On 4/17/2020 at 10:56 PM, btbyrd said:What other knives do you have? If your budget is around $40 and you already have a knife or two, your money is likely better spent on a stone than on a knife. Frankly, I cannot conceive a non-garbage $40 yanagi; even $150 ones tend to have issues (like having bends and not laying flat on the ura/back of the knife). Sujihikis, which have bevels on both sides, have fewer issues and are better suited for slicing rolls.... but even so, $40 is still quite cheap. (Not inexpensive; cheap.) Yanagi are thick and used to slice fish almost exclusively; sujis are slimmer and are more general purpose slicers. Regardless, in this price range, I'm sorry to say that you're not likely to find much of quality. But you might not really need a specialty sushi knife. The thing that's most important for making rolls is just having a knife that is sharp (and wiped clean between cuts). A sharp chef's knife will do the job just fine. I'd take that $40 and invest it in something like a King 1000/6000 grit combo stone, which is perfect for those just learning to sharpen.
Thanks for the input. I have 2 sets of non German made Henckels plus several random chef, butcher, filet, pairing, bread, cleavers etc. Nothing professional grade. I sharpen w honing rods and a slide through sharpener and they've worked well for home (frequent) use. I can get them pretty sharp. Curious to incorp the whetstone though which I'll look into (and chk out your rec, thx).
I hear you on the knife. Probably don't need it but would like to play with one given how it differs from anything I have as per the single bevel. Given my expectations (low) and that I don't want to ruin a good one, I think I'll be ok w one of those I linked. If I like it and find myself using it often, maybe I'll invest in a good one like that beauty you posted above : )
