Another newbie looking for the right knife/knives

Good evening folks. I'm looking to upgrade my kitchen knife game and have come here for help. I've poked around and done some research and have come to the conclusion that this is a very deep rabbit hole (at least as deep as shaving gear, fountain pens, etc.). I've been looking around and am very intrigued with the Tojiro DP line. I'm specifically considering a 240mm gyuto, a 150mm utility, a 90mm petty and a 270mm bread knife (because apparently, according to my wife, we absolutely need a bread knife. She also says we need a cheese knife, but whatever...). I'm a home cook who doesn't stray too far from the standard meat and fruit/veg. I guess my question is, what else do I need (nothing is a perfectly acceptable answer as far as I'm concerned). Thanks everyone in advance for your help/insight/guidance/etc.

 

And now I've found the Richmond Artifex series...

 

A price range might help for each of the type of knives you have listed.

 

Hmmmm, price range. Let's call it under $100 for each type except for the gyuto. I'm a bit more flexible on that one, although I'd like to keep it under $150 or so.

 

I totally support your idea of buying Tojiro DP-s as i have started my journey into the japanese knives with them as well. (Got 4 DP-s, a few ITK-s and still use them.)
There are a lot of people nagging about them, because of the fit & finish, but at this price point you won't get any better.
The blade will be sharper and hold it to a longer time than any knives you've probably used and for me this matters more than a 'blocky handle'.
Anyway all you need is a parer, a gyuto and a bread knife (many swears by the Tojiro ITK 270mm bread knife). And a fine ceramic hone like Mac black or Idahone.
For a home cook this setup should be enough to start with.
In case if a big gyuto is too intimidating for your wife, get a santoku for her.

 

I've owned a few of them, and found them to be quite inferior to the Tojiro DP series. Fit and finish of the handles is sub-par (rivets not flush, and drilled out of alignment with the centerline). They also tend to be poor performers by most standards, as they are poorly ground and need a lot of thinning to be decent cutters.

 

I'd steer clear of the Artifex line. They use very good steel but the grinds are horrendous! Mark does sell a knife called the Kanehide TK and the 240mm Gyuto will eat a Tojiro DP for breakfast and is a steal at $125. Love the Tojiro bread knife if the wife has to have one.

 

I have a gesshin uraku gyuto that I really like, but then again I don't have much experience to compare it with other knives.

 

If you don't mind maintaining carbons, Tanaka blue #2 150mm petty is hard to beat for the price.

 

Truth be told, I'm a little afraid of what my wife or son would do to a carbon blade, especially since neither one of them have ever handled one before. Currently if one of our knives gets thrown in the dishwasher or left in the sink no big deal. I'd hate to have that happen to a nice carbon blade though.

 

Haha...there's your excuse for "beater" nice knives in addition to your "nice" knives...the rabbit hole goes deep.

 

This has definitely piqued my interest.

 

@sgtd just want to mention, the Kanehide is basically the Carbonext that JCK offers and is semi stainless. It is a tiny bit reactive and if you leave it wet for some time, it will show some rust. Also, it will likely require you to jump and learn how to sharpen these knives to get them to their full potential.

If you are leaning towards stainless, Gesshin Stainless, Gonbei Aus-10 or Gesshin Uraku are all worth considering. You should talk to Jon at JKI.