Even budget knives benefit a lot from being sharp. A Spyderco Sharpmaker will last a lifetime and is enough for most home cooks. The rolling sharpeners are okay for plenty of people, too, particularly if you’re not worried about scratching up the blade’s face.
I would rather use a sharp IKEA knife than a dull expensive knife.
Artisanal Japanese kitchen knives are all up, for obvious reasons, but the Yuki skyrocketed. It was popular because it was affordable, stainless clad white #2 with an okay handle. I think that popularity juiced up the price, which sadly defeats the purpose.
That bunka is a fantastic knife for under $100. I paid $150 for my Yuki gyuto, which was a legitimately good deal even at the time.
The Yuki line really is solid, I like my 240mm Yuki gyuto a lot. Nice grind, some interesting concavity, super thin behind the edge. Really good cutter. I think mine’s closer to 60HRC, retention is only okay but it sharpens insanely easily, just loves any degree of polish you throw at it.
I had one of the sujihikis for a while, too, decent knife but I didn’t like it as much.
Several years ago I wanted a Yuki long petty, say 200mm on the edge. Now it would be more than I’d want to pay.
To my surprise I use a santoku a lot these days. For most things it’s just as functional but it’s more convenient when prepping in a small space.
My debatably “best” knife is a Shigefusa santoku, I think it’s 170mm or so. I have a Wakui 180mm gyuto I really like, too. I only have one or two 8”ish knives, I like to either have a big knife or a small knife.
If I need to break down a lot of something I do of course reach for a a bigger knife. The gyuto here is a Shibata take on the Masamoto KS, which itself related to the old Sabatiers. The Shibata is 255mm on the edge if I recall correctly, so just at 10”. I think newer versions of the knife are a bit shorter?
The slicer is 270mm, mostly for roasts and fish breakdown. Has to be at least that long. My best slicer is 300mm, but it’s a little expensive to just have floating around.
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According to its papers, it was finished December 23rd, 2015. I would have bought it a few months after that. I think the retail price was around $180 at the time.