Hi,
I'm in the market for a chef's knife or santoku. I'm currently in Japan so I thought I'd go Japanese but I discovered that the local market is actually quite different from what they sell abroad...
I used to have a Global G-2 chef's knife until I had to part with it involuntarily. It seems that Global knives spark some controversy, but I personally loved it primarily because it felt nimble and light in my hand. I had no problem with it slipping. It kept its edge reasonably well. I used a DICK MICRO honing rod every couple of days and sharpened the blade on stones maybe once a year. I was thinking of just getting a fancier Global knife (like a G-78), but as it turns out, Global (Yoshikin) doesn't sell most of their knives in Japan, only a select few, the rest is for export.
Now I'm certainly not set on a Global. I'm sure many feel like there are better options. The only thing I'd like to carry over is the nimble/light feel of using the knife. I don't want a heavy handle or a thick blade. I held a fancy, expensive Shun and it felt way too bulky for me. The lady at the local kitchen store said that Japanese professionals love Misono, but the blade I held also felt a bit heavy.
So to summarize, I'd like a recommendation for the following criteria:
I'm in the market for a chef's knife or santoku. I'm currently in Japan so I thought I'd go Japanese but I discovered that the local market is actually quite different from what they sell abroad...
I used to have a Global G-2 chef's knife until I had to part with it involuntarily. It seems that Global knives spark some controversy, but I personally loved it primarily because it felt nimble and light in my hand. I had no problem with it slipping. It kept its edge reasonably well. I used a DICK MICRO honing rod every couple of days and sharpened the blade on stones maybe once a year. I was thinking of just getting a fancier Global knife (like a G-78), but as it turns out, Global (Yoshikin) doesn't sell most of their knives in Japan, only a select few, the rest is for export.
Now I'm certainly not set on a Global. I'm sure many feel like there are better options. The only thing I'd like to carry over is the nimble/light feel of using the knife. I don't want a heavy handle or a thick blade. I held a fancy, expensive Shun and it felt way too bulky for me. The lady at the local kitchen store said that Japanese professionals love Misono, but the blade I held also felt a bit heavy.
So to summarize, I'd like a recommendation for the following criteria:
- Light weight
- 18-20mm chef or santoku
- Elegant handle without sharp edges
- Thinner blade preferred
- Fluted or hammered blade preferred
- Bolsterless preferred
- Wear-resistance is important
- More difficult but less frequent sharpening preferred
- If it's pretty (e.g. damascus, wooden handle etc.), that's a nice bonus, I'd love a good looking knife, but performance is more important than looks.
- Japanese with availability in Japan preferred
- Price doesn't matter as long as it's good value and worth the cost
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Can't hurt having this one as a backup for crude work or careless visitors to my kitchen ;-)