# Best pure cutter



## FishmanDE (Jul 4, 2021)

I’m curious as to other experiences with the best preforming knives they’ve ever used. Obviously, as some of you will point out, best is a relative term. But I’m curious to peoples favorite performers. Have you ever tried anything that was amazing across the board? Personally, I’ve found where some of my best excel at most, a leek will seem like an insurmountable task. And others can be superb at everything, except that last 1mm of thick carrot. Who were your favorites and did they have a kryptonite?


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## DitmasPork (Jul 4, 2021)

Raquin, Takada, TF Denka.

Three I often grab if needing a dependable, great cutter for a range of ingredients, when cooking for a supper party.


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## coxhaus (Jul 4, 2021)

I think it depends on what you are cutting. The German 4star Henckels knives will stand up to about everything but my wife tried cutting a hard block of parmesan cheese with a Henckels 4star boning knife and the knife broke in half. It just snapped. So, I would think there are lots of limits on what you want to cut. I assume the boning knife was too thin. It was a wrong move on her part to use that knife but it happened.


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## branwell (Jul 4, 2021)

I cook at home, not professionally, and work a lot with onions, carrots, ginger, tomatoes, various herbs, jalapenos and various meats.

I've not come across a knife that is perfect at everything but my go to is a Gyuto in the 210 range that is thin ( 1.7mm mid spine ) with a grind that is flat from the edge ( zero grind ) to a 1/3ed the way up the blade and convex's from there up curving back toward the spine. Its balanced 1/2 to 3/4 inch in front of the choil.

Am also using a 210 sized one sided S grind k-tip Gyuto that is very thin from the edge up to the S but it slightly thicker at the spine itself ( 2mm ) than I usually like that is winning a place in my hart.

Its very rare that I reach for anything bigger but when I do its mostly for mincing and chopping large quantities of herbs.
Smaller? I have a 5.75" x 1.5" tall K-Tip petty that I am fond of but I'm more partial to the 210 size.


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## FishmanDE (Jul 4, 2021)

coxhaus said:


> I think it depends on what you are cutting. The German 4star Henckels knives will stand up to about everything but my wife tried cutting a hard block of parmesan cheese



that’s a great point. I never considered trying to cut things like cheese. Makes me want to buy a cheese knife lol


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## coxhaus (Jul 4, 2021)

FishmanDE said:


> that’s a great point. I never considered trying to cut things like cheese. Makes me want to buy a cheese knife lol



I am not sure what cheese knife you would buy for cutting parmesan cheese? I use a heavier Henckels knife.


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## heldentenor (Jul 4, 2021)

Is it bad that I have an unambiguous answer? Konosuke MM gyuto. Hasn't balked at anything.


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## FishmanDE (Jul 4, 2021)

heldentenor said:


> Is it bad that I have an unambiguous answer? Konosuke MM gyuto. Hasn't balked at anything.



nothing at all? That wouldn’t surprise me hearing it’s a kono


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## McMan (Jul 4, 2021)

Fun question, and such a tough one to answer! 

On one hand, I think an argument could be made that a very good laser is the "best pure cutter" because it excels at cutting--period--even if it doesn't do well with other attributes (like food release and balance and cutting diverse stuff). In which case, I like Tadatsuna best. But this seems to be too literal an interpretation of "best pure cutter"...

On the other hand, I think "cutting" also involves food release + balance + doing well in diverse stuff + etc. So...
--Raquin
--Kippington
--Wakui (I'm not sure if I really believe this or not... or even if Yoshi should be here instead)


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## Pointless1 (Jul 4, 2021)

heldentenor said:


> Is it bad that I have an unambiguous answer? Konosuke MM gyuto. Hasn't balked at anything.



I have mixed feelings about this. Glad you like it though!


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## William Hunt (Jul 4, 2021)

My best pure cutter is a Fujiyama B#2. For some reason I don’t use it that often. I’m usually holding something beefy like a Gihei B#2 because it just gets stuff done with no worries. 
As for kryptonite, I had a recipe that called for parsnips quartered length-wise and the only parsnip that I could find were huge. I just pull out a German knife when I have to put my off hand on the spine and apply a good amount pressure.


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## Hz_zzzzzz (Jul 4, 2021)

A gyuto that is 240-250 mm long, 52-55 mm tall, weighs 210-250 gram, spine thickness is 4+ mm at handle and tapered to 2 mm in the middle and 1 mm at 1 cm from the tip, zero edge, <0.1 mm thick right above the edge, 0.5-0.55 mm thick at 5 mm above the edge (measuring in the middle of the knife), 1.0-1.1 mm thick at 1 cm above the edge, slight convex grind further above, balanced at 1 inch from the heel, uses a nice carbon steel like blue steel or iwasaki steel, and has relatively flat but continuously subtle curve in the profile.

I’m just describing my imaginary perfect knife —— a mixture of kato wh, yoshikane SLD and watanabe pro blue 2.


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## daveb (Jul 4, 2021)

Kiwi FTW!


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## esoo (Jul 4, 2021)

My Kono MM is my best general use knife that I will use in cases where I probably shouldn't

Yoshikane Amekiri SKD, Kono YS-M and Dalman Warikomi all are better pure cutters.


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## sumis (Jul 4, 2021)

heldentenor said:


> Is it bad that I have an unambiguous answer? Konosuke MM gyuto. Hasn't balked at anything.



this.

.


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## FishmanDE (Jul 4, 2021)

Hz_zzzzzz said:


> A gyuto that is 240-250 mm long, 52-55 mm tall, weighs 210-250 gram, spine thickness is 4+ mm at handle and tapered to 2 mm in the middle and 1 mm at 1 cm from the tip, zero edge, <0.1 mm thick right above the edge, 0.5-0.55 mm thick at 5 mm above the edge (measuring in the middle of the knife), 1.0-1.1 mm thick at 1 cm above the edge, slight convex grind further above, balanced at 1 inch from the heel, uses a nice carbon steel like blue steel or iwasaki steel, and has relatively flat but continuously subtle curve in the profile.



i can’t tell if that’s sarcastic?


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## M1k3 (Jul 4, 2021)

coxhaus said:


> I think it depends on what you are cutting. The German 4star Henckels knives will stand up to about everything but my wife tried cutting a hard block of parmesan cheese with a Henckels 4star boning knife and the knife broke in half. It just snapped. So, I would think there are lots of limits on what you want to cut. I assume the boning knife was too thin. It was a wrong move on her part to use that knife but it happened.





FishmanDE said:


> that’s a great point. I never considered trying to cut things like cheese. Makes me want to buy a cheese knife lol





coxhaus said:


> I am not sure what cheese knife you would buy for cutting parmesan cheese? I use a heavier Henckels knife.


I've never had a problem cutting hard parmesan cheese with any of my Gyuto's. Just cut straight?


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## ethompson (Jul 4, 2021)

coxhaus said:


> I am not sure what cheese knife you would buy for cutting parmesan cheese? I use a heavier Henckels knife.



my ealy honesuki makes the best shaved slices of hard cheese


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## Hz_zzzzzz (Jul 4, 2021)

FishmanDE said:


> i can’t tell if that’s sarcastic?


Haha I’m just describing my imaginary perfect knife —— a mixture of kato wh, yoshikane SLD and watanabe pro blue 2.


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## zizirex (Jul 4, 2021)

Yoshikane, Takada, Fujiyama, Mazaki and Takamura.


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## panda (Jul 4, 2021)

miz ks, dalman convex


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## Cliff (Jul 4, 2021)

Fujiyama white no. 1, Toyama, Takeda, depending on what I'm cutting.

ETA Kono MM and KS are probably the best all around.


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## ampersandcetera (Jul 4, 2021)

Yoshikane 240 skd for me. If my Toyama nakiri was a gyuto, it'd probably beat out the Yoshi for best performance all around, but there's no task I use my Toyama for that the Yoshikane doesn't also excel in.


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## vxd (Jul 4, 2021)

TF Denka


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## vxd (Jul 4, 2021)

Also like Carter W1


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## FishmanDE (Jul 4, 2021)

vxd said:


> TF Denka



im honestly curious to the difference in cutting feel between the Denka and mab, as my Sugi/40knives mab isn’t even top 5 for me


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## tcmx3 (Jul 4, 2021)

had a lot of the knives in this thread and IMO an old forum favorite, the Gesshin Ittetsu kasumi in white 2 steel, outdoes them all.


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## vxd (Jul 4, 2021)

FishmanDE said:


> im honestly curious to the difference in cutting feel between the Denka and mab, as my Sugi/40knives mab isn’t even top 5 for me


Not sure how to explain it but cutting just feels more aggressive with the Denka.


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## Mlan (Jul 4, 2021)

My best performer is my Migoto White 1 240 gyuto. It Ghosts everything


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## HumbleHomeCook (Jul 4, 2021)

While I freely admit that I believe the original intent of this thread was for as-new/stock performance, I will also point out that it wasn't expressly stated so... 

I have been playing with this Suncraft Senzo Black bunka over a number of months.







It's a quality knife and the original geometry certainly was on the thinner end. The glaring problem was, as attractive as the "black" damascus finish appeared, it caused a LOT of drag. I've interacted with folks who have other knives with the same type finish and they report similar experiences. The shoulders on the edge bevel were a little thick as well. So I had a knife that the tip could drop through a shallot vertically, but horizontal cuts wedged terribly. Don't even get me started on onions!

Since I really like the knife and since I got it during a super nice sale, it became a learning knife for me. I've crept up on everything from thinning the grind and edge to refining the spine and choil to polishing the matte finish off. It is sitting with a SG2k edge and a 2k automotive sandpaper finish right now and it is slicing _very_ well. Still a little bit of _crack_ at the last bit of a tall carrot but night and day from where it was and currently my best performer. From here on I'll be making slight adjustments over time as it needs sharpening.

Sorry, I suck at choil shots but...










I like VG10 and have had it in my life in one way or another for years. This guy has shown no signs of chipping, even after thinning and admittedly I need more time with how it sits now but I honestly don't expect any problems.

I guess my point is, maybe the best performer is the one you coax into being such. Eh @ModRQC ?


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## tcmx3 (Jul 4, 2021)

HumbleHomeCook said:


> I guess my point is, maybe the best performer is the one you coax into being such. Eh @ModRQC ?



strong agree.


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## Jason183 (Jul 5, 2021)

Anything as long as they’re Laser thin BTE with quality steel that gets sharp easily.


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## timebard (Jul 5, 2021)

Of what I've tried, Kippington, hands down. I haven't yet found an ingredient where my workpony doesn't do a great job, usually better than anything else in my drawer.

Yoshikane (white or SKD) is very very good, but not quite at the same level. Toyama is a serious competitor but isn't so good for tip work.


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## GorillaGrunt (Jul 5, 2021)

Kagekiyo, Raquin, Kato, Martell, Ginga cleaver, and my Denka and Maz stainless are heading that way as I work on them more.


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## Matus (Jul 5, 2021)

My little custom Raguin gyuto (not a KT), Shig 240 kasumi (sadly, not mine) and pretty much any Toyama (though I prefer those thinner ones from his spectrum).


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## Carl Kotte (Jul 5, 2021)

Dalman, Kippington and Watanabe are my best pure cutters. Birgersson comes close.


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## hennyville (Jul 5, 2021)

my heavily modified 270 JNS Mazaki and EM knives gyuto


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## damiano (Jul 5, 2021)

coxhaus said:


> I am not sure what cheese knife you would buy for cutting parmesan cheese? I use a heavier Henckels knife.


I use a Sugimoto cleaver for cheese, works a treat.

Noticing the love for the Kono MM here. Underrated sleeper?


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## spaceconvoy (Jul 5, 2021)

Wahnamhong said:


> Noticing the love for the Kono MM here. Underrated sleeper?


Also noticing the absence of certain makers... Hinoura, but that's not surprising. Crickets on Jiro as well


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## pgugger (Jul 5, 2021)

Toyama and Konosuke Fujiyama FM are best cutters among the knives I use often. My 2021 Mazaki just behind those. Then maybe Manaka B#1 and Jiro.


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## panda (Jul 5, 2021)

spaceconvoy said:


> Also noticing the absence of certain makers... Hinoura, but that's not surprising. Crickets on Jiro as well


that's cause hinoura cuts like turd just like all the other wide bevels


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## lemeneid (Jul 5, 2021)

TF Denka
Tanaka B1
Watoyama
Ashi White 2

It’s also not a very widely talked about knife, but my Shiro Kamo AS is quite the killer too!


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## lemeneid (Jul 5, 2021)

spaceconvoy said:


> Also noticing the absence of certain makers... Hinoura, but that's not surprising. Crickets on Jiro as well


Nothing really much to shout about with Hinoura, it’s a good knife, but nothing special.

Jiro is just big and clumsy.


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## tcmx3 (Jul 5, 2021)

spaceconvoy said:


> Also noticing the absence of certain makers... Hinoura, but that's not surprising. Crickets on Jiro as well



Hinoura also better than most of the stuff listed also IMO but you have to be a decent sharpener if we're talking Mustumi's stuff. after a bit of correction mine went from 'meh' to 'killer'. the 210 I really like needed a fair bit too.

here's an issue I have with this thread's concept. my favorite two knives are my Kato WH and my Maz KU and neither of them are even close to the best "cutters" and that's because IMO how well the knife cuts is kind of not the only important thing. is it enjoyable to use, is it possible to maintain the geometry, do you even want to maintain the geometry?, is it the right length/height/shape, is the handle something you can use for hours and hours and not get tired of.

frankly there are some folks I dont trust to separate the two, too.

hand your "best cutter" to a friend and have them cut the same ingredients. will they agree it's the best? I doubt it because Ive done that experiment with guitars and often people picked stuff I was getting ready to sell...


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## GorillaGrunt (Jul 5, 2021)

It’s a tricky question of best for a given task versus best all around. Because in reality even if I use the same knife all day there’s no guarantee that what I’m doing will comprise “all around”. I’d put Hinoura with Yoshikane as one heck of a knife to use all day but just short of the best of the best on a set of cuts.

The best knife for cheese is the crappiest bread knife I have available, offset laser thin, because it’s the closest thing to a wire cheese cutter. A pretty notable chef showed me that as I was struggling to cut nice slices of cheap cheese with an expensive knife. Not sure if that applies equally to hard cheese though.


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## Helicon (Jul 5, 2021)

Masashi, Yoshikane, Kochi, and Toyama


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## Hz_zzzzzz (Jul 5, 2021)

FishmanDE said:


> im honestly curious to the difference in cutting feel between the Denka and mab, as my Sugi/40knives mab isn’t even top 5 for me


I’ve had both and I think it really depends on the grind of the one you received. My morihei Mab cut a lot better than my denka ootb, but after some thinning my denka is good now. Most knives could be good after some works so I don’t know if that’s meaningful though.


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## DitmasPork (Jul 5, 2021)

All knives cut, that's what they're designed to do. All of my knives are great cutters.

It's impossible designate a single knife from my kitchen as the 'best cutter'—each can cut when used properly; each knife has idiosyncrasies that need adjusting to. What also makes the 'best' designation problematic—is all my purchases are well researched, quality knives, so they're all really good knives.

'Best' implies a competition—they're too many variables to make it any really meaningful competition.

One recent knife acquisition hailed by many as a great cutter, didn't cut well for me OOTB, so I just sharpened it to my liking and now it's an awesome cutter. Some knives need time to reveal their full potential.

If a knife doesn't cut well—either adjust to it and use better technique; or bring out the stones and tweak the knife so it cuts to your liking—no matter what the profile, steel, geometry, laser/mid/workhorse, etc. All my knives cut differently, all good, not one deserves the 'best' ribbon over the others.

Below, 240 Jiro, a superb cutter for this bavette, and other supper party dishes—cuts as well as any I have.


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## Jville (Jul 5, 2021)

tcmx3 said:


> Hinoura also better than most of the stuff listed also IMO but you have to be a decent sharpener if we're talking Mustumi's stuff. after a bit of correction mine went from 'meh' to 'killer'. the 210 I really like needed a fair bit too.
> 
> here's an issue I have with this thread's concept. my favorite two knives are my Kato WH and my Maz KU and neither of them are even close to the best "cutters" and that's because IMO how well the knife cuts is kind of not the only important thing. is it enjoyable to use, is it possible to maintain the geometry, do you even want to maintain the geometry?, is it the right length/height/shape, is the handle something you can use for hours and hours and not get tired of.
> 
> ...


While I understand what your saying and agree with the gist of it. The thread is discussing merely opinions of what people like as great cutters. It’s not really focusing on overal favorite knives. Also you are talking about performance cutting in a kitchen knife forum, so it’s pretty relevant. Also people’s opinions are going to be based on what they have and what they have tried. But a lot of people on here have tried quite a few knives, even if they haven’t tried everything. So I think it’s still interesting to hear what people like as “pure cutters.”


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## PineWood (Jul 5, 2021)

In my very limited experience Takeda > Yoshikane white 2 > FT Mab > Sukenari > Shirokamo SG2


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## FishmanDE (Jul 5, 2021)

Hz_zzzzzz said:


> I’ve had both and I think it really depends on the grind of the one you received. My morihei Mab cut a lot better than my denka ootb, but after some thinning my denka is good now.



Idk. 40 did a great job on it. Looks great, feels great, idk, just not in the top 5


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## tcmx3 (Jul 5, 2021)

Jville said:


> While I understand what your saying and agree with the gist of it. The thread is discussing merely opinions of what people like as great cutters. It’s not really focusing on overal favorite knives. Also you are talking about performance cutting in a kitchen knife forum, so it’s pretty relevant. *Also people’s opinions are going to be based on what they have and what they have tried.* But a lot of people on here have tried quite a few knives, even if they haven’t tried everything. So I think it’s still interesting to hear what people like as “pure cutters.”



and also how much money they spent on stuff. 

Im not criticizing the thread just pointing out without a pretty tightly defined set of criteria we've got as many different sub-topics as we've got people responding.


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## Jville (Jul 5, 2021)

panda said:


> that's cause hinoura cuts like turd just like all the other wide bevels


I got a kagekiyo blue 1 270 and it’s a fantastic cutter.


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## Oshidashi (Jul 5, 2021)

My CCK 1303 Chinese cleaver can do anything -- even is a board scraper, but I mostly reach for it for Asian recipes. My Moritaka AS Gyuto has been a workhorse for me, and my Takamura SG2 Gyuto is what I reach for shallots, onions, tomatoes, citrus as it is laser thin, sharp, and stainless. I break down chicken with a Yoshihiro B2 petty as it is thick and rigid, I grab a meat cleaver for chicken bones, and a big German for gourds.


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## coxhaus (Jul 5, 2021)

I had a cheese wire cutter and it would not cut hard parmesan cheese. It eventually broke and I did not replace it.

I am not sure I would want to clean all the teeth if I used a bread knife for cheese. It would probably work but not my choice. If you had real teeth they may gum up. My Henckels 5star would not have that problem but like I said I would not want to clean it. I also have a Henckels salami 4star knife with more aggressive teeth than a bread knife but the same holds as I would not clean it.

I cut a lot of cheese. Cheese and wine go together real well. I drink a lot of wine which I think requires cheese.


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## timebard (Jul 5, 2021)

DitmasPork said:


> All knives cut, that's what they're designed to do. All of my knives are great cutters.
> 
> It's impossible designate a single knife from my kitchen as the 'best cutter'—each can cut when used properly; each knife has idiosyncrasies that need adjusting to. What also makes the 'best' designation problematic—is all my purchases are well researched, quality knives, so they're all really good knives.
> 
> ...



Granted that OOTB performance isn't the be-all end-all of a good cutter, but the reductio of this approach is that any slab of nice steel with a good heat treat is a great cutter (if you spend enough time on the stones with it).

If you want to approach every knife as a project or a starting point for what it ultimately becomes, I can respect that! But personally, I care quite a bit about elements like grind, taper, weight, dimensions, balance, etc that set the foundation for how the knife cuts, even if I may tune it up and adjust it on the margins. And in my (limited) experience, some knives really do bring all those factors together better than others to smoothly/easily make big stuff into little stuff in the kitchen.


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## ian (Jul 5, 2021)

Cheese is a funny one. For slices of something like cheddar, I need a knife with a fair amount of convexity. Otherwise everything gets stuck to the side of the knife. No problems with parmesan. I’m not breaking open wheels of it tho.


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## coxhaus (Jul 5, 2021)

Yes, some of the aged cheddars are hard but a different hard than parmesan cheese.


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## ian (Jul 5, 2021)

I’m talking more about stickiness than hardness. Cheddar’s never too hard for a knife.


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## DitmasPork (Jul 5, 2021)

timebard said:


> Granted that OOTB performance isn't the be-all end-all of a good cutter, but the reductio of this approach is that any slab of nice steel with a good heat treat is a great cutter (if you spend enough time on the stones with it).
> 
> If you want to approach every knife as a project or a starting point for what it ultimately becomes, I can respect that! But personally, I care quite a bit about elements like grind, taper, weight, dimensions, balance, etc that set the foundation for how the knife cuts, even if I may tune it up and adjust it on the margins. And in my (limited) experience, some knives really do bring all those factors together better than others to smoothly/easily make big stuff into little stuff in the kitchen.



I'd written that all of "my knives" knives are good cutters with good HT—I've chosen not to buy/keep ones that don't work for me. There are knives I don't jive with, but difficult to pinpoint a commonality.

My knives encompass a very wide range—lasers, midweight, workhorse, convex, hollow ground, wide-bevels, in different steels by various makers—they all cut exceptionally well. The different variables add to the knife experience—the combination of weight, handle, profile, etc.

Cutting ability of any of my knives is a given—isolating it down to 'pure cutting' doesn't do much for me.

Cutting with my convex Migoto or hollow ground Birgersson is just a different experience—both cut exceptionally well, get the job done, enjoyable to use. Perhaps this is one of the reasons many here have multiple gyutos, keeping more than they sell.

I'm at the point where I don't chase knives because I need something better, or there my knives aren't up to kitchen requirements.

Which knife I grab often depends on mood, ingredients prepping, etc.


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## ModRQC (Jul 5, 2021)

OOTB? Just about everything from Y. Tanaka or S. Tanaka, also Toyama, Takamura, Yoshikane. Also of note in my personal experience: Mazaki and Yu Kurosaki were pretty awesome, but I was so noob back then.

Modifications allowed as @HumbleHomeCook suggested? Just about everything, period. If a Victo could hold an edge like J-Knives, mine would put knives ten times their price to shame.

Edit: as a token of my full agreement with points made about other things being much more important than pure performance, I sold all of these knives except the Takamura, probably because I've only had the latter for a month, for I would think it will hit BST eventually.


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## Jovidah (Jul 5, 2021)

coxhaus said:


> I am not sure what cheese knife you would buy for cutting parmesan cheese? I use a heavier Henckels knife.


There's special parmiggiano knives. They're more like sturdy wedges really, designed to essentially break and split the cheese apart. This is also the traditional way of doing it. So good quality slices of parmiggiano should have somewhat of a rougher surface, since it's broken/split rather than really cut. There's plenty of YT videos on this if youwant to see it in action.



DitmasPork said:


> All knives cut, that's what they're designed to do. All of my knives are great cutters.


All of yours sure, but I'm pretty sure that we have a few threads around here that prove that in fact, not all knives cut. 



coxhaus said:


> I had a cheese wire cutter and it would not cut hard parmesan cheese. It eventually broke and I did not replace it.


Because that's not what they're for. The cheese wire cutters are for semi-hard cheeses like we have in the Netherlands like Gouda. Probably works on really soft and sticky cheeses too.

When it comes to cheese knives... it really varies a lot on the cheese. There's so much variety, and what works for one cheese won't work for the other. You really can't have just one 'universal' cheese knife. For parmiggiano, if you don't have the original stuff I'd just go for the most sturdy thick knife you have. For really soft cheeses (brie, camembert, etc), ideally you want one of those knives with holes, or if you don't have that something with granton edges (they might actually work here), since the main problem is the stickyness. Heating up the knife works, but has its tradeoffs (you can get a melted surface).
Then there's the whole... semi-hard but not rockhard area in between that you can cut with pretty much anything... but since I'm Dutch I often use this:





You can probably find a cheese slicer like that in almost every Dutch household.


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## esoo (Jul 5, 2021)

For me, the knives I listed as pure cutters have that "je ne sais quoi" that makes them truly feel like they are ghosting through product. The Kono YS-M for example is a knife that both my co-worker and myself described as "fun" and it has a way of ghosting into product that many others don't.

And as for changing the grind to make it perform better, what's the point sometimes? The Shig kuro santoku that I had was 2.1mm at the shinogi, which was ~15mm from the edge. And it was forged hollow behind that. So the idea was decent in the blade, but by the time you fix it to actually perform, is it really a Shig anymore?


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## coxhaus (Jul 5, 2021)

Jovidah said:


> There's special parmiggiano knives. They're more like sturdy wedges really, designed to essentially break and split the cheese apart. This is also the traditional way of doing it. So good quality slices of parmiggiano should have somewhat of a rougher surface, since it's broken/split rather than really cut. There's plenty of YT videos on this if youwant to see it in action.
> 
> 
> All of yours sure, but I'm pretty sure that we have a few threads around here that prove that in fact, not all knives cut.
> ...



I was in Holland and around there in 1958. I saw a lot of cheese more than I have ever seen again.


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## Hz_zzzzzz (Jul 5, 2021)

esoo said:


> So the idea was decent in the blade, but by the time you fix it to actually perform, is it really a Shig anymore?


Then I guess most TFs out there are not TF anymore.


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## BillHanna (Jul 5, 2021)




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## BillHanna (Jul 5, 2021)




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## Hz_zzzzzz (Jul 5, 2021)

Tbh I guess some Japanese makers like Shig and Heiji design the “gyuto” knife to optimize performance for cutting beef since that’s what a gyuto is supposed to do. Their knives’ primary bevel are low so they could wedge in carrots, but they really feel stiff and solid when cutting meats.


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## GorillaGrunt (Jul 5, 2021)

coxhaus said:


> I had a cheese wire cutter and it would not cut hard parmesan cheese. It eventually broke and I did not replace it.
> 
> I am not sure I would want to clean all the teeth if I used a bread knife for cheese. It would probably work but not my choice. If you had real teeth they may gum up. My Henckels 5star would not have that problem but like I said I would not want to clean it. I also have a Henckels salami 4star knife with more aggressive teeth than a bread knife but the same holds as I would not clean it.
> 
> I cut a lot of cheese. Cheese and wine go together real well. I drink a lot of wine which I think requires cheese.


Not a good bread knife, a crappy really thin house knife type one without good teeth, Dexter or Tramontina or the kind you get exchanged every two weeks, that a wipe with a sani bucket towel will clean off. I wouldn't have believed it either until i tried it!

Eta: I'm still talking about like sandwich type cheese, fontina, American, commodity Swiss and cheddar. Hard grating cheese might have a different answer


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## DitmasPork (Jul 5, 2021)

GorillaGrunt said:


> Not a good bread knife, a crappy really thin house knife type one without good teeth, Dexter or Tramontina or the kind you get exchanged every two weeks, that a wipe with a sani bucket towel will clean off. I wouldn't have believed it either until i tried it!
> 
> Eta: I'm still talking about like sandwich type cheese, fontina, American, commodity Swiss and cheddar. Hard grating cheese might have a different answer



I gotta try that! For cheese I usually grab the Wustof, don't trust my J-knives with cheese.


----------



## stringer (Jul 5, 2021)

I've broken down wheels of parmesan with all sorts of knives. The easiest is to do the big chunks with one of these two handled things. 



Amazon.com



If you don't have one of those then I would avoid any knife that's real hard, but not necessarily go for a thick wedge monster. The problem with parmesan isn't the surface hardness really. You will have a problem if there's any kind of twisting motion in your stroke. Same thing with butternut squash, sweet potatoes, etc. I generally prefer a softer laser for this type of work like Ashi Ginga or Kanehide. Thinner knives are better for hard ingredients as long as they aren't also extremely hard. The slightly softer steel is more resilient to torque.


----------



## KO88 (Jul 5, 2021)

Grindwise Shig gyuto after that if a lot of stuff needed to be cut Raquin (xxl gyuto), Toyama (nakiri), Kato is awesome too…
For stirfry always cleaver Takede or Tadatsuna…


----------



## spaceconvoy (Jul 5, 2021)

pgugger said:


> ... and Jiro.


The post right after mine, you had to do it to me like that 



tcmx3 said:


> here's an issue I have with this thread's concept. my favorite two knives are my Kato WH and my Maz KU and neither of them are even close to the best "cutters"


Yeah, and honestly the "best pure cutter" I've experienced was a brand new Shun that I touched up on an aizu. Ghosted like a tinder date. Also chipped like hell, both due to it being a nearly zero grind edge.

Best cutter with a sustainable geometry is probably my Watanabe stainless-clad nakiri (Toyama clone). I think the blade finish gives it an edge against my Yoshikane Amekiri, which feels more stictiony during cuts.


----------



## tostadas (Jul 5, 2021)

Yoshikane SKD was my best cutter thus far in terms of fall thru food performance. But the profile didn't suit me all that well. 

Every TF I've tried, from 135mm to 240mm, regardless of grind has been very authoritative. Maybe has to do with the extra weight from the yo handle.


----------



## DitmasPork (Jul 5, 2021)

tcmx3 said:


> here's an issue I have with this thread's concept. my favorite two knives are my Kato WH and my Maz KU and neither of them are even close to the best "cutters" and that's because IMO how well the knife cuts is kind of not the only important thing. is it enjoyable to use, is it possible to maintain the geometry, do you even want to maintain the geometry?, is it the right length/height/shape, is the handle something you can use for hours and hours and not get tired of.
> 
> hand your "best cutter" to a friend and have them cut the same ingredients. will they agree it's the best? I doubt it because Ive done that experiment with guitars and often people picked stuff I was getting ready to sell...



Agree. Kinda the point I've been making with nearly all my comments on this thread. An interesting poll, but impossible to have any consensus over any contributing factor to 'pure cutting' ability of a knife—too subjective. Raquin, TF, Kochi, Kato Jiro, Shig, Masamoto, Yanick, etc, etc, all fine cutters, all cut differently.

It's like why they've eliminated 'compulsory figures' from figure skating—a skater being able to skate figure eights and circles had no bearing on how well they can skate a program.

To me, 'pure cutting' doesn't mean much outta context of the rest of the knife, used in the kitchen. Which is why all the knives people on this thread favor, are all over the map.


----------



## tostadas (Jul 5, 2021)

DitmasPork said:


> Agree. Kinda the point I've been making with nearly all my comments on this thread. An interesting poll, but impossible to have any consensus over any contributing factor to 'pure cutting' ability of a knife—too subjective.
> 
> It's like why they've eliminated 'compulsory figures' from figure skating—a skater being able to skate figure eights and circles had no bearing on if they can skate a program.
> 
> To me, 'pure cutting' doesn't mean much outta context of the rest of the knife, used in the kitchen. Which is why all the knives people on this thread favor, are all over the map.



Thats true. At the same time, I dont think the point of the thread was to debate the one knife that's the best. I think of it more like a casual conversation where everyone is surely gonna have differing opinions. If there was one "best," then we wouldnt be sitting here with drawers full of different knives.


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## DitmasPork (Jul 5, 2021)

tostadas said:


> Thats true. At the same time, I dont think the point of the thread was to debate the one knife that's the best. I think of it more like a casual conversation where everyone is surely gonna have differing opinions. If there was one "best," then we wouldnt be sitting here with drawers full of different knives.



I get it. TBH, my best cutter changes as often as I rotate my knives—sometimes I pull out a knife I've not used in years and rediscover why I bought it in the first place. These days, my four best cutters are—Raquin, Migoto, Takada, denka.


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## Duukt (Jul 5, 2021)

All my good knives seem to feel about the same on vertical cuts so I only have one distinguishing factor to really judge them. Going by the smoothness of the horizontal cuts on onions (tip or mid-draw), I'd have to rank my top 3 in this order:

Kurosaki Raijin
Konosuke Sumiiro
Konosuke Fujiyama FM


----------



## JDC (Jul 5, 2021)

This


CCK reground. Cuts anything without resistance, great food release. I've tried many of the aforementioned performers, but this is better. Just hope it can be a little heavier, and has better edge retention.


----------



## IsoJ (Jul 6, 2021)

Don't know what my best pure cutter is but if I would have to use just one knife for a long period of time (months or year,) it would be a coinflip between Kippington workpony and Isasmedjan twr


----------



## jacko9 (Jul 6, 2021)

Shigefusa Gyuto
Kato Gyuto
Konosuke Fujiyama FT B#2 Gyuto
Konosuke Kaiju B#1 Gyuto
Konosuke Fujiyama B#2 high bevel grind Gyuto


----------



## ampersandcetera (Jul 6, 2021)

JDC said:


> This
> View attachment 133675
> 
> CCK reground. Cuts anything without resistance, great food release. I've tried many of the aforementioned performers, but this is better. Just hope it can be a little heavier, and has better edge retention.


Whoa. Did you do this yourself? Do you have any images of the profile?


----------



## Corradobrit1 (Jul 6, 2021)

spaceconvoy said:


> Crickets on Jiro as well





pgugger said:


> Then maybe Manaka B#1 and Jiro.


Boooooo Liaaaaarrrrrr


----------



## DitmasPork (Jul 6, 2021)

spaceconvoy said:


> Also noticing the absence of certain makers... Hinoura, but that's not surprising. Crickets on Jiro as well



My Jiro is a great cutter, awesome knife, keeper. [See my post 9 after your post.]


----------



## JDC (Jul 6, 2021)

ampersandcetera said:


> Whoa. Did you do this yourself? Do you have any images of the profile?


Yeah, just a lot of time on a diamond stone... I don't have a picture of the profile, but it's still the original CCK profile, so mostly flat.


----------



## SolidSnake03 (Jul 6, 2021)

Can attest to the greatness of the reground CCK. Had JKI thin one of mine a while back and it was outstanding, like it could cut as well as anything I’ve owned and in total it cost like $100.00 including the thinning. I sold it because I’m stupid.


----------



## spaceconvoy (Jul 7, 2021)

Corradobrit1 said:


> Boooooo Liaaaaarrrrrr


I guess I spoke too soon 

Now after 3 pages, the only big name I can think of that I haven't seen is Doi. I have one of his gyutos and I'm definitely not surprised.

... waiting for someone to say 'after significant thinning my Doi is an excellent cutter'


----------



## ian (Jul 7, 2021)

spaceconvoy said:


> ... waiting for someone to say 'after significant thinning my Doi is an excellent cutter'



As part of my sharpening gig, I’m now offering a _*free*_ Denka rehabilitation service. Anyone here is welcome to send me their Denka. I promise a complete transformation*! The knife will cut like a dream when I’m done with it and I guarantee satisfaction.








*Any yo Denkas will be given a free wa conversion as part of the process. Clients should be aware that my techniques tend to reduce the amount of alloying elements in the core steel, making it closer to White #2, and that the kanji on the knife may be changed to “Yoshikane” after service. For those unfortunate few without Denkas, please check my eBay page, on which I hope to soon list a number of Denkas in different sizes, at just under MSRP.


----------



## Hz_zzzzzz (Jul 7, 2021)

ian said:


> *Any yo Denkas will be given a free wa conversion as part of the process. Clients should be aware that my techniques tend to reduce the amount of alloying elements in the core steel, making it closer to White #2, and that the kanji on the knife may be changed to “Yoshikane” after service. For those unfortunate few without Denkas, please check my eBay page, on which I hope to soon list a number of Denkas in different sizes, at just under MSRP.


Can you somehow change the steel to SKD instead of White 2? Sorry but I hate white 2.


----------



## ian (Jul 7, 2021)

Hz_zzzzzz said:


> Can you somehow change the steel to SKD instead of White 2? Sorry but I hate white 2.



Absolutely, but it will cost you around $40.


----------



## Hz_zzzzzz (Jul 7, 2021)

ian said:


> Absolutely, but it will cost you around $40.


Fair enough. Tbh I think if Yoshikane reduce the dead flatness in the profile and change it to a more subtle continuous curve, it at $300 could be the most popular knife out there.


----------



## tostadas (Jul 8, 2021)

Hz_zzzzzz said:


> Fair enough. Tbh I think if Yoshikane reduce the dead flatness in the profile and change it to a more subtle continuous curve, it at $300 could be the most popular knife out there.


I would definitely own one in each size.


----------



## ian (Jul 8, 2021)

Hz_zzzzzz said:


> Fair enough. Tbh I think if Yoshikane reduce the dead flatness in the profile and change it to a more subtle continuous curve, it at $300 could be the most popular knife out there.



Absolutely. They cut so amazingly, but I can’t hang with the flat profile.


----------



## esoo (Jul 8, 2021)

Love the flatness of the Yoshikane...


----------



## KO88 (Jul 8, 2021)

Best mushrooms cutter…


----------



## panda (Jul 8, 2021)

esoo said:


> Love the flatness of the Yoshikane...


this was the main reason I got rid of my yoshikane  and the grind I didn't care for either. amazing steel however (wh2)


----------



## Hz_zzzzzz (Jul 8, 2021)

My Yoshi SKD cuts amazingly well but I sold it last year due to the flat profile. I recently bought a Yoshi Black Dammy SLD and it still feels a little awkward on my end-grain boards. However, since last year I have switched to Hasegawa board and *the Yoshikane feels a lot more natural* *on Hasegawa soft rubber board, *so I'm happily keeping the SLD. For anyone who likes how yoshi cuts but doesn't like the profile and haven't tried it on hasegawa soft rubber board, it's worth trying and the hasegawa soft rubber is my favorite cutting board anyway. Even if you still don't like the knife you could fall in love with the board.


----------



## spaceconvoy (Jul 8, 2021)

Hz_zzzzzz said:


> My Yoshi SKD cuts amazingly well but I sold it last year due to the flat profile. I recently bought a Yoshi Black Dammy SLD and it still feels a little awkward on my end-grain boards. However, since last year I have switched to Hasegawa board and *the Yoshikane feels a lot more natural* *on Hasegawa soft rubber board, *so I'm happily keeping the SLD. For anyone who likes how yoshi cuts but doesn't like the profile and haven't tried it on hasegawa soft rubber board, it's worth trying and the hasegawa soft rubber is my favorite cutting board anyway. Even if you still don't like the knife you could fall in love with the board.


I'm curious if maybe you've softened the heel while sharpening over time? I've noticed that I can tolerate flat profiles as long as the heel has even a slight touch of upsweep. It's that dead stop at the end that bothers me the most


----------



## Hz_zzzzzz (Jul 8, 2021)

spaceconvoy said:


> I'm curious if maybe you've softened the heel while sharpening over time? I've noticed that I can tolerate flat profiles as long as the heel has even a slight touch of upsweep. It's that dead stop at the end that bothers me the most


I haven't sharpened the SLD so I don't think it's the reason. It's so flat that the edge near the heel almost looks like overgrind, just like my previous SKD. Now I tried SLD on both boards (end grain maple and hasegawa soft rubber) at the same time and I felt a difference.


----------



## Jville (Jul 8, 2021)

I don’t mind yoshikane’s profile, actually like it.


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## bsfsu (Jul 9, 2021)

For me it's generally the last knife I sharpened. The other ones aren't as sharp. In a professional kitchen it's generally the sharpest one(the last one sharpened by someone).......


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## Keith Sinclair (Jul 9, 2021)

ian said:


> Cheese is a funny one. For slices of something like cheddar, I need a knife with a fair amount of convexity. Otherwise everything gets stuck to the side of the knife. No problems with parmesan. I’m not breaking open wheels of it tho.



Used to cut big wheels with a band saw at work
Into quarters. Then finish with a knife.


----------



## bsfsu (Jul 9, 2021)

Keith Sinclair said:


> Used to cut big wheels with a band saw at work
> Into quarters. Then finish with a knife.


You need to try a couple of parmesan knives(don't know if that's the correct term) It's really easy to break down a wheel. I saw this being done in a shop in Italy and then I was able to tyy it in a kitchen I worked in. Not had but you really need to "score" the cut lines well.


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## Keith Sinclair (Jul 9, 2021)

Back I the day waiters would make caeser salads table side at Kahala Hilton. Would grade hard parmesan on top after plated. The waiters had to do showmanship in fine dining. Don't think cherry jubilee all that table side stuff is done anymore


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## Keith Sinclair (Jul 9, 2021)

Like knives that can get very sharp with touchups. Little thicker up top TBE. Watanabe carbon, stainless clad carbon Kochi & Gengetsu.


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## daddy yo yo (Jul 9, 2021)

I like pretty much everything from @KAMON Knives. If I could only have 1 knife or knives from 1 maker it would be Kamon.


----------



## esoo (Jul 9, 2021)

esoo said:


> Love the flatness of the Yoshikane...



I'm going to quote myself here as I had a thought - I'm a 210 (so 215 in the case of the Yoshi) user so that may have quite a bit of a difference on the way I perceive the larger flat spot.


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## Gjackson98 (Jul 9, 2021)

*Best pure cutter*


----------



## panda (Jul 9, 2021)

daddy yo yo said:


> I like pretty much everything from @KAMON Knives. If I could only have 1 knife or knives from 1 maker it would be Kamon.


----------



## Pointless1 (Jul 9, 2021)

Surprised I’m not seeing Kippington or Martell. How would they match up here out of the box?


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## daddy yo yo (Jul 9, 2021)

panda said:


>


What?


----------



## ian (Jul 9, 2021)

Pointless1 said:


> Surprised I’m not seeing Kippington or Martell. How would they match up here out of the box?



Never tried a Martell, but Kipp workpony is dreamy.


----------



## Elliot (Jul 9, 2021)

Ashi. Ginga.


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## heldentenor (Jul 9, 2021)

Martell vs. Konosuke is an interesting comparison. In terms of falling through food in a way that makes you stop and say "whoa," the Konosuke wins. In terms of confidence--the feeling that a knife can do absolutely anything you'd want it to do--I'd go with the Martell. If I only had one gyuto, it would be my Martell.


----------



## shinyunggyun (Oct 1, 2021)

Toyama blue #2, Mizuno white #2 honyaki, migoto white #1, TF Maboroshi, Y. Tanaka blue #1 kikumori


----------



## parbaked (Oct 1, 2021)

BB.D collaboration in Silver Steel is my best cutter….


----------



## Steampunk (Oct 1, 2021)

parbaked said:


> BB.D collaboration in silver steel is my best cutter….
> View attachment 145287



Lucky dude... 

What are you thinking of the Silver Steel (Assuming Bohler K510), in terms of sharpening, edge character, reactivity, edge retention, etc?


----------



## kpham12 (Oct 1, 2021)

shinyunggyun said:


> Toyama blue #2, Mizuno white #2 honyaki, migoto white #1, TF Maboroshi, Y. Tanaka blue #1 kikumori


Did you end up picking up a Toyama to try out?


----------



## shinyunggyun (Oct 1, 2021)

kpham12 said:


> Did you end up picking up a Toyama to try out?


Yeah. And I have to say, this thing is magnificent.


----------



## kpham12 (Oct 1, 2021)

shinyunggyun said:


> Yeah. And I have to say, this thing is magnificent.


----------



## Knivperson (Oct 1, 2021)

Y. Tanaka B1
Konosuke YS-M

Both are insane pure cutters. When other people try them they just stop and say wow.


----------



## Cliff (Oct 1, 2021)

Couldn't resist the Epic Yoshi. I had a smaller one already. I wouldn't have gotten the K-tip if there was a 240 gyuto left, but I think it suits Yoshi's style and appreciate the heel height.


----------



## Matt Jacobs (Oct 1, 2021)

Cliff said:


> Couldn't resist the Epic Yoshi. I had a smaller one already. I wouldn't have gotten the K-tip if there was a 240 gyuto left, but I think it suits Yoshi's style and appreciate the heel height.
> 
> View attachment 145319


This is my vote for best pure cutter.


----------



## ModRQC (Oct 1, 2021)

As a question, either this one comes down to "best laser" (pure cutter=perfect separation seems to be the only rationale of using that formulation) or "favorite knife" (if pure cutter is not defined as "perfect separation" then HOW it's interpreted and WHAT it defines becomes entirely personal). It also depends heavily on the different knives experienced (if your only experience of a better knife is Moritaka, then it'll be your pure cutter...), and even what was cut within those experiences.

So as answers we had mostly those knives that reputedly have superior separation (to an average that is once again entirely a matter of personal experience) no matter their category, and a few of the known lasers and laser-like knives, but mostly we had "favorite" knives.

It's hard to find a new formula to query about experience of users with knives. It's either a laser question, a beater question, a workhorse question, or a particular focus over food release. If none of them, then it's what loosely defines "middle of the road", which inclusions are very difficult to define indeed. We don't see a lot of "what's the best middle of the road knife?", though it often defines pretty well what is asked in the What Should I Buy questionnaire by newcomers to knives, because people that got to try a few knives get to understand that compromises don't always work work so well with knives. You rarely get best of both worlds, or even average of both worlds. The real pearls, defining which is an entirely personal matter, are often situated within a more extreme category and still fit it, but behave quite like another one category we also like. The degree of which inclinations and how they can combine into a real pearl is then again entirely personal. 

Are real pearls what pure cutter was meant to define? If so, it's really just "favorite knives" still.


----------



## shinyunggyun (Oct 1, 2021)

ModRQC said:


> As a question, either this one comes down to "best laser" (pure cutter=perfect separation seems to be the only rationale of using that formulation) or "favorite knife" (if pure cutter is not defined as "perfect separation" then HOW it's interpreted and WHAT it defines becomes entirely personal). It also depends heavily on the different knives experienced (if your only experience of a better knife is Moritaka, then it'll be your pure cutter...), and even what was cut within those experiences.
> 
> So as answers we had mostly those knives that reputedly have superior separation (to an average that is once again entirely a matter of personal experience) no matter their category, and a few of the known lasers and laser-like knives, but mostly we had "favorite" knives.
> 
> ...


You killed many a brain cells of mine with that. It's just simply a question of what knives can get extremely sharp and are a joy to use.


----------



## shinyunggyun (Oct 1, 2021)

Cliff said:


> Couldn't resist the Epic Yoshi. I had a smaller one already. I wouldn't have gotten the K-tip if there was a 240 gyuto left, but I think it suits Yoshi's style and appreciate the heel height.
> 
> View attachment 145319


When we're talking about yoshikane, the gyutos are so flat, it might as well be a kiritsuke. It really doesn't matter.


----------



## Cliff (Oct 1, 2021)

If the issue were separation, I'd say Takeda or my iron-clad Wat Kurouchi. Just agreeing on what "sharp" means could lead to a treatise.


----------



## Barmoley (Oct 1, 2021)

shinyunggyun said:


> You killed many a brain cells of mine with that. It's just simply a question of what knives can get extremely sharp and are a joy to use.


Not a simple question at all and is in the realm of best workhorse, best knife, best steel, best grind, etc All knives can get extremely sharp and as far as a joy to use, what does that even mean? Interesting thread nonetheless, but it is a favorite knife type of thread.


----------



## Hz_zzzzzz (Oct 1, 2021)

I think the definition for separation here is also unclear. I believe @ModRQC 's food separation means separating one piece of food into 2 while @Cliff 's might mean separating the food from the knife.


----------



## ModRQC (Oct 1, 2021)

shinyunggyun said:


> You killed many a brain cells of mine with that. It's just simply a question of what knives can get extremely sharp and are a joy to use.



Favorite knives. Any decent steel gets extremely sharp to a degree, and joy to use defines favoritism. Hence the makers mentioned in this thread are favorites of KKF. Which are encensed day in day out.

The bottom truth being that we like these variations around the eternal theme because it appeals exactly to: wider experiences allowing more pointed answers and argumentation thereof, and who will come first with an exotic maker, modified geometry, or niche knives that aren’t all around favorites, displaying character and originality and confidence within one’s expertise.

Obviously, all should feel free to ignore this and go on with the main subject.

—

BTW highly impressed with Wakui Ku-Nash iron-clad B#2 with ebony. Not sure if it’s pure but it easily gets into my top 5. Easily. There’s more than it to experience, but the equilibrium it gets at is impressive and there’s no blatantly displeasing or inferior aspect to it. There’s nary a constructive criticism to find but stupid details or price-bound limitations.

Not sharpened yet. That may be its weakness - HT. I’ll know soon enough.


----------



## captaincaed (Oct 1, 2021)




----------



## josemartinlopez (Oct 1, 2021)

This is embarrassing but I find myself agreeing with half the posts here, and a lot of the knives cited are excellent but very different cutters. How do you define pure cutter, and how do you isolate your sharpening skills? I realize I'm having trouble answering as I like a lot of the knives cited!


----------



## captaincaed (Oct 1, 2021)

For me I think of overall least cutting force input for me. I think you can get there by a couple different routes, either thinness, weight behind the edge, s-grinds, some combo...


----------



## ModRQC (Oct 1, 2021)

They are since the crowd here knows knives. Some experiences do not lie: cutting for the first time with a Yoshi, Tanaka Yohei/Kyuzo, Toy/Wat, most Kono, Takamura and what else is something amazing. If right for you, handling a Yo TF is amazing. You can like them all for sure - and a whole lot else without even going custom maker yet… but what is your purest cutter is just the one. The one you know will work for you no matter what you do, even where you really like having the other ones to choose from too, and have so many splendid options that your favorites barely have any use time advantage.

My very best knife doesn’t see so much board time in comparison, since I always have new ones to play with. But every time it can’t disappoint. It doesn’t hit BST and is never considered a candidate. And whenever I’m not sure: is that new knife really worth it, I get the old favorite out and things become clearer.


----------



## Oshidashi (Oct 1, 2021)

coxhaus said:


> I am not sure what cheese knife you would buy for cutting parmesan cheese? I use a heavier Henckels knife.


----------



## KnightKnightForever (Oct 1, 2021)




----------



## coxhaus (Oct 1, 2021)

Oshidashi said:


>




I like this. I have never seen a wheel cut before. What I buy is a piece off the wheel like at Central Market after they cut the wheel. It is not for the faint of heart with a light knife.


----------



## ian (Oct 1, 2021)

KnightKnightForever said:


> View attachment 145359



Heh. Love the 3x2 in the corner.


----------



## ModRQC (Oct 1, 2021)

Making sure it even registers to most folks as « mathematics ».


----------



## Knivperson (Oct 2, 2021)




----------



## coxhaus (Oct 2, 2021)

I read this and I was thinking best cutter vs best knife. If I mince onions, I want a thicker knife to bruise the onions which I think releases better flavor in my style of cooking.


----------



## ModRQC (Oct 2, 2021)

Releasing them… where… when… or all of the above?


----------



## coxhaus (Oct 2, 2021)

I don't use my thin knife as I use a thicker 10-inch chef's knife because I think it works better on mincing onions.


----------



## ModRQC (Oct 2, 2021)

Biting back…


----------



## M1k3 (Oct 2, 2021)

coxhaus said:


> I read this and I was thinking best cutter vs best knife. If I mince onions, I want a thicker knife to bruise the onions which I think releases better flavor in my style of cooking.


You can also use a thinner, not as sharp knife. That'll release the 'Italian mace' into the air.


----------



## ian (Oct 2, 2021)

coxhaus said:


> I read this and I was thinking best cutter vs best knife. If I mince onions, I want a thicker knife to bruise the onions which I think releases better flavor in my style of cooking.



What’s your style of cooking?


----------



## FishmanDE (Oct 2, 2021)

The OP answers a lot of these internal debates some of you are having about what the assignment actually is here lol.

Idk how I ended up unfollowing my own thread, but I’m glad people have been enjoying the debate!


----------



## coxhaus (Oct 2, 2021)

ian said:


> What’s your style of cooking?



Good question. I don't know. I cook a lot of Mexican and food I grew up with. Some other stuff too.


----------



## tostadas (Oct 2, 2021)

ian said:


> What’s your style of cooking?


----------



## JDC (Oct 2, 2021)

tostadas said:


>


Actually releasing more flavor is not unfounded. To the extreme it’s molecular gastronomy.


----------



## esoo (Oct 2, 2021)

tostadas said:


>



Not sure if thick enough behind the edge.


----------



## ian (Oct 2, 2021)

JDC said:


> Actually releasing more flavor is not unfounded. To the extreme it’s molecular gastronomy.



Or like making a chili paste by pounding up the ingredients.


----------



## tostadas (Oct 2, 2021)

JDC said:


> Actually releasing more flavor is not unfounded. To the extreme it’s molecular gastronomy.


----------



## Bolek (Oct 3, 2021)

bsfsu said:


> You need to try a couple of parmesan knives(don't know if that's the correct term) It's really easy to break down a wheel. I saw this being done in a shop in Italy and then I was able to tyy it in a kitchen I worked in. Not had but you really need to "score" the cut lines well.



I shall try it on carots


----------



## justaute (Oct 9, 2021)

Watanabe Pro nakiri and the my Yoshi 210 SKD.


----------



## panda (Oct 9, 2021)

ian said:


> Or like making a chili paste by pounding up the ingredients.


just dont use the spine or it might break the knife


----------



## M1k3 (Oct 11, 2021)

panda said:


> just dont use the spine or it might break the knife


I think that applies to tomatoes?


----------



## pleue (Oct 11, 2021)

There's a definite effect on pounding some ingredients to break them down versus cutting and it's substantial. Pounding out salsas and curry pastes (and pesto) from my experience creates a totally different flavor profile than knife work or a food processor. Hell, just try it with a clove of garlic. 

That said for any and all things, probably my denka. I have a number of excellent cutters I'd be a bit more worried about in harder foods.


----------



## memorael (Oct 16, 2021)

FishmanDE said:


> I’m curious as to other experiences with the best preforming knives they’ve ever used. Obviously, as some of you will point out, best is a relative term. But I’m curious to peoples favorite performers. Have you ever tried anything that was amazing across the board? Personally, I’ve found where some of my best excel at most, a leek will seem like an insurmountable task. And others can be superb at everything, except that last 1mm of thick carrot. Who were your favorites and did they have a kryptonite?


If I had to think of a knife that is a true kitchen do everything beast, I would feel pretty comfortable saying the aritsugu A type that was made with a mystery steel. That thing was the first knife that after sharpening it with an extreme asymmetrical edge it cut my finger where the first bend happens... kinda hard to explain I guess, well anyway it cut me where the knife usually just touches the finger, after about 2 seconds I see a drop of blood on my board and wonder where its coming from??? I then see the knife cut a perfectly round circle of flesh, I couldn't feel it until I saw it. I proceed to put a bandage and a finger clot, curse my self for cutting myself and proceed to cut my next finger in the same spot. Needless to say the knife has a temper but performs beautifully once you tame it.


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