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ma i married a tuna
Apr 24, 2005

Numbers add up to nothing
Pillbug

I have something like this, and while it works it has problems. Most notably the notches on the adjusting rod are WAY off: what the manual says is 20 degrees is in fact 38 degrees, leading to a 76-degree inclusive angle on your knife. That's like cutting something with the corner of a building. You need to use a protractor to actually get the angle you want, and you can't do really acute angles like under 17 or so because of the way it's built.

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GrAviTy84
Nov 25, 2004

Having never used one, it seems to me like it would be hard to maintain proper blade curvature with one of those. Might work really well with something like a kiritsuke or CCK cleaver though.

Bob_McBob
Mar 24, 2007
With the Edge Pro and its knock-offs, you sharpen long and large knives in sections like with a regular stone, reorienting it on the guide to maintain the proper angle. There is a long series of videos on Youtube about how to use it. The first one shows a chef's knife being sharpened.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY6DJ0PQxyA

deimos
Nov 30, 2006

Forget it man this bat is whack, it's got poobrain!

porcellus posted:

I have this book. No where does he say this. Softer metals such as copper and tin are used for as a lapidary plate and charged with abrasive powder for the very reason that diamonds will embed themselves onto it.

Then I stand corrected. Going back to the book I am now pretty certain I am mis-remembering the source of the statement, but I can't remember where I read it or if it was a good source to begin with.

Saint Twisty
Mar 12, 2012

Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.
Kitchenaid makes some nice knives. They don't hold an edge that well, but if you have a sharpener and steel they are really nice to have around.

deimos
Nov 30, 2006

Forget it man this bat is whack, it's got poobrain!

mmartinx posted:

If anyone's looking for a good set that comes with 6 steak knives there's a great set on cutleryandmore that's pretty reasonable. It's nice because there aren't really any filler knives that I don't use, I also had a global 7" chef's knife that I picked up at the W&S outlet for like $30 a couple weeks ago that fits into the block as well.

http://www.cutleryandmore.com/global/bamboo-knife-block-set-p121847

Something like that a la carte would probably cost $300 more.

Just took a look at this link (it was Global so I didn't pay much attention to it) and noticed one thing: The drat steak knives are not serrated.

Unless you use paper/plastic dinnerware those knives are gonna need a weekly sharpening, as a general rule you want serrated edges for regular use steak knives (I mean you could get some really fancy non-serrated for your really fancy parties and have your butler sharpen them after every use) but a smooth edge on glass is a recipe for blunt edges.

Begin holy war about serrated vs. smooth edge on a piece of meat you're about to chew in your mouth in 3... 2... 1... :supaburn:

Chef De Cuisinart
Oct 31, 2010

Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.
Paring knives are the proper steak knife, traditional steak knives are inefficient at their designed task and are more expensive.

As for the EdgePro, iirc it can't do lower than 15 degrees, so that cuts out 3 of my knives. I think it's a cool system, but it is way too expensive, and probably doesn't work well with some knife designs. Just get a nice 2-3in wide waterstone and learn how to use it.

No Wave
Sep 18, 2005

HA! HA! NICE! WHAT A TOOL!

Chef De Cuisinart posted:

Paring knives are the proper steak knife, traditional steak knives are inefficient at their designed task and are more expensive.

As for the EdgePro, iirc it can't do lower than 15 degrees, so that cuts out 3 of my knives. I think it's a cool system, but it is way too expensive, and probably doesn't work well with some knife designs. Just get a nice 2-3in wide waterstone and learn how to use it.
I got an oilstone a while back and I just had no idea what the gently caress. There are so many points of failure - are you consistent enough? Is your angle really correct? Is that a burr, or am I imagining things? Is this knife actually sharp? Am I pushing too hard, or not hard enough? I honestly just gave up last time and got a chef's choice because I couldn't deal with it. I know it's very simple once you know these things - there are just so many potential variables that you don't know what to ignore and what to pay attention to that it's very difficult to get an intuitive grasp of the process without having someone teach you.

I completely agree that hand-sharpening is the "best" - it's just really, really helpful to use a more controlled environment first.

bongwizzard
May 19, 2005

Then one day I meet a man,
He came to me and said,
"Hard work good and hard work fine,
but first take care of head"
Grimey Drawer

No Wave posted:

I got an oilstone a while back and I just had no idea what the gently caress. There are so many points of failure - are you consistent enough? Is your angle really correct? Is that a burr, or am I imagining things? Is this knife actually sharp? Am I pushing too hard, or not hard enough? I honestly just gave up last time and got a chef's choice because I couldn't deal with it. I know it's very simple once you know these things - there are just so many potential variables that you don't know what to ignore and what to pay attention to that it's very difficult to get an intuitive grasp of the process without having someone teach you.

I completely agree that hand-sharpening is the "best" - it's just really, really helpful to use a more controlled environment first.

Yeah, I am planning on selling all my other sharpening crap and getting an Edgepro to give me a baseline to work from and then getting some stones and learn to do it by hand. I have gotten pretty good at sharpening my axes and hatchets with a file and puck stone but somehow can't ever get decent results with knives.

you ate my cat
Jul 1, 2007

I have an Edge Pro that I got from my dad when he decided he'd never use it. Honestly, it's pretty solid. I can't seem to keep a consistent angle with a stone to save my life, so that part is nice. Would never have bought one for myself, they're crazy expensive.

I agree that the angle marks are way off though - I basically sharpen everything at red or lower, which the booklet claims is like a 9 degree edge. No way is that true.

bongwizzard
May 19, 2005

Then one day I meet a man,
He came to me and said,
"Hard work good and hard work fine,
but first take care of head"
Grimey Drawer

you ate my cat posted:

they're crazy expensive.

Eh, when you look at what waterstones cost an Edgepro doesn't seem so bad. Hell, I probably have three times the price of an EP in kitchen and pocket knives.

Studebaker Hawk
May 22, 2004

I love my bench crafted mag block http://benchcrafted.com/Magblok.html and would highly recommend them to everyone- looks great and protects ya edge.

Shown (forgive the camera phone pic):
My yoshikane 240mm wa-gyuto, my baby. I got it about 6-7 years ago for $100- astronomical, but apparently a decent investment as they are now double that.
Hand-me-down MAC nakiri and unknown cleaver from my grandfather.
Cheap-rear end bread knife.

Only registered members can see post attachments!

porcellus
Oct 28, 2004
oh wait, wrong chat window
^^^ Benchcrafted is a pretty awesome company.

There are a number of jigs you can buy that will give you a consistent angle sans curve, the ones with clamps allow you to adjust the angle by height of the blade. 1 2 34 5 Basically a binder clip with its handles taken off.

Aligning your blade to a specific angle each time is called registration.

bunnielab posted:

Eh, when you look at what waterstones cost an Edgepro doesn't seem so bad. Hell, I probably have three times the price of an EP in kitchen and pocket knives.
For its pricing spec, any other similarly priced product to the Apex Pro would consist of something like machined aluminum mounting hardware, not plastic (of what basically is a wet stone clamped to a sliding arm through a gimbal or swivel joint mounted on a vertical post). I'm not sure I understand its knife mount, it seems superfluous, a knife mounted on a level surface would achieve the same thing if that arm can pivot. The apex edge pro is similar in design to commercial quality dial indicator stands, laboratory support apparatuses or century stands with gobo heads. For instance,
use a beaker clamp for your stone.
Slide your beaker clamp rod through a swivel clamp
Mounted on this base.] This is just a quick scan of hardware just for perspective though.
.

porcellus fucked around with this message at 04:40 on Jul 6, 2013

breakfall87
Apr 22, 2004
ABunch7587's little bitch
I've worked in kitchens for over a decade now, and the first knives I ever got, a set of Messermeisters I got for Christmas one year, still see daily use. I also have a few excellent Japanese knives, and I can safely say that I greatly prefer them to the Germans. Japanese steel just allows for so much more precision than German steels. As horrible as this sounds, I reserve my Messermeister boning knife (which has been replaced by a MAC Petty and a Tojiro Honesuki) for cutting on metal (pans of cornbread, etc).

As a baker, I really shouldn't have all the knives I do, but I was a chef well before I took the dive into baking.

After my Messermeisters, I upgraded to Shuns, which are fine if you would like to spend too much money on something a Tojiro is equal to, but I didn't know that at the time. From there, I have gotten several different Japanese knives and all have their pros and cons.

The first two were a MAC Petty and a Togiharu Gyuto. From this I learned just how sharp and hard Japanese steel could be. MACs stay sharp loving FOREVER until you think you need to sharpen it and you realize too late that it isn't a 50-50 blade. The Togiharu would take a fierce edge, and even though it has been replaced with a superior blade, I still kinda miss it.





After that I picked picked up a Tojiro Bread Knife, which is the best on the market, period, and a Tojiro Honesuki, which breaks down birds and rabbits like nobody's business. At this time I also picked up a Tojiro Watermelon knife (almost 14 inch nakiri basically) and a Sobakiri because it looked rad. Turns out it is super boss at portioning huge amounts of dough for breadmaking.







Working inside expo at a fine dining restaurant means you need to do a lot of slicing. I needed a knife that would cut like a laser, but I also needed it to not have a super fine point, because I was in close quarters and didn't want to hit the the stainless and use the tip. So I went to Konosuke, and had them make a custom sword-tip takobiki for me. It basically looks like a tiny katana, but it does exactly what I need it to. It's also worth mentioning that Konosukes have the best fit and finish for knives of that price, so if you are looking to get something nice, I'd go for one of those.

When I discovered that my future brother-in-law was vegan, I decided to up my produce game, and scored a Moritaka Nakiri. While the cladding on it will wear off a bit, it holds a screaming sharp edge that will probably make your eyes bleed if you look at it too hard. It gets use constantly, and everyone wants to use it.



The most recent blade and crown jewel on my current collection is a Takeda Sasanoha Gyuto. It requires the most care and is more reactive than any knife I have ever used, but even when it needs sharpening, the blade is so thin that it cuts better than the sharpest German knives. All Takedas are handmade, so if you want a saya for those (you should have one for every knife that has one made for it, or magnetic flap sheathes) you have to get it custom made, which can be up to $70 apiece. I do this for a living, and believe that to be an excellent craftsman, you need excellent tools on top of excellent skills, so I pay top dollar for my equipment.



I have paid over 300 for knives, but after that, it's all diminishing returns, and the kind of custom work where the handle is made from walrus penis bone. Yes, they do make those, and yes, walruses have penis bones. Look it up.

For all my knives, I only have 3 different stones, a 120 grit no-name steel stone that is abrasive as gently caress and is only for serious repair work, like chips, tipping, and putting edges on spoons because you want to be a dick, a 1000 grit Shapton Glass Stone, and a 4000 grit Shapton Glass Stone. The Shaptons are the best poo poo ever. They don't require soaking, you just splash and go, and they cut very quickly (cutting refers to how quickly the put an edge on a knife) compared to anything I've ever used. At 4000 grit, I almost get a mirror shine, and after that it's more diminishing returns. The 120 grit is so abrasive I can use it to flatten my Shaptons, which is great because the Shapton flattener is expensive as gently caress for no reason.

There is such a thing as too sharp, and a lot of people try to take knives there to flex nuts. Yes, you can pour water over your knife and it will split into hydrogen and oxygen, but it lodges itself into the cutting board every time I try to slice an onion, making my job a pain.

I do a lot of the sharpening for my colleagues because I use a more precise method which produces a more refined edge compared to what they can do. Most of them are old school where you swipe the entirety of the blade across the stone, but I work slowly in zones so that I can better finesse the blade, because nobody ever uses the entirety of the blade equally. If yall got more questions and don't think I'm a spergy douche yet, feel free to ask!

breakfall87 fucked around with this message at 05:14 on Jul 6, 2013

GrAviTy84
Nov 25, 2004

Would love to read your method of sharpening. I can put a pretty good edge on but I'm always down to learn ways to up my game.

Chef De Cuisinart
Oct 31, 2010

Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.
You hold the blade perpendicular to the stone and work small sections at a time. It's much easier to keep your angle, and preserve the shape of your knife. My miyabi that I used to sharpen before I actually knew what I was doing is less like a gyuto and more like a honesuki now.

This is what it looked like when I bought it:


This is what it looks like now:


I actually prefer the current shape, but the knife isn't very hard. Despite the fact that it's VG-10 steel, its only about 58-59 RHC. I also probably totally hosed the original edge profile, and thinning the edge on this thing has been a real pain.

Here's my tojiro kiritsuke new out of the box:

Right out of the box, this thing was rough. You can kind of tell in the photo, but the thinning behind the edge was very rough, not even close to being a consistent depth.

Here it is today:

First thing I did was sand down the blade. It was very rough, had noticeable dips as deep as 1/16in. So I smoothed that out, did the same for the edge, and then the next day at work I put a 1/8in chip into the edge by whacking avocado pits without thinking about it. So I fixed that, thinned the edge to make up for the loss of edge, and I'm pretty happy with the knife. At $80, it's an incredibly good value.

Chef De Cuisinart fucked around with this message at 14:57 on Jul 6, 2013

mmartinx
Nov 30, 2004

deimos posted:

Just took a look at this link (it was Global so I didn't pay much attention to it) and noticed one thing: The drat steak knives are not serrated.

Unless you use paper/plastic dinnerware those knives are gonna need a weekly sharpening, as a general rule you want serrated edges for regular use steak knives (I mean you could get some really fancy non-serrated for your really fancy parties and have your butler sharpen them after every use) but a smooth edge on glass is a recipe for blunt edges.

Begin holy war about serrated vs. smooth edge on a piece of meat you're about to chew in your mouth in 3... 2... 1... :supaburn:

They're serrated. You can even see it in the picture.

quote:

(it was Global so I didn't pay much attention to it)

That's like the no homo of the knife thread, it's ok bro, I still think you're a good cook even though you looked at globals on the internet

mmartinx fucked around with this message at 15:54 on Jul 6, 2013

No Wave
Sep 18, 2005

HA! HA! NICE! WHAT A TOOL!

breakfall87 posted:

awesome poo poo
a.) You are super cool - there is no such thing as too spergy here
b.) I clearly have to consider revising my stance on bread knives
c.) would love a pic of your little katana

What I love about your approach is that you're not trying to do as much work as possible - you only own three stones! So fackin cool. Put in an order for my Shapton 4k today so that I don't have to think about stones ever again (this brings me to 320, 1000, 4000)

deimos posted:

Just took a look at this link (it was Global so I didn't pay much attention to it) and noticed one thing: The drat steak knives are not serrated.

Unless you use paper/plastic dinnerware those knives are gonna need a weekly sharpening, as a general rule you want serrated edges for regular use steak knives (I mean you could get some really fancy non-serrated for your really fancy parties and have your butler sharpen them after every use) but a smooth edge on glass is a recipe for blunt edges.

Begin holy war about serrated vs. smooth edge on a piece of meat you're about to chew in your mouth in 3... 2... 1... :supaburn:
Serrated is definitely the correct choice - terrible to think that I can no longer justify buying the knives that brought me so much joy in Paris, the 9.47. It is a cruel world.

Maybe when I have a house, butler, and dinner parties I will consider the purchase. Until then, will have to get some Laguiole serrated instead.

Chef De Cuisinart posted:

Paring knives are the proper steak knife, traditional steak knives are inefficient at their designed task and are more expensive.
The problem is that paring knives dull against porcelain the same way that any non-serrated knife will.

Realistically, I never serve steak whole anyways - I love the presentation of it cut up on a wooden cutting board. Probably would be nice for chicken breast, though, probably the largest protein I serve intact.

If anyone sees a deal on authentic made-in-france wooden-handled laguiole serrated knives, let me know!

No Wave fucked around with this message at 17:41 on Jul 6, 2013

deimos
Nov 30, 2006

Forget it man this bat is whack, it's got poobrain!

mmartinx posted:

They're serrated. You can even see it in the picture.

I missed the separation on my cellphone, sorry. I was using it as an example of what, in my opinion, is a bad idea regarding steak knives, in this case a bad example because they ARE serrated.

You can pry my Henckels stainless steak knives from my cold dead hands though, love those things, and they look nice to boot, a bit pricey for steak knives but very nice looking.

mmartinx posted:

That's like the no homo of the knife thread, it's ok bro, I still think you're a good cook even though you looked at globals on the internet

No, it's a personal choice thing, I can't stand Global grips, beside the fact that I find them somewhat overpriced for what is essentially VG-10 (but that deal you linked to wasn't too horrible price-wise). And I am a terrible cook and I know it.

deimos fucked around with this message at 01:26 on Jul 7, 2013

breakfall87
Apr 22, 2004
ABunch7587's little bitch

GrAviTy84 posted:

Would love to read your method of sharpening. I can put a pretty good edge on but I'm always down to learn ways to up my game.

Basically what Chef De Cuisinart said. I start at the heel and do a couple of swipes on each side, then I move down maybe an inch or so and do the next section et cetera et cetera. I find it is much easier to maintain the proper angle and pressure on the blade. I've tried the other method, but with larger knives it is difficult to maintain both of these things and for me personally, harder to train that kind of muscle memory. As long as the sections you are working on overlap and you maintain the same pressure, you don't have to worry about your blade getting all wavy or anything.

I'll grab my knives in a bit and get a pic of the wee katana and my sobakiri. If I can find my steak knives, I'll take a picture of them too. They are antiques! $8 for 10 of them and they are super tiny katanas with widdle birds painted on their sheathes.

I'm not a mall ninja, I swear, my profession demanded that I own them!

Edit for pics!













breakfall87 fucked around with this message at 00:41 on Jul 7, 2013

cods
Nov 14, 2005

Oh snap-kins!
Amazing knives, dude. Been waiting for this thread forever, as a cook and kind of a knife nerd .

From left to right, top to bottom. Top row is house knives, a cck cleaver, an Asian market cleaver and a mundial boner. The middle cleaver was actually the first knife I ever bought with my own money like 6 years ago.

I brought home my knife bag today to do some sharpening on my day off/hence the picture. So...

Some yanagi that I bought off eBay for like $80 but is actually pretty awesome had to wait a few months for it but worth it. Then, a 270mm carbon fujiwara. It was the first knife I bought as an intern. Spent the last two years restoring it because I didn't know how to sharpen/take care of it so I screwed up the angles.

Next, a 270mm kanemasa sujihiki, pretty good knife for the money. Next is then a carbon tojiro gyuto. For $60 not bad I had to thin the hell out of the blade because it was really thick when I first got it. it's very reactive though. I let a girl at work use it.

Then the cheap deba from epicedge.com. its a great knife. Wish I got to use it more.
After that is the tosagata nikri which is my best veggie knife, but slightly reactive, so no onions/shallots after sharpening.

Next is a sweet todafusa nashiji santoku from epicedge.com. carbon/ss clad knife. Great line knife for limited space. Nicest fit/finish out of all of my knives. Then there us a fujiwara petty I never use, and my Kuhn rikon paring knife, which I highly recommend for a lovely cheap paring knife.

Somebody fucked around with this message at 11:24 on Jul 8, 2013

GrAviTy84
Nov 25, 2004

For some of the lurkers or European knife users who have never tried a Japanese knife who might think we're just stroking our e-dicks about the edges you can put on these Japanese knives, I just accidentally did this:



Shaved off a single layer of skin from my middle finger while working to remove a nick in the edge of my Damascus clad vg10 gyuto. Happened when I was kind of in a rhythm and just started to auto pilot and my left hand proceeded my right ever so slightly on a push stroke and it didn't take much at all next thing I know there's a super thin flap of skin on my waterstone.

Chef De Cuisinart
Oct 31, 2010

Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.
I had my tojiro kiritsuke so sharp a few weeks ago that while I was using the standard claw grip on like an onion end I think, I managed to shave off some fingernail without even noticing.


...and I totally want even harder knives :chef:

bongwizzard
May 19, 2005

Then one day I meet a man,
He came to me and said,
"Hard work good and hard work fine,
but first take care of head"
Grimey Drawer
I see that and just think "boy, that will be a pain to sharpen when I have drunkenly knocked my knife into something hard".

I have a pile of Globals that I bought years ago during a fit of wealth and silliness but honestly all I really use anymore is the pairing knife and a random chinese cleaver. The cleaver needs sharpening like every 1-2 weeks but it takes like 2m to get it shaving sharp on even a crappy sharpmaker and that means more to my drunk rear end then an insanely hard blade.

Also, going to steal your fingerprints and do some crimes.

GrAviTy84
Nov 25, 2004

Let's talk slicers!

I feel like adding a slicer to my line up. I'm torn. The side of me that wants to brag wants a yanagi, maybe the Tojiro shirogami #2 but the practical side of me thinks I should just get a sujihiki. I kinda do want it to be carbon steel. I would prefer it to be "wa" handled, but I also don't feel like I would use it enough to warrant a crazy price or a custom order. So yeah, I guess here are my options:

http://www.chefknivestogo.com/fujiwara.html
Fujiwara, 270mm sujihiki, SK-4, western handled

http://japan-blades.com/chef-knives/370.html
Honsho-Kanemasa, 270mm sujihiki, SK-4, western. Very similar to the fujiwara in specs, 30bux more, un sure if there is a quality/geometry difference to justify the price difference. I will say that the tip of this one with the angled down spine looks pretty sexy and the blade curve is super flat. 30bux more? shrug.

http://www.chefknivestogo.com/toshya27.html
Tojiro, 270mm Yanagi, Shirogami #2, Japanese handled. Usual single bevel worries apply.



Worth mentioning in case others are interested in slicers:
http://www.chefknivestogo.com/riar27su.html
Richmond Artifex, designed by the owner of chefknivestogo.com. AEB-L steel (stainless). 270mm sujihiki, western handle. I'm not sure I care for a stainless slicer but I am totally open to being convinced. I also am not sure I care for how much of a belly this knife has.

http://www.chefknivestogo.com/fufkmsu27.html
Fujiwara, 270mm suji, moly/vanadium stainless, western. I have a Tadatsuna petty in this steel and it's awesome.

http://www.chefknivestogo.com/todpslkn27.html
Tojiro DP, 270mm suji, VG10.

http://japan-blades.com/recommend/1824.html
Minamoto-Kanemasa, 270mm suji. japan-blades.com design. 2N steel, whatever the hell that is. I might be interested if I knew what "2N Carbon steel" was. Comes in RH/LH edges so I'm assuming it's 70/30 beveled or something, not sure if I want to deal with that, either.

I guess the blade I am envisioning is something like the Honsho Kanemasa in geometry, in shiro or ao, with a "wa" handle, but admittedly, that is into custom order territory. Currently leaning towards the Fujiwara suji which comes in at very affordable 82bux.

GrAviTy84 fucked around with this message at 22:26 on Jul 8, 2013

breakfall87
Apr 22, 2004
ABunch7587's little bitch
The Honsho looks really nice, and appears to be thinner than the Tojiro. I know a couple of people with Richmond blades, and they both seemed pretty disappointed :(


Fujiwaras, Kikiuichis, and Suisins are all nice slicers and from what I hear, Fujiwaras are super easy to sharpen.

I wouldn't recommend something between one-sided and 50-50 bevels. I jacked my MAC up not knowing, and it's not something you want to trial and error with (at least I'm not comfortable with it).

Personally, I would recommend a Konosuke. chefknivestogo.com offers them in several different lengths and steels, and if they don't carry exactly what you want, you can call up and get a custom one done like I did.

http://www.chefknivestogo.com/kowh2st27su.html

http://www.chefknivestogo.com/kowa271.html

Chef De Cuisinart
Oct 31, 2010

Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.
I was going to buy that Fujiwara at one point, but it was out of stock, so I went with the 270mm Tojihiro DP suji. It's a fantastic knife, and useful for more than just slicing meats. I also use it for fruit and fish.

e: If you do go for the Tojiro Suji, thin that edge, it'll get even sharper.

Chef De Cuisinart fucked around with this message at 23:12 on Jul 8, 2013

breakfall87
Apr 22, 2004
ABunch7587's little bitch
I work with two guys who both have the Tojiro Sujis and they love them. I would've gotten one myself if I could've justified having more than one slicer! (Still considering it because I like it a lot)

sexy tiger boobs
Aug 23, 2002

Up shit creek with a turd for a paddle.

Although I'm clearly way below the knowledge level displayed in this thread, I just wanted to recommend Ginsu Chikara knives for beginners. I got this set http://www.amazon.com/Ginsu-7108-Chikara-8-Piece-Stainless/dp/B0016J4230 when it was on sale for like 50 bucks and it was one of the best kitchen purchases I've made.

I'm sure those knives are considered awful by the knife knerds in here but they've done me well over the past couple of years.

No Wave
Sep 18, 2005

HA! HA! NICE! WHAT A TOOL!

breakfall87 posted:

The Honsho looks really nice, and appears to be thinner than the Tojiro. I know a couple of people with Richmond blades, and they both seemed pretty disappointed :(


Fujiwaras, Kikiuichis, and Suisins are all nice slicers and from what I hear, Fujiwaras are super easy to sharpen.

I wouldn't recommend something between one-sided and 50-50 bevels. I jacked my MAC up not knowing, and it's not something you want to trial and error with (at least I'm not comfortable with it).

Personally, I would recommend a Konosuke. chefknivestogo.com offers them in several different lengths and steels, and if they don't carry exactly what you want, you can call up and get a custom one done like I did.

http://www.chefknivestogo.com/kowh2st27su.html

http://www.chefknivestogo.com/kowa271.html
I just bought this one in the HD model last week in 300mm. I am a home cook and I cook lots of large proteins. I expect greatness!



I also realize that the Moritaka was a mistake. The blade's wrong for me - I much prefer French style blades. I'm planning on replacing it so if anyone's interested in a nearly new Moritaka 240mm on deep discount with almost all of the black finish taken off of it, let me know! (Or if anyone knows a good place to sell such a thing...)

BTW, that black finish poo poo was useless. Does nothing to prevent rust. So I took nevr-dull to the whole knife and did three 8-hour coats of mustard. No longer rusting. Planning on doing the same to my CCK cleaver.

GrAviTy84
Nov 25, 2004

No Wave posted:

I just bought this one in the HD model last week in 300mm. I am a home cook and I cook lots of large proteins. I expect greatness!



I also realize that the Moritaka was a mistake. The blade's wrong for me - I much prefer French style blades. I'm planning on replacing it so if anyone's interested in a nearly new Moritaka 240mm on deep discount with almost all of the black finish taken off of it, let me know! (Or if anyone knows a good place to sell such a thing...)

BTW, that black finish poo poo was useless. Does nothing to prevent rust. So I took nevr-dull to the whole knife and did three 8-hour coats of mustard. No longer rusting. Planning on doing the same to my CCK cleaver.

kurouchi finish? It's purely aesthetic, yes. I was interested in taking that moritaka from you until you said that you removed it.. :/ How deep of a discount?

What do you mean by you "prefer french style blades"? Do you mean french style handles? A gyuto is a western style blade. :v:

edit for emphasis, your post seriously breaks my heart to hear you did that to a moritaka and that you're going to do it to your CCK. :negative:

like, I read it 30 min ago and I had to reread it 3 times to make sure I read it correctly. :gonk:

GrAviTy84 fucked around with this message at 01:00 on Jul 9, 2013

No Wave
Sep 18, 2005

HA! HA! NICE! WHAT A TOOL!

GrAviTy84 posted:

kurouchi finish? It's purely aesthetic, yes. I was interested in taking that moritaka from you until you said that you removed it.. :/ How deep of a discount?

What do you mean by you "prefer french style blades"? Do you mean french style handles? A gyuto is a western style blade. :v:

edit for emphasis, your post seriously breaks my heart to hear you did that to a moritaka and that you're going to do it to your CCK. :negative:

like, I read it 30 min ago and I had to reread it 3 times to make sure I read it correctly. :gonk:
It was definitely an accident the first time (with the Moritaka)... My issue is that the nevr-dull is so so so so good at getting the rust out and it takes the finish with it. I honestly see these things as tools (which is why I want to get rid of the Moritaka instead of keeping it for fun).

...bad OP.

GrAviTy84
Nov 25, 2004

if it's the handle that annoys you you should just get a Tojiro DP or similar. It won't be as superspergysharp capable as the Moritaka but it sounds like you were having a hard time with upkeep of carbon anyway.

A few other steels that might interest you and are a bit more midrange like the moritaka (Tojiro is entry level stuff) are Gingami #3 (Hitachi stainless) and the Powdered Tool Steels like ZDP-189. I've never used either of these so I can't say from experience but a lot of people on the internet really like them, lol. They're supposedly carbon steel level hardness with stainless steel care requirements.

Edit: I guess powdered tool steel blades are actually well into the "high end" range of prices fwiw.

GrAviTy84 fucked around with this message at 01:32 on Jul 9, 2013

Chef De Cuisinart
Oct 31, 2010

Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.
Here's my Tojiro Suji in action, it's a bit dull, and that tomato is ripe, but you get the idea.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1_q6L_sOYE

quote:

(Tojiro is entry level stuff)

You can put them on par with Moritaka with some adjustment to the knives, they're just so bare minimum as far as F&F. I'm also planning on redoing the handle on my kiritsuke, cherry D handle in a left handed config.


E: just wondering, anyone know how to get a black mirror finish? The knifesperg in me needs to do this to something.

Chef De Cuisinart fucked around with this message at 01:46 on Jul 9, 2013

The Azn Sensation
Mar 9, 2009
I am new to knives, and have a kniferoll pack of Messermeister knives, as well as a shun 8' utility knife that my roommate got a chunk taken out of.

Is there any saving of my shun knife? It has a 1/8 in. chunk taken out of it, but I am completely unversed in sharpening, other than simple honing, but I know I can't use that to fix the chunk.

Secondly, do most of you just know what you like in a knife handle and buy online, or do you go to brick and mortar stores to give them a waggle? Do online stores give you a trial period to see how the knife fits/feels, or is it an informed guess style of grab bag?

Thirdly, I have seen some good things about cleavers, and I think that's what I would like to get next, I don't do a lot of breaking of chickens, but I guess it would be nice to have the ability, as well to use it more like a straight chef knife for lots of chopping of various things too weird shaped / :effort: to line up and use a chef with. Any suggestions? I would rather buy something that would last for years, than something cheap (aside from a bread knife), plus it gives me the ability to name it affectionately, like Chopper, or LimbFlayer.... Or something.

Chef De Cuisinart
Oct 31, 2010

Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.
Yeah, you can repair the knife, potentially, got a pic of the chip?

As for handles, I don't really care about handles. Personally I prefer D shape or octagons, I hate the french/german style handles, global handles are stupid.

CCK large cleaver, or the Tojiro ITK Nakiri if you don't want a fuckoff huge knife. CCK is$60, nakiri is $50.

breakfall87
Apr 22, 2004
ABunch7587's little bitch
Grav, a Moritaka without the black finish is the final SSJ4 form of a Moritaka knife that you can only achieve from owning one or buying it used. My Moritaka barely has any black finish left, and it almost outperforms a knife that is more than double the price. Moritakas are super thin, and the kurouchi finish kind of encourages wedging in a way. Once most of the black was wiped away, even from gentle scrubbing, it glided through onions like that's the only thing it was designed to cut. It takes an edge so quickly and easily. At first I was terrified that I lost some of the black cladding, but as I lost it, the performance actually increased. As long as you remember to rinse, wipe, and oil the knife after use, it will soon be the only thing you use to cut anything and everything.

No Wave
Sep 18, 2005

HA! HA! NICE! WHAT A TOOL!

GrAviTy84 posted:

if it's the handle that annoys you you should just get a Tojiro DP or similar. It won't be as superspergysharp capable as the Moritaka but it sounds like you were having a hard time with upkeep of carbon anyway.

A few other steels that might interest you and are a bit more midrange like the moritaka (Tojiro is entry level stuff) are Gingami #3 (Hitachi stainless) and the Powdered Tool Steels like ZDP-189. I've never used either of these so I can't say from experience but a lot of people on the internet really like them, lol. They're supposedly carbon steel level hardness with stainless steel care requirements.

Edit: I guess powdered tool steel blades are actually well into the "high end" range of prices fwiw.
No, I liked the handle quite a lot. I just want a curvier blade. I guess it's the "profile" of the blade that bothered me?

I've already got the replacement lined up.

No Wave fucked around with this message at 01:56 on Jul 9, 2013

Chef De Cuisinart
Oct 31, 2010

Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.
The kuroichi finish on all the Tojiro ITK knives should be sanded off asap as well. It looks cool, but promotes wedging and sticking.

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The Azn Sensation
Mar 9, 2009

Chef De Cuisinart posted:

Yeah, you can repair the knife, potentially, got a pic of the chip?

As for handles, I don't really care about handles. Personally I prefer D shape or octagons, I hate the french/german style handles, global handles are stupid.

CCK large cleaver, or the Tojiro ITK Nakiri if you don't want a fuckoff huge knife. CCK is$60, nakiri is $50.

I'll take a pic when I get home, it's so pretty. I know that it's probably not a great reason to buy a knife, but it was sharp (in comparison to my other knives) and it looked really spiffy. I hope it can be saved :ohdear:

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