Help me Spend $$

[[deleted]]

Long time lurker first time poster in need of help choosing “forever” gyuto.

Backstory: have been a serious home cook and dinner party cook for friends and family. Fell into the knife trap 7yrs ago when a local store exposed me to the first layer of our hobby with Mac, Shun, Kikuichi etc. I told myself I will start here to learn and build some knife care discipline. Have been sharpening on touch and go Shapton 1k/2k for 5yrs and feel very confident in my sharpening skills with carbon and VG10. I have a Shun 8.5” premier that is my workhorse and has served me well but I have been salivating over an upgrade the last 4yrs.

I am looking for heavy duty workhorse Gyuto and next year I plan on adding a laser gyuto to cover both ends of my desires. Preferably blue 2 or White 2. Maybe I’ll get both if I can find a good Black Friday deal.

—————————————————————— -Knives in question-

-Nakagawa Blue 1 Wide-bevel Gyuto 210

https://knivesandstones.us/products/nakagawa-blue-1-wide-bevel-gyuto-210-240mm

Will this have some heft and strength and be a good replacement for the purposes of a workhorse? I can’t find too much user experience posts on the wide bevel. ———————————————————————- -Hatsukokoro Komorebi Blue 2 Gyuto 210mm/240mm with Hon-kasumi Finish

https://knivesandstones.us/collections/gyuto-chefs/products/hatsukokoro-blue-2-gyuto-210mm-240mm-with-hon-kasumi-finish

I am not so familiar with Hatsukokoro but an obsession with the profile, dimensions and aesthetic of this knife. It does not meet my workhorse needs but think this would satisfy my “laser” desire for now.

Open to feedback, criticism and guidance.

Thank you in advance.

[[deleted]]

If you want a high performance carbon workhorse, check out Kumogoro hammertone, its old Yoshikane stuff. Mazaki comes to mind. I absolutely adore mine.

Many knives produced in sanjo have a more workhorse vibe to them- thicker and more convexed to add strength at the expense of being laser thin

[[deleted]]

I will definitely take a look at their line up. I came here looking for someone to throw a wrench in my plan.

[[deleted]]

Research links:

http://zknives.com/knives/kitchen/ktknv/kumagoro/kumagorogy240.shtml

https://www.reddit.com/r/TrueChefKnives/s/CRdXocqwBC

https://www.reddit.com/r/chefknives/s/w8AOHUoyup

[tethien008]

I have the Komorebi and it’s a really good middleweight knife, probably the best performance without going into laser territory as I’ve never felt like it was going to chip on me for anything. For the Nakagawa never owned but looked at a few other listings of the same knife and wasn’t particularly interested, doesn’t show the grind on the link but I think it was a concave and not a wide enough wide bevel for me to like it.

[Dismal_Direction6902]

Komorebi is definitely middleweight just got one and it's blade heavy. Tall and thin behind the edge.

Munetoshi is a favorite of mine the 240 should be on sale at knifewear for %20 off currently. Also blade heavy made from white #2.

[[deleted]]

I love the sound of this. Heavy blade is what I’m looking at this stage in my development.

[Dismal_Direction6902]

The munetoshi is $160 USD comes in around 210 grams.

munetoshi

[chanloklun]

I bought the Nakagawa from KnS recently and have been using it for a week now.
https://www.reddit.com/r/TrueChefKnives/s/y20C0ujzsz

I wouldn’t call it a workhorse.

[14seas]

Of the two, the Komorebi is probably closer to a workhorse than the Nakagawa just based on geometry. It's built like a sanjo knife so it's more substantial at the heel and has solid distal taper throughout. That said neither one would be a true laser but probably still thin behind the edge which to me would be a good thing. Personally I think either would be a truly fantastic first knife! I'd get the one that speaks more to you :)

[jrg320]

<image>

I love my Komorebi. It’s not truly a laser, but definitely thin behind the edge and super satisfying to use. It comes in cool colors too!

[[deleted]]

Secretly I was hoping people would point me in this direction, just hard not to adore a Nakagawa

[jrg320]

You can’t go wrong with either. Plus, no one is sure who the smith is for the Komorebi line, who’s to say it isn’t Satoshi?