# What was your first Japanese Knife? When did you buy it?



## DitmasPork (Jan 6, 2017)

Hi. Just a fun little post.

Prior to my first J-knife, I had been using Wustof's, carbon Sabatiers, and a SS Dexter Chinese cleaver. 

KKF helped convince me to give Japanese knives a gototally hooked on them.

MY VERY FIRST J-KNIFE was bought in 2009 [nice and shiny shown below, red blade edge is a reflection of our sofa].
Misono UX10, Left handed 240mm gyuto. Great knife, but I've since moved onto mostly Wa-handle knivesGengetsu, Kato, Watanebe, etc.

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST J-KNIFE, AND WHEN WAS IT BOUGHT?


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## idemhj (Jan 6, 2017)

DitmasPork said:


> WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST J-KNIFE, AND WHEN WAS IT



Tojiro DP 240 gyuto, 2007 (no need for a picture, you know it...)


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## frog13 (Jan 6, 2017)

My first was a set of three Tojiro DPs, 210mm gyuto, 80mm petty, 150mm petty because I read here on KKF that was a good starter set. This was merely a year ago. Shortly after I added a 240mm Tojiro DP Sujihiki and a set of Shapton Pro stones, balsa and leather strop. Well, a little more research and then came the 165 mm Tanaka Blue Santoku . Downhill from there ...... 240mm Kohetsu HAP40, 210mm Miyabi Birchwood SG2 Gyuto, 120mm Tojiro Shirogami ITK Petty, 210mm Tanaka Blue Gyuto, 180mm Takamura SG2 Gyuto, 210mm Zwilling Kramer Damascus and a 210mm Maboroshi Teruyasu Fujiwara Gyuto. Looking at a 180mm Maboroshi Teruyasu Fujiwara Gyuto, a 210mm Takamura Gyuto and a 210mm Shiro Kamo Syousin Suminagashi R2 Damascus Gyuto .... then there's Carter, Fowler, Takeda ......... oh my, what is happening?


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## cheflivengood (Jan 6, 2017)

Some Global POS in 2007, happy 10 years addiction


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## TheCaptain (Jan 6, 2017)

Does shun count? Ok then, moving on...

A watanabe 160mm Nakiri KU finish based on recommendations from just a few months ago. Then I fell deep into the rabbit hole.


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## BlueSteel (Jan 6, 2017)

Got two Shuns around 2010 and enjoyed those for awhile. Then this summer I stumbled into Knifewear to ask about sharpening, and left with: (a) a Shibata Kotetsu 210 gyuto, and (b) a major interest in learning about artisan made Japanese knives. In the intervening half year, I am now up to 18 J-knives (including amazing knives from Shigefusa and Yoshikane) and 5 J-nats. Yes, I have a problem...collector gene...lol. However, I have to say that my interest in cooking better and more varied food at home has taken off with this interest in knives. So there has been a positive effect on my diet and my increased enjoyment of cooking (I always liked to cook, but even more now).

:knife:

Cheers,
Blair


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## jc57 (Jan 6, 2017)

Shun Premier 8" Chef's knife, Jan 2016. As far as I can tell, it was made in Japan and therefore is a Japanese knife. I like it, though I have others now that I use more often.


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## Nemo (Jan 6, 2017)

Akifusa 210 gyuto (wanted 240 but they were out of stock). So I bought a 240 Ruysen Blazen a few weeks later, then a Yoshikane skd, then......

You get the idea


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## DitmasPork (Jan 6, 2017)

BlueSteel,
I hear you. Easy to get hookedwith my second knife I convinced myself that I REALLY, REALLY NEEDED another 240 gyuto.


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## lans8939 (Jan 6, 2017)

Hiroshi Kato 240 gyuto about 6 months ago. Now up to 10 knives to my wife's chagrin.


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## Seth (Jan 6, 2017)

Post Shun, it was Suisin carbon "boat" knife. Then I went into a deep depression thinking about how I would be spending $500 a pop minimum for knives, then more knives, for years to come. This aberrant behavior started about ten years ago as I discovered Korin's inventory.


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## kevpenbanc (Jan 6, 2017)

Inazuma nakiri and 270 Hattori HD, from JCK, back in 2013.

This was my set up just before xmas:





The original, pre j knife, knives can be seen poking up behind the air fryer.


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## TheCaptain (Jan 6, 2017)

kevpenbanc said:


> Inazuma nakiri and 270 Hattori HD, fron JCK, back in 2013.
> 
> This was my set up just before xmas:
> 
> ...



Damn dude...nice!


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## DitmasPork (Jan 6, 2017)

My godthe knives above the extractor would freak me out! Hope the magnets are strong.

Very cool.


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## brianh (Jan 6, 2017)

After Shun, carbon Gesshin Ginga.


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## khashy (Jan 6, 2017)

This bad boy (I.O.Shen 300mm gyuto)






Still have it, still love it. It was a birthday present in 2012 from the better half


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## limpet (Jan 6, 2017)

The year was 2013. I went straight from western knives to handmade, japanese carbon steel when buying a Goko. Never looked back. 

Here is an old picture and a newer one from last year when I had it rehandled by Robin Dalman.


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## BlueSteel (Jan 6, 2017)

kevpenbanc said:


> Inazuma nakiri and 270 Hattori HD, from JCK, back in 2013.
> 
> This was my set up just before xmas:
> 
> ...



To me, this is awesome...but mainly I am going to save this pic to show to my sig other whenever she complains I have too many knives - lol!!!

Cheers,
Blair


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## aboynamedsuita (Jan 6, 2017)

Got a Henckels 10pc set when I graduated, couple years later my first "good" knife was a ZK 10" 52100 chefs knife. While watching the Kramer sharpening videos I caught him saying his stones are made by chosera (they look more shapton-esque IMO), so while searching for chosera in Canada discovered Paul's Finest and got the 400-10000 and a moritaka AS gyuto (it's SUPER right ). Was reading up on the knife and became a KKF lurker, at which point I was hearing about other AS knives like Takeda the next few years are a blur lol


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## hambone.johnson (Jan 6, 2017)

Yoshikane 210mm SKD. Still have it. It's been retired to the house kitchen and my wife loves it


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## Sleep (Jan 6, 2017)

Yoshikane here too. Nashiji shirogami 240 gyuto.


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## DitmasPork (Jan 7, 2017)

Limpet,
The Goko looks great with the handle!


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## JaVa (Jan 7, 2017)

Almost 20 years a go I bought 5 Mac knives. Those were my first venture in to Japanese knives. Two 240 pro gyutos, two superior utility chef knives and a 135 pro petty. I owned a restaurant at the time so three of them were house knives for the restaurant and two were for home. 

Then about fifteen years a go I sold my restaurant and I started as a head chef at another place. They gave a 240 Brieto gyuto as a welcome gift. 

Then a little over 3 years a go I wanted to try some different steels. I bought a Tanaka VG10 240 dammy gyuto, Tanaka B2 dammy nakiri and Tojiro shirogami KU nakiri. I played around with those for about a year. Liked them all a lot. 

To try out a very hard modern steel I fell into a overhype trap from the other place and bought the Kohetsu HAP40 240. It was a lesson learned since the the knife and service were both horrible.

I lurked around here for over a year for over a year, before I finally joined.
...and here we are ten new knives later. :knife:


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## Chef_ (Jan 7, 2017)

Learned my knife skills on a used mercer, the ones with the colored handles, probably priced around $20.dull as a rock.

jumping head-first into the world of jknives with no knowledge or guidance, I bought a takagi honyaki 210 in blue#2. I hated this thing, it came dull. Nevermind the fact that i bought one of the hardest steels barely knowing how to sharpen a knife on a whetstone, the geometry of the blade was just awful, no convexing, no taper, it was just a straight piece of steel all the way down, with the most stupid looking , obtuse v shaped bevel that had zero chance of ever cutting through an onion without it getting stuck in the middle. Couldnt wait to get rid of this thing.

Anyway, my next knife was a 270 Gesshin Ginga stainless, after months of researching and taking some advice from people on here. Its still my favorite knife.:doublethumbsup:


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## Kristoff (Jan 7, 2017)

Takeda AS Nakiri and hiromoto AS gyuto together 2009


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## Marek07 (Jan 7, 2017)

My very first Japanese knife was a long time ago. Walked into a Japanese grocery store circa 1985 and a knife caught my eye:



Most of my knives were German but I liked the sharpness of this one a lot. Sadly, I lived in shared houses and it was not a knife that could withstand casual inattentive use so it went into storage. Only recently did a forum member identify it as a Tojiro. Still don't know exactly what it is. It's 170mm and looks a bit like a santoku but with a deba profile.

If you don't count Globals, my 2nd Japanese knife was only acquired in July last year after discovering KKF. I now have 28 of them... plus a couple of Japanese style knives from USA makers. Let's not even mention stones...
:angel2:


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## Timthebeaver (Jan 7, 2017)

Global "nakiri" c. 2001

2005 - Aritsugu (Kyoto) kasumi 240mm yanagi (white), bought at Nishiki. Bought a Sugimoto wa-gyuto at the Tsukiji market a few days later (still have it).


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## Nemo (Jan 7, 2017)

Marek07 said:


> My very first Japanese knife was a long time ago. Walked into a Japanese grocery store circa 1985 and a knife caught my eye:
> 
> View attachment 34152
> I now have 28 of them... plus a couple of Japanese style knives from USA makers. Let's not even mention stones...
> :angel2:



Thank-you Marek, you are making me feel much better about my expanding collection.


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## Badgertooth (Jan 7, 2017)

aboynamedsuita said:


> discovered Paul's Finest



Yup, wanted something nicer than my Wusthofs and found myself on Paul's Finest and promptly bought a Doi in 2008. Then a whole bunch of globals because I'm an idiot.


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## JaVa (Jan 7, 2017)

Badgertooth said:


> Yup, wanted something nicer than my Wusthofs and found myself on Paul's Finest and promptly bought a Doi in 2008. Then a whole bunch of globals because I'm an idiot.



:rofl2::lol2:


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## Marek07 (Jan 7, 2017)

Nemo said:


> Thank-you Marek, you are making me feel much better about my expanding collection.


We all seem to have someone we can point out to our significant other and say, "But look at so & so. It's not as if I have a serious problem." In my defence, may I point out that discounting Globals, it was ~30 years twixt my first and second Japanese knife purchase. 
Restraint personified... for a while. :whistling:


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## cschoedler (Jan 7, 2017)

Bunmei Yanagiba I got from Yamasho when I started training as a sushi chef. I started off as a server but had worked BOH before and little by little started helping with apps and making my own rolls. 

Next thing I knew I was on the schedule as a sushi helper and than a fulltime sushi chef. It was a great knife for me when I was training but I got bit by the carbon steel bug hard after that. Other than a Suisin INOX 210 petty and an Ealy paring knife I have that was my last stainless knife.


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## paulraphael (Jan 7, 2017)

I got a Hiromoto AS 240mm gyuto from JCK. A much better performer than the German knives I'd been using, and inexpensive enough to suffer my earliest attempts at sharpening (sandpaper, then waterstones). It felt small pretty quickly, so I traded it for 270mm version of the same knife. This knife was the right size, but as my cutting technique improved, the knife started to feel rather heavy and dull, so I sold it and replaced with a thin monosteel knife (Tadatsuna) which I'm still using 7 years later.

JCK was great to deal with, btw, and the cheap and nearly instantaneous EMS shipping was magical.


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## Pensacola Tiger (Jan 7, 2017)

Global GS39 13 cm vegetable knife in 2008. Still have it somewhere.


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## cheflarge (Jan 7, 2017)

Gesshin Ginga 210mm White #2 petty.


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## Krassi (Jan 7, 2017)

Global G2 17 Years ago.


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## valgard (Jan 7, 2017)

kevpenbanc said:


> Inazuma nakiri and 270 Hattori HD, from JCK, back in 2013.
> 
> This was my set up just before xmas:
> 
> ...



Drooling and envious :O


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## supersayan3 (Jan 7, 2017)

Global G2, 3 / 2008


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## Blen (Jan 7, 2017)

2016 a Doi Aogami 16,5cm petty meanwhile added a Takayuki 8cm Damascus petty bought at Chan Wah Kee and at CCK a Chinese cleaver and chopper during my Hong Kong trip. And now I have a Wantanabe 16,5cm Kurouchi Santoku being shipped. Also planning a Japan trip this year. Yes, I am addicted....:O


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## Iggy (Jan 7, 2017)

Cheap stainless KAI Santoku (old version of Wasabi-Series I guess), approx. 2001


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## valgard (Jan 7, 2017)

I have for years been an admirer of Japanese blades and same goes for my brother but without a shred of a chance of getting one we never did any serious research. Recently I decided that I finally can afford some of these beauties and did some research before walking into Knitwear with a list that for the attention of the guys there. I had intended to go full carbon but had my reservations, especially for the future since I think keeping one of those rust free in Cuba by the sea would be a real hassle. Finally the guy at Knitwear almost convinced me of going SS and I got a Masakage Kiri Santoku 165 by Hiroshi Kato.













Now seeing that I could have sold the knife without much loss here makes me think I will try full carbon steel at some point... not too far in my future.:spiteful:


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## guari (Jan 7, 2017)

I got a kanetsugu pro-j from jck about a year ago and I've gotten like 4 diff knives since then. 

It's been an eye opener for sure.


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## Noodle Soup (Jan 7, 2017)

A bunch of traditional Japanese stuff from Japan Woodworker followed by even more from Murray Carter back when he was still in Japan.


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## landshark (Jan 7, 2017)

other than a couple of Shuns, I consider my first real Japanese knives were an Aritsugu Blue Steel Deba 140mm and 
Aritsugu Blue Steel Yanagiba 270mm, I bought in the Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo about 2001.
Went crazy after that for awhile ended up with some 80 or 90 Japanese kitchen knives at one point
I think this is the Yanagiba


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## ecchef (Jan 7, 2017)

A Tojiro DP honesuki that came as a package deal with one of Pierre Gagnaier's books on Ebay about 15 or so years ago. Still have this one.
I was primarily interested with the book...the knife was a bonus. That was the end of my Teutonic knife period.
Within days of receiving, it was followed by a Watanabe 'starter' set, a couple of which I still have and use, then a 240 Nenox S1 yo-deba I picked up from Bruce (vai777) which I also still have.


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## Marek07 (Jan 7, 2017)

ecchef said:


> ... That was the end of my Teutonic knife period....


*+1* Well put! So many of us came from using European knives but that's hands-down the best description I've read. Sort of colourfully casts our older affinities into a nearly forgotten epoch.


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## KrutoyNozh (Jan 7, 2017)

My first Japanese knife was a Shun Fuji chef's knife (thankfully) purchased at a deep holiday discount. The second knife was a Masamoto yanagiba, which immediately felt like magic in my hand. I'm a beginner who still can't do much more than cut sandwiches with it, but that beautiful moment of pure magic had this middle-aged desk bureaucrat registering for cooking classes and gave me a new interest that I imagine pursuing for the rest of my life.


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## stereo.pete (Jan 7, 2017)

My first J-Knife was a Fujiwara FKH based on recommendations from the original forum a few years back. Solid profile, decent carbon steel, nothing great, but it was what started me down this rabbit hole.


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## panda (Jan 7, 2017)

Takayuki grand cheff gyuto, 5yrs ago


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## barramonday (Jan 8, 2017)

Global for me as well, yanagiba bought around 97 . 
One of the few knives I've had pinched over the years, it must have really appealed to the burglar as it and jar full of change were the only things taken.


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## malexthekid (Jan 8, 2017)

Hiro Shiki Tuschime damascus gyuto for me. Bought in Jan 2014.


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## IndoorOutdoorCook (Jan 8, 2017)

Before I knew the horrors of certain unnamed site, I bought from there a goko swedish stainless 19c27 for $120. This was back in December 2013. I thought it was an okay deal and not knowing anything about japanese knives I went for it. Now I know it is OEM and sold under other names, but it is still a decent stainless laser. I have since rehandled it and keep it around for acidic products.


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## jacko9 (Jan 8, 2017)

Konosuke 240mm HD2 Gyuto from Tosho Knife Arts. Last Japanese knife purchased was a Kato 210mm Workhorse Gyuto from JNS.


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## Beau Nidle (Jan 8, 2017)

I started with a shun 8" chef, then got a konosuke 270 white steel. Got rid of the shun but still have the konosuke!


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## Krakorak (Jan 8, 2017)

For me, Itinomonn V2 kurouchi nashiji 210 mm gyuto in the spring 2014, I still like it a lot...


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## F-Flash (Jan 8, 2017)

Set of 4 yaxells july 2015. 
Then came whole bunch of tojiro dps, total of 8. All yaxels are gone, but i still have 4 tojiros. First, what i consider proper real japanese knife is itinomonn petty, soon followed by masamoto ks gyuto and toyama gyuto.
Now i have total of 18 knives. Oddly enought I only sold two better japanese knifes, which are kato and shigefusa.


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## LifeByA1000Cuts (Jan 8, 2017)

@IndoorOutdoorCook "know it is OEM" so not from Yamakawa (whose carbon I still think is awesome)?


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## s0real (Jan 8, 2017)

started with a Shun 10 inch chef's knife and 7 going to 8 years later still using it for daily cutting and sharpening practice.


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## Castalia (Jan 9, 2017)

Bought a Masamoto VG 210mm from Korin after reading an article about knives in Cooks Illustrated around 2013. Soon after I read an Edge in the Kitchen and bought an Edge Pro. A bit after that I found this site and yada yada yada :knife:


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## JGui (Jan 9, 2017)

Ditto on masamoto vg!


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## arthurfowler (Jan 9, 2017)

TF Maboroshi 210mm Gyuto from The Chopping Block Co in July 2015


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## nkbitsch (Jan 9, 2017)

My first Japanese knife was a Takeda Gyuto 240 AS. I bought it 11 years ago, and back in 2006 there seemed to be a lot of buzz going around for Takeda. - With good reason! 

I use the knife every day, and I will probably continue doing this for many decades to come.


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## DitmasPork (Jan 9, 2017)

JaVa said:


> Almost 20 years a go I bought 5 Mac knives. Those were my first venture in to Japanese knives. Two 240 pro gyutos, two superior utility chef knives and a 135 pro petty. I owned a restaurant at the time so three of them were house knives for the restaurant and two were for home.
> 
> Then about fifteen years a go I sold my restaurant and I started as a head chef at another place. They gave a 240 Brieto gyuto as a welcome gift.
> 
> ...



Forgot about Mac knives! Macs were actually the first J-knives I touchedmy mom had them in our family's kitchen from before I was born. Though the first I bought was a Misono.


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## alterwisser (Jan 9, 2017)

Kobayashi Santoku, Aogami ... San Mai ... still have it, ugly plastic ferrule needs to go.


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## Bodine (Jan 9, 2017)

Shun 10" chef in 2010, then this year my wife asked if I would like another for Christmas,,,,,I found this site and with the help of the addicts here, decided on a Kochi 240mm.
Why do I feel this journey has just begun?


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## Casaluz (Jan 9, 2017)

I stumbled upon a forum called ChefTalk.com in 2011, and begun reading many postings and reviews (I prarticularly remember a someone called Boar_d_Laze being very active posting...) I took the jump by mid 2012 with a JCK Inazuma 210 mm gyuto. I still have it and love it even though I hardly use it anymore. A couple of years later I stumbled upon this forum and would have gotten lost except for the generous help of Chinacats and a few others... I have bought a few knives after that and now the family and friends make jokes about it, My wife has resigned herself to what she feels is a character flaw in her husband and brush with dementia... on the other side, almost everybody now asks for advice on knives or celebrate when I show up with my whetstones to tune up their knives,and when I give one for christmas, birthdays or other occasions, the jokes about me being mental stay at a minimum...


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## bkultra (Jan 9, 2017)

Casaluz said:


> I stumbled upon a forum called ChefTalk.com in 2011, and begun reading many postings and reviews (I prarticularly remember a someone called Boar_d_Laze being very active posting...)



BDL is active on many forums, just not here. He made his first and only appearance here by getting into a debate about heat treatments with Devin Thomas, if I recall.:rofl2:


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## Chef_ (Jan 10, 2017)

Im not a fan of BDL...


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## zetieum (Jan 10, 2017)

My brother offered me a hattori HD guyto for xmas 5 years ago. It was a game changer. Although it is far from being my favourite knife, I still have it and I will likely never sell it.


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## preizzo (Jan 10, 2017)

Inazuma 240 gyuto, a Misono 180 gyuto flower engraved, fujiwara carbon 300 gyuto. This was my first purchase of real Japanese knives back in January 2012.


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## TimoNieminen (Jan 10, 2017)

Either a Shun 7" wide santoku or Kanetsune yanagiba, both about 10 years ago. Very rarely use the yanagiba, and still use the Shun more often than any other single knife.

As "good" knives go, these were my 3rd and 4th, being preceded by a 9" Wusthof and a CCK kau kong chopper, which I got in the early and mid 1990s.


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## ewebb10 (Jan 10, 2017)

I bought a Toyama Damascus Gyuto about a month ago, then a Gesshin paring knife and now I have a Shig in the mail. I see what y'all mean by "rabbit hole".


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## Nemo (Jan 10, 2017)

Nice start!


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## ewebb10 (Jan 10, 2017)

And every I buy one I think about the quote in your signature :biggrin:




Nemo said:


> Nice start!


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## Boynutman (Jan 10, 2017)

Shun classic 8 inch gyuto, bought during a trip to NYC in 2010, I just couldn't believe how cheap they were!! Only USD 150 at W&S, baby!!! (compared to Euro180 in Yurp, which was something like Usd250 at the time).

Well, it got me started and interested and here I am now, a Hattori, Takamura, Misono, Munetoshi plus some stones later. 
Funny to see how many people took the Shun route.


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## valgard (Jan 10, 2017)

ewebb10 said:


> And every I buy one I think about the quote in your signature :biggrin:



+1 to that comment :bat:

I'm lucky I do all the numbers crunching around here :ninja:


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## spoiledbroth (Jan 10, 2017)

ecchef said:


> A Tojiro DP honesuki that came as a package deal with one of Pierre Gagnaier's books on Ebay about 15 or so years ago. Still have this one.
> I was primarily interested with the book...the knife was a bonus. That was the end of my Teutonic knife period.
> Within days of receiving, it was followed by a Watanabe 'starter' set, a couple of which I still have and use, then a 240 Nenox S1 yo-deba I picked up from Bruce (vai777) which I also still have.



Whoa Pierre is the man! I mean not surprising really because I gather you're a pro. But still. Not a name you see very often.

6 years ago, Mac santoku. Lol. Lollll


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## fatboylim (Jan 11, 2017)

Global 180 nakiri in 2002... I still have it for citrus and as a beater knife.


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## Ivang (Jan 11, 2017)

Shun classic santoku, back in 2008. Lost it about 5 years ago and bought a couple of tojiros, I sold the 210 gyuto away, but I still have and use the paring


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## Zweber12 (Jan 11, 2017)

A Sekizo Wahoo gyuto in 2008...


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## Nemo (Jan 12, 2017)

ewebb10 said:


> And every I buy one I think about the quote in your signature :biggrin:



:biggrin::biggrin: :biggrin: :biggrin:


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