Knives (NRR)

[fejmelba]

elise said:








Ceramic knife is only for home use.




we get lots of stuff from companies to test





last year i got my hands on my first ceramic. the fun only last a couple of weeks


they get blunt rapidly and chip fast. dont even think of dropping them.





i stick to my classic sabatier chef's knive and office knive





funny enough this is the knive i use most of the time

 

Serial killers everywhere are printing out this thread.

 

[batmon]

Herm said:Jesus! I never realized how serious the knife game is! I have a steak knife and some $12 chef knife and use those for everything. And by "everything" I mean "slicing a lemon in half" and "cutting open the bag of frozen chicken tits."





I'll probably grab both when some crazy bandidos mistake my house for a stash spot and kick in the door waving a .44.




Have you ever went over a friends house to eat and the food just ain't no good?


The macaroni's soggy, the peas are mushed, and the chicken tastes like wood


So you try to play it off like you think you can by saying that you're full


And then your friend says, "Mama, he's just being polite, he ain't finished, uh-uh, that's bull!"


So your heart starts pumpin' and you think of a lie and you say that you already ate


And your friend says "Man, there's plenty of food", so he piles some more on your plate


While the stinky foods steamin', your mind starts to dreamin' of the moment that it's time to leave


And then you look at your plate and your chicken's slowly rottin' into something that looks like cheese


Oh so you say "That's it, I gotta leave this place, I don't care what these people think


I'm just sittin' here makin' myself nauseous with this ugly food that stinks"


So you bust out the door while it's still closed, still sick from the food you ate


And then you run to the store for quick relief from a bottle of Kaopectate


And then you call your HERM two weeks later to see how he has been


And he says, "I understand about the food, Baby Bubba, but we're still friends"

 

[jjfad027]

I cook a lot and agree that Victorinox Fibrox is the best for folks on a budget. I get mine on Amazon

 

[LaserWolf]

Aser, thank you. This is why I love this place.

 

[jjfad027]

I cook a lot and agree that Victorinox Fibrox is the best for folks on a budget. I get mine on Amazon

 

[DJ_Enki]

Aser said:Sharpening - Another stupid myth, the steel you have doesn't sharpen your knife, it merely hones/re-aligns your blade. Over time, a softer steel knife (such as Germans) will have their edge roll over after repeated use. The hone helps to roll the edge back into a V formation. Honing does work but eventually a knife will dull to the point where it requires actual sharpening. Meaning abrading metal off the steel to create a new edge. This can only be done by one way, using sharpening stones, I prefer Japanese water stones personally. As an aside, you'll see diamond or ceramic steels/hones that can sharpen your knives. These work differently than regular steels as they're made of material harder than you knives. On softer steel knives, it'll create microscopic abrasions, giving your blade a toothy edge. You can't see it, but the abrasions resemble what a bread knife looks like. Yes your blade will feel sharp, but these little abrasions chip off quickly, thus leaving a dull edge again. It's a short term fix for sharpening for lazy cooks imo. Do not use these on Japanese knives with harder steel, it'll cause your Japanese blades to chip, not a pretty sight. I rather stop myself before I nerd out anymore on waterstone sharpening, as i'm even more fanatical that than buying knives. Unless somebody asks.........







How easy is the whetstone method? Or, more accurately, how easy is it to fuck up your blades if you don't really know what you're doing? I'd love to be able to sharpen my knives myself, but I'm wary of ruining them due to total lack of whetstone experience.





Also, thanks for the big-time

 

[fejmelba]

make sure you always sharp on the same angle





and always the same curve





there must be a youtube vid

 

[fejmelba]

and get one of these

 

[Aser]

DJ_Enki said:





How easy is the whetstone method? Or, more accurately, how easy is it to fuck up your blades if you don't really know what you're doing? I'd love to be able to sharpen my knives myself, but I'm wary of ruining them due to total lack of whetstone experience.





Also, thanks for the big-time




I'm not going to lie, there is a learning curve. Obviously better if there is someone there guiding you through the process. Also there are a million ways to sharpen, there is no correct way. There are lots of minor variations but for general purposes, it involves grinding the blade on a surface that helps to break down the metal particles of the knife to form a new edge.





Lots of good videos online with proper technique, perhaps even more videos with improper technique. That is the pitfall of relying on videos, you have to know who is doing it right vs wrong.

This image illustrates a knife pre-honing and post honing.

This shows what happens when you're sharpening. A tiny little lip forms with the metal particles pushed off by grinding the stone. Once you feel this lip on the opposing side, is when you realize the knife has been sharpened. This lip, called the burr, needs to be removed to complete the sharpening. I draw my knife through a wine cork to accomplish that.





Basic equipment needed would be a rough and fine stone, and a flattening stone. Flattening your stones ensure even contact surface w/ the knife when sharpening. I often see stones that resemble a skateboard ramp, they're useless for sharpening by that point.





http://www.japanwoodworker.com/product.asp?pf_id=01.096





Resources you can investigate to learn about sharpening....





http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?/topic/26036-knife-maintenance-and-sharpening/





http://www.knifeforums.com/forums/showforum.php?fid/26/





http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/forumdisplay.php?4-The-Kitchen





Videos that illustrate proper technique....

















http://www.youtube.com/user/JKnifeImports





Jon's store offers some great knives too.

 

[Aser]

oops double post

 

[asstro]

If you want to do just basic sharpening I highly recommend the Spyderco Sharpmaker:





http://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details.php?product=77





It's a pretty dummy proof system for sharpening, and you can do plain edges, serrated knives, scissors, etc. Takes about 10 minutes to learn how to use it and it can bring a dull blade back to life in no time at all. The only issue you may have is that it is designed more for pocketknives, so the sharpening angles may not be optimal for food prep. However, I use mine on my (admittedly low end) kitchen knives all the time with no problems. Don't buy it from Spyderco's site though, you can get it much cheaper on Amazon.

 

[Rich45s]

I thought the whole point of the Globals was the edge was different. Sharpening by hand defeats that purpose no?





I use this to sharpen mine,





http://www.amazon.co.uk/Shinkansen-220-GB-Minosharp-Universal/dp/B00005OL3L/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1299674055&sr=8-2

 

[Aser]

Rich45s said:I thought the whole point of the Globals was the edge was different. Sharpening by hand defeats that purpose no?





I use this to sharpen mine,





http://www.amazon.co.uk/Shinkansen-220-GB-Minosharp-Universal/dp/B00005OL3L/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1299674055&sr=8-2




Japanese knives are like blank palettes, you decide what edge you want to put onto it. The knife won't be ruined just because you put a different edge on.





You can put a much bigger convex edge by employing a sharpening technique called hamaguriba (clamshell). It's mainly suited for single bevel knives but it is an advanced technique that is beyond most.





Pull through sharpeners work in the sense that your knife will be sharper, but it'll never come close to the sharpness achieved via the stone. They do remove more metal off your knife also, shortening your knife quicker. However, for a home cook, it's an ok substitute as it's better than leaving your knives completely dull like most people. The wheels inside these gadgets tend to dull quickly so they'll have to be replaced after a period of time (1 yr?).





Spydercos are a good option for home users that don't want to deal w/ the hassles of waterstones. Again, your knife won't get as sharp, but it works. They approach 2000 with the finest grit rod I think.

 

[LaserWolf]

Some of my knives were over 20 years old. I rarely, if ever, sharpened them with a stone (thou when I did shoe repair I kept all my work knives razor sharp) just the honing steel.


So they were real dull.


I had them professionally sharpened. It was quick, not too expensive, and he did a great job.





In other words, yes you can sharpen them at home, but you can also easily get them sharpened professionally.

 

[elise]

I love sharpening with the stone and I get a high from having a sharp ass knife. It helps when you are breaking down hundreds of chickens and fish. I felt like Zoro in class.





This thread is top notch.








Question...should I take in my Global to get it sharpened at Sur la Table? They say it is safe, but I feel weary about it.

 

[DJ_Enki]

elise said:


Question...should I take in my Global to get it sharpened at Sur la Table? They say it is safe, but I feel weary about it.




For what it's worth, as I was looking around for a good sharpening spot, I heard a lot of negative feedback about Sur La Table (the one on 4th St. in Berkeley), including allegations that they just run your knives through one of those electric sharpeners.

 

[elise]

DJ_Enki said:elise said:


Question...should I take in my Global to get it sharpened at Sur la Table? They say it is safe, but I feel weary about it.




For what it's worth, as I was looking around for a good sharpening spot, I heard a lot of negative feedback about Sur La Table (the one on 4th St. in Berkeley), including allegations that they just run your knives through one of those electric sharpeners.




I figured that much. I've also wondered about the people who sharpen knives out of their trucks at the Farmers' Markets, too. I just don't trust strangers with my knife.

 

[Horseleech]

For people serious about knives, it's really worth it to learn how to sharpen it yourself.





You don't need expensive equipment and it's not that hard.

 

[faux_rillz]

elise saidJ_Enki said:elise said:


Question...should I take in my Global to get it sharpened at Sur la Table? They say it is safe, but I feel weary about it.




For what it's worth, as I was looking around for a good sharpening spot, I heard a lot of negative feedback about Sur La Table (the one on 4th St. in Berkeley), including allegations that they just run your knives through one of those electric sharpeners.




I figured that much. I've also wondered about the people who sharpen knives out of their trucks at the Farmers' Markets, too. I just don't trust strangers with my knife.




I use a woman named Margery Cohen, who sets up at the Chelsea Market two days a week.





She has restored two knives for me that were badly damaged by a total hack.





Her website says that she comes out to the Bay twice a year (usually March and August) to do sharpening:





http://www.samuraisharpening.com/schedule.html

Margery Cohen has been sharpening knives since 1974 when she worked at a fish market on the New Jersey Shore. After ten years of working in various fish markets and a move to The Bay Area, she joined master woodworker, Ray Nitta's business, Samurai Sharpening Service in 1984 at the Berkeley Bowl in Berkeley, CA.





Shortly after that, Nitta moved back home to Kauai and Margery took over the business. She sharpened at that location for 12 years before her move to New York City where she opened Samurai Sharpening Service at The Chelsea Market in 1997. 2009 will mark the 25th anniversary of Samurai Sharpening Service.