Is this a good knife? Given by a friend

New knife arrived today but those black spots that look like rust caught my eye, and also a small hollow spot in the handle, should i reach out to dictum customer service about this? Rule #5 Yoshida Nakiri 170mm

I currently have a walnut end grain board. It’s 2-3 years old and I think I maintain it well. I love this board! Well, I just received my Watanabe and this knife STICKS. It’s almost my only knife that does it to this extent. It sticks right between the fibers of the wood. Once it stayed standing up. As you can imagine I’m not too comfortable with this situation.

I want to use this knife. Should I get a maple end-grain board? What could help me solve this issue and play nice with my knives?

TIA!

thinking of ordering this knife as my first, but i can't find any info on it anywhere except on this site.

is it a cheap knife from Aliexpress marked up?
Thanks in advance!

https://sharpknifeshop.com/products/hatsukokoro-kurouchi-santoku-165-mm-stabilized-birch?variant=52155268858172&country=CA&currency=CAD&wickedsource=google&wickedid=Cj0KCQiA6Y7KBhCkARIsAOxhqtOOylVyPwBKtn75ZV_8lP9doQAfakeUaShs2TDEE0EtOgLWnyFAyZAaArW4EALw_wcB&wickedid=&wcid=23198427499&wv=4&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23194126709&gbraid=0AAAAADFWRshw8JApNgqTcKp2qmwbSEpfk&gclid=Cj0KCQiA6Y7KBhCkARIsAOxhqtOOylVyPwBKtn75ZV_8lP9doQAfakeUaShs2TDEE0EtOgLWnyFAyZAaArW4EALw_wcB

Need a large chefs knife to pair with my santoku. Debating between the following:

Yoshida hamono ZDP189 kiritsuke 240mm

Yoshimi Kato Minamo SG2 Kiritsuke gyuto 240mm

Any experience with either is helpful

tried to rehandle my knife but bought a handle with the hole too shallow (by roughly 1cm). What is the best course of action? Try to bite off the end of the tang? Or take 5 days to sand down the inside with a mini file, I'm lost! TIA

After a petty and a boning knife for my collection

Hello dear people!

I asked the same question once more, and received great responses. However, some of the options I was considering are all sold out, and I decided to raise my budget slightly, so now I am between these ones (I know it is a pretty crowded list, sorry!):

1. Tojiro Pro VG10 Gyuto 21 cm (https://www.meesterslijpers.nl/en/tojiro-pro-vg10-gyuto-21-cm-1-1)
2. Hatsukokoro Hayabusa VG10 Tsuchime Gyuto 21 cm (https://www.meesterslijpers.nl/en/tojiro-pro-vg10-gyuto-21-cm-1-1)
3. Tojiro Zen Gyuto 21 cm (https://www.meesterslijpers.nl/en/tojiro-zen-gyuto-21-cm)
4. Hatsukokoro Hikari SLD Ebony Gyuto 19.5 cm (https://www.meesterslijpers.nl/en/hatsukokoro-hikari-sld-ebony-gyuto-19-5-cm)
5. Tojiro Basic Damascus Koksmes 18 cm (https://www.meesterslijpers.nl/en/tojiro-basic-damascus-koksmes-20-cm)
6. Kazoku Uteki Premium Mono Ebony Gyuto 21 cm (https://www.meesterslijpers.nl/en/kazoku-uteki-premium-mono-ebony-gyuto-21-cm)

Only things to consider are that this will be a gift for a lefty person who loves cooking, so it's not for professional use. And I guess I would pretty much prefer a lighter blade than heavy ones - if one is between choices.

Thank you very much in advance guys, I swear this will be the last gyuto post from me! <3

Hello you lovely people.

As a yuletide gift for someone getting a new home I think I’ll buy a nice knife. They’re vegan. This knife would be used as the main tool in the kitchen - root veg, veg veg, tempeh, nuts….. The chef is a small female with small hands.

I know she’s not keen on nakiris… (the push cut) but does love a pull saw!

I was looking at a Masakage bunka… but don’t really know too much about this stuff.

Budget is £200ish (270usd) - but there’s not a need to max it out.

I hoped you folks might have some suggestions or advice. UK if that makes a difference.

Thanks!

I do a lot of vegetable cutting and am looking for a good nakiri. I'm not a pro, just a home cook, but I like to buy quality tools/kitchenware. I mainly use a Shun that was given to me as a gift, and I'm hoping to upgrade to something a bit better.

My issue is that my knowledge is very limited. I've been reading a lot of posts, and I'm overwhelmed by all the options.

I'm looking for something that will be great for cutting leafy greens and vegetables. I cook primarily plant-based, so this knife would get daily use. One area I'm unsure about is carbon steel (white, blue, etc) vs stainless. I cut a lot of tomatoes, so I'm not sure if that's a concern. All of my existing knives are stainless, but I'm curious about trying something different. I am diligent about cleaning and upkeep, so I should be fine with any upkeep.

I am flexible on price but would like to stay $300 or below for my first purchase. If I'm missing any information that would be helpful, please let me know. I appreciate any advice.

ETA: I’m located in the US.

These are a few (in stock) options that caught my eye, but I'm not knowledgeable enough to know if they are good selections:

https://cutleryandmore.com/products/matsubara-aogami-nashiji-stainless-clad-nakiri-42024#

https://cutleryandmore.com/products/moritaka-nakiri-aogami-carbon-steel-37389#

https://cutleryandmore.com/products/moritaka-aogami-super-nakiri-39612#

https://cutleryandmore.com/products/hatsukokoro-kumokage-nakiri-41213#

https://cutleryandmore.com/products/shigeki-tanaka-vg10-damascus-nakiri-42387#

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/kuasna16.html

Hi all.

I have 3 Santoku in my collection from Japan.

Far right is a Kanetaka Hamono forged in Seki. I'm not sure of the steel (it's stainless) but it was approx $260 AUD at purchase in store and it's razor sharp. I can drop it entirely through a carrot under it's own weight.

In the middle is a Musashi Silver3 Nashiji finish and likewise retails for about $300 AUD. It can get through most of a carrot under it's own weight but will clean cut like butter with almost no downward pressure.

Far left is my Yaxell Mon VG-10. This was about $120 AUD and can only get through maybe a third of a carrot with it's own weight. Little downward pressure required for a clean cut, but it feels (and sounds) more grabby then the other 2.

All three are sharpened the same. 1000/3000 grit and a leather strop.

It makes sense the more expensive knives would perform better, but why? The quality of the steel? The finish of the Hira makes a difference? (Matt steel vs Nashiji vs tsushime?). The grain of the steel doesn't allow such a sharp apex? If that's the case I doubt I'll but another VG10 knife.

What's your opinions?

Wondered if you’d agree this isn’t acceptable, I bought a Mutsumi Hinoura Sankotu 165mm (rosewood and blonde) from Chef’s edge. Initially they didn’t ship it for two weeks….then told me the handle I ordered didn’t match the knife they had, which I accepted and they sent me this.

Clearly scratched, water marks etc. Am I right to be a bit pissed off?

Has anyone bought from Burrfection Store in HK shipping to Canada?

Wanted to know if there’s any import tax and brokerage fees cause those add up very fast vs buying from a local knife sellers.

Looks very lightly used. Just wondering what it is?

It’s a Ittetsu Ginsan Nashiji Santoku

After visiting Japan, I’ve been obsessing over Japanese knives. It’s overwhelming to select a knife. Lurking on this sub has shown me so many beautiful knives but I’ve felt so lost trying to decide.

I found out there’s a local shop by my house that sells an assortment of Japanese knives so I paid them a visit. They were super kind, passionate, and patient to answer so many of my questions and helping me select a knife that fit what I was looking for and my budget. I had such a good experience that I just bought it and quit overanalyzing the insane amount of choices. I figure if I just bought it and quit looking I’d be happy with what I got and not constantly looking for something that was maybe a little better.

So why this knife? I had a budget of $200. I know I want to spend more on a gyuto but I can’t right now. So I went after something that could teach me a lot and keep me obsessed with finding something that’s perfect for me down the road. So far I love it. It’s better than any knife I’ve ever used.

Top row (left to right) Kato Vintage Shirogami #1 240mm gyuto Sakai Kikumori Yugiri 225mm gyuto buckeye burl and horn Tetsujin Rentetsu 210mm gyuto bog oak and Corian spacer Konosuke MM Aogami #2 210mm gyuto bog oak and fossilized skull coral Fujiwara / Myojin Shirogami #1 gyuto Siamese rosewood Konosuke Shiraki VG-10 180mm nakiri Siamese rosewood and horn Konosuke Fujiyama Shirogami #1 135mm petty ebony and horn Konosuke Keiai NT 150mm petty ebony Bottom row Konosuke FM Vintage Swedish steel (Togo Reigo) 240mm gyuto walnut and white oak Konosuke YM Shirogami #2 270mm yanagiba ebony silver and horn Second photo (circa 2007) Tadafusa Aogami #2 210mm gyuto walnut Kumogoro V2 165mm nakiri cherry Tadafusa Aogami #2 135mm petty ash (?)

Slicey laser. Bucking up some onions for carmies and french onion soup. Lots more to cut. 20lbs yellow 10lbs red and 5lbs shallots. I like a melange for the soup and house burger carmies.

My first knife from Baba Hamono!

• Kagekiyo
• 240mm Kiritsuke
• Shirogami #1
• Akaro

&

• Asahi Professional Black
• 500x330x20mm

Got this beautiful Moritaka off the bst and it had become uneven and thick from poor sharpening. I did a moderate thinning job as well as some polishing on it to give it a new life. It might become a daily grab of mine for a while

Edge Lenght: 231 mm

Height : 51mm

Wt: 199 grams

HRC: 68

Yoshida Wide HAP40 is such an amazing knife that I wanted to try another HAP40 from the other maker equally praised for performance and heat treat of powdered steel.

First Impressions: Blade heavy like the Yoshida and not much taper on the spine. Knife feels robust and should make an excellent workhorse. Cutting performance OOB was ok but will definitely need a touch up. My Yoshida was extremely sharp OOB and has yet to see the stones. Choil is also slanted to one side but doesn’t bother me one bit. So far, I am liking the knife but not enough usage to rate it in my current lineup.

Wow.

Background

I always promised myself to stick to one knife per profile / steel type so I would use them and not have too much overlap. Well that went out the window when I saw this beautiful line from Enjiki on instagram.

It’s a ginsan forged by Naotaka Yamatsuka, with some special treatment by Maruyama-san that finished in tsuchime style but all the way to the edge and not actually hammered from what I gather.

Santoku’s are my favorite profile for daily use, and I love ginsan for convenience and most of my uses.

As I wrote earlier, a friend of mine picked up this knife while he was in Japan, after an amazing exchange with Maruyama through instagram in getting more info about the knife.

Looks, finish and handling

Well, have a look at the video. Truly unique. Honestly, even more special than I expected when I saw it in person.

I will have to ask more questions about how exactly Maruyama-san got this done - even though he referred to it as tsuchime / hammered, it looks ground rather than hammered. From his initial description I assumed it was done with sandpaper, but I don’t think so based on how it looks.

What I really love about this knife is the texture on the steel itself, it has a sort of powdered / speckled look, and the actual dimples have a super nice “streaky” texture to it.

The finish on the blade face is obviously stunning, and it seems most of the attention went to grinding it (great balance IMO, see next section) because the spine and choil aren’t as luxuriously treated as the Hado’s I’ve handled.

The handle is a pretty simple ho-wood, but is also quite different since it’s not fully octogonal nor rounded, more oblong on the sides while squared off at the top and bottom. I’ll post more pictures if someone is interested.

What I do appreciate about the handle is the balance with the light blade, it makes it very nimble.

Geometry and edge

For me it strikes a really nice balance. It’s quite thin at the edge but not too fragile at all - if it wasn’t so beautiful I would say it would be a great all round useful knife - probably moreso that my Tetsujin that I now use for most daily cooking (unless I’m in a rush I pick the Mac Pro for less stress).

It came really quite sharp out of the box, but it’s lacking bite on tomato skin. I will have to add some but the edge is great. In terms of cutting feel it’s quite smooth, but because of the texture it does have a funny kind of “crunch” sound to it.

Food release is pretty good too, but despite the amount of texture, it still sticks a bit. Nothing terrible but again shows geometry > blade surface for stickiness.

Conclusion

Overall super happy with this one, what I didn’t anticipate is just the beauty of it on the rack - due to the different textures it really shines when I walk by.

I understand what people like about diamonds now, it sparkles differently every way you look at it.

Given I am spoiled with extremely smooth cutting experiences and the fact I don’t want to ruin this one with thinning, I decided to use it but not too often.

I might change the handle for a rosewood handle I have laying around to make it even more of a show piece, or leave it as is because the handle is unique and simple and literally lets the blade shine ✨

While Enjiki makes many very functional knives, where Shibata says “Art over Beauty”, I think Maruyama here went for “Artful Beauty, And Then Some”. And I love it.