Kitchen Knives

[Edwin Santos]

Shuns are very nice. I'd like to have one of their Chef's Knives but the missus might not appreciate the cost.

Now you're talking. Most of the Shun knives are high carbon clad with Damascus steel. Their claim to fame is the combination of the layers of Japanese steel combined with the Damascus method of forging results in a knife that will take a 16 degree bevel without becoming fragile. This compares to a western knife which should stay at a 20 degree bevel to be on the safe side. The difference in bevel will by itself result in a considerably sharper edge.

I used to have a set of Henckels knives and can tell you they are junk compared to a Shun. And just to show how everything is relative, if you browse the catalog of a seller called Korin, you will find Japanese knives that will make the Shuns look like junk.

This is all probably sounding like the chisel discussions in the Neanderthal Forum. Because it is.

Edwin

[Mike Cutler]

Plus, there's the issue of reaching into the dish sink and coming into contact with a properly sharpened knife. Ooooh...

My mom did an excellent job of making sure her children NEVER put a knife in the sink full of other dishes. My mom was a really, really, nice person, but,,,,,,,

[Bruce Wrenn]

I have several kinds of knives. Wife's favorite is a 10" Old Hickory butcher knife, which she uses for everything from paring to peeling. Likes it nice and DULL. Says she would cut herself if it was sharp. I have several Chicago Cuttery knives (pre Walmart days), some Case, and a couple Dexeters, all of which were purchased in local thrift stores. I'm a sucker for a wooden handle knife. One Grohmman 10" chef's knife was bought at a half off sale at local Habitat Restore for the princely sum of a QUARTER. Ordered directly from Grohmman, it would have set me back a "C" note and some change.

[Peter Kelly]

I agree with this totally. Unfortunately, with three others in the house, I have to touch "my" knives up with frequency because others don't handle them as carefully as I do.

I keep my MAC and Miyabi knives hidden for that very reason..

Anyone in or near Hudson Valley area should check out Warren Cutlery in Rhinebeck NY. Knife Valhalla! They also sell Festool and other woodworking stuff out of a separate space around the corner.

[roger wiegand]

My favorite "knife" is my carbon steel Chinese cleaver that I bought for $3 when I was in grad school many decades ago. It looks horrible, but I've never found anything else that is as easy to use for such a wide range of tasks. (that include some knives that cost 50-70x more money) It dulls pretty quickly, but it also sharpens very quickly. I just keep a diamond hone in the knife drawer and give it a swipe or two every other time I pick it up and it's plenty sharp for any and all kitchen tasks. It's probably a half inch shorter now than when I bought it, should be enough steel left to make it to the end.

[Jim Becker]

I'm less enamored with my Globals than I was originally, Doug. The knives I currently enjoy the most are the two Zhen knives I made from Woodcraft kits (Nakiri and a Looonnnggg bread knife) and my Zwilling Pro knives. Keeping the Globals sharp has been a challenge; not so for the others. The Nakiri is my most used knife. I just love that format...thin, wide, lightweight and balanced as well as wide for easily picking up stuff I just cut.

[Roger Feeley]

Aye, edge holding has a lot to do with how the knife is handled. My rule is, the knife does not leave my hand after use until it is washed and dried. As you've noticed, this is very hard to teach to other philisti..., er, people. :^)

My family is tired of being lectured about letting the older knives stay wet. I'm pretty much the only one that uses those old knives. My rule is that there are only two kinds of knives: those that hold an edge, and those that don't rust.

[Perry Hilbert Jr]

Agreed on the fact that some folks do not know what sharp is. A reason I held on to my old carbon steel Chef's knife for years, was that is was so easy to sharpen. Blade was heavy on the back and near paper thin on the edge. Super for slicing. We went through a series of crap stainless knives. Sure you can cut a carrot, but so can a butter knife. Then about 20 years ago, we visited folks who had a set of expensive Wusthoff knives. I helped the husband in the kitchen. those knives were incredible. Now we have a set. Like several other brands, there are the housewife quality, the restaurant kitchen quality and the ones the Chefs baby and carry with them from job to job. Easy to tell when a knife is dull, rest the weight on a ripe tomato and pull back a half inch without pressing down. it the knife cuts the skin it is sharp, if it rides on top it is dull. A truly sharp knife can cut a ripe tomato thin enough to read through the slice. Many people don't know the difference between a chopping knife and a slicing knife. Also unfortunate for the knife's edge. We keep a cheaper set of Henckels for the kids to use. The Wusthoffs are not as good as some knives, but do for us and I can sharpen them.

[Frank Pratt]

There's a whole lot of hyperbole going on here when people are extolling the virtues of carbon steel over stainless. Yes, generally speaking, carbon steel will take and hold and edge better & longer than a stainless blade, but really, equating a stainless blade with something like a dull stick is silly. I've got 2 or 3 stainless knives that are easily sharpened to a razor edge. When they dull, they get a quick touch up. No big deal if I get 10 or 20% less cutting time.

[Doug Dawson]

I'm less enamored with my Globals than I was originally, Doug. The knives I currently enjoy the most are the two Zhen knives I made from Woodcraft kits (Nakiri and a Looonnnggg bread knife) and my Zwilling Pro knives. Keeping the Globals sharp has been a challenge; not so for the others. The Nakiri is my most used knife. I just love that format...thin, wide, lightweight and balanced as well as wide for easily picking up stuff I just cut.

I have a Tormek T8 set up on permanent duty for knife sharpening. It sets up the Globals just fine.

I also have a Chef's Choice electric sharpener, purchased many years ago, it gets highly/top-rated by Cooks Illustrated, but it is meh in comparison, and not suited at all to the thinner Japanese knives. It works okay on the Wusthofs, in a pinch, according to my wife (she doesn't zen out on the Tormek, which she looks at like a Rube Goldbergian espresso machine.)

I could use my Shaptons for this, but the angles are too weird, and so not easily repeatable.

[Jim Becker]

Yea, I just keep a double sided diamond "stone" in the drawer for "repairs" as well as periodic serious re-sharpening and use the steel frequently. The latter has really helped keep the specific knives I use the most performing well. My Zwilling knives can actually be sent in to them for free sharpening if I want/need that...a nice benefit of ownership outside of the down-time. A local commercial sharpener will also do non-commercial knives with pickup and delivery at a small fabric store in the local train station for reasonable rates. That's nice for many folks who don't know how to or don't want to sharpen themselves beyond the steel.

[John Meyer]

What is the best sharpening device for serrated knives? Seem to have trouble sharpening some of these knives for my wife.

[Perry Hilbert Jr]

Good knives never go in the sink or dishwasher. Anybody leaves water in the sink here better be laying dead next to the sink. We don't leave anything laying around needing to be cleaned, at least not in the kitchen. You make a mess, you better clean it up immediately, or you lose the right to even enter the kitchen.

[Doug Dawson]

What is the best sharpening device for serrated knives? Seem to have trouble sharpening some of these knives for my wife.

I use a Japanese slip stone for those. I mainly use those knives for bread, which is not too demanding, so the knives stay sharp a long time. Mmmmm, brisket sammiches!

[Jim Koepke]

What is the best sharpening device for serrated knives? Seem to have trouble sharpening some of these knives for my wife.

It depends on the type of serrated knife.

My favorite steak knife is flat ground on one side. As Doug mentions a slip stone is used from the other side to maintain the scallops or serrations. My Arkansas stone slips get used for this. My Japanese slips work nice but are too easy to slice into with a knife. Though being soft they can be formed to the knife. This is good if you want to dedicate a slip stone to the knife.

My inexpensive set of steak knives was made by hollow grinding both sides and then cutting the serrations were all cut from one side. These haven't been sharpened yet, but it would involve using slip stones.

A serrated bread knife is often has its serrations cut from both sides. This would likely be done with slip stones from both sides.

Sharpening a serrated knife is similar to sharpening a saw. What is really doing most if not all of the cutting is the points. Work at sharpening the points, then lightly work the back side to remove any burrs. With a well fitting slip stone or a little stone angling getting the point sharp will also produce an edge in the scallops.

jtk