Hey, I'm new to this forum, so I'm sorry if this is a rehashed thread, I looked around and couldn't find a similar enough thread to read so I figured I'd start one. Apologies in advance for the length, but I like to be thorough.
I'm a professional line cook, and passionate home cook who's just starting to take my knives more seriously, and I'm looking to get a new Santoku. I had a Kyocera ceramic 5.5" Santoku for about a year and liked it quite a bit but after a while I decided to switch to steel, for a number of reasons. So I went and picked up a Shun Classic 6" chefs knife. I've heard some negative things about Shun, which makes me want to explore other options. I still like my Shun, but it's not quite what I need, I'll continue to use it for some prep tasks, I love the rock it has to it for mincing, and it feels exceptional slicing things like cucumber, I just really do not like chopping with it. I want the versatility and feel of a Santoku again for the majority of on-the-line food service time. I like nimble knives, wa handles are more comfortable for me than yo handles, and I love the look of damascus. A big issue for me with my Kyocera and my Shun is food sticking to the blade, so I'm looking to try out a hammered blade to help quell that. I'm not an educated pro chef so I don't need the best of the best, I have a price limit and I understand that I won't need a $500 kinfe, even if I could afford it. I do, however, appreciate high-quality and I take cooking very seriously, I'm just somewhat new to really caring about the knives I use. I'm very willing to put time into taking care of my blade and I'd prefer a better edge that takes more care to keep over a knife that can't take as good of an edge that's much easier to maintain. I love sharpening my blades and want to get very good at it. On top of that I already wipe my blade between each and every use to avoid discoloration and corrosion. So I'm leaning away from standard stainless steel knives toward maybe blue steel or high carbon steel, although I don't entirely understand the pros and cons of each type. Basically what I'm looking for is a quality Japanese made 6 or 7 inch Santoku with a wa handle, a nice narrow hammered blade, double edged, fairly lightweight, that takes a great sharp edge and is in the price range of $100-$150, I'm willing to go a bit higher for something really worth it, but not much over, say, $175. Damascus would be fantastic, and recommendations regarding types of steel would be very appreciated.
I'm a professional line cook, and passionate home cook who's just starting to take my knives more seriously, and I'm looking to get a new Santoku. I had a Kyocera ceramic 5.5" Santoku for about a year and liked it quite a bit but after a while I decided to switch to steel, for a number of reasons. So I went and picked up a Shun Classic 6" chefs knife. I've heard some negative things about Shun, which makes me want to explore other options. I still like my Shun, but it's not quite what I need, I'll continue to use it for some prep tasks, I love the rock it has to it for mincing, and it feels exceptional slicing things like cucumber, I just really do not like chopping with it. I want the versatility and feel of a Santoku again for the majority of on-the-line food service time. I like nimble knives, wa handles are more comfortable for me than yo handles, and I love the look of damascus. A big issue for me with my Kyocera and my Shun is food sticking to the blade, so I'm looking to try out a hammered blade to help quell that. I'm not an educated pro chef so I don't need the best of the best, I have a price limit and I understand that I won't need a $500 kinfe, even if I could afford it. I do, however, appreciate high-quality and I take cooking very seriously, I'm just somewhat new to really caring about the knives I use. I'm very willing to put time into taking care of my blade and I'd prefer a better edge that takes more care to keep over a knife that can't take as good of an edge that's much easier to maintain. I love sharpening my blades and want to get very good at it. On top of that I already wipe my blade between each and every use to avoid discoloration and corrosion. So I'm leaning away from standard stainless steel knives toward maybe blue steel or high carbon steel, although I don't entirely understand the pros and cons of each type. Basically what I'm looking for is a quality Japanese made 6 or 7 inch Santoku with a wa handle, a nice narrow hammered blade, double edged, fairly lightweight, that takes a great sharp edge and is in the price range of $100-$150, I'm willing to go a bit higher for something really worth it, but not much over, say, $175. Damascus would be fantastic, and recommendations regarding types of steel would be very appreciated.