Inexpensive (or maybe just really good value) Knives

You already know what I'm going to say.:


The Forschner/Victorinox are very good low priced entry level knives, and Dexter can be found everywhere. Not everyone is looking for or can afford a high end blade, but that doesn't they can't join into the fun.

 

Dojo and tosca knives are excellent values IMO

 

Every commercial kitchen in the US has either Vickies or Dexters. I have seen guys to things with those knives you would never think possible.

 

I have a KAI Nakiri. I think I did get Ebay a couple years ago for I think $35. Mine has a solid black plastic handle with a stainless band. Appears to be full tang. They call it Wasabi. I got it to see if the shape was something I like. If so I thought I would get a good one someday. Turns out I like it quite a lot. It is the knife I go to most often. I love the knife. Made in Japan, stainless steel but it does hold an edge. I have not gotten around to upgrading. I did find the spine where it meets the handle to be severely squared off so I filed it round.

 

Good info, yay!

 

same KAI as the razor blade guys ?

 

Kai owns shun and Kershaw. So yes.

 

I got some of the cheaper stuff from Hidatool a while back, a 210mm Bunka for $35 (back then price, $42 now IIRC) and just ordered the 210mm Funayuki and double bevel sashimi knife in 210mm as well for like $42 each. The bunka took a very very sharp edge and performed OK, but I reground the whole thing as practice and made it into a longer Santoku! J-cutlery.com has some inexpensive blades, but I don't know how the quality is. I picked up a 240mm Mioroshi Deba in carbon for $95 from there a while back and a Tojiro DP non bolster Santoku for like $45 with VG-10 core.

 

The tojiro dp is my favorite stainless knife under $100. CCK cleavers offer good value too.

 

Holds an edge fine, decent quality, and I don't worry about losing it.

 

Ikea's knives are great value. Handles are way better than Victorinox/Forschner and they're priced about the same

 

Zhen VG-10, $50 for an 8" gyuto,
Sugimoto CM 210mm wa-gyuto, $70.

Kiwi 8" chefs knife, carbon - < $10 is probably the best value knife out there.

 

Yaxell Zen series VG-10 (own some myself) and Zakuri (heard good things about them).

 

Fujiwara FKH (carbon) and Misono 440 (stainless) are my go to recommendations for entry level good value knives.

 

Just used a Goku 240 Damascus. Other than having a super light handle that I would recommend replacing it did the job. Not sure if I would recommend it over a Tojiro or not.

 

Victorinox, inexpensive and nearly indestructable.

 

I have a KAI Wasabi yanagiba and deba in stainless, like $30 or $40 when I got them a few years ago when I got my nice shiny carbon Deba all rusty from being on the fishing boat. They work decently well, handles are way too small, but they actually have the slightly hollow back to them, too and can take a wicked edge, edge retention isn't all that great on them though.

 

Ding! We have a winner.

Anyone who has a Tojiro DP as their primary knife has nothing to cry about, but where they really shine is in their lesser used styles. If you want to try out an "oddball"* knife style-- garasuki, yo-deba, honesuki, wa-gyuto, nakiri-- you can do it for a song.

A great knife is made by the user as much as by the manufacturer. Tojiro gives you a good hunk o steel that will improve with age and repeated sharpenings.

 

Not wanting to repeat a post I made elsewhere, I think Zakuri deserves a mention. I put some work into cleaning up the smaller funayuki, and I think it is pretty awesome.

 

How much work do you feel like doing?

From curiosity I bought an Old Hickory butchers knife off ebay cheap. The edge and the grind were terrible, the handle uncomfortable, but the steel seems OK. I spent a long time with it as a project, and now it is quite serviceable. And it was cheap enough that I can leave it in the kitchen, just in case my housemates decide to do something dumb with it. My good knives... They stay hidden.