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Which Japanese chefs knive?

6K views 28 replies 7 participants last post by  foody518 
#1 ·
To many knives and the opinions are not that easy to find. Which are the top brands and knives ? My budget is around 250 euro/dollar for a gyuto/chefs knive . 

Knives who got my attention:

Kai Shun Premier Tim Malzer

Mcusta Zanmai Classic PRO knives

But I'm not sure if there are better knives available for the same price..
 
#3 ·
Im living in Holland. We also have this shop in Holland : http://www.japansemessen.nl/c-2812014/gesorteerd-op-merk/

Language is in dutch but now you can see the brands who are available there

Dont have any special preferences. Handle should be made from wood or at least not from steel. And the knive should be similar in use then the western knives. Not that I need to learn myself a whole new cutting technique /img/vbsmilies/smilies/biggrin.gif
 
#4 ·
Not that I need to learn myself a whole new cutting technique /img/vbsmilies/smilies/biggrin.gif
This is a joke but you have stumbled onto something accidentally perhaps. Even among chef knife shapes there are subtle differences. Pretty much all japanese knives are for push or pull cuts. No rock chopping. If you're uncomfortable with that, stick with german.
 
#5 · (Edited)
Hey welcome to cheftalk.

There are some J's that have a slight up-tic at the heel to facilitate rocking, like the Takamura.  And, well, this little uptic can be ground in, but not recommended for the novice sharpener.  But for about $25US you can find J-knife sharpeners to do it, if you really had to have it.  But even a Sabatier can rock without it, for the occasion you might want to mince some herbs or something.

Anyway, you can also look at JapaneseNaturalStones in your neck of the woods, JapaneseChefKnives also.

But the 2 knives you mentioned are 2 I would not consider.

And the inevitable question, "How do you intend to sharpen these?"
 
#6 ·
Hey welcome to cheftalk.

There are some J's that have a slight up-tic at the heel to facilitate rocking, like the Takamura. And, well, this little uptic can be ground in, but not recommended for the novice sharpener. But for about $25US you can find J-knife sharpeners to do it, if you really had to have it. But even a Sabatier can rock without it, for the occasion you might want to mince some herbs or something.

Anyway, you can also look at JapaneseNaturalStones in your neck of the woods, JapaneseChefKnives also.

But the 2 knives you mentioned are 2 I would not consider.

And the inevitable question, "How do you intend to sharpen these?"
To sharpen those knives I like to use wetstones and diamond knive sharpeners. So which brands do you recommend?
 
#11 · (Edited)
Not hard to take a step up from there. Just curious what you mean by "diamond sharpeners."
Couldnt find the correct translation for it. But I mean the sharpening steels with that kind of diamond powder/coating

The reviews of the Kanehiro 240mm AS are pretty sick.. Hope there is someone who is active on this forum who have some experience with that knive

So what kind of sharpening tools/stones should I buy with it?

That Zwilling was my first knive, still love it :) Very nice starter and I will never forget her haha
 
#12 · (Edited)
The splash-and-go Chosera stones already recommended are all you need.  You can save the diamond steel, so long as it lasts anyways, for convenience since you'll likely continue to use the Zwillings for brutish tasks, but don't even think about using it on your new knives, it removes way too much metal and otherwise damages the edge of a good knife.

Don't use any steel, with the exception of a ceramic steel.  A few strops on a fine stone is actually far superior to the CS though, as Benuser finally convinced all of us here, so you don't even need the CS.

The Kanehiro sounds like a nice lighter middleweight gyuto, it doesn't have anywhere near the belly of a German knife but it will rock-chop well.  Food release should be very good.
 
#15 ·
chefknivestogoforum has loyalty contests, giveaways for good reviewers,   free stuff for video reviewers, and paid video reviewers.   I have never seen one of their video guys give a bad review on anything.  Unbiased review does not exist there.  IMO they prey on unsuspecting cooks making their first foray into japanese knives.  Some of what they sell is okay but god forbid you get a defect.  You have to pay return shipping + 15% restocking fee.   Definitely stay away from any house knives with the name Richmond on them.
 
#17 ·
In the world of japanese knives, Shun is just average entry level.  But they charge premium prices.  What they may have over others is branding and english speaking customer service.  

Yoshihiro as i understand is based in Los Angeles.  They're a knife company that contracts various craftsmen for their knives.  Some of these shared with other vendors. 

I really think you should buy from a more local vendor or one that ships direct from Japan, because you will get hit with taxes, import, and VAT.  
 
#19 ·
Masakage line of knives I think are sold by a UK vendor. They tend to have some level of bling aesthetic. 

Japanesechefsknife.com should be a pretty good vendor option considering your location. Their offerings are largely solid, just depends on what you want.
 
#20 ·
Ordered my knife monday and within 2 days it was in house :) It is a Gesshin Uraku from JKI because Jon gave me good advice about what I should do. Decided to go with an entry level Japanese knife so I could learn more about how to use them before I finally buy a top notch knife. Don't want to chip my knives due to sharpening skills haha.

1 question. Sharpening the knife on a whetstone and then use a honing steel to maintain the edge or should I use higher grit stones to maintain the edge instead of using a steel? I think a whetstone will remove to much steel. Opinions?
 
#21 ·
Congrats! I'd rate the Uraku at a step higher than entry level, personally. Solid knife for the price, has a bit more durability.

If you have a higher grit stone you can just do edge trailing strokes to refresh the edge between sharpenings. You don't have to do much, very very little metal removal. 
 
#23 ·
Shun is never a bad idea.   I have 2 knives that are Shun 'econo" brand and they were quite a value. Shun Name is.... $$$ but you know they ain't crap.... however.... a LOT of Japanese blades are real solid. Now that I retired I do not shop ...I got knives.   Find out about STEELS..Rockwell ratings.   You PAY for a VG10 core... but it performs.  You PAY for a Rockwell in the 90's.. but that will get SHARP.   If you fail to learn to SHARPEN......pretty soon your $150 knife will not cut like knives I have that were less than $50.
 
#25 ·
If VG-10 can be had close to $50... that's recent since 5-6 yr ago that was $90+.  I Do not have anything at a Rockwell over 90. My VG7 Kershaw may be close to 90.   Blue Steel carbon can hit 94, as can high $ "powder Steel.  Having retired from Restaurants, I have plenty of knives for Home use.   Very hard steels can be a bit brittle.   While I'd still use a stone, I might NOT use a conventional steel.   A steel with the ridges.. like you usually see CAN chip a harder knife.  For  a VERY hard steel, Ceramic rods work, or stropping... though Stropping is a skill you can't learn easy.
 
#26 ·
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