Reddit mentions of Yoshihiro VG10 16 Layer Hammered Damascus Gyuto Japanese Chefs Knife (8.25'' (210mm))

• VG-10 16: This is the steel the knife is made out of. Its quite good for a kitchen knife, or so they tell me. I actually haven't used it before.
  
• Layer Hammered Damascus Stainless Steel: This is what VG-10 is. Its made of layers. Those layers are hammered together to make a solid chuck of metal. You can see the pattern in the knife. It looks like wood grain. It appears they also left deep hammer marks around the spine for aesthetic reasons.
  
• Damascus - kind of a misnomer, but that's what we call layered steel like this.
  
• Stainless steel - it won't rust easily (but it will rust if you leave it with salt, water, or acid on it). Clean after use, and you should have no problems.
  
• HRC 60 : Hardness on the Rockwell C scale. Its the standard measure of the hardness of knives. Most production knives clock in between 55-60, but you can get higher. Harder knives (generally) will take a finer edge and will hold it longer than a softer knife.
  
• 1000/6000 stone - Sharpening stones have ratings that tell you how much 'grit' they have per square... inch (maybe cm?). The higher the number, the finer the grit. The finer the grit, the smaller the teeth that will cut into your knife when you sharpen it. With a knife like this, /u/albino-rhino is correct that 1000 grit will be the right stone to keep this knife sharp. A 6000 will put a very fine, very sharp edge on that won't last as long but will be a pleasure to cut with. You can likely find a combination stone with 1000 on one side and 4000 to 6000 on the other side. Youtube will show you how to use it.
  
  Is this it? It looks like a very nice knife at this price point. Based on what I see on the amazon webpage, this knife should last a lifetime with proper maintenance.

Got married in 2015 and we was in the same boat as you... Both of us are from large ethnic families who wanted to give physical gifts (because they're well intentioned and wanted to pay it forward - a lot of them were newly arrived in the US without a lot of money, and sometimes not a lot of family and married pretty young - so gifts they got for their marriage were actually very much needed). Both my partner and I already had functioning apartments (separately), then when we moved in while we were engaged, realized we had about 2 of everything and had to narrow that down. Thankfully, we are pretty minimal people - him by nature, me by intention. But especially after having to sort through both of our belonging to weed out duplicates, we really felt like we did not need anything else.

We ended up taking a two pronged appraoch: 1) Upgrading things we had, and used, but that were not all that nice to begin with and 2) Items that would help us achieve the goals that we had laid out for our relationship as a married couple.

A few things we asked for that have seen a lot of use:

1. Vitamix - I thought this was going to be a huge waste of money, but my partner really wanted it and my aunt really wanted to give it to us (because she loves hers). This thing has gotten used daily (and sometimes multiple times a day). We have been low-carb-ish for the last two years and the Vitamix has been awesome for this kind of cooking. Can't say enough great things about it and I have no doubt this thing is going to last decades.
   
   
2. Really great Japanese knives - my cousin is a chef recommended this pearing knife and this 8.5" knife. Not only are they super easy to handle (as opposed to German Wostoff knives - a commonly requested wedding gift, which IMHO are way too large to efficently or precisely manuver), but they are gorgeous knives that are nicely balanced and really feel great in your hand. We replaced an entire block of cheap-o knives with these two knives alone.
   
   
3. Religious & ethnic items for holidays - There are a few holidays we celebrate where specific items are part of the tradition. For example, for Christmas, our families always have nativity sets, so we registered for that. For Easter, there are special cultural items that are used - and someone made us that. You can ask your ethnic families to get you these things (which were actually some of the most touching gifts because they were either made by hand or purchased overseas).
   
   
4. Plates, silverware, glasses and servingware to host 40 people - This is NOT "minimalist" for pretty much anyone, but it made sense for us. We both have large families. The elders of the families have been strongly hinting at having us take over the "big holidays" that they have been hosting. Additionally, we live in a neighborhood that is the spot for 4th of July parties, and we host an annual blowout day-before-Thanksgiving party. When we were making our registry, we made a list of everyone who would be on the invite for these parties and were hitting the 35-40 person range. So we have 40 place settings - we keep 32 of them in a separate set of cabinets in the basement, and 5-6 times a year, bring them out so that everyone can eat together using real plates and silverware. It's not minimalist, but it's intentional in that we specifically have choosen to stay in the same city as our families so we can do these types of things.
   
   I guess my overall advice would be to make a list of goals you want to achieve for your life together, and then try to ask for items that either help you achieve those goals, or enhance those experiences.
   
   A few examples:
   
   

• If a goal for your married life together is to be environmentally sustainable, think about registering for a compost bin, a fancy SimpleHuman garbage/recyling can or a Berkey Water Filter
  
  
• If you want to pursue a healthy lifestyle together and cook homemade meals - you can upgrade your pots and pans (love my All Clad pots and my Le Creuset pan).
  
  Does anyone NEED this stuff? No, of course not. But when you're lucky enough to already have all your basic needs met in life, wedding registries provide are a nice opportunity to upgrade things that were aquired at an earlier time in your time in your life, not for their enduring quality, but rather their low cost/ ease of procurement. Good luck!

Great steak, love the knife! My best guess is a Yoshihiro from the hand pounding and damascus steel. Would love more details.

Edit: Snooped through your comments found out it is the "Yoshihiro 16 layer Damascus Gyuto chef knife". For those interested.

$130 on Amazon?

http://www.amazon.com/Yoshihiro-Cutlery-Hammered-Damascus-8-Inch/dp/B00D6DVTM6

A little over budget and with a western handle, but the Tojiro DP Damascus has some bling.

Or the Yoshihiro VG10.

For a wa handle, maybe this one

Or

this one

Or

this one, for a knife with better steel

Or

Back to western handles, this one for more of a performer.

https://www.amazon.com/Yoshihiro-Hammered-Damascus-Japanese-Mahogany/dp/B00D6DVTM6/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1536105796&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=yoshihiro%2Bgyuto&th=1

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/mivgda21gy.html

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/yavgdawegy21.html

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/yavggy21.html

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/kovgdagy21.html

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/todpda18gy.html

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/mavggy18.html

Some sub-200 things I found. I personally enjoy Yoshihiro's VG-10 and find that their VG-10 pretty consistently well heat treated. You don't get the chippiness issues you often hear about that I think contributes to VG-10's lessened popularity as a knife steel. It's a good steel, IMO. I have experience with Kohetsu as well, and think this model is a good knife. I've used Masutani VG-1 before but not VG-10, and I sadly don't see 210 or 240mm offerings, they just have this 180mm which is too short for me.

The others are just things I've seen recommended but have not experienced.

https://www.amazon.com/Yoshihiro-Hammered-Damascus-Japanese-Mahogany/dp/B00D6DVTM6

https://www.amazon.com/Yoshihiro-Hammered-Damascus-Japanese-Mahogany/dp/B00D6DVTM6/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1465493136&sr=8-4&keywords=japanese+chef+knife

I bought this once for a friend. She still talks about it. You should also buy some sharpening stones if you don't want to pay for it to be sharpened. Be careful though. If you don't practice proper technique, this thing will easily slice your finger off.

Miyabi Kaizen 9.5" is one I've had my eye on.

10 inch Shun kiritsuke, though arguably overpriced for what it is. I have an 8 inch shun that I love, but I got it on considerable sale so it was more in line with its actual value.

Yoshihiro 8 inch, which I know nothing about really, but it just popped up while poking around.

[Another Yoshihiro, 9.5 inches] (http://www.amazon.com/Yoshihiro-Steel-Suminagashi-Damascus-Japanese/dp/B00NI54VNQ/ref=sr_1_36?ie=UTF8&qid=1426449037&sr=8-36&keywords=japanese+chef+knife)

Fourteen layers of VG10 Gold supersteel. Mahogany handle. You can drop a stick of celery onto the edge from a foot above it, and it will slice it in two under its own weight.

Link:

http://www.amazon.com/Yoshihiro-Cutlery-Hammered-Damascus-8-Inch/dp/B00D6DVTM6

The Gyuto OP posted is $130 on Amazon, not $300 as you claim.

To further rebut your argument: Shun knives range widely in price. They definitely do make chef's knives for around $150, which is competitive with other brands like Wusthof and J.A. Henckels. The hand-hammered ones are pricier, but if you stick to the more basic styles they are hardly overpriced.

Finally, Shun knives are not true Damascus steel by even the wildest stretch of imagination. They are pattern-welded, then dipped in an etchant solution to make this layering visible to the naked eye. They also employ what amounts to a San Mai construction in that it is a blade with a hard core (VG-10) and a softer exterior stainless.

I have very limited experience, but I own this:
Yoshihiro VG10

And its gorgeous. It seems similar to the Dalistrong, but it's a little cheaper and uses a more modern steel. I baby mine, though, so I can't speak to its toughness. I have a $30 Svord santoku that I use as my beater. In fact the Yoshihiro hardly ever comes out of the drawer because I love the Svord so much.

Edit: It is -> its

Hi. I was going to pick up a Wusthof Ikon when a buddy of mine told me that the Victorinox Fibrox was gonna be almost as good for 1/4th the price. After doing some more research, I saw a lot of people preaching the superiority of Japanese knives in that price range. Rather than settle for the Fibrox, I decided to keep my original budget but look for a better knife. After reading the wiki, I settled on the Masakage Yuki Gyuto 240mm, which the guide said was $180.

Unfortunately, the Masakage Yuki Gyuto has gone up in price quite considerably since that guide was written. At $260, it's no longer in my budget, and I'm wondering if it's even worth that much (compared to other knives in that range). So I thought I'd post here and look for further input.

1. I'm not experienced in either style, but I like the Japanese aesthetic. I'm definitely more used to Western handles though.
   
2. Any
   
3. D-Shaped or Round preferred
   
4. Either
   
5. 180mm to 240mm max
   
6. All-purpose, entry level (or slightly above entry level) knife. Gyutos seem to fit that bill, much like the Western "Cook's" or "Chef" knife.
   
7. Honing
   
8. $120 - $200
   
   Since reconsidering the Masakage, I've been looking at these options:
   
   Tojiro DP (https://www.amazon.com/Tojiro-DP-Gyutou-8-2-21cm/dp/B000UANWIC)
   
   Gesshin Stainless (https://www.japaneseknifeimports.com/products/gesshin-240mm-stainless-gyuto)
   
   Something by Yoshihiro, I like this Santoku but it doesn't seem as "all-purpose" as a Gyuto (https://www.amazon.com/Yoshihiro-Aogami-Carbon-Kurouchi-Santoku/dp/B006DNK93Q)
   
   Another by Yoshihiro, in my price range (https://www.amazon.com/Yoshihiro-Layer-Hammered-Damascus-Japanese/dp/B00D6DVTM6)
   
   ​
   
   I also have no idea where to start with purchasing a honing rod. Building a computer was actually easier than this, haha.
   
   Thanks! Your input is really appreciated!

I have the same knife. It's a Yoshihiro. I've had it for over a year and highly recommend it. It's my first Japanese chef knife. Here's the link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D6DVTM6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_HbnyzbP20Y683