The Kitchen Knife Thread

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

Present: Oct 28, 2011; by Shine

Oh god, there so many sexy knives in this thread.

1. What are my options for a Japanese chef knife that is 8", stainless steel, D or octagon handle, with an etched or hammered finish and that is under $200 and is not a Shun? I looked at the JCK site too and all the ones I liked are sold out

2. Why is that Chinese cleaver getting so much love compared to the nakiri? Aren't they basically the same knife? It looks so big and unwieldy. If you have a Chinese cleaver why do you like it so much specifically?

3. Also I'm worried about carbon knives cuz they look so gross with that patina/rust. Someone tell me there are no health risks for using that steel to cut food with.

Thank you kind goons!

# ¿ Oct 2, 2014 21:10

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# ¿ Apr 29, 2024 13:50

Present: Oct 28, 2011; by Shine

This thread convinced me to get a Chinese cleaver. So I went to pacmall here in Toronto because they have a CCK store. My line of thinking was I'd save some money over getting the $60 cleaver shipped in from that website.

Nope! Stainless steel with wooden handle was $68, with steel handle $70 something. So I got a $15 stainless steel Shibazi cleaver from another mall Chinese cooking supplies store instead. It may not be as wide as the CCK, but for less than a quarter of the price I'll deal.

Thanks thread!

# ¿ Oct 3, 2014 22:07

Present: Oct 28, 2011; by Shine

Planet X posted:

I cook a lot, and have a 10� Victorinox Forshcner that I like. It�s fine, but I really want something nicer and a little more balanced in a Chef�s knife. I have a few chef shops that I can shop around in, so I'll go try a few out. I�m looking for probably a Japanese chef knife, so the Tojiro DP is one of the front runners. I want something that�s not exactly a budget knife, but I also don�t want something really expensive that I have to baby. Is the DP the one to get, or is there something in a slightly higher price point that I should consider?

The chef shop has the Wustof classic on sale for $90 till the end of the month, but I don't want to just jump into anything, it's gotta be right.

I'm in the same boat, but I don't like the western style handle on the DP. I want a knife that is both quality steel and exotic looking. Going to get one of these soon, short of something interesting popping up on japanesechefsknife.com in the next little while.

http://www.amazon.com/Shun-DM0706-Classic-8-Inch-Chefs/dp/B0000Y7KNQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1414466519&sr=8-1&keywords=shun+chef+knife

http://www.amazon.com/ZHEN-Japanese-Layers-Damascus-Cutlery/dp/B00H2HDLQE/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1414466543&sr=8-3&keywords=zhen+chef+knives

From what I read, the Zhen has the same VG 10 steel as the Shun and the DP, but is made in China. Definitely looks way prettier tho. If it only had an octagonal handle it would be perfect.

# ¿ Oct 28, 2014 04:34

Present: Oct 28, 2011; by Shine

Moridin920 posted:

If it's the one for $75 off I'm looking at I'd snap it up. I really like my 10" and it was ~$180. Afaik the goon consensus is yeah they're good but expensive but for almost half off it's a steal imo.

I can't find this online. Can I get a link please?

# ¿ Nov 4, 2014 22:26

Present: Oct 28, 2011; by Shine

^

Thanks, I found that one, but there was a post about a $75 knife, now that would have been a really good deal.

Too bad the Shun Premier chef's knife isn't on sale. If it was on sale I'd totally get it because it looks cool and is shiny as poo poo and I want a cool knife to use for when there's a girl over and I'm chopping poo poo like a baws.

EDIT- Isnt the Tojiro the same steel? All that's different is handle style and the wavy pattern on the blade, no?

Present fucked around with this message at 01:03 on Nov 5, 2014

# ¿ Nov 5, 2014 01:00

Present: Oct 28, 2011; by Shine

AVeryLargeRadish posted:

There was a post about a knife for $75 off:

And yeah, Tojiros use the same VG-10 steel, but there can be build quality and design differences and I don't know if the Tojiro comes with the lifetime warranty of the Shun.

OOOh yeah its $75 off, my bad

http://www.cutleryandmore.com/tojiro says lifetime warranty on Tojiro knives, same with http://www.everten.com.au/tojiro-knives.html

# ¿ Nov 5, 2014 02:01

Present: Oct 28, 2011; by Shine

Big Beef City posted:

When I got married a few years back, I bought my best man/guy I cooked with for the event, a higher end hammered-finish Shun for his efforts. Recently for the last little while I started asking if he still liked it or he had sent it back for refinishing, since they carry the guarantee, and it's easy enough to do. Basically, I just wanted him to be aware he could send it in.

Nope. Turns out that he'd researched everything about it, bought the proper equipment and taught himself how to properly sharpen it using whetstones, enjoys doing it, and enjoys showing it off.

I felt more honored by that than him just enjoying the knife. That's my knife story.

The Shun Premier knives are gorgeous.

Anyone know of a place online that has then cheaper than what amazon has them for? All I want are a 8 inch chef and a paring knife for a price I won't feel guilty about later :ohdear:

# ¿ Nov 27, 2014 08:04

Present: Oct 28, 2011; by Shine

Mostly aesthetics. If they had a wooden octagon handle they'd be perfect.

Anything that looks like them in a similar price range that I should look at maybe? In stainless steel.

# ¿ Nov 27, 2014 08:22

Present: Oct 28, 2011; by Shine

AVeryLargeRadish posted:

Unfortunately there are not many, generally you don't see really nice aesthetics until the higher price ranges, instead the extra money spent at the low end gives you better performance and the nicer aesthetics filter in as performance and price increase past the $200+ range. The Shuns reverse that to some extent, emphasizing aesthetics as price increases but not increasing much in performance.

There is the Takamura VG-10 Nashiji which I find rather pretty and is a better knife overall than the Shun for a bit less.

There is also the Sukenari Ginsan it has a different aesthetic but I also find it to be really nice looking, the video really shows off how nice it looks better than the stills do. It is a much better knife than the Shun and about the same price.

Of course if you really want beauty and performance you pay for it.

Some sexy knives there but so much money...

The Takamura in particular would have been perfect, price wise, if it wasn't for the western style handle.

The Japanese style knives are even more gorgeous then the Shuns but sadly out of my budget.

In other news, http://japanesechefsknife.com/ just got some new knives in if anyone's interested.

# ¿ Nov 28, 2014 01:14

Present: Oct 28, 2011; by Shine

AVeryLargeRadish posted:

If you are willing to try carbon steel knives there are some really incredible ones out there with japanese style handles for very little money compared to stainless equivalents:

Itto-Ryu Hammered 210 Gyuto White #2: This knife should rightfully cost more like $250, but it is only $140. And out of stock, get in line bub. The blade is fully reactive but it patinas very slowly, so as long as you give it a quick wash and dry after use you should never see problems with rust. It cuts extremely well because it has a nicely convexed grind that you normally only see on much more expensive knives. The spine and choil are nicely rounded and the dark, hammered finish is utterly beautiful. It also has a nice oval chestnut handle with a black resin ferule. Exceptional steel at a bargain basement price.

Kohetsu Blue #2 Nashiji Gyuto 210mm: Not nearly as nice as the above knife, but very few are. This one has a decent wa handle and is clad in stainless steel, so you only have to worry about the edge, but what an edge it is! Very sharp, sharpens up really nicely and holds an edge for a good while, it's a good knife and a really good knife for $130.

Lastly, something fully stainless to keep an eye out for if you are willing to get out the sandpaper and elbow grease: Tanaka Ginsan Gyuto 210mm: The blade here is exceptional for the price but it is very roughly finished. The spine is rough and sharp and so is the choil, but a few hours of work with some sandpaper would round them out nicely. Once that is done you have a $200 blade for $115, so a pretty nice deal all in all. The handle is a pretty bog standard D shaped Ho wood/buffalo horn, not bad but not amazing, it's serviceable and more than I would expect for $115.

Hey, thank you for this write-up. Going to have a think about what to buy.

# ¿ Nov 28, 2014 02:46

Present: Oct 28, 2011; by Shine

Wait, why ceramic rods specifically? I thought you want a plain rod to straighten the blade, not sharpened it.

# ¿ Nov 28, 2014 18:42

Present: Oct 28, 2011; by Shine

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

The description says its blue #2 steel clad stainless steel. That makes no sense. Why would they use blue #2 as cladding. Must be a mistake in the description.

# ¿ Dec 26, 2014 05:43

Present: Oct 28, 2011; by Shine

Eeyo posted:

Is there a recommendation for a not-so-expensive chinese cleaver for vegetable prep? I thought I'd give it a try and see how I like it. I would be tempted to get the CCK one, but it's $70 so not really an impulse try it out type of buy for me.

While I'm at it, what's a good brand for a first sharpening stone? Would something like this work? http://www.amazon.com/Kotobuki-King-1000-K-80-Combo/dp/B00200L90I/ref=sr_1_4?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1421204199&sr=1-4

If the place you live has a sizable Chinatown they'll sell them there in their kitchenwear-type stores. Got my Chinese stainless cleaver there for like $15. There were a bunch to choose from too.

# ¿ Jan 14, 2015 05:01

Present: Oct 28, 2011; by Shine

So a steel is good for European knives made of soft steel, which curls up on account of the softness?

But Japanese knives are made of steel that doesn't curl as easy so you need a ceramic sharpener for it? Is that the gist of it?

# ¿ Mar 2, 2015 02:18

Present: Oct 28, 2011; by Shine

^^ gorgeous knives, esp the nakiri.

Does anyone know where I can get kitchen knives in Japan? I'm looking to get quality stainless steel ones and I'll be in Japan in September so I figure I should try and buy straight from the source.

# ¿ Jun 9, 2015 06:29

Present: Oct 28, 2011; by Shine

AVeryLargeRadish posted:

The Sakai City suggestion from Uber Kosh is a good one, but one thing I feel I should say is that you should really have an idea of what sort of knife you want before you buy. There is a ton of variation in hand forged knives like these and just in high end cutlery in general. You need to think about what sort of handle you want, the profile and geometry of the blade and the hardness and type of steel. Profile and geometry in particular can have a huge effect on how the knife feels going through different ingredients and what ingredients it is well or badly suited to. Feel free to ask any questions you want to about the subject and I will answer to the best of my ability.

Thanks! I'm looking to purchase three kitchen knives in Japan, a gyoto, a paring knife and a nakiri. I'm interested in stainless steel so I don't have to worry about corrosion and patinas. Japanese style knife, wa handle or the D handle, definitely not western style handle. And most importantly, I'd like to get ones that are as beautiful to look at as they are sharp/functional, and your nakiri is a great example of that. I'd be able to find knives like that in Sakai City?

# ¿ Jun 11, 2015 17:25

Present: Oct 28, 2011; by Shine

AVeryLargeRadish posted:

Stainless steel is fine, all of mine are stainless and they cut extremely well. For both the aesthetics and functional qualities of the knife to be quite high I would budget $300-$500 for the gyuto, $150-$250 for the parring knife and $200-$300 for the nakiri. You should also think about other qualities of the knife like the hardness of the steel, the weight, thickness, profile and geometry of the blade and so on. Since you will be able to hold the knife in your hand before buying you will have an easier time finding one that feels right to you. For steel hardness I like 61-63 HRC, that gives you a nice balance of edge taking and durability. Heavier knives will give your arm more of a work out but will also have better performance when doing things like rapid chopping. The thickness and geometry of the blade will have a huge effect on how it goes through different ingredients, the thinner the knife the more easily it will cut but it will also be more easily damage and need sharpening a little more often. Profile is how much curve the edge has and in what shape. You will notice that both my gyutos have very flat profiles and make a large amount of contact with the board, this is good for me because I don't do much rocking when I cut, instead I do slices, push cuts and rapid chopping. If you rock a lot you might want something more like a continuous gentle curve with less of a flat spot. Anyway, there are tons of factors that go into finding a really good knife that is a good fit for yourself, good luck with your search.

drat, that much huh. Ok. Gonna start saving now. Thanks for the write-up, it was really helpful!

# ¿ Jun 21, 2015 23:37

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# ¿ Apr 29, 2024 13:50

Present: Oct 28, 2011; by Shine

KingColliwog posted:

anyone knows where to get the cck cleaver online in canada?

If youre in Toronto theres a shop on Pacific mall that sells them.

# ¿ Jan 6, 2016 20:51

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