Want a new chef knife.. But on a budget

To start off I am no chef and don't work in a kitchen. But I like to cook, and having a nice chef knife is something I really want. I really don't want to be sharpening it much. But I'm capable of sharpening them well, just don't want to do this all the time. It seems like having a harder steel on the Rockwell scale would be a better choice probably some for of VG steel probably Vg10. Which narrows my choices to japanese for the most part. So with all that being said what knives do you recommend. Eventually I want a full set of whatever I get. But I'm just starting with a chef knife for now. And I don't know if I want to spend more than $200 for each knife. But I'm slightly flexible there for the right knife.

Any help would be greatly appreciated

 

Tojiro makes some good knives that would fit well within your budget :cool1

 

+1. I have a Torjiro from the DP line. VG10 at the core, easy to sharpen and seems to hold the edge very well. I am a home cook and find a great value in the Tojiro line. And in you'd be well below your price point.

 

The good news is that there loads of choices available through reputable dealers here. The bad news is there are so many choices, it's tough to decide and just buy one. I've handled 20 or more different makers in the last year, and with maybe one exception , they were all fine knives. One dud. If you stick with good guys , you'll get a good knife. Some questions to ponder: what size, carbon or stainless, what kind of cooking you do, your knife techniques. Even hard steel will need to be sharpened. Few thing more frustrating than a fine knife with a dull edge. Guyswith more experience than me here can make fine recommendations once you determine how the knife will be used. You will likely not want a full set of anything. More likely , just a couple different types best suited for the tasks .

 

Gesshin gonbei/uraku, Tanaka vg10 damascus, JCK carbonext, and Itinomonn stainless are other good options

 

Sorry I forgot to add I'm left handed. I know with some of the japanese style knives that makes a difference. Thank you for the help so far

 

This definitely isn't a deciding factor but I also have a friend that can get me 30% off at bed bath and beyond and I know they carry some pretty decent knives

 

It's a bit over $200, but the Gesshin Kagero (http://www.japaneseknifeimports.com/gesshin/gesshin-kagero.html) has incredible edge retention.

 

Does it matter whether its japanese handle or western??
Awesome prices for the Hiromoto AS on JCK.com.
Not mentioned all to often the Hattori is a looker and really feels good in hand.

However, how many knives are enough for you? If your philosophy is a cooks knife, a petty and a peeler/parer - than I would say stretch your budget and have a few but pieces, instead of diluting your water.

 

What do you plan to sharpen them on?

 

I have a lansky style sharpener that I've gotten pretty good with and a leather strop. But after trying to sharpen my current chef knife that may not be the answer, it doesn't work well with longer knives. May need to invest in something different

 

Some other guys should offer good advice here . I would suggest at the very least a good combo stone . Several vendors in this forum carry reasonably priced ones. At some point, you'll need a coarser stone for thinning your knives.

 

I have a Tanaka 190 mm Guyto in VG10 Damascus, very thin and awesome value. They make it in Japanese and western handles.

 

VG is ok but you can do better at that price range. What about the Tojiro F-521 (similar to the DP western but R2 instead of VG-10) or the Tanaka Blue2 damascus? That one gets evil sharp.

 

Jusclaires, any update?

 

I see that this thread was a bit inactive lately, but if you are still interested, I could recomend you to take a quick look at http://chefkniveslist.com/. (I hope I am not spamming or causing any problems, but if there is any problem I will remove the link Asap) . I recently bought a knife recomended by them and for now it does the job and I am pleased with it. I hope this helps.

 

Not trying to be rude but 99.9% of the people on this site is well past finding anything useful on that site.

 

Why is that?

 

There was some basic information that was good (try knives to see what fits) and some not so good (you do NOT want to use a honing steel on many knives.) The information might be helpful for someone whose primary exposure to kitchen knives has been mass market knives. That is not to say that there aren't some good production knives (the Zwilling Kramer series comes to mind) but folks on this forum are more likely to be able to name the person or family who makes their knives, as well as knowing the exact steel from which it was made, the hardness of that steel, the color of the shirt the maker was wearing* on the day it was forged and other information that most normal people just don't care about.

It's the difference between someone who only cares that their car starts when they turn the key and stops when they step on the brakes, and an enthusiast who will do aftermarket modifications to make their car perform optimally.

*probably plaid flannel for several of my knives

 

What Lucretia said!!! PLUS ONE! uch