# If Your Wife Wanted to Spend $600 on a Knife (for you), What Would You Get?



## marc4pt0 (Dec 4, 2015)

Title really says it all here. Not too sure what I did right with the wifey, or if I smell a set up here, but I ain't going to complain. Yet. 

The Mrs asked if I still wanted a drone and offered to get me one for Christmas. I absolutely do still want one, but not yet. I firmly believe that by next summer the bang for buck will be FAR much greater than it is today. You can already see the "it's new So price the F out it" phase winding down, which is a sure sign of next year's tech on these things being better/more affordable. Either that or find a really nice used one being sold at a much better price.

All that said, I'm now left with the Thread Title question at hand. I know what I want, but $600 is about $65 short (which isn't a whole heck of a lot for us knife folk, but worlds away in the eyes of the Lady when it comes to shiny steel) and I have Zero need/desire to push it.

So I thought it'd be fun to see what others would suggest/ask for if given the same golden opportunity.


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## marc4pt0 (Dec 4, 2015)

For whatever reason, this thread fell into the Knife Knowledge sub forum. Not too sure why? Mods, could this be moved back into Kitchen Knife?

Than you


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## Von blewitt (Dec 4, 2015)

If you don't mind the wait a Tilman


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## Ucmd (Dec 4, 2015)

Marko or will are on my list


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## TheDispossessed (Dec 4, 2015)

I may be in the minority here in that I have strong preference for Japanese makers over North American customs (no offense to anyone). If I had $600 tops for any knife that was currently in stock I'd consider:
Gesshin kagekiyo
Konosuke Fujiyama (tosho)
Takamura uchimugo (sp?)
And FWIW there seem to be cheaper tanaka ironwood gyutos on rakuten, if you're willing to take the risk, I've always had good luck there myself.
Cheers!
Matteo


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## _PixelNinja (Dec 4, 2015)

Given the same opportunity, I would go for either a Gesshin Kagekiyo Kiritsuke Wa-Gyuto 270mm or a Suisin INOX Honyaki Kiritsuke Wa-Gyuto 270mm. Sadly my significant other would never make such an offer.


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## daveb (Dec 4, 2015)

In that situation I would be looking for a nice Yani. Something for special occasions.

I would also be shopping for purses....


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## zoze (Dec 4, 2015)

Von blewitt said:


> If you don't mind the wait a Tilman


Yes, that's the one to get


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## Godslayer (Dec 4, 2015)

Takamura uchigumo or grab a hinoura river jump from knifewear. You can afford a petty. A cowry x yanagiba would also also be on my list(sukenari makes one). A tamagane knife would also be intense tosho sells a petty slightly over budget. Bill Burke pocket knife would also be intense.


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## turbochef422 (Dec 4, 2015)

Western Haburn


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## marc4pt0 (Dec 4, 2015)

^^ You know me too well. That was the direction I was leaning, but Sadly it's $65 over budget. I certainly would cover that gap, but I have to play nice with me darlin as she's certainly letting me break the cardinal knife rule already.
This will be a first in a while since the golden rule of "to buy a knife, you must sell a knife" was established where I'm not losing a gem to gain one.


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## eugen_onegin (Dec 4, 2015)

Carter Kurouchi Funi or Nakiri please, thanks.

http://www.cartercutlery.com/5-97-sun-kuro-uchi-series-nakiri-custom-handle-154-grams/
http://www.cartercutlery.com/6-73-sun-kuro-uchi-series-funayuki-ebony-ironwood-150grams/
http://www.cartercutlery.com/6-3-sun-high-grade-freestyle-wa-bocho-ironwood-hardwood-154grams/
http://www.cartercutlery.com/5-97-sun-kuro-uchi-series-funayuki-olive-tree-birch-121grams/


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## eugen_onegin (Dec 4, 2015)

BTW Marc, I see you're in Maryland. If you haven't already been, check out DCSharp in DC's Union Market. Super rad blade shop loaded with some pretty sick selections of cutlery.


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## pleue (Dec 4, 2015)

Would it be a gyuto for you? If it were me I'd probably get a Watanabe kintaroame. Or a tilman. Or something from butch.


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## toddnmd (Dec 4, 2015)

Bloodroot? 
But I think you already have one. 
Wait, I thought you had one of every maker . . .


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## gic (Dec 4, 2015)

bloodroot or a catchside or a marko??


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## El Pescador (Dec 4, 2015)

Hiromoto Western Honyaki Gyuto. On sale from Koki through the end of the year.


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## alterwisser (Dec 4, 2015)

Mert? Tilman?


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## Cheeks1989 (Dec 4, 2015)

Yep Mert would be my vote if you could snag one.


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## spoiledbroth (Dec 4, 2015)

ealy gyuto!!!!


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## marc4pt0 (Dec 4, 2015)

Have my Mert replacement coming soon. Love it!
Love my Harner I have as well. It's a beast in every way


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## marc4pt0 (Dec 4, 2015)

Ealy is the T*TS for sho! And he just started making more kitchen knives again, I believe? hmmmm


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## WildBoar (Dec 4, 2015)

Ask her to buy $600 in wood blocks from some of the vendors instead


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## spoiledbroth (Dec 4, 2015)

marc4pt0 said:


> Ealy is the T*TS for sho! And he just started making more kitchen knives again, I believe? hmmmm



:doublethumbsup:

I would love to know what he's got for a secret project


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## IndoorOutdoorCook (Dec 4, 2015)

I think his secret project is the double folder knife he posted on facebook


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## Chuckles (Dec 4, 2015)

All the knives I have thought of for this thread are 50 or 60 $ over budget. The Mizuno White Honyaki is soo close right now.


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## Dardeau (Dec 4, 2015)

Contact Ian, send him the sixty five and have him invoice the wife for 600.


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## Chuckles (Dec 4, 2015)

^^^^^^^^^^^^^

+1

#secretpaypalaccount


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## marc4pt0 (Dec 4, 2015)

I'm pretty good with my ninja skills, but when she said "send me a link or something to the one you want", I did. My inner ninja did _not_ see the extra $50 plus shipping becoming a deal breaker.
She's always liked Ian's work because the "bow tie is so cute!", so I thought it was a no brainer. 

And for those who are not married, let me explain something: Once you are with someone for a fairly long period of time, an unconscious, unwritten game comes about where each of you find a guilty pleasure in seeing the other squirm a little bit. You quietly poke and prod to insure the squirming continues. It's done through loving innocence, never with the intent to "hurt" the one you love. Solely to taunt and laugh, and then regale over later down the road.

She might concede the extra $65, or she might not. I'm just not going to _suirm_ over it. And it wouldn't be fair to cheat her out of having the "upper hand"... Especially when either way it crumbles, I come out 1 or more knives richer


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## sachem allison (Dec 7, 2015)

Tell her to get herself something nice. That way you both win in more ways than one.


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## Smurfmacaw (Dec 7, 2015)

Chuckles said:


> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> 
> +1
> 
> #secretpaypalaccount



Yikes dude! You're letting out info about our top secret knife accounts? :eek2:


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## alwayssharp (Dec 10, 2015)

Another konosuke gyuto, probably in 240 mm.


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## supersayan3 (Dec 10, 2015)

If it is within the money limit, and I think it is, Ichimonji honyaki western 21cm as a first choice, as a second a Watanabe with dragon. Sometime next year, I will go for the Ichimonji


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## Tall Dark and Swarfy (Dec 10, 2015)

A divorce. That reeks of a guilty conscience.


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## mise_en_place (Dec 10, 2015)

I'd pray for a Devin ITK to show up on BST


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## pleue (Dec 11, 2015)

http://s1342.photobucket.com/user/antbanks22/media/DSC04217_zpsqtbqakeg.jpg.html
With the exchange rate this will be under budget...


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## marc4pt0 (Dec 11, 2015)

I can't quite tell, what is that Pleue? Looks pretty badass


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## pleue (Dec 11, 2015)

Watanabe


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## marc4pt0 (Dec 29, 2015)

So wifey got me a wonderful knife for Christmas. She in turn got a pleasant surprise, a thank you tshirt from the maker. I thought that was pretty cool, but she downright loved it. It's the small touches that leave the best impressions. I got the knife a couple weeks before Christmas and absolutely loved how it just "fit" with me. Close to everything about it was speaking my language, but one draw back. It just didn't _cut_ that well. The knife suffered a little wedging. I contacted the maker and he graciously offered to take it back to tweak it. He also said I could play around with sharpening it before sending it back. So I did. After sharpening it up a bit and trying out my angle/edge, the knife did perform a bit better, but I still sent it back to receive some more of this maker's magic. 

Once he received it he reached out to me and we spoke a bit about the options I had. I opted for the improvement tweaks as I was pretty enamored by this knife. 
He said he'd take a look and see what could be done. Next day he reached out and told me he was reluctant to work the knife and sent a refund. 

I'll admit this was the exact opposite of what I wanted to hear. But I trust his judgement call, and thought this was more than fair. Yes, I'm still a little sad to see this knife will not be returning. What's funny is I was just starting to get "over it" when a box came in the mail this Saturday. I had all but forgotten about the koa saya scales I bought to match this gyuto's handle (also koa).
It was a swing and a miss for the both of us sadly. But the way everything was handled, and how quickly the refund hit my account, I can't possibly feel slighted in the least. 

In fact, I think every transaction should be this easy. I can't speak for the maker as to why he ultimately thought it best to send the refund opposed to working the knife, but at least he was honest and on point about it. And like I said, I trust his judgement. In the end, that's what it's all about, at least for me. 

So now wifey is a little sad that this guy didn't have anything under the ol Xmas tree. She has insisted I go back out into this sharp and shiney world to find another pointy object that would be worthy as a keeper. And that's the important part of this search- a keeper. "Because this is from me (and your daughter), you can't just go and sell it later."
So my search continues. Hopefully I'll find something wearing koa to boot. ..


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## marc4pt0 (Dec 29, 2015)

Oh, and one more important detail: the maker I was referring to is none other than Ian Rogers of Haburn knives. I find it good to know, and worth sharing, that Ian backs his product like this. It's this kind of backing that makes his price tag a little less significant. It's also this kind of backing that I wished all knife makers provided. 
The knife that was sent back would have been the 5th knife I bought from Ian. I'm pretty aware of how well his knives can perform, which is why I was wanting this one to perform the same.


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## chinacats (Dec 29, 2015)

Details? Curious if you tried a different geometry with this knife than the others of Ian's that you like/keep? 

BTW, my call is the 600 should go to a sick ass piece of wood--no Boardsmith? May be time and that would most definitely be a keeper.


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## WildBoar (Dec 29, 2015)

Maybe he was concerned the thinning would throw off the weight balance too much? Or the cost of trashing/ redoing the handle would have been too great? Fixing the one issue may have led to an even greater issue. I've heard a few things from makers over the years, and I wholeheartedly agree it's better for them to have an opinion/ advice vs just ploy ahead full speed, regardless of the consequences.

Sorry to hear about the poor Christmas outcome though. Maybe suggest a family outing that will stay within the $600 range and result in a lasting memory?



Need some ideas? You KNOW you'd love to take the fam to Guy Fieri's place in Times Square for some Tim-Tum-sauced spiced garlicy anchovy chicken peanut butter fried bite nuggets!


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## spoiledbroth (Dec 29, 2015)

Sorry to hear about this but very impressive that the maker was prepared to "bite the bullet" in your best interest and without hesitation.

Hope you find something you like.


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## marc4pt0 (Dec 29, 2015)

I. Can't. Stand. Guy. Fiero.
BAD Dave!!! :spankarse:

That guy made a mess out of something I hold dear, ProStart, just to make some money off the kids. During the awards ceremony they actually did multiple takes announcing him to the stage. The kids were biting their nails to hear if their team won, not to hear this turd's name being called several times to get the best "take" for a show that ultimately flopped.

But yes, pretty stellar of Ian on his behalf.


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## WildBoar (Dec 29, 2015)

You wouldn't overlook that for a plate of green chili spaghetti steak buffalo wing caramel-basted stuffed camel balls?????


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## marc4pt0 (Dec 29, 2015)

You got me at stuffed camel balls..... What can I say


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## SliceNDice (Aug 12, 2016)

what's a wife? :rofl2:


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## Benuser (Aug 13, 2016)

Haburn as well


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## alterwisser (Aug 13, 2016)

Oh, this thread is back from the dead and not sure $600 gets you much of a Haburn these days, lol. Dude is good!!!


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## Ydj32 (Aug 19, 2016)

To be honest, in my opinion the diminishing return on knifes is so high, you're better off buying two $300 knife than a $600 knife.


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