Chef's Knife Advice - Gift for Dad

[jwkunkle]

Greetings guys. I would like to buy my father a new Chef's knife. He has a Wustof Classic knife set, but I wanted to get him something special for his birthday.

Any advice or guidance? I have been looking at Shun or perhaps Miyabi, but don't know much about them other than what I read online. Price range is $150-300.

Thank you for any/all responses.

[Naples09]

Check out this site. Some great knives for the money. But better than most German offerings.

https://www.chefknivestogo.com


Something like this 210 Yuki will out perform any Shun.

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/mayugy24.html

[Abdullah71601]

Shun makes great knives. I used to use Henckels and have switched over to Shun. You can’t go wrong gifting a Shun.

[bellesdad0417]

Originally Posted by Naples09

Check out this site. Some great knives for the money. But better than most German offerings.

https://www.chefknivestogo.com


Something like this 210 Yuki will out perform any Shun.

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/mayugy24.html

I second this web site and have bought from it many times. I also second the Yuki I have several. Sign into their forum and ask your question and they will be more then happy to point you in the right direction

[wantonebad]

Originally Posted by Naples09

Check out this site. Some great knives for the money. But better than most German offerings.

https://www.chefknivestogo.com


Something like this 210 Yuki will out perform any Shun.

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/mayugy24.html

so you recommend the Yuki over all the others?

[GerardoG]

I am a big W fan, have several of their knives. They have a beautiful line (ikon) with wood grips, worth looking at IMHO

[GerardoG]

Plan B: Wusthof also makes a travel set. It has been my BEST purchase. 3 knives, sharp tool, corkscrew and scissors all in a nice W zippered case.

[Naples09]

Originally Posted by wantonebad

so you recommend the Yuki over all the others?

No but it's a great option for the money for a home cook. It's a great starter knife for the home. Like starting a watch collection with a Sub!

If you want to pick the best overall - that gets complicated. Do you want carbon or stainless, reactive or non-reactive. The options are endless - kinda like watches.

And like the watch world - the best can't be purchased on a whim - the supply is low and demand is high.

[wantonebad]

Originally Posted by Naples09

No but it's a great option for the money for a home cook. It's a great starter knife for the home. Like starting a watch collection with a Sub!

If you want to pick the best overall - that gets complicated. Do you want carbon or stainless, reactive or non-reactive. The options are endless - kinda like watches.

And like the watch world - the best can't be purchased on a whim - the supply is low and demand is high.

No idea LOL

[Abdullah71601]

Originally Posted by Naples09

No but it's a great option for the money for a home cook. It's a great starter knife for the home. Like starting a watch collection with a Sub!

If you want to pick the best overall - that gets complicated. Do you want carbon or stainless, reactive or non-reactive. The options are endless - kinda like watches.

And like the watch world - the best can't be purchased on a whim - the supply is low and demand is high.

You’d need to be crazy anal about cutlery to go with carbon steel. They are a maintenance PITA, which funnels them into the specialist role. Probably the only way to go for sushi though.

[PLNYC]

Shun makes great knives

[jwkunkle]

Ok - have spent the last whatever watching Masakage Yuki Gyuto videos. Quick question...is the 240mm the most preferred size? It seems quite large. I see the same knife in 210mm and 180mm. Which size would provide for the most frequent use? He is just a home cook - nothing professional. :)

[Naples09]

210 is an 8 inch chef knife. Depends what Dad has used in the past. I like the 210 size - but most pros would rather have the 240.

[Naples09]

Originally Posted by jwkunkle

Ok - have spent the last whatever watching Masakage Yuki Gyuto videos. Quick question...is the 240mm the most preferred size? It seems quite large. I see the same knife in 210mm and 180mm. Which size would provide for the most frequent use? He is just a home cook - nothing professional. :)

Josh - I would look at this one too - as it's all stainless - which will be less upkeep for dad. Add the sharpening service from CKTG and it will arrive like a razor.

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/kosld21gy.html

The Yuki has a carbon edge with stainless cladding. Meaning dad will have to make sure he cleans and dries the Yuki or the edge can rust due to the carbon steel. However, the stainless cladding helps - as that part of the blade will not rust if left wet.

If you want something more special for his bday look at this one. It's a great piece with better fit and finish.

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/anhagy21.html

Again - it has a carbon steel edge - need to make sure it's cleaned and dried after use to prevent rusting.

[Danny83]

Originally Posted by jwkunkle

Ok - have spent the last whatever watching Masakage Yuki Gyuto videos. Quick question...is the 240mm the most preferred size? It seems quite large. I see the same knife in 210mm and 180mm. Which size would provide for the most frequent use? He is just a home cook - nothing professional. :)

I recommend Global the chef at Benihanas uses those and they cut with precision

[Gharddog03]

Originally Posted by Abdullah71601

Shun makes great knives. I used to use Henckels and have switched over to Shun. You can’t go wrong gifting a Shun.

This!!! Love shun knives.

There are many great knives.
http://www.cutleryandmore.com/japanese-knives.htm

[Syed117]

Originally Posted by Abdullah71601

Shun makes great knives. I used to use Henckels and have switched over to Shun. You can’t go wrong gifting a Shun.

Agree with this.

Got my dad a Shun Premiere a few years ago. It's been great and still extremely sharp to this day with very little maintenance.

I believe they provide free lifetime sharpening as well. You have to send it away, but that's not too big of an issue.

[jwkunkle]

Thanks so much for all the help guys. I ordered the Masakage Yuki Gyuto 240mm with overnight delivery so I hopefully get it tomorrow!

[RazorD]

For easily found big name companies, Shun are great. If you want to go further down the hole of specialty craftsman knives, check out https://www.chefknivestogo.com as mentioned above or Japanese Natural Stones.

[SearChart]

Maybe look on Instagram or Etsy? I follow a few knife makers and they make magnificent stuff, I bet there are similar makers for chefs knives. That way you truly have something unique.

[dddrees]

Originally Posted by Gharddog03

This!!! Love shun knives.

There are many great knives.
http://www.cutleryandmore.com/japanese-knives.htm

Originally Posted by Syed117

Agree with this.

Got my dad a Shun Premiere a few years ago. It's been great and still extremely sharp to this day with very little maintenance.

I believe they provide free lifetime sharpening as well. You have to send it away, but that's not too big of an issue.

I saw nothing with regards to free lifetime sharpening at cutlery and more. I guess I’ll have to check out Shuns website. Also it appears they have more than a few lines or models available. Anybody have a quick run down as to which is consider their top to bottom lines and why?

[dddrees]

Originally Posted by Syed117

Agree with this.

Got my dad a Shun Premiere a few years ago. It's been great and still extremely sharp to this day with very little maintenance.

I believe they provide free lifetime sharpening as well. You have to send it away, but that's not too big of an issue.

I checked the website and your correct they do offer free lifetime sharpening. You will of course have to pay for shipping to and from and a small processing fee per knife.

https://shun.kaiusaltd.com/warranty

Have yet to find nothing with regards to a break down of their various lines and what that all means. You can certainly go buy what they cost but it would be nice to see a break down somewhere.

[bdex75]

I have the Shun premier 7” Asian cooks knife and the 4” paring knife.

I would not buy them again. I have some old Wustof and Henkel knives and some others that I would buy 5 times before I rebought these Shun knives.

The tips are broken off of both of the knives. The Chef from splitting crab legs and the paring from what I don’t remember. Just know it was not abuse and I should not have to worry about grabbing a $250 knife to split crab legs after they are cooked.

But man, they look good hanging on the wall!!!


I have a similar rosewood handled Victorinox that was $130 that just keeps on taking a beating and has no issues.

I spoke to Shun who send to send them in that they would look at them. I need to. They may surprise me but I doubt it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[dddrees]

Originally Posted by bdex75

I have the Shun premier 7” Asian cooks knife and the 4” paring knife.

I would not buy them again. I have some old Wustof and Henkel knives and some others that I would buy 5 times before I rebought these Shun knives.

The tips are broken off of both of the knives. The Chef from splitting crab legs and the paring from what I don’t remember. Just know it was not abuse and I should not have to worry about grabbing a $250 knife to split crab legs after they are cooked.

But man, they look good hanging on the wall!!!


I have a similar rosewood handled Victorinox that was $130 that just keeps on taking a beating and has no issues.

I spoke to Shun who send to send them in that they would look at them. I need to. They may surprise me but I doubt it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Sorry to hear, guess I’m not so gungho now. Here’s hoping they take care of you.

[Syed117]

Originally Posted by dddrees

I checked the website and your correct they do offer free lifetime sharpening. You will of course have to pay for shipping to and from and a small processing fee per knife.

https://shun.kaiusaltd.com/warranty

Have yet to find nothing with regards to a break down of their various lines and what that all means. You can certainly go buy what they cost but it would be nice to see a break down somewhere.

So when I bought the shun from Sur la table, there were two models that seemed to be the most popular and the most common. The Classic and the Premiere. The premiere looks nicer and has dimpling in the metal. Just seems better because of more handwork that goes into it. I guess it's the dimples that we are paying for.

Classic


Premiere

Originally Posted by bdex75

I have the Shun premier 7” Asian cooks knife and the 4” paring knife.

I would not buy them again. I have some old Wustof and Henkel knives and some others that I would buy 5 times before I rebought these Shun knives.

The tips are broken off of both of the knives. The Chef from splitting crab legs and the paring from what I don’t remember. Just know it was not abuse and I should not have to worry about grabbing a $250 knife to split crab legs after they are cooked.

But man, they look good hanging on the wall!!!


I have a similar rosewood handled Victorinox that was $130 that just keeps on taking a beating and has no issues.

I spoke to Shun who send to send them in that they would look at them. I need to. They may surprise me but I doubt it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

This seems to be the main concern with the shun knives. Tips can definitely break because the blades themselves just aren't very thick compared to the German knives. My dad also has a bunch of old henckels and Wustoffs and you can tell by the feel that they are just stronger and can take a beating.

The shun is the nice knife you take out to use and enjoy using for slightly more delicate tasks. The german knives are made for pretty much anything.

Also have that cheap Victorinox chefs knife that everyone loves and while it definitely looks and feels cheap, it's good for what it is.

[dddrees]

Originally Posted by Syed117

So when I bought the shun from Sur la table, there were two models that seemed to be the most popular and the most common. The Classic and the Premiere. The premiere looks nicer and has dimpling in the metal. Just seems better because of more handwork that goes into it. I guess it's the dimples that we are paying for.

Classic


Premiere




This seems to be the main concern with the shun knives. Tips can definitely break because the blades themselves just aren't very thick compared to the German knives. My dad also has a bunch of old henckels and Wustoffs and you can tell by the feel that they are just stronger and can take a beating.

The shun is the nice knife you take out to use and enjoy using for slightly more delicate tasks. The german knives are made for pretty much anything.

Also have that cheap Victorinox chefs knife that everyone loves and while it definitely looks and feels cheap, it's good for what it is.

Yeah, that tip breaking thing doesn’t appeal much to me.

[Gharddog03]

I own the Classic and have used the free sharpening. I believed I payed 5$ for return shipping. I have also read if they can’t sharpen it to specs they will send you the same model or a close variant of it. It was sent to Oregon if my memory is correct. I’m sure other companies offer the same or better warranty.

[bdex75]

Originally Posted by dddrees

Yeah, that tip breaking thing doesn’t appeal much to me.

The blades on the premier are thin. Meant for much more delicate work. Thin slicing of sushi or fish etc. Just never thought they would be so delicate.

I generally grab for my old trusty German knives now. And it’s a shame because these are beautiful. I am afraid they will say it is due to abuse and I will have $500 of boat anchors on my hands. And then I will be pissed.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[fkim011]

Originally Posted by Naples09

No but it's a great option for the money for a home cook. It's a great starter knife for the home. Like starting a watch collection with a Sub!

If you want to pick the best overall - that gets complicated. Do you want carbon or stainless, reactive or non-reactive. The options are endless - kinda like watches.

And like the watch world - the best can't be purchased on a whim - the supply is low and demand is high.

Can you throw out some brands that you would trust on the site on chefknivestogo. Maybe a top 3 ranking....

I know the carbon and stainless differences...etc. Just wanting to really up my knife game.

[dddrees]

Originally Posted by bdex75

The blades on the premier are thin. Meant for much more delicate work. Thin slicing of sushi or fish etc. Just never thought they would be so delicate.

I generally grab for my old trusty German knives now. And it’s a shame because these are beautiful. I am afraid they will say it is due to abuse and I will have $500 of boat anchors on my hands. And then I will be pissed.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

I looked at a video which spoke to how thin the blades were and imagine there are uses where this makes more sense, but I’m looking for something that would be more apt to work and serve me in a more multi purpose environment. I’m not looking for a pry bar but I really don’t want to have to worry that I’m going to ruin the knife every time I use it.

Thanks for sharing and I hope they take care of you.