Knife collectors and kitchen knives

I collect and use kitchen knives.
This is what I have so far with a few more being made.
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Left to Right
1 - Yanagiba by Stacy Apelt
2 - Ichimonji
3 - Suji by Pierre Rodrigue
4 - Gyuto by Mike Davis, Mike Henry handle
5 - Petty by Mike Davis, Mike Henry handle

Before using good kitchen knives I had no idea what I was missing.
When my wife asked about using them I told her you all have to do is aim them, the knife does the rest.

How is Stacy's Yanagiba?
 
I don't really collect kitchen knives but I do use them probably more than my EDC since I'm the cook in the family. My collection is based on what works. My main go-to knife is a custom carbon steel Landi. My paring knife is also a custom by Menefee. These two cover a lot of ground and are really work horses. I do see quite a few that I really would like to collect though!

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My kitchen knives are old Foster Bros and Case chef's knives. SWMBO on the other hand uses Victorinox and loves them.
 
I use a Victorinox chefs knife and an Opinel carbon paring knife. My roommate doesn't use knives properly so I'm not going to invest in any high end kitchen knives. I enjoy cooking and I'm working on improving my knife skills but I'm not at a level where I need anything better than what I have.
 
For me a kitchen knife is tool. I buy the best I can afford and I use it daily. It took me awhile to find my preferred tool, but now that I have it, I am becoming more of a minimalist in cutlery, not collecting, but a few well thought out pieces that will last a life time and half.
 
How is Stacy's Yanagiba?
Even though the yanagi is supposed to be use it to cut thin slices of raw fish, I use it for a lot of other tasks.
Works great slicing or trimming any raw meat. Plus I use it on some veggies where I want thin slices.
I use it quite a bit in the kitchen.
 
Even though the yanagi is supposed to be use it to cut thin slices of raw fish, I use it for a lot of other tasks.
Works great slicing or trimming any raw meat. Plus I use it on some veggies where I want thin slices.
I use it quite a bit in the kitchen.

i use my yanagiba for more than just raw fish too.

to make gyro's at home i season the meat and spread it on a baking sheet. i cook it so it solidifies (but not over cooked), then i cut it into thin slices on an angle and sear it so it's nice and crispy.

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Shun Pro series is simply fantastic. Better than any of the custom kitchen knives I have purchased. I also have one of the cheaper victorinox fibrox handled chefs knife and that is really a great knife for the money as well if you can only spend $25.00.
 
I've been a Cook/Chef any other title you can think of for 15 yrs.. In my bag now I have Shun, Mercer, Mundial, F. Dick and Henkels... I use my Mundials the most. I just love them and don't feel bad putting them through hell since they are priced amazing and work just as well as my others...well except my Shuns..they cut like lasers
 
I've been a Cook/Chef any other title you can think of for 15 yrs.. In my bag now I have Shun, Mercer, Mundial, F. Dick and Henkels... I use my Mundials the most. I just love them and don't feel bad putting them through hell since they are priced amazing and work just as well as my others...well except my Shuns..they cut like lasers

I have a really old Mundial that we found a while back. I love it. It simply feels like it was made to be worked.
 
We have a Henckels set that SWMBO had before we got married. Also Cutco, Victorinox, and Gerber paring knives, and a Messemeister mini-santoku.
We split the cooking duties pretty evenly. I enjoy it, but don't often have the time right now to do it right..
I wanted something a bit better, so I picked up a Miyabi gyutoh. It's nice and thin, with a 14 dps v-edge. It holds an edge well, and is actually fairly easy to sharpen freehand on waterstones.

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I'd like to get an M390 or quality carbon Santoku, parer, and a specialty blade or two. But we have friends that stick our knives in the dishwasher when we're not looking (trying to be helpful), and I've seen my wife cut on ceramic plates. So I'm not going to risk it yet.
 
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I have a KAI Wasabi black 8" chefs knife arriving today. Found it for cheap so I figured it'd be worth it to try out the Daido 1k6 steel and see how the knife compares to my Vic 8" chefs knife.
 
I'd love to see it!

I only have a bad picture of it from when SWMBO bought it.:eek: It's a model 4610 and I've since stained the handle and sharpened it up. It holds an edge like a dream and it fit's my hand like it was made for me.
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I love the 3 kitchen knives that David Loukides (forum member here) made. I use them for all my kitchen cutting. They are as sharp as the day I received them from him. Sorry no pics though.
 
I'd like to get an M390 or quality carbon Santoku, parer, and a specialty blade or two. But we have friends that stick our knives in the dishwasher when we're not looking (trying to be helpful), and I've seen my wife cut on ceramic plates. So I'm not going to risk it yet.

everyone in my house or who comes to my house is told to leave my knives alone. if some needs to use a knife, i have beater stainless knives for them to use ;)


you are looking for a carbon steel santoku, take a look at the kobayashi dojo santoku. it's stainless outside with a hitachi blue #1 steel core hardened to 62HRC. the knife is thin and light. i run the edge around 10-12 degrees per side and it cuts like a laser.

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p.s. kobayashi makes a few different knives in their dojo line.*



also, you mentioned a knife in M390. this morning i ordered a richmond knives artifex 210mm gyuto made in M390 steel (and it has a black micarta handle). i should get it in a few days, i'll put this knife through it's paces and then make a review thread.

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everyone in my house or who comes to my house is told to leave my knives alone. if some needs to use a knife, i have beater stainless knives for them to use ;)


you are looking for a carbon steel santoku, take a look at the kobayashi dojo santoku. it's stainless outside with a hitachi blue #1 steel core hardened to 62HRC. the knife is thin and light. i run the edge around 10-12 degrees per side and it cuts like a laser.

p.s. kobayashi makes a few different knives in their dojo line.*

also, you mentioned a knife in M390. this morning i ordered a richmond knives artifex 210mm gyuto made in M390 steel (and it has a black micarta handle). i should get it in a few days, i'll put this knife through it's paces and then make a review thread.

Thanks for the tips! I want to try something Japanese, high quality, not excessively expensive - that looks like a nice place to start.
I saw the M390 Gyuto - I don't need another chef's at this point, but I'm curious how it works out - looking forward to your review.
 
Thanks for the tips! I want to try something Japanese, high quality, not excessively expensive - that looks like a nice place to start.
I saw the M390 Gyuto - I don't need another chef's at this point, but I'm curious how it works out - looking forward to your review.

there are plenty of good santoku's in the $70-$150 range. are you looking for a western style or more traditional japanese style?

i'll give you three examples:
1. tojiro DP line looks like a good high value series (santoku is $70)
2. hiromoto AS line, hitachi super blue cutting core wrapped in stainless (santoku is $110)
3. akifusa PM, SRS-15 PM stainless core wrapped in stainless (santoku is $150-$160)

i can't wait to get my M390 gyuto, it's scheduled to arrive saturday :D i'll be throwing it into service right away.
 
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there are plenty of good santoku's in the $70-$150 range. are you looking for a western style or more traditional japanese style?

i'll give you three examples:
1. tojiro DP line looks like a good high value series (santoku is $70)
2. hiromoto AS line, hitachi super blue cutting core wrapped in stainless (santoku is $110)
3. akifusa PM, SRS-15 PM stainless core wrapped in stainless (santoku is $150-$160)

i can't wait to get my M390 gyuto, it's scheduled to arrive saturday :D i'll be throwing it into service right away.

Great leads, again, Jim!
Tojiro DP is "only" VG-10. Probably great kitchen stuff, but I'm thinking to take the next step.
I will look very closely at the Hiromoto AS and Akifusa PM lines. Both offer the steels I'm looking for, nice hybrid western/asian handles, and very approachable prices for what they offer.

Let us know how that M390 Gyuto does!
 
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