[Lili Deng]

I am a home cook looking for my first good Japanese knife.

One question I didn't see much discussion during my research is handedness. Most Japanese knives are asymmetric 70/30 blade. I am left handed, and I only found JCK provide option for left handed with 10-15% additional cost. Does it really matter? Or the difference could be neglected most of time?

I think I should be fine with the sharpness of good entry level Japanese knives. I am more care of the comfort of handle(I have small hand) and relative good edge retention(regularly ceramic rod honing + sharpening on whetstone every a few months under daily home use condition?). I am in Canada.

Here are currently some options I am looking at:

1. Fujiwara FKM Guyto 210mm.
Probably have to get it from JCK. Have to deal with duties, but will have left handed option. Concern is AUS-8 with 57-58 HRC. How is edge retention compare to the other two?

2. ‎Tojiro DP Guyto 210mm.
It is probably the easiest one to get. Concern is its handle. I have read some complaints about its boxy handle.

3. ‎Takayuki Grand Chef Guyto 210mm.
It seems like AEB-L steel get lots of praise. Does the price increase also provide more comfortable handle? I also found the engraving on Yo handle ones are less appealing than the other two(I appreciate the beauty of calligraphy as some one can read Chinese). Wa handle ones have Japanese engraving and may have 50/50 blade. But it is more expensive(165 vs 220+ CAD on Pualsfinest), only has 240mm+ version, and I am a bit concerned of the handle durability and comfortability.

4. Other knives from JCK under $180 USD or so?

 

[Lili Deng]

Asking to adapt an edge is no durable solution. Expect serious steering issues to appear after a few sharpenings. And in between, food will stick to the flat side.

Thanks for the info! Can you elaborate a bit more about the quote above?

"Adapt an edge is no durable solution" means the left handed option provided by JCK won't work well? What exactly does the "serious steering issues" mean?

 

[Lili Deng]

If you put a neutral or lefty edge on a right-biased blade, you should expect clockwise steering. Friction on the left bevel is lower than on the right one. With brand new knives or lasers this isn't very pronounced, but when the blade becomes a bit thicker behind the edge, it will worsen. Common problem with jig systems who tend to produce symmetric edges. Nice edges, poor cutters.

Thanks for the link, it is very informative. So I guess what you descried is similar as post #25 in the linked thread? I didn't realize that the whole blade is actually right-biased, not just the edge.

So is this right-biased blade also actually applied on Japanese knives that claims having 50/50 edge? That sounds quite a bad news for me...

 

[Lili Deng]

I also want to ask you, is there a reason why you want a 210 not a 240? Keep in mind Japanese knives are much lighter, so a 240 would probably still be lighter than a 210 German knife. Especially if it has a wa handle. My first knife was am 8 inch and the main reason I stepped up wasn't because I got better, but because the second I really got used to it I realized it's too small. Unless you really really can't use a 240, whether due a cramped work space or knowing that you absolutely can't use it, I'd think really hard about the size of the blade.

Thanks for pointing this out. Yes, my experience is based on German knife, and I will give 240 wa handle more serious consideration.