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Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Vancouver
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Where your knives at?
If RS has a Food section, I'm going to assume we've got our fair share of food nerds and home cooks as well?
Here are my first forays into kitchen knives.
Global Vegetable Cleaver
Awesome for dealing cutting things like carrots, I really enjoyed the depth of the blade.
I have since sold this.
Global Slicer
The length of the blade was perfect for slicing down slabs of short ribs into grillable slices.
I've sold this as well.
Global 5" Mini Santoku
One of my favorite knives hands down.
I keep it razor sharp and it serves as my big-ass-paring knife.
Wusthof Classic 7" Santoku
My first ever serious blade.
It never got as sharp as my globals, but seemed to hold it's edge a fair bit longer, even with minimal honing.
Believe what you like, but the scalloped edges actually work.
Sold this one too.
I have since graduated to an handmade artisan japanese gyuto.
I'm a decent cook and I do a lot of cooking but seriously, maybe cause it's an asian thing but I'm a one knife kind of guy. I've had my cleaver for eons.
- 18cm Japanese 'Usuba' high carbon steel vegetable knife
- 30cm Japanese 'Yanagiba' high carbon steel sushi/sashimi knife. Well, it used to be 30cm. Now it's 22cm from 24 years of use - it was given to me by the owner of the restaurant I used to work at after he'd used it for 12 years.
- 30cm Japanese Masamoto brand 'Ao-ko Layered Steel Hongasumi Yanagi' sushi/sashimi knife. This is a super high carbon (Ao-ko) steel knife. This is my most expensive knife. It cost about $1000. This knife is made with the same type of steel used in Samurai swords and made using the same techniques. Many Japanese sword makers switched to making knives after Japanese feudalism ended in 1868. It's extremely hard, but brittle. It will keep its edge for weeks in a busy restaurant environment, but it also takes me over an hour to sharpen properly every time.
- 30cm Japanese Masamoto brand 'Ao-ko Hongasumi Yanagi' sushi/sashimi knife. This one cost $500. This is not as hard as my knife above, so it will not keep its edge as long (about 2 weeks), but is also much easier to sharpen.
*FYI:
Japanese knife makers have always chosen their materials carefully. Traditional sword craftsmen used a form of steel called tamahagane which is only produced in western Japan in a high heat smelter, or tatara. Tamahagane is made of iron dust and pure charcoal. Traditional craftsmen use tamahagane to produce swords that are both sharp and strong, but it is extremely expensive and difficult to forge. It is the ultimate material for sword making.Today’s chef knives are forged with similar methods used by sword craftsmen for generations using shiro-ko ("white steel") and ao-ko ("blue steel").
Shiro-ko and Ao-ko Carbon Steels:
Shiro-ko steel is a highly refined carbon steel that has no added ingredients (though it may contain varying levels of the impurities phosphorus and sulfur). Adding chromium and tungsten to Shiro-ko steel creates Ao-ko steel. With these additional ingredients, an Ao-ko steel blade becomes more durable, easier to temper, and capable of maintaining a longer-lasting edge than a Shiro-ko blade.
Costco has a 10 pcs henkle set for 199 ATM and beside it they have some 8 peice set of another brand for 40 bux. Hell I just have the miracle blade set + the costco knife sharpener and im' set. Dont see any reason to have fancier knives if they are sharp.
I don't have much of a collection since I only use them at work but here we go...
Global Santoku My everything knife!
Global Sashimi
Only use it for making Tuna Tataki.
Global Ceramic Sharpener
Mino Sharp Combination Whetstones 220/1000 and 1000/8000
Where do you work? You need to wipe down your ceramic sharpener with a wet towel. I hope you don't use the sharpener on the sashimi knife!
How are those stones of yours? Are they soft, or hard, and about how much is the 1000/8000 one? I've misplaced my stones after quitting the restaurant business and I need to condition/sharpen/polish my knives, but I don't want to spend $500 on new high quality stones.
__________________
2007 Volvo V50
Taken by ex: 2005 Toyota Prius.
R.I.P. 1997 Lexus ES300.
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How are those stones of yours? Are they soft, or hard, and about how much is the 1000/8000 one? I've misplaced my stones after quitting the restaurant business and I need to condition/sharpen/polish my knives, but I don't want to spend $500 on new high quality stones.
Lee Valleys i think are cheap and their nice quality
Costco has a 10 pcs henkle set for 199 ATM and beside it they have some 8 peice set of another brand for 40 bux. Hell I just have the miracle blade set + the costco knife sharpener and im' set. Dont see any reason to have fancier knives if they are sharp.
those are single man Henckles which the quality is not good at all.
this is a good quality starter set if you dont mind buying online
Do they lose their flatness after only a few sharpenings? I can't stand those cheap stones that go concave after using it a few times.
I am a fairly avid sharpener, and I absolutely recommend going synthetic. I use DMT brand diamond stones -- I've got a full set of Naniwa japanese stones and haven't used them in months -- the diamond stones work so much faster, are perfectly flat, and have a much smoother action when sharpening.
It takes a little while to get used to the diamond stones because they're so much harder than natural, but once you invest in a set you'll never ever need to buy another stone again and you'll cut down your sharpening time by more than half.
I am a fairly avid sharpener, and I absolutely recommend going synthetic. I use DMT brand diamond stones -- I've got a full set of Naniwa japanese stones and haven't used them in months -- the diamond stones work so much faster, are perfectly flat, and have a much smoother action when sharpening.
It takes a little while to get used to the diamond stones because they're so much harder than natural, but once you invest in a set you'll never ever need to buy another stone again and you'll cut down your sharpening time by more than half.
Hmmm.....but is it ok to sharpen the high-carbon steel knives that I have, I wonder... I usually sharpened my knives once a month at the most. Does it polish to a mirror finish? When you say that it stays flat, do you just get the metal particles coming off? ...and does the stone need to be wet?
__________________
2007 Volvo V50
Taken by ex: 2005 Toyota Prius.
R.I.P. 1997 Lexus ES300.
R.I.P. 1989 Acura Legend Coupe LS.
i bought a set of 3 Henckels 5 star while I was in Germany... Had them for about a year now, but I'm sort of afraid to sharpen them. Any good websites and suggestions on where I can start...?
Senna, are there any other expensive hobbies you want to mention?
Hey guys, I'm looking to purchase some knives. Since I'm not much of a 'professional' cook by any means, though I do enjoy cooking, I was thinking I would just need 2-3 knives just to cut meat, veggies and fruit. My question is whether it would be worth considering ceramic knives at all. I've done the research on the internet and it says that ceramic knives are easier to clean (less porous), stays sharp longer but chips rather easily. I was wondering if I could get some insight on whether to still consider ceramic at all. If not, would anyone care to recommend me some decent knives?
You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community you will have access to post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join our community today!
The banners on the left side and below do not show for registered users!
I hope you don't use the sharpener on the sashimi knife!
