# K-tip on the line?



## GorillaGrunt

Pros, what do you think of using kiritsuke shaped knives in a professional kitchen? Im thinking of getting some, but Im not sure about it. On the plus side, for my cutting style, the profile of a k-tip gives me almost the same functionality as a normal gyuto one size bigger and I tend to prefer longer knives. My work kitchen is very cramped - literally not much more space than a submarine galley to serve better food to several times as many people. On the other hand, theres such a risk of a tip incident owing to the lack of space on the line and even in most prep areas.

My only experience so far in this area was trying a Hakata-type bunka; I tipped it by about 1mm on the line the first day, just broke it off in the plastic board, looked at it and said, well, s___, theres an hour of grinding, and yes, it was about an hour of grinding. Ive tipped regular gyuto at work before but that only takes a few minutes to fix. My chef does use an 8 k-tip, but he of course has a lot more experience in tight kitchens and with knives than I do. The bunka has been relegated to a home knife and there its great (and of course thats what that knife design is for in the first place).

Thoughts?

Thanks


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## StonedEdge

I'm no pro but it seems to me blade length would be the defining characteristic in this situation and not tip shape?

Maybe you can find a k tip gyuto or similar in a size between 180mm and 210?


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## HRC_64

K-Tip vs "regular" Gyuto tip
http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/showthread.php/26282-K-Tip-vs-quot-regular-quot-Gyuto-tip

There seems to be alot of existential back and forth about purpose of a k-tip on a double beveled knife.


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## Benuser

I see only an advantage with a much too high tip as with some German profiles. Than it is a helpful correction.


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## Keith Sinclair

I can see why some don't like K-tips, they are different than a gyuto. Sharpened them finally bought one cuz liked the looks. The Kochi is not a subtle tip it is a honker aggressive food weapon. 180mm. I do not baby it found the tip useful don't mind probing with it at all. Effective push cut & chopper, efficient for peeling fruits and vegetables. I never rock cut anyway.

So far have not damaged the tip even though use it for cleaning fish. Tip is great for gutting and filet. On medium fish sweep tip to spine, lift & use it to go over the spine. Go to other side you have a nice clean filet. 

If you do not use basic knife care I can see how the tip can be damaged. But tips on gyuto's get busted too. I would not hesitate to use it as a cutter in a cramped space. Kochi has a tall sharp heel & the razor sharp tip makes it quite uncivilized what more can you ask for.


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## panda

just use misono carbon 210mm regular gyuto, best line knife.


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## Benuser

Great knife, a bit narrow though.


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## GorillaGrunt

I like my Gihei 200mm HAP40 for a line knife, called a gyuto but even narrower than the Misono. The main reason Im interested in a K-tip is a thread (couldnt find it with a quick search, will keep looking) where someone contended that for the push/thrust cut motion, the K-tip of a given length is functionally equivalent in profile to a normal gyuto 30mm longer. I believe the comparison shown was a Toyama 270 gyuto and 240 K-tip. All other things being equal, I prefer a longer knife, but a 270 is really just too big for our kitchen and even a 240 is kind of a tight fit. Its maybe more about the profile than the tip itself - a 210mm long knife that feels and works like a 240 would be great. I worry about the tip because theyre such a bugger to fix if something does happen.

Ive made up my mind to buy one or two anyway, Im just hoping to be able to justify it as a work tool.


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## GorillaGrunt

Got the Sukenari YXR7 210mm. So far I like the shape and size on the line. The tip seems much less fragile than the one I busted so Im not worrying about it, although the knife as a whole is a bit chubbier through the grind than I expected. Ill have to see if the profile does in fact feel like a larger knife with my cutting style during prep.


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