic it looks. Just ordered the Konosuke. Thanks for pointing that one out, it looks like a good fit for my uses. Sounds like a pretty solid deal after reading through some of the commentary on the forum.

[jacko9]

I think you will be very happy with the Konosuke - I own four of them and enjoy each one a 240 HD2 semi-stainless gyuto, a 210 B#2 Fujiyama gyuto, a 210 W#2 Fujiyama petty and a 150 GS petty with semi-stainless.

[Bluenoser87]

It arrived today. I made some sashimi and steak so I could do extra slicing haha. This thing is awesome. Just the right amount of flex and fit and finish is perfect. Puts my old carving knives to shame pretty easily. I scuffed it up a bit on the stones (oops) but it sharpened pretty easily compared to other stainless knives I have. Not that different to the blue #2 Anryus as far as sharpening goes. 240 HD2 on the way too

[Lepus]

I'm glad you like it. I used mine today for salmon and to portion tenderloin and as always it impressed.

[jacko9]

Glad you like it also and the 240 HD2 will be fantastic (it was my first Jknife)

[Bluenoser87]

Just sliced up a gigantic watermelon tonight with the Konosuke Suji. It’s a task that’s always been a chore before with wedging and forcing and cursing. I actually really enjoyed it and wish I had a few more to do. It was effortless. I’m looking for more things to slice haha! Really super impressed here. Thanks again for pointing me in this direction.