I've been doing a lot of research and am looking to buy a j-knife. Initially, I was going to buy a Shun, but after doing some research realized that I can get a real j-knife for the same price or less. I'm a hobbyist cook (who just pretends to be Chef LOL) and my knives are only used for vegetables since I don't eat meat. So no need for a knife that can handle bone or anything like that. Both the nakiri and kiritsuke are very appealing to me, but besides the basics of blade length, tip, etc, I do not know which of these knives would be better for me.
Also, I don't know which steel is best. AS, #1, #2? What does a reactive blade look like with time? I do take care of my knives and am willing to put in the time to learn how to properly sharpen my new one. Stone recommendations would also be welcome. My hands are small and I prefer a lighter knife with a Japanese handle.
Here are a couple of the many knives I've had my eye on:
Real kiritsuke are single beveled knives and really not so suitable for non-experienced people who are also not cooking predominantly cuisine in a Japanese way (and who know how to sharpen single beveled knives). It is something of a hybrid of yanagiba and usuba and not as good as each of those at their specified tasks.
There are double beveled kiritsuke that are pretty flat like the traditional version but the link you listed is not this type
I would trend towards gyuto (for its more versatile profile to different cutting techniques), nakiri, or even Chinese cleaver (which the #6 size is really more of a slicer thickness) just because it's got some extra length that helps with bigger veg like large onions or heads of cabbage+ lettuce
Check out Tanaka knives here for if/when they are restocked http://www.metalmaster-ww.com/product/6 you are looking at a severely upmarked price for the same product
Thank you for the link to that wonderful Tanaka! If I only spent that much on a knife, I could spend the same on sharpening.
I would not say I am a beginner as far as technique in the kitchen; the hurdle for me with a single bevel kiritsuke would be learning how to sharpen it properly. I do cook a lot of Japanese/Korean food as I am Korean.
Honing steel about twice a week then I have a sharpening stone that I use when the knives need it. It's a Chinese stone and I absolutely need to get a better one. My plan was to replace both knives and stone.
Single bevel sharpening is a very different beast. You'd also want a whole range of stones to take it up finer. And not go budget on a single bevel knife to avoid as many grind problems as possible. And go with a vendor that can definitely provide initial sharpening ('opening') of the knife
Drop the honing steel when you move to harder knives.
Waterstones dish over time, and you're going need a flattening solution sometime down the line. Look to the stone fixers or diamond plate here https://www.japaneseknifeimports.com/collections/sharpening-accessories or Wet or Dry coarse sandpaper backed on a flat surface but will obviously need to be rebought over time.
Monosteel carbon, then Ikazuchi in the back which is stainless clad carbon. Like you I cut predominantly fruits & vegetables so I don't tend get crazy crazy colors like some
Soft iron clad carbon that gets sharpening and polished all the time because it's pretty rust prone. This was just a little bit of slicing reconstituted shiitake mushrooms.
None of these have been used enough period or without getting periodically polished a bit to represent the awesome stable patinas like I've seen on some vintage/heavy use monosteel carbons (that well used knife look)
Edit - meant to mention, that stainless clad semi-stainless nakiri I linked isn't going to get anywhere like these as far as discoloration/patina. It'll probably just slooooowly go cloudy gray where the core steel is exposed
Thank you for all of this info! I'm getting a really good idea of what I should be aiming for now. So I don't necessarily have to aim for AS or Blue #2 (like the nakiri I posted)?
Oh yes, I'd totally forgotten about "opening the knife" on a single bevel. Maybe I will move to a single bevel later on when I can spend the money on an outstanding knife and sharpening kit. Whatever I buy, I do not want to cut corners because these knives should last a lifetime.
Edit - Yikes, I didn't initially notice you linked the Blue #2 Tanaka nakiri (I linked back the VG10 version). By most if not all accounts it's very reactive and fully soft iron clad so you don't even have a kurouchi layer helping you out for like half the blade. Unless you're very used to using reactive blades I would be hesitant to recommend this as the first one. And metalmaster had it for $68 when it was last stocked...
Don't go single bevel on this budget. You WILL regret it. I have never hated a knife, except the one really cheap usuba I picked up at a flea market in Kyoto. You simply cannot make it work right. (Then I got a real usuba, and adore it.) I use mostly single-bevel, all carbon, and I can tell you that cheap here is a very, very bad thing.
As to your technique, single bevels aren't harder to use and sharpen, but they're utterly different. So you'd have to re-learn. That means a large commitment of time, money, and frustration.
Because I mostly do straight up and down chopping plus slicing and I wanted a specialty knife. I am not opposed to gyuto, but it's not what I had in mind.
I've got to drive over to Austin in order to see any J-knives in person myself
Have cut kabocha with a Tojiro Gyuto and a Suisin Inox sujihiki no problem.
Will the 210mm gyuto have more of a straight edge than the larger ones? I want as much straight blade as I can get. Or else just get the nakiri. I am a vegan and never cut anything but veg or sometimes nuts.
Edit:
Also wondering if the price jump from the Yuki to the Koishi is worth the increase in performance or if I will hardly notice a difference. Yes, I know the Koishi is 180mm.
It's not going to have a relatively flat area for as long as a nakiri, but what you're getting is extra length to cut cleanly through things like larger daikon, kabocha, and melons.
Koishi is thinner and will be better getting through taller+denser foods. But 180mm is short...
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