Japanese Kitchen knives

[mike_aa]

I have a question for all you Japanese knife aficionados.  I'm thinking of purchasing a Santoku style knife and, based on mentions here, I've been considering the Global, Korin, and Miyabi brands.  Then at Woodcraft, I spotted this Santoku knife made by Kumagoro.  It's supposedly Damascus steel and on sale for half price at $99.  Have any of you heard about this maker and is it worth the $99? 

Thanks, Mike A.

 

[semenza]

I have a question for all you Japanese knife aficionados.  I'm thinking of purchasing a Santoku style knife and, based on mentions here, I've been considering the Global, Korin, and Miyabi brands.  Then at Woodcraft, I spotted this Santoku knife made by Kumagoro.  It's supposedly Damascus steel and on sale for half price at $99.  Have any of you heard about this maker and is it worth the $99? 

Thanks, Mike A.

  Here is a little input. My son is a chef and has just done a bunch research and buying of Japanese knives. He said there are several things about the one on sale that are a bit odd for a santoku. Not that it is necessarily bad but maybe not the norm. He suggested going to the chefknivestogo.com site and forum. They have a big selection and a lot of knowledge of all very good knives.  He suspects that you can find the same or better for about the same price.

Seth

 

[mike_aa]

[member=1619]SRSemenza[/member]  Hi Seth, Thanks for the response and thank your son for me!  That WoodCraft offering did look a little sketchy so I'm glad your son weighed in on it.  I took a quick look at that chef's site he recommended and I was surprised to see some lower-priced offerings that had rave reviews.  I guess I have more research to do! 

The only issue is it seems the more I look, the more confused I get!  Although I'm pretty much set on trying the Santoku, I'm also thinking the Nakiri or Gyutu might work well, too.  This can become a rabbit hole real fast!  [eek]

Thanks, Mike A.

 

[Cheese]

Hey Mike, FWIW...I'd highly recommend the Santoku style knife. I've used Wusthof chef style knives for the last 30 years, however, once I purchased the Shun Santoku style knife about 10 years ago, I'll never go back to the traditional style knife. There's just a huge difference and ease of use with the Santoku.

 

[mike_aa]

[member=44099]Cheese[/member]  Like you, I have been using chef's knives for awhile.  The ones I have are from the long discontinued Marks Exaktor line.  They're nicely balanced, pretty sharp, and have been working fine for me, but based on what I've read here and in other threads, it looks like the Santoku would be much better.  So I am really sold on the Santoku style and had my eye on a nice looking Korin or a Myabi.  I also saw some from Global that looked good, too.  But then I saw that the Nakiri style kind of works well with vegetables (like a cleaver) with a chopping action so I was also considering that.  When I went to the website Seth recommended, it looked like there were a good number that were under $100, but had really good reviews.  Maybe I should get both styles and get the less expensive Nakiri style to try out.  See what you guys did to me by posting all this good info here!  [scared]  [big grin]