What nakiri will blow my socks off?

[Emieloss]

Hi all!

I’ve been wanting to get a nakiri for a long time but never got around to actually buying one. I could use some help finding the right one. Can you guys help me out?

1)Pro or home cook?
Home, used to be pro

2)What kind of knife do you want? (Gyuto, Santoku, Petty, Paring, Sujihiki, etc.)
Nakiri

3) What size knife do you want?
Preferably between 170mm and 180mm. I’d like a bit of height for knuckle clearance and scooping up vegies

4)How much do you want to spend?
400 max

5) Do you prefer all stainless, stainless clad over reactive carbon, or all reactive carbon construction?
Doesn’t really matter.

6)Do you prefer Western or Japanese handle?
Japanese

7)What are your main knife/knives now?
Moritaka AS, Shiro Kamo R2, Anryu blue#2, takamura r2, shibata kotetsu r2, Tadafusa white #2, Tojiro VG10

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

9)What cutting techniques do you prefer? Are you a rocker, chopper or push/pull cutter?
For this nakiri It would be mostly chopping vegies. So a flat profile and thin behind the edge is preferred

10)Do you know how to sharpen?
Yes and love it

Extra info:

Basically I’m looking for something that has stunning performance when chopping. It’s important that it takes an incredible edge.

Would love to hear your recommendations.

[Santas_101]

From what you describe one of those tall Moritaka nakiri’s or one from matsubara would be the way to go. The thing with Moritaka nakiri’s that you’ll need to keep in mind is that they have a pretty flat profile, so it’s really only for up/down chopping motions. Most nakiri’s have a gentle curve towards the front, however that’s not the case with the Moritaka.

Moritaka Tall Nakiri:
https://www.chefknivestogo.com/moastana.html

Matsubara Tall Nakiri:
https://www.chefknivestogo.com/mabl2wafatan.html

They are both out of stock, but I’ve seen them in stock pretty often, so I don’t think you’d have to wait that long.

[Ozno_flash]

You've got a pretty good range of existing makers/steels, thinking about which of those you like the most might help. Surely you prefer some over others (tojiro)?

[Emieloss]

I already have two Moritaka AS knives. A gyutoh and a petty. I'm not sure I'd want another one. The Matsubara might be one to look at.

I like the Shiro Kamo a lot in terms of grind and also has good fit and finish. The R2 line has a rough damascus finish though that doesn't help with chopping.

I'm currently thinking of the following blades.

Shiro Kamo blue#2 damascus > seems to have a smoother finish than the r2 one, problem is that it runs a bit short and has a D-shaped handle, I prefer octagonal.
Kanehiro AS Nashiji > seems like a great blade.
Yoshikane White #2 Tsuchime > seems like a great blade a little longer as well which is nice.
Mazaki white #2 > seems to be an excellent knifemaker, also the blade is a bit longer.
Moritaka AS long nakiri > nice flat profile, it would be another Moritaka though, and I'd like to try something else.
Watanabe pro > a lot of great reviews, sadly the store is closed till the 30th of april.

Open to more suggestions

[Santas_101]

Why don’t you try a Fujiwara Teruyasu Maboroshi 195mm nakiri made of white #1 steel.

[taz575]

What about this one? AS Core, KU finish, octagon handle and it's in stock:
https://www.chefknivestogo.com/yoastana18.html

This one looks nice, but out of stock:
https://www.chefknivestogo.com/tskobl2ksgy2.html

[Bob Z]

Two ways to go here:
Toyama or Watanabe 180's. They both take incredible edges and are a pleasure to use. You can get the Wat with an upgraded handle while the Toyama comes with a nice D shaped one.
here is my old topic about them:
viewtopic.php?f=13&t=14732&p=114439&hil ... ma#p114439

[Afjagjones]

I would get one with a little belly, not so flat like the moritaka. I think it's hard to prevent accordions with a super flat profile like the moritaka.

[jbart65]

My Watanabe 180 is the best nakiri of the many I’ve tried. The Yuki was my favorite 165. Matsubara makes a killer bunka 180. I have to imagine his nakiris are right up there. Fujiwaras are big and bold and cut fantastic.

All are on the flatter side. They are tall, too, more than 55 mm each. I might get a somewhat shorter one as a daily driver, though.

Others I’ve liked include Kurosaki, Kanehiro, Koishi, Tanaka - lot of good ones available.

[jacko9]

I purchased the Watanabe 180 Pro and liked it so much bought one for my granddaughter for her 21st birthday.

[Chappychap]

Two ways to go here:
Toyama or Watanabe 180's. They both take incredible edges and are a pleasure to use. You can get the Wat with an upgraded handle while the Toyama comes with a nice D shaped one.
here is my old topic about them:
viewtopic.php?f=13&t=14732&p=114439&hil ... ma#p114439

Couldn't agree more. Bought the Toyama 180 and that has been my experience so far.

[cliff]

I have the Kanehiro, which is great for a daily utility knife. It is very, very thin behind the edge, gets screaming sharp and stays that way. For bigger jobs, I would prefer something like the Toyama or Wat.

[d_rap]

Matsubara makes a killer bunka 180. I have to imagine his nakiris are right up there.

I've had the 180 Matsubara tall nakiri for a couple months now. It's a lot of blade, so major power up front, but beautifully ground, so thin and a great cutter. His textured nashiji is a nice bonus.

Needed some relief on the choil and spine and I actually took a bit off the edge at the heel so it wouldn't dig into the board--all of which took minutes. Not putting it up against a Wat or anything (looking to get into one when Sinichi reopens at the end of April) but it's an excellent combination of heft and svelte. Highly recommended.

[polytope]

The S grind on the Takeda NAS Nakiri gives it unreal food release, and it is incredibly thin behind the edge. I feel like it's almost too sharp, because it sinks into the board very easily.

[G8trwood]

Just hijacking to say y’all suck and cost me money

Ordered with Wat Pro yesterday, he said he had one ready to ship. Enju handle. Now the pacing begins

[Altadan]

Just hijacking to say y’all suck and cost me money

Ordered with Wat Pro yesterday, he said he had one ready to ship. Enju handle. Now the pacing begins

I thought he was closed till August

[mikeltee]

Just hijacking to say y’all suck and cost me money

Ordered with Wat Pro yesterday, he said he had one ready to ship. Enju handle. Now the pacing begins

Nice how much did you pay? I'd like to get this grail knife eventually too. I love my nikiri. I'm not a vegetarian so it fills my needs just fine.

[G8trwood]

The base handle pro 180 is still 256 plus shipping

[Merlin]

I ended up buying my first Nakiri about six months ago, a Kohetsu HAP40 Western. In my opinion, great value for the money I spent. I use it in a professional setting. Food release is good, and it's still extremely sharp. Fit in finish is good for what you pay, maybe the spine/choil could be rounded/sanded to be smoother but that costs more money.

This was also my first knife using HAP40 steel. It does seem to be true that you need to be wary of chipping due to the high hardness, I experienced some microchipping in the last month... but I'm using it in a professional setting where I'm doing thousands of cuts a day, five days a week, under time pressure/constraints. And again, it only happened within the last month after six months of heavy, every day use.

Overall, my experience has been positive. I'd give the Kohetsu a solid B+. Based off all the hell I put it through, I would buy it again. And after this, I'll consider other Kohetsu's, Nakiri's, and HAP40 knives in the future.

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/kohana16.html

They make a Wa-Handled variant as well.

..........

I own a Shiro Kamo santoku in R2, the damascus is crazy beautiful to my eyes... I was super happy with the performance of that knife at work but it lives at home right now where I haven't used it nearly as much as my Kohetsu. But to me, Shiro Kamo is a good choice. Everyone seems to speak highly of the R2 Gyuto. You already seem to feel a similar way, based off your knife ownership.

I've been contemplating purchasing my very first Takeda, he has a reputation for a reason. I don't know if you want to drop that kind of money on your first Nakiri, but sometimes it's best to just jump in the pool. Who am I to say?

[G8trwood]

Got the WAT already, 4 days early Man is it a cutter, OOB sharpness was exceptional. Love the blade height and how it handles.

In hindsight, I would get the standard handle and rehandle later. The Enju and horn feel a bit heavily stabilized and that changes the feel for me. I do have some Ironwood and ebony on hand… maybe much later, will just enjoy it for now.