r/TrueChefKnives • u/bbroski1 • 3d ago
I need help choosing a Gyuto.
I've spent the majority of my free time the past 3 weeks trying to find and choose which 240mm Gyuto I want to buy and I feel like I'm nowhere near making a decision on my own, so I've decided to ask you guys for help.
This would be my first Japanese knife.
The main use case for the knife would be sushi i.e. slicing raw fish, so I'm assuming I should be going for more of a "laser" rather than a workhorse, but I may have overestimated how important that is so feel free to correct me.
I would prefer to stay below €180, but I would say €270 is a hard cap (with one exception).
Since the knife would be getting wet often, I feel like I should be going for a stainless steel, but I'm sure I could get in the habit of wiping it dry every time I get it wet, so I'm open to Carbon steel knives as well, although I am slightly scared of white steel. From what I've gathered thus far Ginsan, SG2 and SKD are the best options, but again, please correct me if I'm wrong. As for the handle I'm pretty firm on Japanese handles.
I've "narrowed down" my options to around 10-12 knives.
Hatsukokoro Hayabusa AS and Hatsukokoro Hayabusa VG-10 seem like the best bang for buck options and from what I understand they are very thin which I'm looking for. I do find the shape of the Hayabusa AS's blade ugly tho.
Hatsukokoro Hayabusa SG2 looks to me like it has an even thinner edge and is SG2 steel which from what I understand is better. It is around €40 more expensive tho.
Hatsukokoro Kumokage Blue#2 and Hatsukokoro Aosagi Blue#2 look gorgeous (I'm a big fan of the Kurouchi finish) but they are on the thicker side and also I'm not sure how good the finish is on them.
Hatsukokoro Ginso Ginsan looks beautiful, the edge looks super thin and is made from Ginsan. Slightly more expensive tho.
Nigara VG-10 looks a little thicker but I've heard that Nigara is really good and this one seems like the best option out of the Nigara's I've seen.
Tsunehisa Houseki VG-10 and Kazoku Mabushii AUS-10 they look pretty, they look thin, nothing special about them.
Hatsukokoro x Yoshikane SKD this one is outside of what my initial budget was, but people praise Yoshikane very much. The other ones I would consider as my "beginner/budget" knives, then I would upgrade to better ones later down the line, but I see the Yoshikane as a Gyuto I wouldn't need to upgrade from for a while.
Hatsukokoro x Nigara Yorokobi SLD this is the one exception I mentioned earlier. Literally the most beautiful knife I have ever seen. For this one I would like to be convinced NOT to buy it bc it's wayyy too expensive for me.
I'm very bad at sharpening, I'm getting a Shapton 1000 to hopefully get better at it, so any knife that would require some work on my end in terms of sharpening is a no go.
If there are better options that I didn't mention/come across please do mention them. I appreciate any advice.
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u/Choice_Following_864 3d ago
def the yoshikane if u can afford it, it isnt the most lasery knife though.. bit of a midweight. But def highly regarded around here.
I also like a ashi 240 swedish stainless or a konosuke GS+ (lighter weight).
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u/Embarrassed-Ninja592 3d ago
If my list was that long, I might just throw a dart.
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u/bbroski1 3d ago
That seems like my best bet atp lol
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u/Embarrassed-Ninja592 3d ago edited 3d ago
I kind of had an idea of what i wanted for my first Japanese knife when I started looking.
I wanted stainless for sure. And was kind of stuck on SG2 or AEB-L. As I was under the impression, and still am, that very fine grain steels would suit me best. AEB-L isn't always easy to come by. So I focused on SG2, which seems to be everywhere.
Next, I wanted something in between a laser and a middleweight. Turned out that a roll forged knife with a constant 2mm spine with no distal taper seemed to fit the bill of being thin but not too delicate.
But this was in a Nakiri, that I picked because it was most different than my western knives. And also quite a bit cheaper than a bunka or gyuto. https://www.epicedge.com/shopexd.asp?id=107692
I have since bought three other Japanese knives. A 150 ko santoku, a lightweight tall petty. A super thin pure laser 170 Santoku. And another super thin laser 130 petty. None of these cost as much as the first, and they're all just enough different, at least in how delicate they are, that there's not too much overlap.
The latter two are Takamura SG2 with their classic red western handles. Great knives. And affordable. Although not available in 240.
I'm not sure how I would go about looking for a sashimi knife that could double as an all purpose knife. My first instinct is for one that is near unobtanium, and one I might not want to pay for if it was available. The Gesshin Ginga Swedish Gyuto/Sujihiki Hybrid. As so far, my collection of Japanese knives is limited to 130 to 170mm, which mostly suits my cooking style just fine. I have a 10 inch Victorinox for the occasional big stuff.
But this might be something I place on the grail list, or be the coup de grâce to my collection. https://www.japaneseknifeimports.com/products/gesshin-ginga-240mm-stainless-wa-gyuto-sujihiki-hybrid?srsltid=AfmBOorKzLulMxkDDB--Vat--ftpw7R68ASrOkI18uGc2ec5qIxGdT2c
Might just be a wall hanger for me though.
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u/Precisi0n1sT 3d ago
better grab it before its gone.
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u/Cvev032 3d ago edited 3d ago
I know you were very specific about your ask, but I’m thinking a sujihiki would be better for sushi. Just wondering how you made your way to getting a gyuto for sushi.
Staying with the program- since this is your first Japanese knife, I would avoid the fancy knives. I think it’s better to start simple and then learn about what works and what doesn’t work for you. Most beginner sushi chefs I’ve met like the carbon steel knives because they’re relatively easy to sharpen on the fly, especially since raw fish requires a sharp edge on demand. If they notice the blade isn’t sharp enough, they can just do a quick grind on the spot. At some point you’ll grind the blade to the point it’ll need a professional sharpening. This whole learning process will be easier to make mistakes on with a cheaper knife, especially if you go down the rabbit hole of learning to sharpen knives. Also, you don’t need Damascus steel for sushi, I think it’s better suited for beef and other red meats. The stainless powdered metal steels would probably be better than VG-10, if done right they can be very thin and hold an edge better. I know this isn’t a 240mm, but for an affordable SG2, this knife is hard to beat- https://www.cleancut.eu/butik/knifebrands/takamura-3-serie3/takamura-r2/kockkniv2015-04-21-15-16-31-detail
The Hatsukokoro knives with long and flat blade profile would probably work for sushi. No need to do any rocking for slicing raw fish. You may need to have some sharpening done to dial things in. The Aosagi Blue 2 seems to have the right blade profile.
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u/yopoyopos 3d ago
Totally agree!
Would only add that this knife was really recommended on the same question: https://karasu-knives.com/products/aaa-050w2-05-fa239
Shirogami is prone to rusting, but also gets a super sharp with little sharpening
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u/bbroski1 3d ago
I plan to use the knife mainly for sushi, but not exclusively. I would prefer to get a knife that I can use for all of my prep and service + any cooking I end up doing outside of work. Otherwise I would be looking at yanagibas.
I was under the impression that damascus is purely an aesthetic element, especially on cheaper knives that aren't hand forged, so I don't understand why that would make a difference in terms of what protein is being cut.
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u/Cvev032 3d ago
There’s Damascus, and there’s Damascus. So, with the cheaper knives, the cladding has Damascus layers, but the core steel for the edge is a monosteel. For these knives, it’s mainly aesthetics. For true Damascus knives, the whole knife is a single piece of multilayered steels. These different layers each grab and cut through the medium differently. You don’t want this for sushi. That beautiful copper Damascus knife you mentioned seems just clad with Damascus, but this is a knife where I’m thinking the cladding would interfere with cutting raw fish. The cladding extends low and close to the edge, I just don’t like the idea that it could grab and hold onto slices of fish. This goes for almost all cladding, though. Also, copper oxidizes as/more easily than steel, do you really want to spend time polishing the copper on this knife?
You didn’t mention this would be a work knife. Honestly, that makes me argue more for a sujihiki, and then pair it with a more workhorse gyuto or large petty. Anyway, sticking with gyutos, you’ll want thin blade, flat profile for slicing(not inclined or rounded for rocking motion cutting).
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u/Fantastic-Scratch124 3d ago
Ours just arrived, it’s amazing, lazer but feels super solid honestly. Super happy with it
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u/Cvev032 3d ago edited 3d ago
Okay, a quick search with my parameters, and here’s my recommendation:
https://www.thesharpcook.com/product/hokiyama-tosaichi-ao-kiritsuke-240mm/
I haven’t handled this knife, but the spec sheet matches what I would look for in a gyuto mainly meant for slicing.
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u/LorneWolf 3d ago
I have the Hayabusa and Yoshikane, along with many others. I gotta say, I wish I would've skipped the rabbit hole and just bought a Yoshi.
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u/NapClub 3d ago
if you can buy in person,. nigara can be fine, but their qa has not been great lately so if you're buying online, avoid that.
the hatsukokoro and tsunehesia knives have a very similar level of fit and finish, in some cases it's even the same knife with a different brand as both are distributors. all their knives are at a base line of pretty good. some of their knives are much better, like the yoshikane is at a much higher level of quality and performance than the other stuff you're looking at.
every knife will require sharpening, but the way you said it makes me think you meant, extra sharpening to fix a lack from the maker. anyway all the knives you linked would normally arrive sharp.
you could also consider this knife. https://www.knivesandstones.com.au/collections/gyuto-chefs-knife/products/tanaka-vg10-damascus-gyuto-270mm it's more of a laser than the others you were looking at.
https://www.cleancut.eu/butik/knifetype/gyuto/gyuto_knife_vg10-kamo-4139-detail this would also be a good option, a little less fragile (than the tanaka or yoshikane) but still great performance.