Budget chef's knife that will hold an edge

Just some makers that can be found in that price range with western handles and a variety of steels, both carbon, stainless and clad.
Fujiwara, Kohetsu, MAC, Tojiro. Just do a google search.

 

This!^^^ You’re eating & feeding plastic to your family Etc & the bamboo is mostly plastic. Get a nice hardwood board.

 

Nobody in Japan uses a bamboo cutting board. They do not even exist. I suspect they are the product of a Western marketing scheme because bamboo seems so "Asian".
In Japan, woods such as Ginnan(Ginko), Yanagi(willow) and the best Hinoki (Japanese cypress) are used for boards.
The only bamboo used is the "Maki Su" to make sushi rolls.

 

Thanks for the compliment. Never know how they're going to turn out until shaped.

 

What blade profile are you looking for? A Western style or a Japanese (Gyuto) style?

 

I am by no means an expert, so take this for what its worth. I have heard great things about the edge retention properties of AEB-L. Possibly something like a Richmond Artifex, might suit you, and is in your price range. I only see that knife listed in a 210mm size, though, and I know you prefer a longer knife.

There are a huge array of knives made of VG-10 that are in your price range. Maybe something like a Yahiko Western Gyuto. Tojiro is a great value budget friendly brand, but I don't believe they make anything with a western type blade. The Yahiko I mentioned would be very similar to the Tojiro, but with the western blade profile.

Most of the knives used in commercial kitchens are going to be your Victorinox/Dexter variety. I use those in my home kitchen for two reasons. The handles are comfortable, and I can beat them up and not feel bad.

 

Many folks think that Western handed Japanese knives are a recent thing to cater to western users. The reverse is in fact true.
Traditional Japanese cooking knives have been mostly single beveled and Wa-handle. In the mid 1800s European cuisines started entering the country and along with it the double beveled Yo-boucho (western cooking knife). This is what is now called a Gyuto (beef knife). These knives have always been Yo-handle (western handle). It is only in the past 10-15 years that the Gyuto blade became paired with the wa-handle to become the Wa-gyuto. These knives are very popular in Europe, Americas, Australia and elsewhere. But rarely used in Japan where the western handled gyuto still remains the standard.

 

Check out the GrandSharp in either the rosewood handle or paka wood handle. It is a damascas with a vg 10 core. It's in the mid to upper 50's and seems well built. They can be found on several sites, the auction site, the big river site or others. I got mine from the express site and shipping from china was ok, around 3 weeks or so. Do a google search.

 

I think you'd get better edge retention from Vg10 over AEBL. AEBL is waaaaay tougher than Vg10 and Vg10 can be prone to chipping so be aware of that. I used to run my AEBL knives at 62 HRC but like them much better at 63 to 64 Hrc. I would stay away from AEBL anything below 62 if you want edge retention.

Cedric at the link below has done a ton of edge retention tests on various knives and steels (all EDC knjves) If you look in the info below the video he post all the results so you can compare steels if you want.



Just remember that steel choice is the 3rd of the 3 most important factors. The other two being heat treat and geometry. A "dull" kitchen knife will still slice well if the geometry is good and TBE is low.

 

VG10 is a widely accepted "good" steel for kitchen knives. And for many outdoor/pocket knives as well. However, one should be careful when purchasing knives made in China represented as "VG10". Quite often the knife is marketed as VG10 but when it arrives it turns out to be 10Cr15CoMoV which is the domestic Chinese equivalent steel which is much cheaper than VG10.

https://www.chefpanko.com/buying-a-japanese-vg10-damascus-chefs-knife-from-china/

 

For the price you really need to try one of these. It is VG 10 not the 10Cr15CoMoV but they do have them also. I have both the paka wood and rose wood in the chefs knife plus a couple of others. Very nice for the money. Search for Grandsharp Knife Store. Ali has them on their express site under the name I posted. I would post pics but I'm not sure how too

 

I have a modified Ontario field knife (~10" blade, 1095 steel). It gets used daily for dinner prep of both meats and veggies. Works great for batoning frozen hamburger chubs in half.

For the amount of use it gets, I only take it to the stones 3 of 4 times a year. I usually run it 4-5 times over a sharpening steel before I use it. This keeps an adequate working edge on it for me. Only gets used on wooden cutting boards, hand washed and dried.

One of the odd things I like about it is being carbon steel is the ever changing patina.

 

I am certainly not an expert, but I also highly recommend Tojiro. I had a 240mm DP Gyuto (western handle) that was made from VG-10, and it was a great knife overall. It was good steel that was relatively easy to sharpen, and the blade had good geometry. I believe it was a bit under $100, which IMHO was very reasonable.

I also agree with the cutting board recommendations. I've purchased plastic, glass, bamboo, teak, and maple boards in the past, and knives seem to dull much slower with maple. I tend to prefer edge grain instead of end, even though edge isn't quite as easy on knives as end.

 

I have a 10 in messermeister, an 8 in victorinox fibrox, and a 6 in Global G58. The 6 and 8 are the workhorses in the kitchen and I think they are all around 58 on the scale, which is what you probably have as well. I run them all on a steel after a couple of uses, just the way it is. I think it’s a good compromise, much harder and you start chipping rather than rolling the edge. Sorry I don’t have a recommend but I think you have a pretty good knife now.