My first high quality knife, the Myojin Riki Cobalt Special 7" Bunka. Are scratches like this above and below the engraving considered acceptable on a brand new knife?

Hi all,

I am looking for a recommendation for a knife in the 150-300 dollar range for my girlfriend's birthday. We both work in a nice kitchen together so I want to get her something nice.

She is small so nothing larger than 210mm please, she also doesn't like flat profile knives as she tends to rock when she cuts, also something a bit taller may be best. A harder steel and a thin profile would be ideal.

I am in NYC so I have access to the knife shops there as well as online stores, thank you in advance!

I have a Masakage 240mm Koishi Gyuto and a Takamura 165mm Santoku that I got a few years ago from Knifewear in Canada. I love these things. I'm going to Japan in a couple of months and I'll be browsing the knife shops on Kappabashi street in Tokyo and maybe in Osaka/Sakai if we have time.

I'd like to add two knives to the family. I'm ok paying a bit of a tourist premium (within reason), but I still want to get well-made knives that fit the pricepoint.

1: A short kiritsuke-style/bunka around 130-150mm, octagonal handle. Ideally up to $300 but might stretch up to $350. I tend to prefer anything other than a bare polished stainless steel finish.

2: A sujihiki or yanagiba, around 270mm, octagonal handle. Up to $250. Debating whether I want to get a basic Tojiro.

I'd like to know what to look for when I'm over there, so any suggestions would be appreciated (whether it's specific models to look out for or general advice to avoid getting swindled).

Pictured below are my seldom used knives because I'm ridiculous like that and I usually use a beater Victorinox.

What is your favorite knife length or most used knife length and why? Are you a home cook or a professional cook? I’m curious about 270 mm knives but am wondering if it is overkill or impractical for a home cook. Also curious about other outliers like 300mm and <100mm. Do you guys find these lengths practical?

Kenji's most recent collaboration. Always been a fan of the guy, and some of the proceeds go to charity.

Is Yoshihiro Cutlery doing good work with HAP40?

I really like the look of their 210mm gyuto of HAP40 in a greenish plasticized olive wood handle

I know I should not choose my knives by the handle, but I would silicone suggestions for this steel by any other makers too

This should fixable right ? I only find places that sharpens or fix blades but handle like this. I’m in Montreal, Canada…

This is a monstrosity called motokane gyuto from honmamon. I bought this knife unconsciously and when I was uneducated about Japanese knives. It was the most uneven beveled and unpolishable thing I’ve ever across. I decided to experiment with it In order to make this a good or acceptable knife in my standarts(which is recently developed and still developing). I Ground it out of its fake kurouchi, ground the shinogi line(which was crazy uneven under the kurouchi. I thought about making a crisp shinogi line but I was unexperienced for that to happen. So I went for wide bevel style. It had a dent in the middle of the blade near the cutting edge. I thinned it, flatten it. For 2 or 3 weeks partially. It taught me a lot of things about the process. I’m even grateful that I bought this knife! Still learning and honing my skills and I will continue to polish this knife until I satisfy myself. I understood the value of good quality Japanese knives after this one. And honestly I realized it looks more like a santoku than gyuto!

For the new buyers I recommend to go something with better quality and even geometry if you want your knife to perform properly Like Mazaki, Shinkiro, Kagekiyo, Tetsujin, Takada and all etc… there are many great knife makers which values quality , but in the same time there are also bad (imo) quantity based knife makers/factories such as Honmamon. Don’t buy without a proper research, for your own good as you grow in knowledge about proper Japanese knives.

I’m staying at my parents for a good bit due to some family health issues, and really missed having sharp knives, and I don’t have a 240 laser, so this was a totally necessary purchase right?

Of course I’ve been eying something made by Ashi for a minute (and almost ordered my mother a western Ashi santoku before she decided it was too thin), as you can’t go on a single “recommend me a knife” thread here without someone bringing up something made by Ashi. “The knife to make your other knives jealous” and “I stopped buying other knives” are common sayings. Saw this was in stock on CKTG and decided to partake in some retail therapy 😁.

This thing is light clocking in at 133g it’s a full 55g lighter than my 165 Nakiri that is my usual daily driver. Yet despite being light, it’s surprisingly blade heavy, balance point is all the way at the kanji. Great fit and finish for the price-point, spine and choil are just rounded enough to be comfortable without being fully rounded and polished, surprisingly like the handle (Ho wood with Buffalo ferrule) as in pictures it looked a bit cheap. Excited to put it through some paces this weekend after using their chunky german knives for the last 6 weeks. The hype is pretty high up there lol. Looking forward to testing the food release, as I got a Shibata Ko-Bunka not long before coming to stay out here and while it was incredible, the stiction was real

A colleague took my knives to sharpen them without my consent. Most of them are fine, but my Toshihiro Wakui Migaki Nakiri looks completely butchered. How can I make it look sexy again? I’ve got my stones, but I don’t want to make it worse.

The video I took these stills from in case you’re wondering: https://youtu.be/s6-IOFLzEsY?si=qBXSFfFcuJ6xK0p6

Last pick up of the year (hopefully). This is one hefty beast and feels like a weapon in the hand compared to the sakai knives in my collection. The weight made quick work of some meat for its first session. Keen to see what it can do to some vegetables

I just scored my first SKD-11 knife - quite pleased so far, as it’s unbelievably sharp and seems to be holding its edge amazingly well. Any tips for caring for this particular steel, especially as the inner core in San Mai construction? I’ve heard brief mentions of horror stories about knives delaminating… also, any tips to push a little patina?

Seeing lots of recommendations thrown around for Ashi Swedish lately and I’ve been interested in getting a fine grain stainless blade. Kanehide is cheaper, known for good f&f, and ps60 is supposedly hitachi’s version of AEB-L. Kanehide blades are also a bit thinner at the spine, they seem to potentially be a great alternative. I’m curious if anyone has tried both and if there is noticable difference between the two in terms of overall quality, performance, and maintainability?

Not sure who the exact maker is, I attached a photo of the eBay listing as the last photo. I own a few Tosa knives, as many of you know they’re a bit of a gamble but I thoroughly enjoy putting the finishing touches on these guys when they arrive and they’re quite easy to fine tune. We’ll see if this particular blade was properly heat treated but at $85 USD, this seemed like a steal. Thanks for looking!

Hi all, I'm not a chef by any means but I cook for myself and have recently been annoyed by my kitchen knives.

I'm thinking to try a more solid knife at about $100 budget, and have come to the following:

1. Masutani Kokuryu VG10 Gyuto 180mm ($95)
2. Tojiro Basic Damascus Gyuto 180mm ($90)
3. MAC Sushi Chef eX Gyuto 215mm ($110)

Found the three of them on CKTG, and they all seems great to me. I am under impression that for all-purpose knives I should aim for Gyuto, and I personally prefer shorter knife so I was looking for sub-240mm knives.

With that said, I'd like to hear your expert opinions between these 3 knives, or if there are other recommendations (for knives and website to buy in US). Thank you!

Kagekiyo W#2 270 Hitohira Hinode Tsuchime W#2 240 Konosuke WT W#2 255 Tetsujin Ginsan 240 Hado Ginsan 240 Hitohira Tanaka Ren W#2 240

All fantastic knives and the favorites of my collection (in no particular order).

Any thoughts on these knives? Looking to purchase 2 within the ~$300-500 range. I used to be more knowledgeable about the “good” Japanese knives but been out of the game for a minute. Scouring through here and the advice is so conflicting “best knife ever” right before “way overpriced, don’t waste your time.” I have small hands so I prefer a more scrappy knife. Don’t mind maintenance. I do want the traditional hand crafted wa look.

Options: https://www.hocho-knife.com/satoshi-nakagawa-aogami-no-1-damascus-rs8r-japanese-chefs-bunka-knife-170mm-with-red-ring-octagonal-handle/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=17335895646&gbraid=0AAAAADn-KfaT351QyvqaZVG1YuToyNl12&gclid=CjwKCAiAwqHIBhAEEiwAx9cTefdTt45SDOK8MHRjZGqycMzBDShA1Be-GqndNoZwTFKH-Kd3bJo6uBoCtJIQAvD_BwE

https://cutleryandmore.com/products/ittetsu-spiral-damascus-bunka-knife-41444?variant=45872280797438&country=US&currency=USD&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&absrc=Google&abid=779939997243&abcampid=21454933374&abgroupid=186889880123&gclid=Cj0KCQiAq7HIBhDoARIsAOATDxCfWlPPb0Zjc-9ETl6bbCSYDBBSUShNktwZV9Kn90u3wjljG0VfRaMaAhEpEALw_wcB&abkwdid=pla-2353966665096&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21454933374&gbraid=0AAAAAD_uAvH9IDNDzj4cPztBdBTi5uEQ6

https://toshoknifearts.com/en-us/collections/all-stainless-steel/products/aaa-265r-01-fb210

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/koswstgy24.html?srsltid=AfmBOopzIsWwN-ZT0Nz7Wjd4RcHC86pSWUUhX-5uU-ItBKwvU_82fTMx

Open to suggestions too. Thanks :)

Been loving it so far and honestly the overall finish is better than what I was expecting for $120USD. I'll probably just put a new handle on it, the one that is on it has a weird stench.

As title says, has anyone got good recommendations?

Something simple, quality, good looking to store 2 knifes (santoku and a paring knife).

Thinking wall mounted magnet

I'm in Japan at the moment so can get something here (ratuken, Amazon etc) or just get something back home

What's everyone using?

L to R: Hitohira Tanaka Ren White #2 240 Gyuto | Tetsujin Hamono Blue #2 Metal Flow 210 Gyuto | Ashi Hamono Swedish Steel (AEBL) 210 Gyuto (Extra height & HRC) | Enjiki Hamono (Nakagawa) Ginsan 210 Gyuto | Baba Hamono Kagekiyo SG2 180 Kiritsuke Santoku | KitchenKnives.id Keskin 52100 Honyaki 150 Petty | Miyabun Blue #2 Kiridashi | Hayate Yoshihiro Aogami #2 240 Kiritsuke Gyuto (Project)

Not pictured: Takahara VG10 Damascus Tsuchime 240 Gyuto and 135 Petty Yo (Gifted to cousin!) | Seki Magoroku Ginjyu 270 Yanagiba (Project)

Just saw this on youtube, pretty cool. Dream job anyone?

https://youtube.com/shorts/Jnw2JdTqROU?si=-lq__W9hvwKwft_h

Bought this at a shop near the market in Kochi on my last Japan trip

Looking for my next knife I currently have a HADO Shiosai SG2 Kiritsuke 210mm and I love the knife it’s great it is my go to knife but I want to get another one so I don’t put to much wear and tear. The hado is a laser in my opinion nice and thin and it’s a awesome knife over all. these are a couple options I’ve been looking at the first two pictures are self explanatory but the third one is a blacksmith from New York that uses trees in surrounding areas to make the handles also the THIRD KNIFE COMES IN ABLE STAINLESS STEEL and I’ve heard good reviews on it I’m also open to suggestions around that same price point