New chefs knife recommendation?

sharp_edge

sharp_edge

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I like cooking and I indeed cook daily. My chefs knives have been a Shun classic 8" and a Tojiro DP 8" gyutou. I have been generally happy with them. They are both easy to sharpen and keep a sharp edge reasonably long. Now I would like to upgrade a bit, let's say $250 top, to get a new 8" chefs knife. The knife will be limited to cutting meat (without bones) and veggies. I'd like the knife to keep a sharp edge for even longer. Of course, it needs to be comfortable in hand and look beautiful as well.

What would you recommend?
 
I enjoy the harukaze aogami super line. Great grinds, good edge retention, decent fit and finish. For just 20$ over your budget the shibata kotetsu would be hard to beat.
 
You seem to get a lot more options right around $300. I was going to suggest the carbon Zwilling Kramer or the 240mm Misono UX 10,but the only knife that is still "cheap" in the lines is the 210 Misono at like $199.. The bigger knives are in that $275-350 range.
timos- said:
I enjoy the harukaze aogami super line. Great grinds, good edge retention, decent fit and finish. For just 20$ over your budget the shibata kotetsu would be hard to beat.
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So I will be an outlier here regarding lower cost knives. My Victoronix w/Fibrox handles has been great (for me). I have not sharpened them since I acquired them last July, I do, however "Steel" them at least once a week. Steeling takes me under a minute to do and they seem to be as sharp as new.

My bad... I reread your post and you clearly state that you are looking to upgrade so while the Victoronix is a fine choice for me it apparently would not be for you.
 
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I would also recommend z-wear. If you want to go carbon try that. It would likely be one of the toughest kitchen knives you own. Tough and excellent edge holding.
Willie71 is quite experienced with that steel.
 
I use a Global, beutiful balanced knife, keeps its edge really well with occasional "steeling" Not sure if that's an upgrade for you though :)
 
As I am new at this forum I have read many opinions here (generally at forum...) and seems like Japanese knives are the best for most people for kitchen works... I was wondering if they are really the best or more like the most popular?

If you had a lot of money (more than $300) would you buy one of Japanese knives or something else? I mean for kitchen use (so meat without bones and veggies)?
 
cutler81 said:
As I am new at this forum I have read many opinions here (generally at forum...) and seems like Japanese knives are the best for most people for kitchen works... I was wondering if they are really the best or more like the most popular?

If you had a lot of money (more than $300) would you buy one of Japanese knives or something else? I mean for kitchen use (so meat without bones and veggies)?
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More than $300 puts you into the realm of some very nice Japanese knives and some custom blades too.
 
jdm61 said:
More than $300 puts you into the realm of some very nice Japanese knives and some custom blades too.
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yeah I guess... :) what would you recommend for every-day kitchen use, let's take about $800-1000? I'm thinking about a very good one, but it's quite difficult to choose some (for this price). Guess I really need some recommendation of a real user...
 
Honestly, I would by two good budget knives, maybe a 180mm blade and a 240mm, one in stainless and the other in high carbon steel. Also get on a custom knifemaker's list, by the time your custom is ready to be made you will have a pretty good idea of what you like best. The kitchen knife thing is so very subjective.
 
For $800-1000, you are getting into the realm of “pretty dog gone fancy” in both the Japanese and custom world. Tim is correct in that for $1000, you could get nice custom knives from a number of folks. or you could score something like a sole authorship blade in Damascus.

cutler81 said:
yeah I guess... :) what would you recommend for every-day kitchen use, let's take about $800-1000? I'm thinking about a very good one, but it's quite difficult to choose some (for this price). Guess I really need some recommendation of a real user...
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I think you pays your money and make your choice. From my personal and subjective opinion the Global Chefs knife is the last knife I will ever need. I have 4 global knives and can’t really see what could be much better. I’ve had good but much cheaper knives in the past but the difference between those and the Global knives is massive. I’m not an expert but I can’t really see how a knife can get much better other than the pleasure that owning something truly crafted brings.
 
Tim2310 said:
I think you pays your money and make your choice. From my personal and subjective opinion the Global Chefs knife is the last knife I will ever need. I have 4 global knives and can’t really see what could be much better. I’ve had good but much cheaper knives in the past but the difference between those and the Global knives is massive. I’m not an expert but I can’t really see how a knife can get much better other than the pleasure that owning something truly crafted brings.
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I’ve had a few people buy knives from me who used Global knives previously. They certainly can feel the difference a good Custom makes in use.
 
I totally agree, I have no experience with anything better than the knives that I have. In an ideal world I'd love a set of truly exceptional custom knives. As a keen amateur home cook it's way down my list of priorities unfortunately. My Brother in Law is a proffesional Chef (with a bit of a knife obsession) He has custom knives from many different sources for many different applications and makes good use of them on a regular basis. I bought the Global knives on his reccomendation because he said they would serve my purpose and so far he has been right. Ah well one day maybe.... :)
 
Tim2310 said:
I totally agree, I have no experience with anything better than the knives that I have. In an ideal world I'd love a set of truly exceptional custom knives. As a keen amateur home cook it's way down my list of priorities unfortunately. My Brother in Law is a proffesional Chef (with a bit of a knife obsession) He has custom knives from many different sources for many different applications and makes good use of them on a regular basis. I bought the Global knives on his reccomendation because he said they would serve my purpose and so far he has been right. Ah well one day maybe.... :)
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What you have is fine. It’s like a Bugatti is better than a corvette, but a corvette is still a pretty great car.
 
Tim2310 said:
I think you pays your money and make your choice. From my personal and subjective opinion the Global Chefs knife is the last knife I will ever need. I have 4 global knives and can’t really see what could be much better. I’ve had good but much cheaper knives in the past but the difference between those and the Global knives is massive. I’m not an expert but I can’t really see how a knife can get much better other than the pleasure that owning something truly crafted brings.
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Another usefull opinion for me - thank you. So far I was recommended Miyabi, now Global and od course there are also custom knives... Which is an interesting option of course :)
 
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