The Kitchen Knife Thread

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Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

No, shuns and globals are terrible overpriced knives.

I'll do a write up on carbon care and upkeep, and a few videos when I have time later this week. Sharpening, what thinning is and how to do it, and some knife skill stuff that isn't exactly common knowledge.

# ¿ Jul 2, 2013 23:49

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# ¿ Apr 26, 2024 08:49

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

Well, shuns aren't terrible, they are good knives. But there are many Japanese manufacturers that produce much higher quality knives at the same price.

I have 2 global knives. They just loving suck. Soft steel, handles that pinch your fingers where other knives wouldn't, weak concave grinds that mean the knife will never be as sharp as it was out of the box, and a rough finish for the price. I can see the circular grinds from the initial sanding. My Tojitos have that, but they're half the price, and better steel!

# ¿ Jul 3, 2013 02:39

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

Stalizard posted:

I had a completely different experience with the Dexter-Russell stuff, I used it cutting fruit for 6-8 hours a day and it was total crap. Wouldn't hold an edge, way too think, just generally useless. I would up bringing in my own beater knife, a big ol' Mercer 12" chef knife in 420J2 (among the worst blade steels) and just by virtue of blade profile it was miles ahead of the Dexter-Russell stuff.

You're sharpening your dexter wrong. The thin steel can hold an aggressive edge. I've got an old dexter sofgrip that I sharpen with a cheap accusharp and it outperforms the average German knife.

It's possible that Dexters steel quality has gone down, but I doubt it.

# ¿ Jul 4, 2013 01:31

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.

# ¿ Jul 5, 2013 17:47

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

# ¿ Jul 6, 2013 14:27

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:

# ¿ Jul 8, 2013 02:41

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

# ¿ Jul 8, 2013 23:07

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

# ¿ Jul 9, 2013 01:38

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.

# ¿ Jul 9, 2013 01:50

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.

# ¿ Jul 9, 2013 01:54

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

That's a super easy fix if you've got a low grit stone, if not you can look for knife shops around you and take it in. Probably a $20 job.

# ¿ Jul 9, 2013 10:46

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

Tojiro DP 240mm gyuto. Best $100 knife you're going to find, unless you want to get into non-stainless.

# ¿ Jul 10, 2013 05:16

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

The Moon Monster posted:

Do any of you knife knerds have advice on cutting boards? I've been using some thing synthetic mats because they were 4 for $5 but I'm thinking of getting a nicer one.

http://www.amazon.com/San-Jamar-CBG...words=san+jamar

Under 20bux, and I use these daily at work, so I can attest to the high quality.

# ¿ Jul 11, 2013 01:27

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

The san jamar board I linked earlier has rubber feet on the bottom to stop slipping, and it comes in like a million colors.

# ¿ Jul 11, 2013 02:13

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

Yes, it's normal. What he's doing is thinning the edge.

e: although his diagram is dumb, it should look more like this:

Chef De Cuisinart fucked around with this message at 16:14 on Jul 12, 2013

# ¿ Jul 12, 2013 16:10

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

16k yen, that's like $160? Not a bad price at all.

# ¿ Jul 14, 2013 04:40

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

Cleavers shouldn't have handles. It should just be like a razor sharp bench knife.

# ¿ Jul 22, 2013 12:22

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

Just thin the heel. It'll take a while if you don't have a low grit stone.

# ¿ Jul 30, 2013 22:05

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

No offense, but that knife looks hilarious.

# ¿ Aug 2, 2013 18:33

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

cryospam posted:

It seems like they're not available any more in a full set (at least nobody sells a full set) but I picked up few from the Miyabi 7000MC from Henckels and I freaking LOVE them. They're not quite as pretty as many of the handmade Japanese knives, especially some of the etched ones, but they're SUPER sharp and the steel is hardened to a rockwell hardness of 66, far beyond even most premium handmade knives. I got the Santoku, the chef's knife, and the utility knife, I just wish they had a Nakiri in the set. By far the best knives I've ever owned, but I've never spent a TON on kitchen knives.

They were a great upgrade from my Cutco knives I bought when I was 20.

I have a 8in Miyabi guyto. It's not bad, It's a 700D, and it is most definitely not 66 rockwell.

# ¿ Aug 6, 2013 04:06

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

The Tojiro DP is literally the best bang for buck home/work knife.

e: however, that Gekko is hawt, and I really want one just for the looks. Don't like the handle though. Lefty D or octagonal for me.

Chef De Cuisinart fucked around with this message at 19:29 on Sep 28, 2013

# ¿ Sep 28, 2013 19:25

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

GrAviTy84 posted:

yeah Tojiro DPs forever.

and ask and ye shall receive
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Japanese-GE...=item4d131761eb

...ffffffffffff order to be placed when I get paid.

# ¿ Sep 29, 2013 04:03

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

cryospam posted:

Have you read the very in depth zKnives reviews of the Tojiro DP's? They reviewed well, but were not considered amazing by any stretch of the imagination. If you're going to wait until Payday to get something, there are a TON of better choices no?

I already have Tojiro DP's for work, along with a ton of other knives. I want that Gekko because it's pretty and... no, that's pretty much it.

# ¿ Oct 4, 2013 01:20

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

Sup knife thread. Anyone know how well Ho wood stains? I've got my Tojiro ITK Kiritsuke looking nice with a great blue/purple patina from lots of butchering, but the handle is really bringing it down. I've considered getting a new handle, but I've never re-handled a knife before.

# ¿ Oct 10, 2013 04:48

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

I felt like polishing my knife today.

Wonder how long it would take to do my CCK cleaver.

E: that's about an hour on the CCK, but I did have to buff out I dent I put in the edge, and then reshape the edge.

Chef De Cuisinart fucked around with this message at 20:14 on Oct 10, 2013

# ¿ Oct 10, 2013 17:21

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

The Midniter posted:

I actually won a Korin gyuto from Serious Eats in a giveaway and it's too light for my tastes, so I switched back to the Fibrox.

All I'm hearing is that you've got a knife for sale.

# ¿ Dec 5, 2013 05:51

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

But push cutting is best cutting

# ¿ Dec 8, 2013 03:13

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

I can't really think of any Japanese knives that have round bellies. I even think the Tojiro DP is actually too round, because I like to do a lot of push cutting with the tip. If only Tojiro would make a kiritsuke in the DP line.

# ¿ Dec 8, 2013 16:38

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

Tojiros are comparable to Macs, and are slightly harder. Mac uses an alloy similar to Global's Cromova, which is right around 58-59 rockwell, where Tojiros are 60-61.

You could always get something out of the Tojiro ITK series, but they're high carbon, and will rust if you don't keep them dry.

# ¿ Dec 10, 2013 16:12

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

Boris Galerkin posted:

The Sweethome recommends this one for things you can eat raw and this one for meats.

Screw those, get this.

# ¿ Dec 28, 2013 19:16

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

Got another knife. Goko Hammered Damascus 240mm

# ¿ Jan 8, 2014 00:02

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

Best part, it was only $100, because of some scratches in the hammered area, they look like they belong anyways.

# ¿ Jan 8, 2014 12:26

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

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.

# ¿ Jan 9, 2014 00:56

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

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

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

Get a Lanson sharp guard or whatever it's called. Plastic case that covers the whole knife.

# ¿ Jan 29, 2014 21:23

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

d3rt posted:

It arrived yesterday, it's definitely from Japan and went through customs etc. Was much faster shipping than quoted and considerably cheaper than chefknivestogo.

You only saved 15bux, and cktg has free 3 day shipping.

# ¿ Feb 9, 2014 21:49

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

d3rt posted:

Only saved 21%

And where do you see free 3 day shipping? They use USPS and Fedex ground which, depending on where you live, can be more than 3 days.

USPS Priority is never more than 3 days.

# ¿ Feb 10, 2014 00:59

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

d3rt posted:

Where do they specify USPS Priority?

They may not, but I've ordered 10 knives from cktg, and all were shipped priority, with tracking.

# ¿ Feb 10, 2014 01:27

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

Bronze posted:

is it normal for the tojiro dp gyuto to have a ~1mm gap between the wooden handle and bolster? the one i just got on amazon had a gap like this on both sides and some black epoxy(?) jaggedly filling the gap.

It's kinda common with the DP series. This is why I buy from ck2g because Mark won't send those out. Honestly though, it's not that big a deal, you can fill it in yourself, and it's still an amazing knife for the price.

# ¿ Apr 5, 2014 13:24

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# ¿ Apr 26, 2024 08:49

Chef De Cuisinart: Oct 31, 2010; Brandy does in fact, in my experience, contribute to Getting Down.

I have the Tojiro suji, and I'm pretty happy with it.

# ¿ Apr 16, 2014 23:07

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