New chefs knife recommendation?

timos- said:
Honestly, I would by two good budget knives, maybe a 180mm blade and a 240mm, one in stainless and the other in high carbon steel. Also get on a custom knifemaker's list, by the time your custom is ready to be made you will have a pretty good idea of what you like best. The kitchen knife thing is so very subjective.
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"The kitchen knife thing is so very subjective" - true, that is why it is so complicated... not easy to make a choice :)
 
From what I read, Global and Shun are really in the same league - some people prefer one to the other while others the opposite, but the materials and the craftmanship are really not that different.

To up my kitchen knives from what I currently have (Shun and Tojiro), I think I will skip Global (and wusthof and miyabi for the same reason). I'll be looking at knives with significantly better steel (than VG10).
 
$250 is a little tough for an upgrade from "budget" options... Check out Kohetsu AS line.
I have a small stable of Takeda AS (stainless clad) that I can recommend highly but they are about $300-350.
 
justsomedude said:
$250 is a little tough for an upgrade from "budget" options... Check out Kohetsu AS line.
I have a small stable of Takeda AS (stainless clad) that I can recommend highly but they are about $300-350.
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Not sure if you are replying me. If you are, then are you saying that there is no chefs knife in the $200-$250 range, which is twice more expensive than a Shun classic chefs knife, but not a significant upgrade over Shun? I am not arguing but just asking because I honestly don't know much about the kitchen knife market.
 
sharp_edge said:
Not sure if you are replying me. If you are, then are you saying that there is no chefs knife in the $200-$250 range, which is twice more expensive than a Shun classic chefs knife, but not a significant upgrade over Shun? I am not arguing but just asking because I honestly don't know much about the kitchen knife market.
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There are plenty of good chef's knives in that range that are a step up from Shun Classic. I found 76 knives using "gyuto" and a price range of $200 - 250 just on a single site that specializes in chef's knives. The real challenge in that price range is knowing what you are looking for so you can pick the knife that fits your needs out of the various choices in size, steel, handle shape, and blade profile.
 
An 8" Shun in their Vg10/sus410 is a pretty good knife and very stain resistant for $150.
It's true that there are a lot of Japanese options around $250 that offer steels like AS, ZDP189 and a variety of Hitachi steels all considered superior. I would love to hear more about those from someone else as I bet there are some gems. From what I could tell by pictures, Kohetsu seemed like a great option.
However I can tell you I've also seen a lot of Japanese chef knives in person at places like Bernal cutlery and Hida tool and I've seen enough thick spines, uneven grinds and mediocre handles on >$200 knives to be wary.
When you go up to blades that are hand forged and/or stainless clad, with nicely shaped hardwood, Wa handles And super thin, even bladestock you hit a really good value point in my opinion.
Just one man's opinion though!
 
Actually just found a handmade, 210mm gyuto in stainless clad AS, "Kanehiro AS Gyuto 210mm" for $240 that looks great!
 
Being a newer maker, my pricing is quite competitive for now. I am making more basic knives with optimized heat treat and geometry, but with brushed finishes and non premium handles instead of hand sanded finishes and exotic woods to keep costs down. No junk, but no premium Koa or Burl woods. Think Walnut, cocobolo, stabilized curly poplar etc., or synthetics. I have a different stencil for this line of knives to differentiate them from the more time consuming, and more expensive builds.
 
Chef Knives To Go has a bunch of high quality kitchen cutlery. Also, there are plenty of talented knifemakers on the forums that would do a fabulous job.
 
Just got this Takamura Migaki 210 yesterday. It was so thin and insanely sharp that I chose to put a micro bevel on it just to be on the safe side. A fantastic chef's knife.

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Knives&More said:
Please give us an update after some usage. I am interested in buying the knife.
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I'll give it a good run, gonna use it just like I used my victorinox. No hard chopping or anything just regular all round kitchen duty.
 
Sounds awesome. I look forward to hearing the results as I was looking at the Kanehide PS60, Takamura Migaki 210, and a couple others.
 
Hattori does VG10 well. From what I have heard, some others may do it not quite so well. The Misono UX-10 line is AEB-L/13C26. Can't goo wrong there
 
What surprised me is I bought a paring knife for one of my friends from CKTG made with AEB-L and he found a way to get a good amount of surface rust/staining on the knife within a week of use. I have heard of AEB-L to have good corrosion resistance, so I am curious to others experience with it.
 
cutler81 said:
yeah I guess... :) what would you recommend for every-day kitchen use, let's take about $800-1000? I'm thinking about a very good one, but it's quite difficult to choose some (for this price). Guess I really need some recommendation of a real user...
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with this money I would recommend a good blacksmith experienced in wootz blades - if you are interested, contact me (priv). PS - wootz requires experience in sharpening; the very good wootz can be sharpen only with diamond stones.
 
Knives&More said:
Sounds awesome. I look forward to hearing the results as I was looking at the Kanehide PS60, Takamura Migaki 210, and a couple others.
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I have used this knife now every day for 3 months and it is amazing. No need for sharpening, cuts like a lazer, I just love it. I holds an edge a waaaay longer than my victorinox, at least twice as long, maybe more..

Highly recommended
 
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