The Kitchen Knife Thread

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Goons with Spoons > The Kitchen Knife Thread

.Z.: Jan 12, 2008

Any suggestions of a good bang for the buck yanagiba? Tojiro brand?

# ¿ Apr 16, 2014 22:10

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# ¿ Apr 29, 2024 13:08

.Z.: Jan 12, 2008

I've got a Moritaka cleaver already :p

I'm looking for a yanagi for it's main purpose, sashimi slicing, cause I'm spergy for pretty looking cuts of fish.

# ¿ Apr 17, 2014 00:47

.Z.: Jan 12, 2008

Jarmak posted:

Fair enough, I was just trying to figure out if the main reason it gets rave reviews is because of its value and not necessarily because of its quality, if that makes sense. When you're looking at stuff in the $150-$300 range and the item suggested is in the $35-$60 range you wonder if things are getting compared on the same playing field.

Regarding the steelchat, I'm asking because the Konsuke HD2 is the first "nice" knife I've acquired and they offer essentially the same knives in multiple material types, seeing as the HD2 is corrosion resistant it seems like there isn't much of a reason to get anything else if I'm getting one of their knives if potential advantages are nearly impossible to detect.

edit: after doing a lot of nakiri research this morning currently I'm drooling over the stainless clad Takeda, for reference

edit2: As much as the nakiri looks nice it is pretty much an extra wide gyuto with the end cut off, I think at this stage if I'm trying to ditch the rest of these poo poo department store knives from around when I got married and move on to better stuff I'd be better served taking the budget and getting a nice petty to go with the gyuto, a low end 6" Wusthof beater for "I don't need hanzo steel to cut my PB&J in half" duty, and a cheap but decent bread knife, and I'll have all my basic needs covered and won't feel pressure to cover a functionality gap with something that I'll end up wanting to replace.

Honestly with edit2 it sounds like you've got your bases covered. That said, if you've got an Asian supermarket nearby, go see if they sell a super cheap Chinese cleaver to play with. It's really quite a different experience vs other types of all-purpose knives.

-Parent knife stuff:
Get them this set: http://www.chefknivestogo.com/to2pcstset.html
and this: http://www.chefknivestogo.com/to.html and maybe this: http://www.chefknivestogo.com/sharpeningrod.html
Teach them what they need to do to minimally maintain the knives and call it a day.

.Z. fucked around with this message at 16:02 on May 5, 2014

# ¿ May 5, 2014 15:58

.Z.: Jan 12, 2008

SubG posted:

The CCK small slicers aren't pretty, gussied-up knives like you normally expect at the US$100+ price level. So if elaborate fit and finish are a big thing for you, that's something to consider.

Anyone know where the price increase on the CCKs from chefknivestogo came from? I find it kinda difficult to imagine that CCK themselves have doubled the price of their cleavers over the past few years since I bought my first one.

I own a Takeda cleaver and I use my CCK #1 small slicer way the gently caress more.

If I had to buy a pairing knife without a doubt I'd go with the Dojo. It's the paring knife that make me recognise that I'd hated every other paring knife I'd ever used without even realising it.

I'm pretty much the exact same way with my Moritaka cleaver ><

I think I'm going to sell it soon and just stick with the cck.

What do you like about the Dojo? I wasn't a fan of the blade design, much happier with how the Tojiro DP pairing knife's design.

# ¿ May 5, 2014 21:47

.Z.: Jan 12, 2008

vacuity posted:

Thanks everyone for such an informative thread. I think I'm still confused about something; what exactly do you guys mean by saying "harder steels are more brittle"? What's the real world scenario in which a hard carbon knife would ever break?

I know the consensus seems to be to go stainless for babby's first knife, but is caring for a carbon knife that much different than cast iron? Some of you have said something to the effect of "just wipe it down as soon as possible and you're fine" while others keep saying how quickly it might rust. Obviously I wouldn't soak it in a sink full of water, but is it to the point that doing something mundane like putting it under the faucet to rinse it off for 5 seconds really going to cause immediate rust? Or start to chop some food and then walk away for 30 minutes? I don't feel I have to baby my cast iron stuff to that degree so I'm curious what's different about knife care.

Lastly, there hasn't been much linking of places to buy knives to shop around for best prices or brand/style options if you aren't already certain what you want. Chef's Knives to Go and Knifewear seem to be pretty reasonable; any other recommendations? I am leaning towards Moritaka for my first chef/pairing knives, and ordering direct from them looks to be the cheapest solution; is that the case for other brands?

It's not that a knife made of a harder steel will break, its that it will chip much more easily.

Imagine you have someone who decides to get some baked-on gunk off a baking sheet by chipping at it with the tip of a knife.
-If the knife was a cheapo, soft stainless steel knife they'll probably bend and/or blunt the tip. The steel has quite a bit of give to it, so you can also get the tip back bending it back into place with something. Steeling it or pliers, or whatever.
-If the knife was a hard steel, be it carbon or stainless, the knife tip is going to chip off. The only ways to fix that, and still have a point on the knife, are grinding the entire edge down if you want to retain the same blade profile or reshaping the blade geometry towards the tip of the blade. Either scenario will make you want to cry.

The properties that we like about harder steels (better edge retention and sharper edge angles) also mean the knife needs to be used properly and cared for properly. The standard abuse you find in most household (throwing knives into the dish washer, throwing all the knifes into a drawer with no edge protection, etc) will cause far more damage to harder steel knives.

Anne Whateley posted:

Frozen loving hot dogs are the worst for my parents' knives.

.Z. fucked around with this message at 19:16 on May 24, 2014

# ¿ May 24, 2014 19:09

.Z.: Jan 12, 2008

vacuity posted:

I see. So basically they're less resilient to doing something stupid, but I wouldn't have to worry about it chipping if, say, I was chopping a little harder than usual one day?

That said, how do you deal with cutting harder/thicker foods (root veggies, maybe watermelon or something) if chipping is a concern? Is that where just using the proper knife would come into play? I currently use my lovely chef knife for everything, but I suppose a cleaver/nakiri would be best for this application?

Thicker/denser things won't be an issue. I've no issues cutting parsnips and watermelons with my knives. Just avoid things where, if you were to try and chop it, your knife would bounce off i.e. bones and frozen solid foods.

Also if this is going to be your first set of really good knives, I'd suggest something cheaper. The Tojiro DP and Richmond Artifex lines are really good bang for your buck and in the ~$100 range. Other goons may have good suggestions as well. The more expensive knives really aren't that much better to most people. Plus, you won't feel the pressure of really having to baby your knife because it's not worth $200.

I love my Moritaka chinese cleaver, but honestly I have more fun with my much cheaper CCK chinese cleaver.

.Z. fucked around with this message at 01:39 on May 25, 2014

# ¿ May 25, 2014 01:36

.Z.: Jan 12, 2008

In case anyone cares, Chefknivestogo finally restock their Ultimatum Chef knife in 52100 carbon steel.

http://www.chefknivestogo.com/riulcagy25.html

# ¿ Jul 11, 2014 23:22

.Z.: Jan 12, 2008

Flash Gordon Ramsay posted:

The what and the what?

Spring: http://www.chefknivestogo.com/edprocospfor.html
Collar: http://www.chefknivestogo.com/5drstcowhexk.html

You don't really need to order those, but they have videos of the mods.

# ¿ Oct 18, 2014 17:07

.Z.: Jan 12, 2008

<self-promotion>

I'm selling off my Moritaka cleaver: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3673098

Dropping the price to $240, but figured I'd see if anyone in this thread is interested before I updated the price and bumped the sale post.

# ¿ Oct 22, 2014 02:52

.Z.: Jan 12, 2008

deimos posted:

I know very little of butchery but that seemed very sloppy to me.

I think it was wasteful. Correct me if I'm wrong, but at the very least he ruined any chance at rib roasts or short ribs.

That was more of a 'look how fast I can de-bone a side of beef" than "look how fast I can properly break down a side of beef"

# ¿ Mar 29, 2015 18:00

.Z.: Jan 12, 2008

guppy posted:

I actually ordered one of these and it just arrived. The instructions are baffling. I'm sitting here watching Edge Pro videos trying to figure out how to use it.

Also, I can't help but notice that the colored marks on the real Edge Pro are evenly spaced, and the ones on the AGPtek are... not.

You could get an angle cube if you want to be certain of the degree setting: http://www.amazon.com/iGaging-AngleCube-Digital-Level-Bevel/dp/B002LL0BIC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1433875103&sr=8-1&keywords=angle+cube

# ¿ Jun 9, 2015 19:40

.Z.: Jan 12, 2008

Chinese cleaver video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dP6JG0OPbJM

Can't remember if this has been posted or not.

# ¿ Jun 26, 2015 18:12

.Z.: Jan 12, 2008

sellouts posted:

It forces you to enter a credit card to register? ugh.

Not surprising that he'd want to get some commitment from the people applying to the lottery, seeing as his knives can pull in $30,000+ at auction now.

# ¿ Sep 19, 2015 06:28

.Z.: Jan 12, 2008

Given the choice between an honesuki and western boning knife, which would you pick?

# ¿ Sep 28, 2015 16:55

.Z.: Jan 12, 2008

Steve Yun posted:

I imagine that the tips of the knives are going to bump into each other a lot because of the arrangement

I wonder how heavy the base is. If it wasn't heavy enough, I'd probably end up worrying I might cause it to tip over removing a large knife the wrong way.

# ¿ Jun 21, 2016 20:38

.Z.: Jan 12, 2008

AVeryLargeRadish posted:

This is true but etched damascus can change the way a knife moves through certain ingredients, meat especially, because it changes the way the face of the knife drags through the material. For that reason I sanded down the etching on one of my knives with a damascus finish until the sides were nice and smooth, it helped a fair bit in how it goes through meats and such. It's best to assume that the cutting edge on any knife that is "damascus" is solid core metal, damascus is almost always cladding, in fact I've never seen a knife where the damascus was not cladding.

I think Bob Kramer's custom knives are solid 'damascus' steel. His production knives are definitely clad though.

# ¿ Jul 8, 2016 16:46

.Z.: Jan 12, 2008

ItBreathes posted:

I bought a 10" Shun classic yesterday that I'm about to go return (too long and a strong internet consensus that they're overpriced), but I definitely got the bug for a proper chef's knife. Reading the thread it seems the Tojiro DP is the general recommendation, but the CCK cleaver looks like a good fit for prepping mass amounts of root vegetables. Is it still a good deal at $70, and are there any knives you'd recommend over those two up to around $150? Looking for an all-purpose knife for daily home use.

If you are impatient, just get the Tojiro.

If you are interested in the CCK, I'd say go to Amazon or a local asian supermarket and buy a cheapo cleaver. See if you like the style of cutting it brings, and if you do go pick up one of the nicer cleavers on chefknivestogo. As much as I like my CCK I would not buy it at $70.

# ¿ Sep 14, 2016 19:50

.Z.: Jan 12, 2008

deimos posted:

For the machining on that thing $350 seems cheap.

Ruble weakness coming into play? That thing is almost $100 cheaper than equivalent systems from Edgepro and Wicked Edge.

Man I sorta want one, but I've already got a wicked edge.

# ¿ Sep 15, 2016 17:35

.Z.: Jan 12, 2008

hitachi posted:

I know people recommend you don't buy knife sets but this poo poo is on sale and I think I have seen the brand recommended here somewhere. Any thoughts?

https://www.amazon.com/Calphalon-Contemporary-Self-Sharpening-15-piece-Technology/dp/B01CY3M83W?tag=dreldarion-20

or this one

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M9DS5P7/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2CPPWBZXMMUAD&coliid=I12SXPVD9MD8PM

The second set is just a set of the Victorinox recommended in the OP so I guess the only downside there is you are paying more for knives you probably won't need?

It's already been stated, but it'd be waste of money. If you've got a budget of up to $200 get this stuff and be set as far as sharp kitchen tools go. Minus steak knives.

$99 - http://www.chefknivestogo.com/to2pcstset.html - Tojiro Gyuto and Paring Knife set
$27 - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002IMMEW - Kershaw Kitchen Shears
$54 - http://www.chefknivestogo.com/toitkbrkn.html - Tojiro ITK Bread knife
$10 - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001BCFTWU/ - Kuhn Rikon 3 peeler set

Total - $190

If you wanted to save some money, cheaper bread knife pick: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001TPA816

# ¿ Jan 7, 2017 23:45

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# ¿ Apr 29, 2024 13:08

.Z.: Jan 12, 2008

HookedOnChthonics posted:

PSA: if you're a perfectionist, either don't sharpen knives ~~or don't own an optical microscope~~

Fixed that for you.

You will eventually look into getting a microscope if you start sharpening your knives. Though I suggest a usb microscope so you can just look at a large monitor instead.

# ¿ Feb 20, 2017 16:49

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