It does not look like it unless the cutting bevel is 70/30 but if it is it would have been sharpened for a right handed person . It is a very good looking knife I think the Richmond would be a better bet for more of a beginner for two reasons firstly it is stainless and probable a little less brittle the other knife requires more care and will chip more easily if misused plus it will need camellia oil on it when not in use since I think it is not stain resistant. Another thing is the whole section of the Richmond is thin like a Victorinox so it will not need thinning very often .
So I think that is the best knife for her it is light and pretty much an all rounder it’s a great Japanese starter knife and the price is very good and it will be easy to sharpen on the WE. I think that just about covers it all.
Thanks Leo, you’ve been a huge help and you supported your position on the Richmond very well. That is the knife I will recommend 
De nada
Okay? I need to ask a beginner question? I have been eyeballing Richmond knives for a month now. What makes a laser a laser? I’m pretty sure I’m going to get Leo’s recommendation too? But if there is something else? I also was looking at Josh’s first pick. But I am a absolutely a beginner in kitchen knives!
Eamon I do not have one but there are several positive points they have a Yew handle with Buffalo horn ferrol they are stainless so not too brittle they are thin and light 5 oz they are I suppose similar to a victorinox so the whole blade is quite narrow so I suspect it will not need to be thinned when sharpening next for a limited period the price is 84$ the owners ratings give it a 5 star rating .the spine thickness at the heel is 2.23 mm so it will really cut through thick flesh well .
I think it would be very easy to sharpen as well
Leo, thank you very much! You really shine with Japanese Cutlery!
ps I’m still curious as to what makes a “laser” a laser?
IMHO - 1 cent worth
Definition of “laser” term is subjective from person to person - whatever fit the bragging right. In general, it means thin spine (no more than 2.5mm for a 45+mm blade width) with zero grind (a giant bevel start at the spine all the way to the edge) and cutting edge is merely a acute angle micro-bevel (well, with subsequent sharpening the ‘micro’ does get bigger).
Looking at Richmond laser pic, their definition seems to be some sort of convex face, which goes steeper near the edge, then a regular cutting bevel. That cutting bevel isn’t micro, which suggest it’s not that thin behind the edge. Even taking possibly its cutting bevel angle is acute.
Josh, you selected three great knives, but quite different.
As Leo said, the Moritaka and the Hiromoto are made of AS. It’s my favourite steel as it combines great edge-taking and edge-holding, but it does require maintenance (keeping dry, also during long use). The Hiromoto is clad with stainless steel, so it is less likely to rust (at least on the blade away from the edge).
The Richmond Artifex is stainless steel, but it is an odd one in the Artifex series. It is not made by Lamson, but by Fujiwara (which may not be a bad thing). I don’t know the FKM steel.
However, if this Artifex had the same profile as other Artifexes, it is not a laser. CKTG sell it as a knife for “cooking studentsâ€. It is too thick behind the edge and may wedge. What I did was have it convexed and thinned behind the edge by Tim Johnson (but maybe you can do this yourself) and then it performs great.
I don’t have a Hiromoto, but this is also a comment you read about that knife on kitchen knife forums: that it needs thinning behind the edge. (And because that exposes more of the AS, it is sometimes combined with etching, which also improves the looks.)
Eamon, what makes a laser a laser is its thinness (although opinions may vary ). But not only at the spine, but particularly just behind the edge.
I would say that almost all knives need thinning my most recent purchase (the cheapest honyaki out there)
165mm Honyaki Nakiri Knife - Takagi I am in the process of thinning a slow process with blue steel ! Still I am doing it by hand and I would rather do it gradually I would say I am about a third of the way there after one thinning session taking four hours but man is it sharp I finished it on Shapton Glass 16K it has to be the sharpest edge I own.
[quote quote=“mark76” post=14753]Josh, you selected three great knives, but quite different.
As Leo said, the Moritaka and the Hiromoto are made of AS. It’s my favourite steel as it combines great edge-taking and edge-holding, but it does require maintenance (keeping dry, also during long use). The Hiromoto is clad with stainless steel, so it is less likely to rust (at least on the blade away from the edge).
The Richmond Artifex is stainless steel, but it is an odd one in the Artifex series. It is not made by Lamson, but by Fujiwara (which may not be a bad thing). I don’t know the FKM steel.
However, if this Artifex had the same profile as other Artifexes, it is not a laser. CKTG sell it as a knife for “cooking studentsâ€. It is too thick behind the edge and may wedge. What I did was have it convexed and thinned behind the edge by Tim Johnson (but maybe you can do this yourself) and then it performs great.
I don’t have a Hiromoto, but this is also a comment you read about that knife on kitchen knife forums: that it needs thinning behind the edge. (And because that exposes more of the AS, it is sometimes combined with etching, which also improves the looks.)
Eamon, what makes a laser a laser is its thinness (although opinions may vary ). But not only at the spine, but particularly just behind the edge.[/quote]
Mark, how thick was the Richmond Artifex behind the edge? Did you measure? It’s my understanding that knives need to be .010" or less behind the edge to have maximum efficiency… I wish CKTG would put the thickness of the edge on their site lol
IMHO - 1 cent worth
Definition of “laser” term is subjective from person to person - whatever fit the bragging right. In general, it means thin spine (no more than 2.5mm for a 45+mm blade width) with zero grind (a giant bevel start at the spine all the way to the edge) and cutting edge is merely a acute angle micro-bevel (well, with subsequent sharpening the ‘micro’ does get bigger).
Looking at Richmond laser pic, their definition seems to be some sort of convex face, which goes steeper near the edge, then a regular cutting bevel. That cutting bevel isn’t micro, which suggest it’s not that thin behind the edge. Even taking possibly its cutting bevel angle is acute.[/quote]
Bluntcut, I have been following you closely for a year now. And I would say it is safe to say “you have forgotten more then I will ever know?” Thank you so much for taking the time to look at the pic and follow up!
Mark, thank you very much as well!
No, I’ve got no idea… The main thing is that you notice the knife may wedge. If you’ve got this type of question some people at kitchenknifeforums may be able to help you.
I think Leo is right, most kitchen knives require thinning. But I must say that my Konosukes, Suisin Inox Honyaki and Takeda had a perfect profile ootb.
Leo, any idea which angle you’re thinning at?
Mark, I must say you have some amazing knives! I checked them out at CKTG and they are beautiful! I personally really like the Takeda. His customs are more like artwork! I know I’m a beginner and should take baby steps, but I want to jump in with both feet!
I know what you mean Eamon… Makes me want to buy some of these myself and be a chef just so I can cut things all day… that can’t be a good sign!
When I started to sharpen knives for other people I realised that I needed to get certain knives to learn to sharpen I did not want to learn on customers knives.
The two principle knives I bought was a Shun Sanoku to represent Japanese knives knowing very little about them at the time and the other was a ceramic knife .
I have to thank my Shun for the interest it sparked in Japanese knives . a friend gave me a second hand Seki made Yanagi then a chef asked me to repair a Mac knife which had a good half inch chip in the middle of the blade I got to keep that since it took hours to repair and it was a knife he had acquired so he let me keep it.
Since then I have bought four other Japanese knives the most recent been an Honyaki which are the best type of Japanese knives made by master blade smiths using the same techniques as those for a samurai sword.
Apart from having an assortment of Japanese knives it has enabled my confidence in sharpening them . The most complicated been the Deba which is single sided but since it is used to cut up big fish and part bones ( not cut them) the blade has different cutting bevels along its length the handle end of the knife has a shallower angle than the rest of the blade and is sharpened on both sides . So the Deba is urioshi sharpened on the concave side then sharpened around 30* on the chisel side and then near the handle say the last 1/4 at and angle around 25on both sides (so total 50)since this is the part of the blade used to remove the fishes head it is done by resting it on the neck with arms straight and then the upper body weight is used to push cut through the vertibrae which is why the angle is greater to make this part of the blade more robust .
So this is why for me it has been a way to learn which way these knives should be sharpened.; plus I guess I am a knife nut!
Thanks Eamon! I’ll try to post some pics next weekend.