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.

Jarmak posted:

edit: Anyone got an off the cuff recommendation for an inexpensive but functional bread knife? I know Victorinox is probably the best idea but they're just so drat ugly, maybe a cheapo henckals?

Any properly sharpened gyuto can cut bread just fine, but a lot of people like the Tojiro ITK serrated, and the richmond artifex serrated.

# ¿ May 5, 2014 16:32

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# ¿ Apr 25, 2024 16:31

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

You shouldn't straight lose your edge every day, but you still have to hone it. Don't have any White #2 knives, so I can't say for sure, but I usually take my Blue #2 knives to the stone every 4-6 weeks. Just hone with a ceramic rod daily.

e: scratch that, I do have a white #2 knife, thing hardly ever has to be sharpened or honed.

Chef De Cuisinart fucked around with this message at 16:48 on Jun 3, 2014

# ¿ Jun 3, 2014 16:45

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

I do fine with my gyuto, but it's super thin. Suji works well, but I do want to get around to ordering a lefty yanagiba around 300mm.

# ¿ Jun 5, 2014 02:45

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

Armchair Calvinist posted:

My friend in the industry recommended this: http://www.amazon.com/Mercer-Cutlery-Renaissance-Chefs-Knife/dp/B002R1CGVQ/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1405124838&sr=8-7&keywords=mercer+10+inch Any thoughts?

Mercers suck, that Miyabi 600D you have is a great knife, just keep using that.

# ¿ Jul 12, 2014 22:58

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

I drop cherry/grape tomatoes on my knives to see if they're sharp.

# ¿ Jul 16, 2014 02:28

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

You can just whack your knife against a trash can or some kind of plastic/rubber thing to pop them off. You'd get laughed at pinching pits in our kitchen, we go through 2-3 cases of avocado a day.

# ¿ Jul 21, 2014 20:58

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

That's not a CCK. Get a real CCK if you want one. Mine came razor sharp, properly thinned, etc. If you buy some $9 knife, I doubt it's decent steel, and the finish on the blade will be crap.

Also, get the large slicer, it is the best combo chef's knife/bench knife/spatula in existence.

Chef De Cuisinart fucked around with this message at 01:28 on Jul 25, 2014

# ¿ Jul 25, 2014 01:17

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

You just tap the side of your knife against the trash can rim and the pit will pop right off.

# ¿ Jul 25, 2014 11:27

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

The reason Globals suck is that they're only HRC 55-56, not to mention the high chromium blend they use will turn some fruits purple.

# ¿ Aug 7, 2014 12:29

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

Global's proprietary blend is called CroMoVa, for chromium, molybdenum, an vanadium. That particular steel reacts to potassium, so cutting bananas and plantains turn them purple/black.

# ¿ Aug 7, 2014 21:57

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

You could get a Tojiro Carbon Nakiri. Its not as hefty as the CCK, but it'll be able to take a razor sharp edge, and I love nakiri for veg prep, almost as much as my cleaver.

Chef De Cuisinart fucked around with this message at 23:36 on Aug 24, 2014

# ¿ Aug 24, 2014 23:05

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

americong posted:

What sort of motion do you use for that? And will it require significantly more or less mainenance than the Fibrox?

You can rock chop or push cut with it, as far as maintenance, just keep it dry. Carbon really isn't that hard to take care of, but a victorinox would be much less maintenance.

# ¿ Aug 25, 2014 00:10

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

Some people do, I don't. Just keep it dry, cut plenty of onions, and develop a patina.

# ¿ Aug 25, 2014 00:20

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

mindphlux posted:

I'm still disgusted that my expensive rear end japanese carbon steel whatever knife loving chipped when I chopped a tortilla chip in midair.

I mean come on.

heavily leaning towards the german side of things. I'll probably buy one more high carbon knife, but between my MAC's and W�sthofs I don't know. cost/reward doesn't seem to be there for getting more spergy than that. someone tell me if I'm wrong and I need to buy the One True Knife. (but I thought I had, and then it chipped on a goddamn torilla chip. )

edit : to be fair, who tries to split a tortilla chip in twine in midair with an expensive knife?

That's called a manufacturing defect, should have had it replaced if it came from a decent seller.

Get a custom Moritaka, I think that's what I'm going to do for myself this Christmas.

# ¿ Aug 29, 2014 12:20

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

All of those knives have horrible shapes. I dunno if titanium carbide would perform better than proper kitchen steels, but I have a feeling the answer is no.

# ¿ Sep 8, 2014 22:21

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

I ordered one of those edge pro knockoffs as well for shits and giggles. $35 or so, can't be that bad. Also have quite a few knives that need serious work, and I'm hoping it'll do the job. Should get it tomorrow.

# ¿ Oct 20, 2014 03:24

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

That's the one I ordered, took it to my kiritsuke that needed serious thinning after I chipped it a few months ago, it's about 1/8in shorter now, but cuts like butter. I definitely recommend this thing, although I may order some Shapton glass pro stones, I'd really like a 15k mirror polished edge. This thing came with a 120, 320, 600, and 1500.

# ¿ Oct 21, 2014 11:56

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

ma i married a tuna posted:

I'm not really clear on why you want carbon. I mean, it's fine, but to my mind the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. Will it make a huge difference to you in the kitchen? Not really. I mean, carbon can (doesn't always) have a better balance between hardness and toughness, but the fact that it's vulnerable to both moisture and acid are pretty major in my mind.

Carbon knives aren't tougher, they're generally more fragile. They hold a wicked edge, and are my go to protein knives. Not vulnerable to moisture or acid at all really, just wipe your knife often enough, and let that patina develop.

# ¿ Oct 23, 2014 23:34

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

Yeah, but we're talking kitchen knives here. In the current market, a carbon steel knife is usually japanese and HRC 62+. They're delicate, absolutely will chip if not cared for properly. In kitchen knives I don't think you're going to find many stainless knives that are harder than carbon counterparts.

# ¿ Oct 24, 2014 00:30

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

SubG posted:

And kitchen knives with stainless blades up in the 60-62 HRC range aren't at all unusual these days. Tojiro treats VG-10 to 62 HRC, for example, and they're not exactly esoteric.

Tojiro DP series are actually 59-60. Their ITK series are 62-63, and I believe they're White #2.

# ¿ Oct 24, 2014 01:15

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

AVeryLargeRadish posted:

How do ya'll feel about the Richmond Artifex AEB-L knives vs the Tojiro DP line? The Tojiros have nicer aesthetics to me but I'm more concerned about performance, usability and durability.

AEB-L is very flexible, I wouldn't use one for my chef's knife, I have the Artifex honesuki, and the flexibility there is great. I own the 10in DP gyuto, 12in DP suji, and the DP paring knife. All hold an edge for a few weeks at work before needing a light sharpen.

# ¿ Oct 24, 2014 14:01

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

I fond all this handle talk funny, because if you're holding the knife properly you won't really be holding much of the handle at all.

# ¿ Nov 3, 2014 14:43

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

The CCK large cleaver is ~12 degrees, so hone at that. As far as wiping it down and whatnot, I'd force a patina with some yellow mustard and then just never cut citrus with it.

# ¿ Nov 16, 2014 13:07

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

mastershakeman posted:

Finally, we got a http://www.crateandbarrel.com/w%C3%BCsthof-universal-4-stage-sharpener/s145923 sharpener. It's ok to use, right? There's just so much info and I don't know anything about this stuff

God no, learn how to use a stone. Drag through sharpeners are just terrible for knives because they literally shear off steel as opposed to shaving/rubbing it away like a traditional stone.

# ¿ Nov 17, 2014 05:06

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

Ceramic rods don't sharpen exactly, they're a very fine grit, and just fix imperfections in your edge, much like a 4-6k stone would.

I've dented my Tojiro DP 240mm in 2 places now, but it's still one of the best performing knives I own.

# ¿ Nov 28, 2014 19:02

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

GrAviTy84 posted:

or just get this fuckin thing
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Japanese-TADAFUSA-Blue-Steel-Wa-gyuto-Knife-Nashiji-210mm-/381101717905

that's a crazy deal

Too small. I'm eyeing a 270mm Moritaka Kiritsuke as a birthday present next year. May try to get a custom that's a bit taller.

# ¿ Dec 25, 2014 22:23

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

Flash Gordon Ramsay posted:

Tell me why I shouldn't but this.

Tojiro Black Finished Shiro-ko Kasumi Nakiri - 6.4" (16.5cm) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000UANWGE/

Because you can get a 9.5in kiritsuke for $70? And they look infinitely cooler.

# ¿ Dec 30, 2014 05:12

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

Flash Gordon Ramsay posted:

So this isn't one of those that will develop a protective patina?

Force a patina. Take some yellow mustard, thin it just a bit with water, dab it onto the knife with a paper towel, let it dry, and wash it off. Instant patina.

e: I have 2 knives out of that line, they do form patina, and aren't stupidly reactive, but will rust if left wet for a minute or two. Once you've got your patina though, it's much less likely to be an issue.

# ¿ Dec 30, 2014 16:09

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

I have that same cheap $10 IKEA cutting board. Its great. It was also 10bux, so I give no fucks about how well it holds up to abuse. I have a San Jamar poly boars for meat.

# ¿ Jan 12, 2015 06:57

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

I can not in good conscience, buy another knife. So, I'd better get drunk an buy that thing ASAP.

# ¿ Jan 15, 2015 05:12

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

I've got one. The stones aren't terrible, I use them. I'm going to replace them with Shapton pro stones eventually. Definitely recommend it though.

# ¿ Jan 25, 2015 01:11

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

I've got plenty of dents in my Tojiro DP gyuto, hasn't stopped it being an amazing knife.

# ¿ Feb 9, 2015 07:13

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

Alternatively, ignore the wishbone, because who cares about the .25 oz of flesh you "lose". It just makes your stock that much better.

# ¿ Feb 9, 2015 08:22

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

Tojiro DP. It is the best knife you can get sub $200. Once you want something in the higher dollar ranges, I'd recommend Moritaka.

Also, holy loving poo poo, the CCK large cleaver is $100 now? I got mine about 3 years ago for only $40. Anyone want to buy my CCK off me for $75? >_>

# ¿ Feb 10, 2015 00:11

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

electricmonk500 posted:

As someone who uses a gyuto for everything, what do you use the petty knife for that the paring knife can't do? Just curious.

If you've every had to cut a case of anything small, Brussels, mushrooms, etc. A petty is so much faster.

# ¿ Feb 24, 2015 14:29

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

ColHannibal posted:

Nothing wrong with a slap chop if you want to make quick work of garlic or nuts.

Use the side of your knife, plebe.

# ¿ Feb 26, 2015 02:57

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

This should really be the fist line of the op with "BUY ME IF YOU JUST NEED GOOD KNIVES" in neon around it.

Get this: http://www.chefknivestogo.com/tojiro3pcset.html

# ¿ Feb 28, 2015 15:01

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

AVeryLargeRadish posted:

The knives in that Tojiro set are really meant for vegetables and boneless meat, so yes they will chip against bone. For butchering tasks a softer, more resilient steel is better. The benefits of harder steel are that it can take a much sharper edge than softer steel and that it can hold that edge for much longer especially through soft product like vegetables and boneless meat.

No, the Tojiro set I linked will not chip on bone. Don't try and tell someone something about knive you do not own, seriously.

I use my Tojiro DP gyuto every day at work, it's gotten a few dents from whacking away at some frozen stuff, but never any chips. It is literally the best set of knives anyone can start out buying.

# ¿ Mar 3, 2015 04:33

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

AVeryLargeRadish posted:

So you whack through stuff like beef, pig and deer bones with the Tojiros and you don't see any chips, even very small ones?

I actually broke down an entire buck last month with my 240mm Tojiro DP, and absolutely no chips/dents. Know how to use your knife, just don't go whacking away.

I also regularly break down whole chickens and salmon with my DP, like 2-3 times a week, and have never had a chip/dent due to that.

# ¿ Mar 3, 2015 05:10

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# ¿ Apr 25, 2024 16:31

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

AVeryLargeRadish posted:

Imagine you are expecting to encounter resistance when cutting through a thicker or denser part of an ingredient, so you preemptively increase the force on the knife or use more of a slice cut than a push cut, only you encounter no resistance at all and the knife just whips right through what you are cutting. Even if there are no inconvenient body parts in the way it's pretty disconcerting.

Or, just keep your knives this sharp and chop/push cut everything for all time.

# ¿ Mar 27, 2015 02:46

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