New kitchen toy

[Major Nikon]

Anryu Kurouchi Damascus Gyuto 210mm

[missingthebigdog]

1. Let me know how it performs

I am ever on a quest for a quality kitchen knife....

[Major Nikon]

3. This one is not for the faint of heart

It's made of high carbon steel, not stainless so it will rust if not meticulously cared for. It's also ground to a very narrow edge which means it can be sharpened to scary sharpness, but it also means the edge is a bit delicate.

If you've never owned a Japanese high carbon steel knife, I recommend starting with a Nakiri. I have this one as well and it's a great value and solid performer. It will give you an idea of what Japanese steel is like without shelling out a lot of cash.

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/toshhalina16.html

[SCantiGOP]

5. I use a ceramic knife

And it seems sharp enough for my needs.
Do you see any advantage to the carbon steel? I have to admit the ease of cleaning and lack of any maintenance to keep the ceramic intact is a plus for me.

[Major Nikon]

7. It's not as much about the steel and more about the craftsmanship of the knife

There's modern stainless steels that mimic and in many ways exceed the performance of high carbon steels. There's also a lot of Japanese master blacksmiths who are cladding high carbon steel with stainless so it's possible to get a mixture of both.

High carbon steel, especially those used by Japanese master blacksmiths tends to be easy to sharpen to a crazy level of sharpness, provided the blade is well made and one has the sharpening skills to do so. Traditionally stainless couldn't match those properties due to the size of the carbides. In the last 10-20 years steel recipes and manufacturing methods have progressed significantly so there's a few stainless and semi-stainless steels on the market which some knife manufacturers are doing wonders with. With a few very expensive exceptions, knives makes with those types of steels tend to be machine made.

I've never owned a ceramic knife so I don't really have any reference to compare. Ease of maintenance is a big issue for most people and those attributes are certainly important, but personally it's not that big of a deal to me. I always wash and dry my knives immediately after use anyway. There's just something about owning a knife hand crafted by a master that needs an extra level of care and is going to develop a patina over time with use.

[SCantiGOP]

9. Thanks

I spend enough time with my cast iron skillet so I think I’ll stick to the ceramic knife.
I don’t think you need to (or can) sharpen them, but they will chip easily if you accidentally hit a hard surface.

[Major Nikon]

10. Ceramic knives can be sharpened

They can get dull but do have better edge retention. You just need diamond stones to sharpen them and it's a different skill set compared to sharpening steel knives. That's why I've never owned a ceramic blade, unless you count the burrs on my Kyocera coffee grinder.

[missingthebigdog]

11. My go to is a Tojiro DP Gyuto

I bought it a few years ago, and have been pretty happy with it. It is crazy sharp, and a good weight, although only half as heavy as yours.

[Major Nikon]

12. I have a couple of VG-10 knives

As far as stainless goes, it's my favorite kitchen knife steel.

[sir pball]

19. Try SG-2/R-2 next time you get a stainless knife

It's my go-to for SS blades; it's a little more expensive than VG-10 and the selection of products is much smaller but it's superior in every way - it's both harder and tougher, and the edge retention is almost otherwordly. It does take a little more work to resharpen, but that extra 5 minutes on the 1000 is totally worth it. It's not quite Aogami Super, but it's good enough that it's not even a compromise to avoid the care and feeding of carbon steel.

[Major Nikon]

20. There's quite a few super steels on the market

They are basically made by grinding alloy components into a powder, mixing them into proper proportions, and then casting and forging them into the desired application. The result tends to be more uniform with smaller carbides which is generally what you want with a knife.

I have a few non-kitchen knives made from super steels. Typically they are notoriously hard to sharpen and just about require ceramic or diamond stones to sharpen them. Personally I'm not really all that impressed by them. They do retain an edge longer, but that advantage is lost with the effort required to resharpen them. So you find yourself sharpening less often, but spending more time doing so.

I really haven't had much desire to buy a kitchen knife out of super steel. The reason is because I'm sharpening and honing my kitchen knives quite regularly and I prefer metals that are easier to work with, yet still are capable of a superior edge. If I did, the steel that seems most promising is ZDP-189, but you'll definitely need diamond stones for it. The steel is just part of the equation. The manufacturing process is a bigger factor. I've tried making knives myself and smaller ones aren't too bad, but with larger knives the skills required far exceeded what I was capable of as a hobbyist. Buying a super steel knife from a top notch blacksmith will typically set you back 2-3 times or more than what a comparable carbon steel knife costs, at least from what I've found.

[sir pball]

21. True, I have different needs from my knives

Edge retention is pretty much the #1 objective for me since I use my gear all day every day. The extra few minutes once a week (it's really not that bad on a diamond-doped 1k glass stone) is an entirely acceptable tradeoff for not having to do it twice a week; two minutes each morning on a 4k/8k is all it takes.

AS isn't a powder tool super steel, it's a vanadium/molybdenum enriched Blue steel (which itself is a tungsten/chromium enriched White steel); it takes the finest edge of any steel I've ever owned or sharpened, including SG2, ZDP, XHP, AEB-L and most the rest of the alphabet soup It develops a great patina, but the added seasonings help it resist outright rust a lot better than the vanilla Blue/White stuff.

All of my Japanese blades are currently stainless-clad AS - my newest toy is a Takeda Hamono 270mm sujihiki, 10 degree double bevel. Utterly amazing, less than 2mm thick, weighs just a couple of ounces, and slices an entire dry-aged prime rib in one stroke. I'm in love. And yes, it was laughably expensive, but I can justify it as a tool of my trade.

[Major Nikon]

22. I recently got a decent stropping block

Regular use greatly increases my sharpening intervals when used daily. I find it easier and far better than a honing steel, at least for very hard kitchen knives.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01CO8M1AW

[sir pball]

23. A traditional steel is the worst thing for Japanese knives

I have a MAC black ceramic "steel" that I regularly use throughout the day, it's the same concept as a strop but much handier for kitchen use:

https://www.amazon.com/Mac-Knife-Ceramic-Honing-2-Inch/dp/B001LJEDO8/ref=sr_1_3

A classic Western steel, on the other hand, will literally take chunks out of the fine, hard edge of a Japanese knife - at the best, it leaves it looking like you just chopped a dozen sandy leeks...at the worst, even Korin's service department can't help. Speaking from experience.

[Docreed2003]

2. Looks beautiful! Let us know how it works for you!

[irisblue]

4. Wow.

May there be many many happy meals from that knife.

[mitch96]

6. I am by no means a good cook

Just a kitchen hack and I bought a few good kitchen knives over the years. I still go back to my Victorinox 8" chef's knife for daily work... Stays sharp and after a few swipes with steel I can cut paper just fine. Although that Gyuto looks AMAZING... One bevel or two?
m

[Major Nikon]

8. Two bevels

The Victorinox is an amazing value and anyone looking for a good solid performing knife that's easy to maintain should consider them. That's what I recommend for most people.

[mitch96]

13. Have you sharpened it yet?

Send it out or at home... I went down the youtube rabbit hole on sharpening and tried the Japanese hand sharpening, different stones... fine sand paper?? My Chinese carbon steel clever got crazy sharp but it needed constant maintenance.. I found sharpening sort of a meditative experience... For me it's all about getting the right angle for it's intended use..
What drives me nuts is when the item I'm cutting sticks to the flat of the blade, then gets tossed off by the next slice into space on a quick chop.... I've tried using rough sand paper on a "test" knife to see if I could rough up the surface to "add" less stiction to the flat of the knife...
And so it goes....
m

[Major Nikon]

14. Not yet

It came crazy sharp right out of the box.

I have several different sharpeners. The one I will use on this knife is the Edge Pro as I want to keep the bevels precise. I fully expect to sharpen it every few weeks with touch ups on the strop and steeling before each use.

[mitch96]

15. Edge Pro... good choice

I have the knock off version with better stones. After the purchase of a good knife it's all about the edge...
m

[Major Nikon]

16. I have the Shapton glass stones

I also have the Ken Onion worksharp with the blade grinding attachment. I prefer to use that when I can, but once the angle gets to 15 degrees precision starts to matter a bit more so I use the Edge Pro and a leather stropping block.

[mitch96]

17. Love my Ken Onion pocket knife

It's got the assist which I really like... keep it simple... As for mechanical sharpeners I just use a 1"x30 harbor fright grinder on sale to see if I like going high tech..
Works well and easy to use and fits my frugal budget. Again, it's all about the angle.. Took me a bit to get it set up and now it's dialed in.. Different belts and different polish compounds make it a snap...
m

[Major Nikon]

18. I have a couple of Ken Onion designed Kershaw knives

I hate to pay a lot of money for a pocket knife as I've lost a few over the years, and Ken Onion knives strike a good balance between quality and price. I've sharpened a few much more expensive pocket knives for friends and I can't say they really leave me wanting for something better. I have the Blur in S30V which is the knife I carry most of the time. I also have the Leek. I've had both for years and the assist works flawlessly on both with no need for adjustment.

I thought hard about getting the harbor freight 1x30. Lots of people are using it to great effect. What's really nice is you can put a surgi-sharp angle guide on it. The reason why I went with the Ken Onion blade attachment to their sharpener is because it allows for a more convex bevel which I prefer on my non-kitchen knives.

[LakeSuperiorView]

24. My pet kitchen peeve. My mother or sisters putting my knives edge down in the block.

I spent time putting the edge on that knife, I don't want it to rest on that edge. And dragging the edge over the wood of the block when taking out the knife or putting away doesn't do it any favors. Be nice to your knives and let them rest on the back of the blade, not the fine edge, the working surface.

They seem immune to understanding the concept.