JCK Knives

[steelcity2]

Anyone have them or know about them? Looking at http://japanesechefsknife.com/KAGAYAKIVG-10.html and the prices seem reasonable. Looking to purchase my first really good kitchen knives and think I want to go with a Japanese style. I currently use a couple Calphalon knives but get tired of having to sharpen them all the time so I figured I would look at Japanese knives since they are made of harder steel. Any other recommendations for similar priced brands?

Also is the extra sharpness "ES" something I should look into getting? I fish alot and I regularly sharpen my fillet knives along with my kitchen knives on a 3 sided Smith stone. I have no experience sharpening Japanese style knives.

[heirkb]

Brian,

You should definitely check out kitchenknifeforums.com if you're interested in Japanese knives and learning to sharpen them.

There are TONS of knives out there that are often recommended to newbies. Some that come to mind (that I actually haven't extensively tried/tried at all):

-Suisin Inox Western knives (not the Inox Honyaki line): these I've tried a bit and they're great for someone wanting a cheap, nicely finished knife. The price has gone up, but they're still a good price. They also come with a pretty decent edge out of the box if my paring knife from them is any indication
-Fujiwara FKH or FKM (H is carbon, M is stainless): very cheap decent knives, supposed to be good for the price
-Kagayaki Carbonext from JCK: very well liked but come with a crappy edge, so you'll need to learn to sharpen
-Yoshihiro stainless: I have one and like it a lot, I've been told that it's a tougher steel than most other cheaper knives out there (the Suisin was a better cutting knife, though)
-Kikuichi TKC: supposedly very similar to the Carbonext, but now more expensive
-Ryusen

The list really just goes on. If I were you, I'd go for a Suisin Inox Western from Japaneseknifeimports.com or the Carbonext from JCK

Sharpening is a whole can of worms and I'd really encourage you to check out that forum I mentioned above. There's a ton of info there.

Oh, to answer your question about the ES option...I've heard that it's not really that great.

[ouch]

JCK is one of the best companies you will ever do business with. Their prices are great, and their shipping is superluminal.

[ouch]

Here's another choice for a great beginner's knife that you may never need to replace-
http://www.chefknivestogo.com/todpchkn24.html

[Sullybob]

JCK is one of the best companies you will ever do business with. Their prices are great, and their shipping is superluminal.

+1. I've ordered from JCK's several times and I'm always surprised by how fast I receive my knives.

I have two knives from the JCK line, a Knife Forums 210 mm gyuto and a Basic 240 mm gyuto. Both are excellent knives. I picked up the Basic to use in a commercial kitchen, it is a great knife but it did need some fine tuning for it to really perform. The KF guyto is a wonderful knife, the linen micarta handle is a joy to use.



Ouch's link to a Tojiro gyuto is a really nice gate way knife.

[DaveMartell]

I've sharpened quite a few of these Kagayaki VG-10 knives and even helped my nephew to buy one as a gift for a friend who's a chef and I think they're great for the price.

[petr]

Great company to order from. Ditto on the Tojiro.

I freaking love the Hiromoto Tenmi-Jyuraku Aogami Super Series

They return to freaky sharp very easy. Just a few licks and I'm back in bidness. Love that about them.

[ouch]

Great company to order from. Ditto on the Tojiro.

I freaking love the Hiromoto Tenmi-Jyuraku Aogami Super Series

They return to freaky sharp very easy. Just a few licks and I'm back in bidness. Love that about them.

I pretty much stopped buying knives after I bought a Hiromoto AS gyuto. I'm sure there are better knives, but I don't care.

The Hiro looks great, handles great, and cuts great.

[petr]

I pretty much stopped buying knives after I bought a Hiromoto AS gyuto. I'm sure there are better knives, but I don't care.

The Hiro looks great, handles great, and cuts great.

I seriously regret not getting the shorter gyuto 180mm. Maybe that is too short? I feel like I'm wielding a sword with the 270mm gyoto. Darn nice for big jobs, but not so practical some days. Thinking hard about the 180mm. Did I say how easy it is to keep these razor freaking sharp? I'm an idiot on the water stones with VG-10, but the hiro AS makes me look like a pro. Slap slap slap ... ready.

Oh, less arguments with the Missus over knives left wet or in sink ain't bad either. Peace is good and worth every penny.

[steelcity2]

I ended up getting the Suisin INOX Western 240 gyuto and 150 petty. They were just delivered today so I'll have to test them out.

[petr]

I ended up getting the Suisin INOX Western 240 gyuto and 150 petty. They were just delivered today so I'll have to test them out.

Sweet knives. Let us know what you think of them and how they sharpen up ...

[ouch]

I ended up getting the Suisin INOX Western 240 gyuto and 150 petty. They were just delivered today so I'll have to test them out.

I find some of their handles too small, but Suisin makes excellent knives.

[ouch]

For anyone in the NYC area, Korin is now running its 15% off sale on knives.

[steelcity2]

I find some of their handles too small, but Suisin makes excellent knives.

You are correct. The handle on my petty is too small for my hands. Now searching for a wa handle petty.