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Rob Babcock

Rob Babcock

Head Chef
Joined
Dec 23, 2004
Messages
1,337
Location
Big Sky Country
Finally! A guy I work with has decided it's time to buy his own chef knife!:chef: The reason? Seems when I have a day off and take my knives home, there isn't a usable one in the house!:ROFLMAO: Now, he's young, and his priorities are 1) beer 2) weed & 3) girls (not necessarily in that order!:pig:) so he doesn't want to spend a lot. He asked me for some advice, and after discussing what he wants and is willing to spend I think he's going to get a Forschner Fibrox 10" Chef knife. A very good choice for the money. It's pretty sharp OOTB, is made of good steel and maintains and edge reasonably well. And it will be pretty easy to keep sharp...

Once I show him how, that is.:smartass:
 
He's pretty careful with my knives, Attie. Of course, on his second day he cut himself so badly with my Tojiro 240mm Gyuto that he had to go to the ER for half a dozen stitches!:whistling Yes, he learned quickly to respect the edge!

Mostly I just see a bit of myself at that age in him. He's a quick study & a darned fine line cook. And he really loves the work, loves being a cook. Since I was doing it since he was wearing Huggies, it's nice to "give something back.":ROFLMAO:

And of course, if it keeps him away from my knives more's the better!;)
 
Rob Babcock said:
And it will be pretty easy to keep sharp...
Once I show him how, that is.:smartass:
Click to expand...

Are you going to teach him to follow that 22-25* factory edge or show him how to reprofile to 15* where the fibrox belongs. I keep my Fibrox's at 15, no microbevel, and they hold up very well slicing and chopping on a Sani-Tuff.

Edit: Oh, and I have two Fibrox skinning knives a acquired from a packing house that I keep at 10* with a 12* microbevel. The edges last much longer than I ever thought they would. :cool: End edit.

Buzz
 
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I don't think he's ready to embrace The Dark Side completely.:LOL: Sharpening is something he really isn't interested in. I'll probably just give him an Edgemaker Pro and call it good. The Edgemaker will keep a Fibrox shaving sharp which is plenty good for him.

Hopefully it will be a "gateway drug" that will get him interesting in good tools.;)
 
Rob Babcock said:
I don't think he's ready to embrace The Dark Side completely.:LOL: Sharpening is something he really isn't interested in. I'll probably just give him an Edgemaker Pro and call it good. The Edgemaker will keep a Fibrox shaving sharp which is plenty good for him.
Click to expand...

Good enough. I like Forschners. Frankly, I'm so hung up on Japanese cutlery that I don't use anything else anymore but I'll never badmouth the former. I had a really nice chef's, slicer, paring Victorinox combo that I kept at 15* and will never ever EVER complain. They're great. I gave them to one of my sons this past Christmas who is not into kitchen cutlery but IS impressed by the knives.

Rob Babcock said:
Hopefully it will be a "gateway drug" that will get him interesting in good tools.;)
Click to expand...

Hmmm. The disease doesn't infect everyone..... :cool:
 
I have to echo Rob's sentiments concerning Forschners. I have used mine for around 45 years and they were the generally accepted standard in the packing house where I worked. They have served me well.l However, I just took Robs advice and ordered the Kanetsune's from SMKW. So superior that I will retire my Forschners as "guest" knives. If I were working in a kitchen, I would probably use Forschners. SMKW sells a wide variety of knives, including Forschners, at reasonable prices. Free shipping and no sales tax if you order over the internet. I intend to order the full set of Kantesunes (5 total), case them in wood, and make them the last knives I will ever buy.
 
Cool! Glad you like the Kanetsune, Bigjim68. Pretty nice knife for the price. We can than sharpening guru Dave Martell for that tip!;)
 
Matt's Fibrox showed up a couple days ago. I ended up ordering it for him, got it from SMKW for $24.95 w/free shipping. He loves it! It's pretty sharp OOTB and feels good in the hand. For $25 I might get one for a beater knife. Just 'cause I'm a swell guy I gave him a basic Messermeister knife roll that I wasn't using, plus an Edgemaker Pro sharpener and a Messermeister birds-beak parer to get him started.

He told me today he's anxious to start filling up the case.:cool:
 
Hi Rob & Buzz, good to see you out spreading the word about fine cutlery. Looks like a nice little sub forum here so I thought I'd join up and say "Hi". :)


--Dave--
 
Hi, Dave. Good to see you 'round these parts. The level of knife knowledge & discussion here is a lot lower than at your regular haunts, but the site will benefit greatly from your input.

Btw, I've pretty much retired my ceramic hones after getting my HA glass one from you.;)
 
I am one of those "lot lowers". Glad to have you around. I'm here to learn. Hope you like to answer dumb questions with smart answers. I am a total newbie to Japanese knives. Up to now, more questions than answers.
 
Another welcome from another knife dummy. I know enough to know I really don't know much. I told my wife the other day that at some point I will be getting a new (Japanese) knife. She was not happy with that, but she will deal. When the time comes I will have lots of questions.
 
Hi everyone and thanks for the welcome. I can see already this is a nice friendly community. :)

If anyone has any questions please feel free to ask. I don't mind PM's or emails but sometimes it's best to post a thread so everyone can learn, including me. :)


--Dave--
 
OK guys, your first questions. In doing quick research before buying my J knives, which I understand was your recommendation (SMKW Kanetsunes), I noticed that the steel in many of the Damascus knives from Seki was listed as pretty much the same i.e. VG 10 with softer steel exteriors. Do these manufacturers use steel from a single source, or is the steel fabricated in house. Not that it would make much difference to me, just curious. Secondly, mine have 32 outer layers. It seems to me it would make very little difference in the quality whether a few or a lot of layers. Enough to protect the VG 10 seems to me to be enough.
 
Bigjim68 said:
Do these manufacturers use steel from a single source, or is the steel fabricated in house. Not that it would make much difference to me, just curious.
Click to expand...

In house? VG-10 was designed by Takefu Special Steel Company and I believe has to be purchased from them. The knife manufacturers can heat treat as they like but duplicating the steel might be A) too difficult, and B) a violation of Japanese and International patent law.
 
Bigjim68 said:
OK guys, your first questions. In doing quick research before buying my J knives, which I understand was your recommendation (SMKW Kanetsunes), I noticed that the steel in many of the Damascus knives from Seki was listed as pretty much the same i.e. VG 10 with softer steel exteriors. Do these manufacturers use steel from a single source, or is the steel fabricated in house. Not that it would make much difference to me, just curious. Secondly, mine have 32 outer layers. It seems to me it would make very little difference in the quality whether a few or a lot of layers. Enough to protect the VG 10 seems to me to be enough.
Click to expand...


VG10 is a proprietory steel that's purchased by many knifemakers but WITHIN Japan only. The heat treatment of the knives will be different so it's not easy to compare one VG10 knife with another.

The layered issue is all about looks - the more layers - the better the looks. OK maybe there's more to it but I'm doubting that's the case.


--Dave--
 
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