New knife purchase, recommendations round two.

[C.Morris]

I'd made a previous post about knives:

After reading through those comments I thought that I would get the Devin Thomas knife: http://www.chefknivestogo.com/dethfo270abg.html, A 270 mm Gyuto, but it is now unfortunately out of stock. I am shopping for my birthday (or Christmas if the search takes too long).

Right now I use a Shun all stainless cleaver that has about a 7" blade. It's quite good, so I want to be careful to make sure whatever knife I get, will be truly distinctive in terms of performance compared to the cleaver. Probably the three that come foremost to my mind are

Ryusen Blazen Gyuto 270 mm: http://www.chefknivestogo.com/blazen.html

Hattori Gyuto 270 mm: http://www.chefknivestogo.com/hachkn101.html

Tadatsuna Wa Gyuto 240 mm: http://www.chefknivestogo.com/tadatsuna3.html

At the moment I lean toward the Blazen, but I wanted to be sure that I was overlooking an obvious contender. For example, I had never heard of Devin Thomas before my previous post.

I really appreciate everyone's input. I'm sure I can be happy with any of these knives, but I want to make sure I've been thorough before making such a big purchase.

Carl

P.S. I use and Edge Pro for sharpening, with just the two starter stones (medium and fine). I guess I may also need to consider expanding my sharpening selection.

[nickrey]

You've already received a lot of good advice in the other thread.

I'd only add that if you are using Japanese knives you will need to teach yourself proper holding and cutting technique with these (push cut) rather than the traditional European rolling chop. For this reason, I'd steer away from the two knives with the Euro-style handles and go for a more traditional octagonal/rounded handle like you already have on your Shun.

This means that the Devon Thomas or Tadatsuna would be preferable as the Hattori and Blazen both have a handle that may lead you to use a grasp and cutting techniques that could damage a more sensitive blade.

[Fat Guy]

At the moment I lean toward the Blazen, but I wanted to be sure that I was overlooking an obvious contender.

Takeda would be the contender I'd put forward in that style and price range:

http://www.chefknivestogo.com/tagyas27.html

I'm fortunate in that I cook with a friend who has a great Japanese knife collection and I've used most or all of the knives on your list. My favorite knife, by a fair margin, is the Takeda. I like it better even than the Nenox. It is wicked thin and, for example, makes short work of onions. It doesn't have the fit and finish of some of the others, but for a working knife I think it's amazing. My next big knife purchase will be a Takeda, though probably not in the 270mm size. For really thin knives I prefer something a little smaller.

I think, however, you're probably past the point of anybody being able to give you a meaningful recommendation. You've identified a universe of excellent knives and the rest is going to be personal preference.

[Dakki]

That Takeda really speaks to me. Hey, Xmas is coming up...

[MattyC]

It's scaring me how much I want that Takeda. Early birthday present for myself i'm thinking? I second a vote on that guy over the blazen though. I've used a blazen and that same size hattori - would put the blazen over the hattori, personally I liked it but would go for the blazen over the hattori any day, just felt better. But that takeda is damn sexy...

[nickrey]

Mmmm that Takeda looks really nice. May be a bit long for you though; perhaps the shorter version would be better.

Edited October 24, 2010 by nickrey (log)

[C.Morris]

I did some thinking, and I decided to go with the 240mm Takeda Gyuto: http://www.chefknivestogo.com/ta24gywcufit.html. I like the pattern on the steel, and the custom saya is just gravy . From all I hear, and from a few YouTube videos, I will probably love this knife.

Thanks for all the recommendations! I'm really glad I learned about the Takeda.

Carl

[Dakki]

I'd love to hear your impressions of the knife once you get your hands on it.

[C.Morris]

I can definitely make a post when I get the knife, and share a few pics. Would a new topic be appropriate for that?

[Borgstrom]

IAfter reading through those comments I thought that I would get the Devin Thomas knife: http://www.chefknivestogo.com/dethfo270abg.html, A 270 mm Gyuto, but it is now unfortunately out of stock. I am shopping for my birthday (or Christmas if the search takes too long).

It does take a bit of luck+timing to score one of these. I got very lucky & Santa came early this month with two new Devin Thomas knives -- a 240mm Gyuto and a 150mm Petty. I've just had them a few days & haven't really put them through their paces yet, but so far I'm very impressed. Fit & finish are excellent, and their balance/feel are very good to my hand. I can already tell that these will quickly become my go-to knives after 20 years with my Henckels 4-Star set.

[C.Morris]

The Devin Thomas Knives both look beautiful. I'm sure that will be great knives. In the end I got the Takeda 240mm Gyuto, and I love it. I will still consider a DT knife in the future, perhaps for a petty knife. I have a good Victorinox paring knife that is awesome for what it does, but I'm sure a petty would be good to have now and again. Thanks for posting the pictures!

[OliverB]

My favorite knives: Shun Ken Onion Chef's knife (it's as perfect for my hands as can be) and cheap butcher knives, the ones with the curved blade (boning or slicing knives I guess).

The Shun is amazing, I've had it for 3 (or 4?) years now and have never sharpened it, it still goes through a tomato with ease. Add to that the free lifetime sharpening service by Shunn, and I'd buy it again and again. Well, in my next lives that is. For now I can only recommend it to anyone that asks