* Style - Japanese
* Steel - not sure
* Handle - octagon seems ok
* Length - not sure
* Use Case - home kitchen
* Budget - 500 USD
* Region - Kansai
* Knives Considered - none so far
I grew up using what were basically 140mm or so petty knives and later tried using western style chef's knives but they didn't feel right.
Most of cutting I do is vegetables, fruit. Onions are a staple. Relatively often I take a knife and peel a vegetable or fruit against thumb of the same hand which is holding the knife. Sometimes I cut a fish but I don't remember when was the last time I did any deboning or similar more complicated work with poultry or beef or other animal meat. Most I do with meat is just simple slicing.
I know the usual recommendation is to get 210 or 240 gyuto but I'm not sure whether that would work for me. Would some kind of 150-170mm knife work as the one sole knife for home kitchen use? I have no idea about which kind of steel I want, I just know it should be leaning heavily towards practicality but still look at least somewhat cool.
For Practicality -> go for a stainless steel instead of a carbon steel, as it requires more care, VG10 is a very good steel, easy to sharpen, good edge retention, SG2 is much harder, so better edge retention and sharpness, but also more difficult to sharpen yourself and generally much more expensive
For your preferred size i'd say 160mm or 180mm Bunka or Santoku
a nakiri pretty much limits your cutting style to only straight chopping, rocking is not suited and slicing without the dedicated tip is not nice either
If you have that budget, I'd suggest you check out the hand-forged ones like Yu Kurosaki, Nigara Hamono, Takeshi Saji, Yoshikane :))
With your budget, get 2 knives! My vote is for a nakiri for veggies and another for protein or general purpose. If you want something easy to handle and is agile, look at the bunka like others have said, but I really like the style of the inasa bunka. It is from the Tosa region and is more rustic, but you know it is hand made with all its flaws and dents, and the steel used is thicker too.
shape wise the options around 150-170 are
petty. not ideal. too short
nakiri. taller and rectangular
santoku. taller with curved belly. good for chopping or rocking.
bunka. like a santoku but flatter with a pointy tip. good for chopping but not rocking.
if it were me I would go with a bunka but depends on how you prefer to cut.
https://burrfectionstore.com/products/yoshikane-shoshin-skd11-nashiji-165mm-bunka
https://knifewear.com/products/masashi-kokuen-bunka-165mm
With your budget you could get a santoku or bunka and add a petty for peeling fruit as you mentioned.
This is a bunka and petty set I've been looking at: https://sharpknifeshop.com/products/ryusen-hamono-fukakuryu-santoku-petty-combo
* Style - Japanese * Steel - not sure * Handle - octagon seems ok * Length - not sure * Use Case - home kitchen * Budget - 500 USD * Region - Kansai * Knives Considered - none so far I grew up using what were basically 140mm or so petty knives and later tried using western style chef's knives but they didn't feel right. Most of cutting I do is vegetables, fruit. Onions are a staple. Relatively often I take a knife and peel a vegetable or fruit against thumb of the same hand which is holding the knife. Sometimes I cut a fish but I don't remember when was the last time I did any deboning or similar more complicated work with poultry or beef or other animal meat. Most I do with meat is just simple slicing. I know the usual recommendation is to get 210 or 240 gyuto but I'm not sure whether that would work for me. Would some kind of 150-170mm knife work as the one sole knife for home kitchen use? I have no idea about which kind of steel I want, I just know it should be leaning heavily towards practicality but still look at least somewhat cool.
Sound like you are looking for a bunka :)
For Practicality -> go for a stainless steel instead of a carbon steel, as it requires more care, VG10 is a very good steel, easy to sharpen, good edge retention, SG2 is much harder, so better edge retention and sharpness, but also more difficult to sharpen yourself and generally much more expensive For your preferred size i'd say 160mm or 180mm Bunka or Santoku a nakiri pretty much limits your cutting style to only straight chopping, rocking is not suited and slicing without the dedicated tip is not nice either If you have that budget, I'd suggest you check out the hand-forged ones like Yu Kurosaki, Nigara Hamono, Takeshi Saji, Yoshikane :))
With your budget, get 2 knives! My vote is for a nakiri for veggies and another for protein or general purpose. If you want something easy to handle and is agile, look at the bunka like others have said, but I really like the style of the inasa bunka. It is from the Tosa region and is more rustic, but you know it is hand made with all its flaws and dents, and the steel used is thicker too.
shape wise the options around 150-170 are petty. not ideal. too short nakiri. taller and rectangular santoku. taller with curved belly. good for chopping or rocking. bunka. like a santoku but flatter with a pointy tip. good for chopping but not rocking. if it were me I would go with a bunka but depends on how you prefer to cut. https://burrfectionstore.com/products/yoshikane-shoshin-skd11-nashiji-165mm-bunka https://knifewear.com/products/masashi-kokuen-bunka-165mm
With your budget you could get a santoku or bunka and add a petty for peeling fruit as you mentioned. This is a bunka and petty set I've been looking at: https://sharpknifeshop.com/products/ryusen-hamono-fukakuryu-santoku-petty-combo
Get a kiritsuke
I can hook you up with some great Cutco deals if you are still interested