I'm just a home cook. I'm fairly proficient at sharpening and I have a few nice water stones that I use for this. I have a bunch of old stainless kitchen knives, but the ones I use almost exclusively when cooking nowadays are a Tojiro carbon steel clad shirogami core steel nakiri and an el cheapo stainless paring knife.
I get by with the nakiri, which I keep screaming sharp, for most of my cutting needs (which mostly consists of cutting vegetables), but I've been thinking of getting a chef's knife/gyuto and a nicer paring knife or possibly a slimmer (narrower blade) utility knife or a slim knife for cutting meat. I've kind of landed on a longer (240mm) chef's knife and a paring knife.
The ones I've looked at are from two different series that are roughly the same price:
Akifusa SRS-15 powder steel with an oriental (wa) handle. I think this same knife goes under the name Haruyuki as well.
Pros: Stainless, which makes cutting acidic stuff less of a hassle. A bit fancier looking? Seems a bit lighter.
Cons: D-shaped handle. It's fine for the bigger knives, but I'm not sure I'll like it for the paring knife (which I hold in a reverse grip when peeling stuff).
Kurosaki (Aogami) Super
Pros: Fits the sharpening method I've been using for my all carbon steel nakiri, where I thin the blade every time I sharpen it to maintain the geometry. Aogami will take a finer edge than SRS-15? Octagonal handle seems nice. Stainless cladding makes it easier to maintain than the nakiri.
Cons: Not as fancy looking as the Akifusa perhaps? Core steel not stainless, but that shouldn't be a problem since I'm used to the nakiri.
Anyone have any experience with these knives in particular or advice in general?
My dream knife for the kitchen would be a Murray Carter knife, but that's too expensive for me at the moment.
update:
These are my current thoughts:
Akifusa: Nice rounded spine and choil. Thin tip.
Kurosaki: Thinning-friendly. Nice hammer finish. <- I have this in my shopping cart, but haven't decided 100% yet.
I get by with the nakiri, which I keep screaming sharp, for most of my cutting needs (which mostly consists of cutting vegetables), but I've been thinking of getting a chef's knife/gyuto and a nicer paring knife or possibly a slimmer (narrower blade) utility knife or a slim knife for cutting meat. I've kind of landed on a longer (240mm) chef's knife and a paring knife.
The ones I've looked at are from two different series that are roughly the same price:
Akifusa SRS-15 powder steel with an oriental (wa) handle. I think this same knife goes under the name Haruyuki as well.
Pros: Stainless, which makes cutting acidic stuff less of a hassle. A bit fancier looking? Seems a bit lighter.
Cons: D-shaped handle. It's fine for the bigger knives, but I'm not sure I'll like it for the paring knife (which I hold in a reverse grip when peeling stuff).
Kurosaki (Aogami) Super
Pros: Fits the sharpening method I've been using for my all carbon steel nakiri, where I thin the blade every time I sharpen it to maintain the geometry. Aogami will take a finer edge than SRS-15? Octagonal handle seems nice. Stainless cladding makes it easier to maintain than the nakiri.
Cons: Not as fancy looking as the Akifusa perhaps? Core steel not stainless, but that shouldn't be a problem since I'm used to the nakiri.
Anyone have any experience with these knives in particular or advice in general?
My dream knife for the kitchen would be a Murray Carter knife, but that's too expensive for me at the moment.
update:
These are my current thoughts:
Akifusa: Nice rounded spine and choil. Thin tip.
Kurosaki: Thinning-friendly. Nice hammer finish. <- I have this in my shopping cart, but haven't decided 100% yet.
Last edited: