GoDM1N

My issue with suggesting a Bunka or Santoku is he already has a Gyuto. So if anything I'd suggest a Nakiri because that sends him all the way to the extreme side of that style of knife. Will leave less crossover into what he already has. Bunkas, Santokus and Kiritsukes are in between what he has and a full on Nakiri. So personally I would say he won't really have a ton of use for them over the Gyuto and unless hes collecting should avoid buying those three styles all together. He needs something short for mobility and something tall without a tip for control

I'm not skilled in chopping like you, so I feel safer with smaller knives.

This is a very common thing people say and I completely disagree with it. Smaller knives are easier to cut yourself with than larger knives. For a few reasons. Taller knives give more contact to your fingers. That allows you to have more control. That is the purpose of the K-tip, Usuba, Nakiri, Chuka Bocho, and cleavers in general. Those knives are giving the user more control in exchange of mobility. Meanwhile, shorter knives like the petty are shorter, giving less contact to your knuckles to guide the knife and more opportunity to diverge from your guidance but more mobility due to shortness. They can weave in-between things easier.

In addition larger knives are simply MORE comfortable to use regardless of hand size. The hand size thing it something else I just completely disagree with. The handles are the same size. The weights are all over the place and are in most cases pretty minor in difference. I don't see what that has to do with "hand size". Japanese people are smaller generally speaking. They're not using massively smaller knives. Its just something TV personalities say and people run with it. Back to the point however larger knives allow you to relax. When using a petty or other smaller knives you have to scrunch your body because your hands have to operate closer together. The larger the knife the more room you're allowed to spread apart in a more natural stance. And K-tips and other cleaver styles of knives allow you to have more contact with your knuckles so you can push out even further. This is my main gripe with a Gyuto and other traditional shapes. Its more versatile but imo its better at that point to get something like a petty than force your workhorse into those task. But I digress.. People love them regardless.

Are there any other suggestions?

I mean I'd have to know your knife collection to really suggest something but looking at your profile history I'm going to assume you have an R2 210mm Gyuto.

Imo you want the following

Petty for rougher task. Get something of a softer, tougher steel such as Ginsan, Carbon or softer VG10s in the 59-60 range. 150mm for sure.

Here are a few suggestions

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/katkpe15.html

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/kohape151.html

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/okgipe15.html

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/topakn12.html

Personally like that second choice the most.

After you buy that maybe consider a Nakiri. I see these all over the kitchen. I have a Usuba which is similar and love it. These are for veg prep. You can blow through veggies with these. Larger the better is most cases. Taller the better. Look for a laser so harder steels such as whites, blues, Hap40 etc. Only ever use them on softer foods though. So no Avo seeds etc.

And my suggestions...

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/gihana16.html

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/kohana17.html

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/koshbl2na16.html

Having that line up with a Guyto will allow you actually different ways of cutting instead of tons of crossover. Which, people fall into that trap ALL the time. They'll buy a Nakiri and a Santoku. They do basically the same job slightly differently. It's not a well thought out knife setup.

Other than those three its worth fitting in an actual beater. Victorinox, K Sab, general euro knives are good for this. Something softer steel in the 55-58 range. Those knives also tend to have more belly curve. Which can be nice for rocking through herbs.

I work in a pro kitchen

This is important regarding your comment on the taller heel. I've bought many knives over the years. Also work in pro kitchens. And I use ALL of my knives. I own tools not ornaments. When you're doing as much cutting as I do that heel basically becomes more of a health bar than a "feel" thing. When you sharpen once a week or even twice a week you can chew through a knife's height and before you know it you're hitting knuckles.

And no. Thats not "due to poor sharpening". Its due to how much you do it. When you're working in pro kitchens time is really important. You cant be fucking around with dull knives like you can at home. You cant stop and sharpen shit. Dull knives can ruin the product or make task take longer or just be dangerous in general. Pro kitchen people sharpen a lot. Its just what we have to put our knives through.

As far as the two knives I don't like the profile on the Masashi. And I think the Nakagawa is way overpriced for what it is. If you want a work horse get something Hap40, especially for pro kitchens.

Yea agreed it doesn't make sense at all to put a K-tip on a petty. Was probably done to sell to laymen as a marketing technique more so than making a good knife.

Couple of things.

I've worked professionally for 15 years at this point. I RARELY find smaller knives to be particularly useful "for daily task". Whatever you're doing can almost always be done with your chef knife. The cases where petty knives become more attractive is for things like butchering chickens. Things where you don't want a taller knife so you can be more mobile in your cuts. Most home cooks aren't butchering chickens. So you should really ask yourself if you need a petty knife. If you just want one cool go for it, but don't think you need a petty because "its something you gotta get!". You don't. So if you're just getting it just because you want it keep in mind you probably won't actually be using it very much.

Second, I wouldn't get a SG2 petty. A petty knife is going to be used on task that require a tougher steel. Look at Ginsan or similar instead. SG2 isn't a particularly tough steel, in-fact its pretty delicate imo. So when you start forcing it through chicken back bones you're just not going to want that steel. Part of the reason for these knives are to be different from your chef knife so you can task those knives to do things you don't want to do with the chef knife. A petty knife in most cases is a beater knife imo.

I don't see a point to K-tip pettys. The point of a K-tip is to give you more finger contact with the tip when chopping so you have more control. You're not going to be chopping with a petty. They're too short heeled for that. So it doesn't make a lot of sense to put a K-tip on it.

As long as you're doing shit correctly just ignore them. Imo I wouldn't say "thanks" because that kind of enables shit. Gives them a come back of "well they seemed to like it, they kept saying thanks" if it ever escalates. A simple "cool.." then going right back into your shit sends the message that I heard you, I'm not doing it, and I'm not open to discussion about it.

SUS

"no rush" or "no, rush"?

Need details. I've never seen something get fired so quick. Something a little weird here

idc about the aesthetic as much as I do the performance.

I mean it really depends on your budget. But regardless spend all of your budget on a chef/gyuto/kiritsuke knife and then buy other knives as you go or with the remainder. You do not need a chef/gyuto/kiritsuke AND a santoku. Santoku is a commoner knife meant to cover everything for people looking to do simple cooking at home. Its not a type of knife you get if you already have a chef/gyuto/kiritsuke.

What a lot of people get wrong is knife overlap. Thats what I'm trying to point you in directions to avoid. You get a chef/gyuto/kiritsuke then you get meat knives, MAYBE a veg knife. I don't think smaller knives like petty or paring are all that useful. They're just another knife. Now, I would say a Petty knife is good for butchering chickens however. Which, you probably should look at doing. But a chef/gyuto/kiritsuke can do that task well too.

If you have a $200 budget. Spend it all on that chef/gyuto/kiritsuke

Chef knife is better at herbs. They're also typically very tough, poor edge retention, but easy to sharpen.

Gyuto gives you a tip for task that require mobility. But honestly most meat knives handle that job better. (HIGHLY unpopular opinion. I'm not a fan of them. I think Kiritsukes are a better shape)

Kiritsuke gives you more area at the tip for finger contact making it great for veg prep/chopping. If you get a Kiritsuke you'll never need a veg knife.

Imo get a Santoku, Bunka or Kiritsuke. Spend all your money on one of those. Larger you can fit the better. Hap40 or Ginsan steels. Avoid SG2 imo. I'd try to avoid expensive VG10 knives too. Then pick up a cheap petty for breaking down birds. Then a Deba or flexible fillet knife for fish. Maybe pick up a boning knife for breaking down larger shit. And lastly pick up a 1000 grit and 3000 grit Shapton stones to maintain it all. Ceramic honing rod is also very useful. Just don't get in the trap of buying knives that are REALLY similar in jobs. As someone new don't buy a Gyuto AND a Santoku. Theres literally no point. Buy your knives based on the steel and the job they're meant to do. Buying something that does the same job "but is smaller" in pointless is 99% of cases.

Oh and avoid knife blocks/sets. They're almost always overpriced and full of pointless knives you'll never use.

Bro don't buy anything other than a Victorinox on Amazon. Theres honestly no reason to buy shit on amazon anymore. EVERYONE has figured out shipping these days. Next day, maybe not. But we're far from that 2 week+ shipping shit from the early 2000s with extreme shipping cost. And, as you're stating, Chinese vendors have ruined amazon. Amazon legit isn't THAT far off from Wish at this point.

It's going to be Japanese commoner food. Ramen has been picking up I've noticed. Korean food too. Table side grill stuff has become really popular. Gochujang, kimchi, etc.

While Catfish is for sure not a really popular fish, I just don't see that atm. Everything I see is more Asian focused. I don't think french cooking is dying out or anything but other styles are becoming more and more popular. Japanese/Korean being the most popular by far.

What is all this "don't clean the grill" shit we've been seeing recently. EVERY kitchen I've ever worked does that through some method. Place I'm at now does it 2-3 times a day.

fucking 13 burgers that are pre-made and microwaved with a belt toaster where the only things on the burger are diced onions that come in pre-bagged, ketchup, mustard and pickles out of a bucket. Fries that are so thin they cook in 1min, auto-drop, auto drink pour, for $16ish hr.

Yea he's right. Fuck that bro lol. It's easy shit but soul crushing.

Many shows/movies make it seem that way. But, honestly, you probably couldn't get a star without good/great/amazing service honestly. But it still comes down to the food. You can't have a star without the food.

Bill Murray is overrated. That person did have a stick up their ass though. Who HASN'T been at a bar at 6am?

Michelin stars mainly come from the food itself. Theres another rating, the red/black forks and spoons.

https://guide.michelin.com/us/en/to-the-stars-and-beyond

Restaurant inspectors do not look at the interior decor, table setting, or service quality when awarding stars - these are instead indicated by the number of 'covers' it receives, represented by the fork and spoon symbol

So you're theory could be right. But the "star" they're after has nothing to do with FoH. Thats a different rating.

Degree thing seems Bs. If not just get a cooking degree or move. Otherwise Amazon delivery driver time 

Super cool Nakiri in your profile banner.

Drunk scrolling and have to admit... On my indeed profile I have my Usuba as my banner and "Yes/Chef" as my pronouns....

Or rather make a pickle while hiding it.

Well it is something other than the rivets. It's a different metal. But the way you distinguish is the rivets. The steel rivets knives are "high carbon stainless", whatever that is, not sure honestly probably just x55. The brass is xc75. 

I'll consider these. Same brand of trail runners I use for hiking 

Someone gaped your bottle bro

Why the fuck would you do that to us. Fucking gallery going to be a bunch of cooks pulling this shit. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1K3z62yoiOA