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Japanese knives' advices

5K views 42 replies 10 participants last post by  shibby 
#1 ·
Hello,

I'm currently looking for 1 or 2 knives, so I was thinking of finding those by myself on the internet but it was not as easy as it sounds.

There are a lot of brand, a lot of knives with a lot of different reviews.

So I thought about asking in a forum where people can share their experiences and knowledge.

Hence if anybody has some advice about a brand, a specific model or anything else I would appriciate.

I am looking for a japanese style knife, with a preference for a Petty, and a Santoku or a Gyuto.

My budget is not set in stone, I'm willing to pay for high quality knives so it depends on the ratio price/quality of the knives. Ideally, 150-300$ by knives would be good, but as I said if the knife is worth it I would consider spending more.

I plan to buy a new sharpening stone in order to keep the knives sharp.

I hope to hear some news soon.
 
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#2 ·
Welcome to CT, Shibby.  Have you used the search feature here?  Your question has been asked and answered a hundred times.  I myself have answered it at least 20 times!  No need to type if all out again, there's some great info already written here.  Former member/member emeritus BDL has a great primer here as well.
 
#3 ·
Hi Phaedrus.

Thanks for your welcome, I am glad to be here.

I already checked a lot of post on this forum, indeed most of them were answered by BDL.

But it seems to me that the response depends on the person rather than a general rule or ranking.

I did not took the time to read all the posts or comments on the forum though.

My main issue here is that I have read a tons of different reviews about different brands. Once a brand is the best you can find and the other time it's the contrary. I am pretty sure there is no "super knife" or "number one brand" but I am kind of lost between all those opposite reviews. Thus, when I find a new review which by chance does not shatter the impression I have from a previous one, it gives me another lead to look for.

So far I have seen a lot of different knives and could not tel which one are truly better, or at least worth their price.

I do not have the time right now but I try to check for further information on the forum.

Anyway thanks for your quick reply, have a nice day.
 
#4 ·
No problem.  It depends a lot on where you are and what you want to do with the knife.  It's always going to be a trade off.  For starters, in what country do you reside?  No use in recommending something if you can't get it where you life.
 
#7 · (Edited)
We do need a new post entitled, "Where you can buy when you're living in wherefrom."

JapaneseChefKnives ships worldwide for $7 as you might have noticed.  There is a recent post listing places to buy if you're in Europe.

But there is no definitive answers as to what knives will best suite you unless you have definitive answers to cover what you are partial to.  You've read a lot about profiles, handles and alloys here, along with faux Damascus and other superficials.  You're going to have to sort and put that together for yourself.

In the end there are lots of very good knives which you can't go too far wrong with.

I'll make some definitive statements to cover one important area.  The Iminishi combination stone is a very good one for the money, and get yourself a 12" Idahone for truing and touchups.

Rick
 
#8 ·
I was actually going to mention JCK.  Absolutely great vendor, Koki will hook you up with exactly what you want.  Sorry I sounded curt, that wasn't meant as a reproach but rather a suggestion to dig into the advice already written.  As for suggestions my love for the Kagayaki CarboNext is well documented here.  Great knives for the money.  Moritaka knives are also great if you like Aogami steel (and c'mon, who doesn't?).  You can't go wrong with Konosuke either.
 
#9 ·
Thanks for all those advices. I'm still digging into the advices alreay written, and taking into consideration yours.

Is it easier for you if I give you more information about what I am looking for, how I plan to use them so on and so forth?
 
#10 ·
I don't have great knives, I wanted to bought real ones for a while now.

Currently I am using a knife from ikea which I sharpen with a ceramic sharpener.

The plan is to buy a sharpening stone along with the knives.

I already know how to sharpen a knife with a sharpening stone so I am not affraid of this improvement.
 
#11 · (Edited)
Thanks.
I am looking at Kagayaki, Misono and Hiromoto on JCK they seems pretty good.

Where do you stand on Konosuke HD? I heard about them quite some time on this forum especially from the famous BDL.

I am not affraid to pay the price for the quality so the budget is not really an issue, unless you propose me a knife which costs over $1 000. But still I would be glad to knew its name though.
 
#12 ·
Thanks.

I am looking at Kagayaki, Misono and Hiromoto on JCK they seems pretty good.
Where do you stand on Konosuke HD? I heard about them quite some time on this forum especially from the famous BDL.
I am not affraid to pay the price for the quality so the budget is not really an issue, unless you propose me a knife which costs over $1 000. But still I would be glad to knew its name though.
i have the konosuke hd2 270mm gyuto and love it but its a laser so not good for everything and hard use.
 
#15 ·
I bought my primary chef's knife from japaneseknifeimports.com  If you contact "Jon" the owner he will provide you the best customer service without trying to sell you high end product that you may not want/need. I specifically purchased the Gesshin Ginga 240mm Stainless Wa-Gyuto for $250. I have not had to sharpen the knife since I bought it in July. 
 
#16 ·
I would stay away from Moritaka as long as its retailer hasn't addressed the numerous overgrind issues.
I think that's overstated by quite a bit. I've done quite a few Moritakas and found them to be no worse than any other handmade kurouichi knife. I do have a personal one in my kit that had an undergrind; that was interesting! Most folks would have had to send it back but I had no trouble spiffing it up. At any rate they're at least as good as a Takeda. Most of those kind of knives can have some "quirks" to them. Any good reputable vendor will stand behind the knife though and make sure you get a good one and fix it if you don't.
 
#17 ·
I feel lost with all those brands, pros and cons, etc

I get that laser required more experience, but still I am considering of buying one along with two others in order to get used to it because they seem to be pretty good knives.

But what can I buy in order to keep them around me without being disappointed later?
 
#18 ·
If you want a laser thin gyuto, and are aware of the usage/maintenance warnings, I'd say go for it.  A thin knife will cruise through onions like a dream. No wedging on carrots or potatoes :)  but be extra careful to not torque the blade, no rock chopping, no bones.

On the plus side, maybe maintenance is easier.   Since they are so thin to begin with, you don't need to thin as much when you sharpen.  As a home user, just sharpening the edge normally can probably get you by for years without noticeable performance decrease, and that much is easy to learn.  You can be an adequately good at basic sharpening in a few sessions.
 
#19 ·
The whole laser thing is very relative.  The 10" Vic rosewood I recently bought to do a review on is 2.46mm (.96") at the spine above the heal, very close to a typical laser, plus it has a full distill taper which the Kono laser does not really.   I easily put a 3deg secondary bevel in with a 1K stone, bringing the edge thickness from .4mm to .25 (.010").  Convexing of the edge gives added perceived thinness.  Thinning the tip reasonably did take a bench grinder though (I'll finish that when I have access to a belt sander).  Not real laser numbers but very close.  Nothing I can do about the mediocre steel of course.

Anyways the Vic glides effortlessly through potatoes and not bad with carrots either, and a citrus seed is not going to harm the edge at all, nor do I have to fear carving a chicken or working around cow bone, though there is really no need for me to do that.

And of course other knives mentioned here are better non-laser options to this Vic.

Rick
 
#20 ·
That was exactly the problem with these blades. Their distributor preferred to deny the overgrind issues instead of replacing the knives.
Which vendor? I've purchased mine only from CKTG, no problems on that front. But I've seen about the same amount of badly done Takedas as Moritakas, so it's always important to buy from a vendor that stands behind whatever you're buying.
 
#22 ·
If you do decide to go for a Hiromoto Gin-3, please be advised that availability of Hiromoto knives is limited to stock on hand. The owner of the company, Futoshi Nagao, had been running a "one-man-shop", and did not have either a son or an apprentice to continue the business. Since he is 78 years of age, his retirement means that once the existing stock of Hiromoto knives has been sold, then no more will be available.

This is not to say that the knives have any fault - they have gotten very good reviews - but that if you want to buy one, then you should make the decision while they are available.

Galley Swiller
 
#23 ·
That's a shame!  Hiromoto knives are great for the price.  I don't have any anymore but I might need to grab one while I still can.
 
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