Knife Recommendation(s) for a friend

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ronnie_suburban
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Knife Recommendation(s) for a friend

Post by ronnie_suburban »

Hey all,

A friend asked me for some recommendations. I have a few thoughts but I'd love to get some ideas for her from everyone else . . .

1)Pro or home cook?
Seasoned home cook

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

3) What size knife do you want?
240-270mm on the gyuto, 120mm on the petty/paring

4)How much do you want to spend?
Depends on options

5) Do you prefer all stainless, stainless clad over reactive carbon, or all reactive carbon construction?
Stainless

6)Do you prefer Western or Japanese handle?
Western

7)What are your main knife/knives now?
Standard, box store stuff . . . Henckels, Wusthoff, Shun, etc.

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

9)What cutting techniques do you prefer? Are you a rocker, chopper or push/pull cutter?
All - a few family members, all with different styles, will be using them.

10)Do you know how to sharpen?
Yes

These are her initial preferences but she could probably be sold on knives that fall outside of them in one or two areas. She did mention that they are looking for something on the workhorse end of the range on the gyuto. And fwiw, she mentioned that her husband had done some slaughtering in the past. Not sure how exactly that factors in here. :)

Thanks!
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Re: Knife Recommendation(s) for a friend

Post by gladius »

You know well, but Kanehide TK & PS60 should be strongly considered. Have her take a look and see if she likes them.
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Re: Knife Recommendation(s) for a friend

Post by stevem627 »

Ronnie, with your experience with a great variety of knives ( I see your posts in the What did you cook cook today thread ) I think you are probably well versed in this evaluation.

The biggest variable to me is the pricing.

I agree about the Kanahide TK at their price point. Move up to the Konosuke HD2 240 which is a good deal, but more, and pair it with the Kanjo Kori R2 petty or a Takamura R2 petty (when available) if you can afford them. Lower price, the Tojiro DP are great…I love the120 petty we have.
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Re: Knife Recommendation(s) for a friend

Post by Jeff B »

The Kanehide TK and the Konosuke HD2 are not stainless. I find the yo handle very limiting in these situations.

I'd push her in this direction. https://www.chefknivestogo.com/shkar2dagy241.html
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Re: Knife Recommendation(s) for a friend

Post by ronnie_suburban »

Thanks, guys. I was thinking similarly, especially about the PS60 Kahehides. I bought a couple of those for my sister last year and they seem to have endured and served her well. However, the combo of wanting a yo handle and stainless really limits my friend's options. I need to find out how flexible she is on the western handle. If she's willing to consider wa, that would open up a lot more choices for her.
Jeff B wrote: Sat Jun 19, 2021 11:53 am The Kanehide TK and the Konosuke HD2 are not stainless.
Yep, since she's really determined on the stainless, HD2 (semi-stainless) won't do.
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Re: Knife Recommendation(s) for a friend

Post by Jeff B »

Several "workhorsey" stainless knives in WA handle.

Different steels but a little pricey, but isn't everything these days. :evil:

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/kanasugy24.html
https://www.chefknivestogo.com/kurosaki240.html
https://www.chefknivestogo.com/sag3gigy24.html
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Re: Knife Recommendation(s) for a friend

Post by ronnie_suburban »

Jeff B wrote: Sat Jun 19, 2021 12:10 pm Several "workhorsey" stainless knives in WA handle.

Different steels but a little pricey, but isn't everything these days. :evil:

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/kanasugy24.html
https://www.chefknivestogo.com/kurosaki240.html
https://www.chefknivestogo.com/sag3gigy24.html
Thanks, Jeff. On Mark's recommendation, I bought the 210mm Kato Nashiji Suminagashi as a housewarming gift for some friends last year and they absolutely love it. I think it would be a great fit for this friend, too. I just need to convince her to consider some Wa options . . .
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Re: Knife Recommendation(s) for a friend

Post by Jeff B »

ronnie_suburban wrote: Sat Jun 19, 2021 12:16 pm
Jeff B wrote: Sat Jun 19, 2021 12:10 pm Several "workhorsey" stainless knives in WA handle.

Different steels but a little pricey, but isn't everything these days. :evil:

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/kanasugy24.html
https://www.chefknivestogo.com/kurosaki240.html
https://www.chefknivestogo.com/sag3gigy24.html
Thanks, Jeff. On Mark's recommendation, I bought the 210mm Kato Nashiji Suminagashi as a housewarming gift for some friends last year and they absolutely love it. I think it would be a great fit for this friend, too. I just need to convince her to consider some Wa options . . .
That's a very good knife reasonably priced. I like Yoshimi's work and he does a great job with VG10. Learned from his father Hiroshi Kato, Yu Kurosaki apprenticed under Hiroshi too.
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Re: Knife Recommendation(s) for a friend

Post by ronnie_suburban »

Jeff B wrote: Sat Jun 19, 2021 12:29 pm
ronnie_suburban wrote: Sat Jun 19, 2021 12:16 pm
Jeff B wrote: Sat Jun 19, 2021 12:10 pm Several "workhorsey" stainless knives in WA handle.

Different steels but a little pricey, but isn't everything these days. :evil:

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/kanasugy24.html
https://www.chefknivestogo.com/kurosaki240.html
https://www.chefknivestogo.com/sag3gigy24.html
Thanks, Jeff. On Mark's recommendation, I bought the 210mm Kato Nashiji Suminagashi as a housewarming gift for some friends last year and they absolutely love it. I think it would be a great fit for this friend, too. I just need to convince her to consider some Wa options . . .
That's a very good knife reasonably priced. I like Yoshimi's work and he does a great job with VG10. Learned from his father Hiroshi Kato, Yu Kurosaki apprenticed under Hiroshi too.
Well, she was firm on stainless (knowing thyself is a good thing) but agreed to consider Wa handles, which made this task difficult in a different way than how it started (went from an aggregation task to an elimination task). I emailed off a long list of recommendations to her, all of the above included. I hope it's not so daunting that it pushes her directly to SLT for a Henckels. :lol:

I do expect she'll come back with some questions but either way, I'm curious to know what she ends up with. If she lets me know, I'll be sure to report back. Thanks again, for the input. It's very much appreciated.
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Re: Knife Recommendation(s) for a friend

Post by cliff »

What about Chromax?
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Re: Knife Recommendation(s) for a friend

Post by ronnie_suburban »

cliff wrote: Mon Jun 21, 2021 11:43 am What about Chromax?
I love mine and was tempted but I didn't recommend it. Her priority on low maintenance made me think that even a relatively easy-care semi-stainless was not a good choice for her. Also she wants something more in the workhorse category and while I've had no issues with my Chromax, I've read at least a few reports of them being on the chippy side. But I know she would have loved that yo handle!
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Re: Knife Recommendation(s) for a friend

Post by taz575 »

I stumbled across this one:
https://www.chefknivestogo.com/kavgsugy24.html
Grind looks a bit beefier, and a handle with a metal bolster, but oval wa shaped?

The Tojiro DP, Takayuki Inox, Kohetsu VG-5 are also solid choices. Spines are thinner on the Tojiro and Takayuki, but have more workhorse type grinds. A few friends got the Takayuki Inox as their first Japanese knife and love them! The Tojiro DP is the classic yo handled entry into J knives. The Kohetsu looks nice, too.
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Re: Knife Recommendation(s) for a friend

Post by ronnie_suburban »

taz575 wrote: Mon Jun 21, 2021 12:48 pm I stumbled across this one:
https://www.chefknivestogo.com/kavgsugy24.html
Grind looks a bit beefier, and a handle with a metal bolster, but oval wa shaped?

The Tojiro DP, Takayuki Inox, Kohetsu VG-5 are also solid choices. Spines are thinner on the Tojiro and Takayuki, but have more workhorse type grinds. A few friends got the Takayuki Inox as their first Japanese knife and love them! The Tojiro DP is the classic yo handled entry into J knives. The Kohetsu looks nice, too.
Excellent thoughts, thanks. That Kamo is wild, though. As many times as I've perused the site, I'd never seen that one before.
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Re: Knife Recommendation(s) for a friend

Post by taz575 »

Yeah, I missed it completely, too! At first I thought it was a Yo that snuck into the Wa group, but it's a mix!
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Re: Knife Recommendation(s) for a friend

Post by knifejap »

Thank you for the information I too currently have a shun that I found from a review site but I would like to discover other things, more artisanal.
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Re: Knife Recommendation(s) for a friend

Post by ronnie_suburban »

Well, this ended disappointingly, with my friend's husband making a purchase from a very sketchy local outfit that seems to specialize in sharpening, and only sells knives secondarily. I'm told he was thrilled with the deal he got. Looking at their offerings, my guess is that he ended up with something between 'it fell off a truck' and Cutco quality-wise. This wasn't exactly what I envisioned when my friend asked me for ideas on three "must have" knives. Oh well. We tried. :(
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Re: Knife Recommendation(s) for a friend

Post by XexoX »

ronnie_suburban wrote: Tue Jun 29, 2021 1:11 pm Well, this ended disappointingly, with my friend's husband making a purchase from a very sketchy local outfit that seems to specialize in sharpening, and only sells knives secondarily. I'm told he was thrilled with the deal he got. Looking at their offerings, my guess is that he ended up with something between 'it fell off a truck' and Cutco quality-wise. This wasn't exactly what I envisioned when my friend asked me for ideas on three "must have" knives. Oh well. We tried. :(
That sucks, for you. First for them asking for help, then going out on their own. Well, they deserved what they got. Most likely they use grinding machines to sharpen the knives. So sad.
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Re: Knife Recommendation(s) for a friend

Post by ronnie_suburban »

XexoX wrote: Tue Jun 29, 2021 1:58 pm
ronnie_suburban wrote: Tue Jun 29, 2021 1:11 pm Well, this ended disappointingly, with my friend's husband making a purchase from a very sketchy local outfit that seems to specialize in sharpening, and only sells knives secondarily. I'm told he was thrilled with the deal he got. Looking at their offerings, my guess is that he ended up with something between 'it fell off a truck' and Cutco quality-wise. This wasn't exactly what I envisioned when my friend asked me for ideas on three "must have" knives. Oh well. We tried. :(
That sucks, for you. First for them asking for help, then going out on their own. Well, they deserved what they got. Most likely they use grinding machines to sharpen the knives. So sad.
Nah, doesn't suck for me. I learned a bunch putting the list together, picked up a cool petty for myself that I never knew about before, and I now have a great list of durable, stainless gyutos and petties that I can easily share with others who ask me. I just feel bad for the person who will likely never know the joy using one of these knives. That's the sad part.
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Re: Knife Recommendation(s) for a friend

Post by XexoX »

ronnie_suburban wrote: Tue Jun 29, 2021 2:05 pm
XexoX wrote: Tue Jun 29, 2021 1:58 pm
ronnie_suburban wrote: Tue Jun 29, 2021 1:11 pm Well, this ended disappointingly, with my friend's husband making a purchase from a very sketchy local outfit that seems to specialize in sharpening, and only sells knives secondarily. I'm told he was thrilled with the deal he got. Looking at their offerings, my guess is that he ended up with something between 'it fell off a truck' and Cutco quality-wise. This wasn't exactly what I envisioned when my friend asked me for ideas on three "must have" knives. Oh well. We tried. :(
That sucks, for you. First for them asking for help, then going out on their own. Well, they deserved what they got. Most likely they use grinding machines to sharpen the knives. So sad.
Nah, doesn't suck for me. I learned a bunch putting the list together, picked up a cool petty for myself that I never knew about before, and I now have a great list of durable, stainless gyutos and petties that I can easily share with others who ask me. I just feel bad for the person who will likely never know the joy using one of these knives. That's the sad part.
Well said. Of course, you could buy them the good stuff, let them compare. But then you might be out a friend. Not to mention the money. Oh well, you are a good man, but I won't let your secret out. :mrgreen:
You can blame Mr. Suburban for my being here. :lol:
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Re: Knife Recommendation(s) for a friend

Post by Altadan »

UGH!
sigh
Not. Your. Problem
Not. Our. Problem.
They are adults. Blind, but adults, hahaha

Ronnie, did you happen to write up a summary list in a file or something?
If so, would you mind dropping it here at the bottom?
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