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revdrkevind posted:With guns you have your rifle, that's fine. But you could also get a shotgun. And your cousin knows a guy who can get an AR-15 for cheap, so that's a must. And you've always wanted to try a bolt-action sniper so you get a WWII piece. And ooh, a guy knows a guy that can get an AK that's modded to be legal. But you couldn't get an AK, that would just be... dirty... yeah I've been wanting a sig 229 for a while now, I'm worried I'm just going to go off the deep end...
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# ? Jan 7, 2014 06:54 |
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# ? May 15, 2024 04:19 |
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revdrkevind posted:Having said all that, is it really worth it to recommend stepping up in paring knives? I got the Victorinox parer in a combo pack, and I like it even more than the chef's knife. Admittedly all I tend to pull it out for is rough chopping garlic or... paring potatoes or whatever, but it's become my best buddy. Maybe that's just my inner redneck being so excited that a cheap knife does a decent job. The handle is small for my bear-mitts, but I find it's a good shape to wedge in my fingers and go to town, never had an issue. Seems like the perfect compliment to a good starter knife. No Wave fucked around with this message at 03:25 on Jan 8, 2014 |
# ? Jan 7, 2014 13:06 |
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No Wave posted:The whole high-end paring knife thing is something fairly unique to this thread. "Ah". How my cheap paring knife makes me feel:
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# ? Jan 7, 2014 18:19 |
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mindphlux posted:I've been wanting a sig 229 for a while now, I'm worried I'm just going to go off the deep end... GrAviTy84 posted:yanagi's arent like AK's. AKs are like...idk, maybe a wa deba. I was making a more general point and not trying to compare yanagi/ak. But how about : .22 rifle : Victorinox :: AK-47 : Chinese cleaver
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# ? Jan 7, 2014 18:19 |
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Got another knife. Goko Hammered Damascus 240mm
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# ? Jan 8, 2014 00:02 |
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Chef De Cuisinart posted:Got another knife. Goko Hammered Damascus 240mm
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# ? Jan 8, 2014 04:31 |
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Chef De Cuisinart posted:Got another knife. Goko Hammered Damascus 240mm Good lord that is one sexy piece of steel.
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# ? Jan 8, 2014 05:09 |
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Best part, it was only $100, because of some scratches in the hammered area, they look like they belong anyways.
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# ? Jan 8, 2014 12:26 |
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Hi people who actually know things. I've been cooking some for awhile and I've always had really lovely knives. I recently got to use an 8" Shun Chef's Knife a buddy had and I decided I really like it and would love one. There seems to be a group of people who insist that while they are decent knives, they are overpriced. I really like the way it feels in my hand though, and I'm willing to drop the cash on one. My concern is taking care of it. I've always had 15 dollar walmart chef's knives and never really bothered about keeping them in super great condition, but if I'm dropping cash on something like a $100+ knife, I'd want to be able to maintain it. Besides the obvious (hand wash, don't let it sit in water, etc.), what should I be looking to do with it? Which sharpening steel should I buy? How do I not destroy this knife? Finally, is there a different knife I should consider? I really enjoy the Shun, but I'm willing to listen to what others have to say.
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# ? Jan 8, 2014 23:58 |
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Canine Blues Arooo posted:Hi people who actually know things. tojiro dp is the standard entrylevel knife for those wanting to come to the land of Japanese Knives. It is stainless, made of the same material that Shun uses for their cores which comprise the cutting edge (damascus is entirely for looks and serves no functional purpose). http://www.chefknivestogo.com/todpchkn24.html If you're willing to be spergier, get a Tojiro ITK. They use Shirogami, a high carbon steel that can take a more aggressive edge than VG family steels (what the shun and DP are). The tradeoff is it is more brittle. Also has a Japanese style handle which some greatly prefer but others hate. I personally love Japanese handles. http://www.chefknivestogo.com/toshitk24wa.html Both of these are less than 100bux and will perform the same or better than a shun. If you absolutely must have damascus, check out the JCK gekko line. I have a JCK Gekko Gyuto and it was my first grownup knife. It is a fantastic knife. They are made OEM for a few companies like JCK and Togiharu etc. gekko gyuto by gtrwndr87, on Flickr you can go quite a bit higher. above these, you're probably getting into Moritaka range but I wouldn't get a Moritaka as a firstknife. you'll want a waterstone or a few waterstones depending on how spergy you want to be. A 1200 k grit stone is a perfectly fine stone for touching up edges and mild reedging. You do not want a steel for japanese knives. If you absolutely must have a rod of some sort, get a ceramic honing rod. GrAviTy84 fucked around with this message at 00:13 on Jan 9, 2014 |
# ? Jan 9, 2014 00:11 |
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GrAviTy84 posted:You do not want a steel for japanese knives. Not entirely true. I have a Shun steel that does just fine on my Tojiros, the Goko, my cleaver. All knives from 58 to 64 HRC. But to the poster, just get a Tojiro. If you want a prettyknife, get one of the Gekkos or a Miyabi.
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# ? Jan 9, 2014 00:56 |
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If you really do want Shun knives, they seem to go up on Woot or one of its satellite pages pretty often. I've been tempted a few times.
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# ? Jan 9, 2014 01:59 |
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Hey, thanks all -- I'll check out the Tojiro knives. There seem to be a lot of good resources on how to use a waterstone as well, so that seems to be covered. Is there any kind of material I should seek out for a cutting board or avoid?
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# ? Jan 9, 2014 02:19 |
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No glass, no acrylic, no stone. Just plastic or wood.
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# ? Jan 9, 2014 02:23 |
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Bamboo will make your knife go dull faster but is an ok choice. Get something to use for now and save up for a nice large end grain wood board. It will change your life and make cooking so much more enjoyable. edit: if you get wood don't buy those expensive little bottles that say cutting board oil. It is just mineral oil, and sold at any pharmacy for about a dollar pint. It is usually labeled as a "Lubricant/Laxative", When I had my wife buy two bottles of it for me she ran into her mother at the store. True story. copen fucked around with this message at 02:31 on Jan 9, 2014 |
# ? Jan 9, 2014 02:28 |
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Steve Yun posted:No glass, no acrylic, no stone. Just plastic or wood. sanituff! fake edit: in b4 Chef de Cuisinart recs the San Jamar he always recs
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# ? Jan 9, 2014 02:50 |
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Isn't a carbon steel too much for the "first serious business knife", though? I am saving up for an eventual Tojiro and (for me at least) that level of performance with stainless steel is a good trade-off given the acidic environment of the kitchen and whatnot. That said, I have seen a video of a guy preparing stuff with a Moritaka and I was like
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# ? Jan 9, 2014 03:00 |
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Transmetropolitan posted:Isn't a carbon steel too much for the "first serious business knife", though? I am saving up for an eventual Tojiro and (for me at least) that level of performance with stainless steel is a good trade-off given the acidic environment of the kitchen and whatnot. Taking care of Carbon steel is simply a matter of making sure it is clean and dry after you use it, which you should already be doing. The finish will get dull and ugly but that makes for a nice look, IMHO. You can get each knife for ~100 so the decision is basically: do you like shiny things or dull things? As a first big boy knife they will each cut just as well as the other out of the box. The difference comes in when you are good at sharpening and will be able to tell the difference between the steels and their hardness (edge retention). Just buy whatever you think looks the best (of the list of aforementioned 'good' Japanese knives) for however much you are comfortable paying.
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# ? Jan 9, 2014 03:51 |
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Seeing that the Shun 8 inch chef knife will run you all of $120 these days on amazon, one can hardly call it overpriced for a stainless clad VG-10 knife. If you like the Shun, buy the Shun. It is a well made knife.
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# ? Jan 9, 2014 04:50 |
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Eccles posted:Seeing that the Shun 8 inch chef knife will run you all of $120 these days on amazon, one can hardly call it overpriced for a stainless clad VG-10 knife. If you like the Shun, buy the Shun. It is a well made knife. 8 inch is soooo small tho
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# ? Jan 9, 2014 04:51 |
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I got this set at a Tuesday Mornings for 20 bux. It is VG-10 clad, they are made in china and poorly ground. It took me many hours on a waterstone to fix the edge but they are pretty good knives. I would like some fancy Japanese piece and will get one eventually, but these work just as well. Also 8" is too small that's what she said. if i get probated, it was worth it. copen fucked around with this message at 05:00 on Jan 9, 2014 |
# ? Jan 9, 2014 04:55 |
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GrAviTy84 posted:8 inch is soooo small tho It would probably be very uncomfortable to jump from a ~6" knife (which, in my experience, is the normal length of knives that people have) to a ~10" knife for someone who is just buying a new 'nice' knife. 8" is a great place to start if you are testing the waters and would like to get into the knife game a bit more seriously. I stepped up from a cheapo 6" knife and bought a Shun 8" a few years ago. It took me a while to get used to the extra 2" and I don't regret not buying a larger knife at all (except when I was breaking down a butternut squash).
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# ? Jan 9, 2014 05:23 |
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GrAviTy84 posted:fake edit: in b4 Chef de Cuisinart recs the San Jamar he always recs Carlisle cutting boards are also fantastic, but good luck finding singles. Amazon has a 3 pack of 18x24 for $120. Chef De Cuisinart fucked around with this message at 06:22 on Jan 9, 2014 |
# ? Jan 9, 2014 06:06 |
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TATPants posted:Taking care of Carbon steel is simply a matter of making sure it is clean and dry after you use it, which you should already be doing. The finish will get dull and ugly but that makes for a nice look, IMHO. You can get each knife for ~100 so the decision is basically: do you like shiny things or dull things? As a first big boy knife they will each cut just as well as the other out of the box. The difference comes in when you are good at sharpening and will be able to tell the difference between the steels and their hardness (edge retention). Wait I just wash my knife and then let it air dry on the drying rack. Why do I need to explicitly dry my DP? (Yeah I know you were talking about carbon knives at first but then you said it's what everyone should be doing.)
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# ? Jan 9, 2014 06:57 |
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carbon steel will rust in 20 minutes or less.
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# ? Jan 9, 2014 07:03 |
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If you get aogami before its gotten a nice patina and chop a whole onion it will leave rust marks on your onions by the time you get to the 2nd half of the onion. Protip, if you get a carbon steel knife, buy a bag of onions and just mince them all before doing anything else. Lol
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# ? Jan 9, 2014 07:07 |
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Boris Galerkin posted:Wait I just wash my knife and then let it air dry on the drying rack. Why do I need to explicitly dry my DP? (Yeah I know you were talking about carbon knives at first but then you said it's what everyone should be doing.) To keep your knife as sharp as possible, you should minimize its time outside of a location where it could be damaged. So, after using it, you should clean it, dry it with a towel, and put it back in its home, whether it be a knife block, magnetic bar, or whatever. You can let your stainless knife air dry, but are you sure something stupid/accidental won't happen to it? So no, you don't need to dry it off, but it is a ten second step that definitely cannot hurt.
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# ? Jan 9, 2014 07:29 |
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So I've just finished reading through the thread and I'm probably about to get a 240mm Tojiro DP. I also need to pick up a ceramic honing steel for it, but I haven't seen anything about what sort of minimum specifications it needs to have. Am I going to be fine just picking up a random ~$20 one on Amazon as long as it says it's ceramic? I'm not super obsessive about this sort of stuff (at least not yet) I just don't want to buy a lovely one and gently caress up a new knife straight out of the package.
electricmonk500 fucked around with this message at 12:58 on Jan 9, 2014 |
# ? Jan 9, 2014 12:53 |
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GrAviTy84 posted:If you get aogami before its gotten a nice patina and chop a whole onion it will leave rust marks on your onions by the time you get to the 2nd half of the onion. So, if I supposedly get a blade made of aogami super, it is a good idea to "season" it, then?
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# ? Jan 9, 2014 16:09 |
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electricmonk500 posted:So I've just finished reading through the thread and I'm probably about to get a 240mm Tojiro DP. I also need to pick up a ceramic honing steel for it, but I haven't seen anything about what sort of minimum specifications it needs to have. Am I going to be fine just picking up a random ~$20 one on Amazon as long as it says it's ceramic? I'm not super obsessive about this sort of stuff (at least not yet) I just don't want to buy a lovely one and gently caress up a new knife straight out of the package. Idahone ceramic 12" is $30 and constantly recommended. Just got one for Christmas and I like it a lot better than the Ikea ceramic rod I was using before.
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# ? Jan 9, 2014 19:12 |
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Transmetropolitan posted:So, if I supposedly get a blade made of aogami super, it is a good idea to "season" it, then? It will season itself, I think people baby their carbon steel too much personally. Like I said, just get a bag of onions and dice em all. Knife will be just right by the time you're done.
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# ? Jan 9, 2014 20:56 |
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What angle does a generic carbon Chinese cleaver want to be sharpened to?
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# ? Jan 9, 2014 22:51 |
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bunnielab posted:What angle does a generic carbon Chinese cleaver want to be sharpened to? Steep, like 15 degrees each side. Maybe less carbon steel should be around 60 Rockwell. Gravity probably knows best and you should wait maybe.
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# ? Jan 9, 2014 23:00 |
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bunnielab posted:What angle does a generic carbon Chinese cleaver want to be sharpened to? How thick is it? I have a pretty big one that tapers from about 5mm near the handle to about 2mm at the tip, I just convexed the bitch on a belt sander and I can mince onions and everything with it no problem. I highly doubt that a generic carbon cleaver is going to be pushing 60 rockwell, that's mostly going to be the high end Japanese stuff.
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# ? Jan 9, 2014 23:21 |
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Stalizard posted:How thick is it? I have a pretty big one that tapers from about 5mm near the handle to about 2mm at the tip, I just convexed the bitch on a belt sander and I can mince onions and everything with it no problem. It is .08" at the spine.
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# ? Jan 10, 2014 02:18 |
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I went and got a nagura stone and diamond sharpening stone to get my water stone back in good shape. I am pretty happy with the results. Don't mind my face at the end, I had needed proof it was me for a friend. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0rn_G4OrKg Now I just need to learn to cut straight.
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# ? Jan 10, 2014 03:06 |
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bunnielab posted:It is .08" at the spine. Oh drat, start that bitch at 15 degrees a side and take it down until you either lose a fingernail or orgasm
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# ? Jan 10, 2014 04:30 |
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copen posted:I went and got a nagura stone and diamond sharpening stone to get my water stone back in good shape. I am pretty happy with the results. Don't mind my face at the end, I had needed proof it was me for a friend. that poor tomato
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# ? Jan 10, 2014 08:17 |
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Finally got a Sharpmaker. ^This is what the instructional DVD looks like. Since I had watched some YouTube videos beforehand I went ahead and did all 4 steps on a knife (plus the 30-degree to whittle away the shoulders as it's a fat knife). Watching the DVD, apparently step 2 is sufficient to shave off your arm hair. There are two steps available, past shaving hair. Fillet of paper, anyone? So it wasn't until today that I realized how cheap my cutting board is. Guess that's my next purchase.
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# ? Jan 10, 2014 22:56 |
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# ? May 15, 2024 04:19 |
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revdrkevind posted:Finally got a Sharpmaker. Cheap isn't always bad:
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# ? Jan 10, 2014 23:48 |