Your Knife That Outperforms Its Price

[Kerneldrop]

What knife/knives do you immediately think of that surprisingly outperforms its cost?

My pick is the Wakiu Hamano 210mm W2 Gyuto.
https://www.chefknivestogo.com/wash2gy21.html

I have another 210mm that's 2.5x the price and it would be tough picking the "premium" one if the handles were removed.

[TheLegalRazor]

What knife/knives do you immediately think of that surprisingly outperforms its cost?

My pick is the Wakiu Hamano 210mm W2 Gyuto.
https://www.chefknivestogo.com/wash2gy21.html

I have another 210mm that's 2.5x the price and it would be tough picking the "premium" one if the handles were removed.

I don't have a Wakui but that seems like an excellent value. Wakui has become better known and I hope he continues offering this moderately priced line.

[Robstreperous]

Didn't even have to think about this for a second.

Anryu Blue 2 hammered:
https://www.chefknivestogo.com/anhagy21.html

This weekend I was using it along with a Kono FM. There are differences between the 2 knives. Some things I like better about the Kono. Some things I like better about the Anryu. But overall from a pure performance standpoint for me it's a draw.

With the Anryu's price tag at least half that of the Kono... For knife that outperforms its price... No contest.

[aporigine]

Mine’s the Kuwabara 115 tall petty. Eager little unit. Boy howdy does it get sharp. I wish it were still available. I’d get four more as a killer steak set.

[jknife]

Didn't even have to think about this for a second.

Anryu Blue 2 hammered:
https://www.chefknivestogo.com/anhagy21.html

This weekend I was using it along with a Kono FM. There are differences between the 2 knives. Some things I like better about the Kono. Some things I like better about the Anryu. But overall from a pure performance standpoint for me it's a draw.

With the Anryu's price tag at least half that of the Kono... For knife that outperforms its price... No contest.

BLASPHEMY! I don't own a FM but I love my Anryu Blue 2.

[TheLegalRazor]

My Moritaka 210mm AS. An excellent value for an AS knife at its current CKTG price of $190.00, although I paid less when I acquired it some years ago.

www.chefknivestogo.com/moritaka9.html

[cliff]

Moritaka AS, Munetoshi W2, Mazaki W2, Masahiro VC, Takamura R2

[Robstreperous]

Didn't even have to think about this for a second.

Anryu Blue 2 hammered:
https://www.chefknivestogo.com/anhagy21.html

This weekend I was using it along with a Kono FM. There are differences between the 2 knives. Some things I like better about the Kono. Some things I like better about the Anryu. But overall from a pure performance standpoint for me it's a draw.

With the Anryu's price tag at least half that of the Kono... For knife that outperforms its price... No contest.

BLASPHEMY! I don't own a FM but I love my Anryu Blue 2.

Thank you. Heretics of the world unite!

[Radar53]

This might be cheating a bit!! I bought this "Harukaze AS Gyuto 240mm - Returned" for USD125 as a spur of the moment thing, not quite knowing what I was getting. When it arrived, I couldn't see any real reason why someone would have returned it. Gave it a bit of a once-over and put my own edge on it and it was just mega.

So USD50 off the normal retail price for a really nice knife ~ colour me very happy about that. Thanks Mark.

[XexoX]

This might be cheating a bit!! I bought this "Harukaze AS Gyuto 240mm - Returned" for USD125 as a spur of the moment thing, not quite knowing what I was getting. When it arrived, I couldn't see any real reason why someone would have returned it. Gave it a bit of a once-over and put my own edge on it and it was just mega.

So USD50 off the normal retail price for a really nice knife ~ colour me very happy about that. Thanks Mark.

Did that 50 cover the shipping and VAT?

[TheLegalRazor]

This might be cheating a bit!! I bought this "Harukaze AS Gyuto 240mm - Returned" for USD125 as a spur of the moment thing, not quite knowing what I was getting. When it arrived, I couldn't see any real reason why someone would have returned it. Gave it a bit of a once-over and put my own edge on it and it was just mega.

So USD50 off the normal retail price for a really nice knife ~ colour me very happy about that. Thanks Mark.

Two years ago, I gave two persons who are not knife enthusiasts gifts of these Harukaze VG10 gyutos with western handles. They're a great value at $139.95.

www.chefknivestogo.com/harukaze2.html

[XexoX]

This might be cheating a bit!! I bought this "Harukaze AS Gyuto 240mm - Returned" for USD125 as a spur of the moment thing, not quite knowing what I was getting. When it arrived, I couldn't see any real reason why someone would have returned it. Gave it a bit of a once-over and put my own edge on it and it was just mega.

So USD50 off the normal retail price for a really nice knife ~ colour me very happy about that. Thanks Mark.

Two years ago, I gave two persons who are not knife enthusiasts gifts of these Harukaze VG10 gyutos with western handles. They're a great value at $139.95.

www.chefknivestogo.com/harukaze2.html

How do they like the knives?

[Kekoa]

My Yoshimitsu Fugen gyuto. My disclaimer is that I haven't tried a huge variety of J-knives, so there could be better things out there, but for the price this knife seems to have a very balanced set of characteristics that make it a great all arounder. It isn't a master of any task, but I can rely on it to prep any ingredient I run into without hic-up. Combined with a paring knife I need little else.

[TheLegalRazor]

This might be cheating a bit!! I bought this "Harukaze AS Gyuto 240mm - Returned" for USD125 as a spur of the moment thing, not quite knowing what I was getting. When it arrived, I couldn't see any real reason why someone would have returned it. Gave it a bit of a once-over and put my own edge on it and it was just mega.

So USD50 off the normal retail price for a really nice knife ~ colour me very happy about that. Thanks Mark.

Two years ago, I gave two persons who are not knife enthusiasts gifts of these Harukaze VG10 gyutos with western handles. They're a great value at $139.95.

www.chefknivestogo.com/harukaze2.html

How do they like the knives?

They like them a lot. I checked them out and tried them at their houses, and they look and perform above their price. I wasn't sure what to expect at their low price, so I did get Mark's finish sharpening on them.

[Kerneldrop]

For $95 you can get a rustic tall 175mm Bunka W#1 that has a nice edge profile.
On mine, the pakka wood ferrule is flush with the walnut octagon handle and is sealed.
The factory edge out of the box is straight and shaves hair on my arm.

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/yawh1bu18.html

[Jeff B]

Kanehide is an excellent knife that doesn't disappoint.
I have the TK and the PS60 and both are excellent for the money.

[trancher]

Moritaka AS, Munetoshi W2, Mazaki W2, Masahiro VC, Takamura R2

My Moritaka 210mm AS. An excellent value for an AS knife at its current CKTG price of $190.00, although I paid less when I acquired it some years ago.

Were the Moritaka's tuned, or was this the original geometry?

[cliff]

Were the Moritaka's tuned, or was this the original geometry?

This is an important point. I bought a second-hand 240 gyuto that was very well dialed in before I got it: bevels flattened and thinned, choil and spine nicely rounded, and a handle that balanced things out nicely. I also got a Chuka where I was the first owner. That one was pretty chunky behind the edge, and I had to thin it quite a bit. I think that is factored into the price. For me, it is well worth it. Someone here said a while back that these are knives that get better with use, and that resonates with me.

I would say the same for Munetoshi. I have three. One came pretty dialed in new, but the other two required some work. Not a ton, but some. I see these two producers in a similar light. Fantastic steel, a little rustic. Something to make one's own. These are tools, not jewelry.

[Kerneldrop]

… bevels flattened and thinned, choil and spine nicely rounded, and a handle that balanced things out nicely.

What does thinning do?
I never jumped on the Tabata train because I kept reading all the modifications folks did with the Tabata knives to “improve” the knife.

[cliff]

Thinning will improve performance at the expense of some durability. The geometry right behind the edge is very important. Moritaka knives have pretty low shoulders, so easing them a little can give big performance gains.