Which do you refer: Japanese or european Chef Knives?

[Organic]

I’ve been thinking about upgrading my chef knife (currently a Victorinox) and have been going back and forth on whether I should invest in a Japanese style gyuto or a european style chef knife.

I know that a European stlye chef knife would be a safe choice as they are familiar to me, but I’m drawn to the better edge retention and thin / light form factor of the gyutos. My main concern is that the thin and hard blades on Japanese knives is more prone to chipping and are not as forgiving of carelessness.

Which style do you prefer for your home kitchen? Do you think that a gyuto is an appropriate knife for all around daily use similar to a european style chef knife?

David

[Marc H]

David, I was in the same place when I first ordered my WE almost 2 years ago. I had mostly Forschners and Wusthofs. After learning how to get them sharper than I had ever done before I went on the search to experience what a “good” sharp knife felt like, for me. I joined several Knife Forums and read a lot. As I looked into what I considered were knives I would like to own I learned just how much I didn’t know about knives. Western or European VS Japanese. American Steel, Swedish Steel, German or Japanese.

I started shopping and buying. Now with my kitchen’s walls adorned with over fifty knives I do have my preferences. A 210mm Gyotu with Western Style handle and VG10 Steel is a go-to for me. I also enjoy a 170mm-180mm Santoku with Western handle in the same steel. The VG10 sharpens fairly easily, takes and holds a narrow bevel angle (13-16 degrees), is pretty dang durable and not very chippy.  Vg10 doesn’t sharpen as quickly as some of the high carbon steels and maybe doesn’t get quite as sharp either but I find it’s more durable and VG10 being Stainless is non food reactive and easy to maintain.

Here’s a site I have bought from often:  http://www.japanesechefsknife.com/default.html .

I have moved towards buying more Japanese “Wa” handled knives finding them just as comfortable, sometimes less expensive and often more variety and more readily available. I have set out to try more types and harder steels. At a larger expense and more difficult to sharpen I haven’t decided on a favorite there, yet.

Marc

Marc
(MarcH's Rack-Its)

[Gregg776]

It all comes down to personal preference of blade geometry, handle comfort and blade metallurgy.  If you are looking for the more exotic stainless steels, I think there may be a greater selection in Japanese knives, but the handles are sometimes not what western hands are used to.  For a huge selection try http://www.cutleryandmore.com/ and they have good sale prices often.

I actually bought my WE after buying a set of Myabi 7000 MC which are three layer, the center is what Myabi calls MC66 which is their renaming of ZDP-189 hardened to a claimed Rockwell C of 66.  I really like these knives and they keep an edge longer than any of my old carbon steel knives.  Myabi was bought out by Henckels; the line between European and Japanese knives may not be as distinct as it once was.

[Marc H]

Gregg776 wrote:

It all comes down to personal preference of blade geometry, handle comfort and blade metallurgy. 

Gregg your right.  That’s why I read the forums to learn what others before me have learned.  I value their opinions and experiences. As I have bought different knives with different handles, blade configurations and steels I have formed my own likes, dislikes and opinions.  Now I am trying several different what you reference as “exotic stainless steels”.  I am going to post a thread to the “Advanced Sharpening Technique” Section on Japanese High Speed Tool Steels to see if I can learn from others, their sharpening experiences.

Gregg would you please post your sharpening progression for your Miyabi 7000MC.  I’m curious what you’ve experienced.  If you have pictures to post that would be great.

Thanks,

Marc

 

Marc
(MarcH's Rack-Its)

[Gregg776]

To sharpen the Miyabi 7000 MC knives, I start out at 13 degrees per side and run through the strops to 0.5 micron.  I don’t change angle for the strops because I can’t get much less angle on my WE.  I then finish off with a micro bevel using the 1000 grit diamond as close to perpendicular as I can using very very light strokes.  For the bigger knives that I use I put a 15 degree per side micro bevel and for the smaller knives that my wife use, I use an 18 degree per side micro bevel.  To re-sharpen I just re-do the micro bevel until I feel I should give the knife the full treatment.

Owning the WE has mitigated some of my OCD tendencies as I have come to realize that there is no perfect edge that will do everything and still remain shaving sharp; it is far easier to just re-sharpen when needed to the point of easily obtaining a truly wicked edge.

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