New Knife =) Recommended!

[Rob Babcock]

I'll purchase non-Japanese kitchen knives when American or European manufacturers match the performance. So far I haven't seen any.

As always, the man of fewer words sums it up perfectly! I'm all for buying American, but it's increasingly rare that I can find an American product of high enough quality to satisfy my needs. Try to buy a CD player made in the US (with no Asian parts, that is)- and good luck, because we can't/don't make any. At all. My preamp is Mexican blink, my speakers are British, my DVD & CD players are Japanese, my HT processor is British...I think my main amp is actually made in the US, but I won't swear to it.

When it comes to knives, IME Japanese knives have next to no peers, certainly none made in America. Henckles has some very advanced knives- that are manufactured in Japan and branded for them. Aside from that, I can only think of Mora as a maker of good laminates from Europe. And that's the key: laminated knives are generally superior IMOHO. Short of making an entire knife out of V-Gold 10 or Cowry-X, laminating a very hard hagane with a softer jigane, san mai style, seems the best way to go.

 

[buzzard767]

Sandvik's 12C27 is very good as a single-piece blade (same stuff as stainless Moras). It's not as good as, say VG-10 or 19C27, but it's tough enough to not need lamination and cheap enough to be affordable without 420 cladding. Plus, Mora hardens it up to 58HRC, resulting in a competent, if not high-middle-performance knife. That said, Tojiros and Shuns are definitely entry level for high-performance kitchen cutlery.
So...politics.

Good stuff. I'm waiting for Chicago Cutlery to start making $30 knives with Japanese geometry out of 12C27, 13C26 (AEB-L), or the like. The carbides in 13C26 are extremely small and can be sharpened to insane angles. Remember, this is what razor blades are made of. Also, it can be hardened to RcH 60+. AND IT'S STAINLESS!!!!!! It is also inexpensive.

Picture it; Chicago Cutlery, Sandvik Steel, and Chef's Choice (electric sharpeners) put their heads together and measure the size of the American market. They decide on a standard double edge 15 degrees per side. Overall geometry about like Yoshikane, thin but strong and looking (a lot) like Sabatier without the ridiculous and unnecessary bolsters. Micarta designer handles. Get Ray Ray to promote them....

I'd be the first one one the block to buy a set for everyone in my family.

​

 

[DrThunder88]

That would be slick. If RR promoted them, I might have to swallow my pride, blind myself to the undoubtedly gaudy colors, and try one.

 

[buzzard767]

That would be slick. If RR promoted them, I might have to swallow my pride, blind myself to the undoubtedly gaudy colors, and try one.

Gaudy colors? You mean like this: I don't remember if I posted this knife in this forum or not. It's a Hiromoto 240 AS I had rehandled in micarta for my daughter this past Christmas. Click on the pic for a better view of the micarta.

 

[Caine]

Gaudy colors? You mean like this: I don't remember if I posted this knife in this forum or not. It's a Hiromoto 240 AS I had rehandled in micarta for my daughter this past Christmas. Click on the pic for a better view of the micarta.

The handle of that knife isn't half as gaudy as that tablecloth!

 

[buzzard767]

The handle of that knife isn't half as gaudy as that tablecloth!

Where's your Christmas spirit? Doncha see the little trees in the checkerboard squares?

 

[Caine]

I thought it was an Italian restaurant tablecloth on crack!

 

[Bigjim68]

My definition of "best" in cookware is what feels good to you, looks good to you, works best for you, and that you can afford. I use a set of 40 year old Forschners, which I bought new for the same reason that I would use to purchase new knives today, if the Forschners should ever wear out. Speaking of what works for you. A Cambodian lady who I am shamelessy exploiting as a teacher as she is the best asian cook I have ever known, found one of my knives too dull for her taste, grabbed the mortar from my stone mortar and pestle, added some olive oil, and used it for a sharpener. It is about as sharp as I can make them with a couple of hundred dollars worth of stones and steels. Her explanation, that is the way she was taught to do it.

 

[kitchenelf]

Do you mean she used the pestle (the tool to pound ingredients) or did she use the side of the mortar (the bowl the pounding gets done it)? Very interesting!

 

[Bigjim68]

Used the pestle. My M & P is about 7 inches around, with a pestle around 6 inches long, and maybe 1.5 inches in diameter at the largest spot. It is also a fairly rough stone, unlike the marble small ones you see. Got it at a Cambodian food market. She considers it a small one, and we generally pound, or grind, whole spices. It takes a lot of time and energy, but you get the texture you want, and you get freshly ground herbs and/or spices. It really is a different taste. She uses lime leaves and lemongrass, which I grow in pots, a lot, and there is really no way to ground them to a paste without a
M & P.

 

[Rob Babcock]

A Cambodian lady who I am shamelessy exploiting as a teacher as she is the best asian cook I have ever known, found one of my knives too dull for her taste, grabbed the mortar from my stone mortar and pestle, added some olive oil, and used it for a sharpener. It is about as sharp as I can make them with a couple of hundred dollars worth of stones and steels. Her explanation, that is the way she was taught to do it.

I'll bet the swarf adds zip to her next batch of pesto. That's a good way to sneak some iron into your diet.

 

[Bigjim68]

Nope, I get to be the guy who washes it, and I had better do it to her satisfaction. Remember, she now has a sharp knife. Never complain to a cook with a cleaver.

 

[DrThunder88]

That would be slick. If RR promoted them, I might have to swallow my pride, blind myself to the undoubtedly gaudy colors, and try one.

Gaudy colors? You mean like this: I don't remember if I posted this knife in this forum or not. It's a Hiromoto 240 AS I had rehandled in micarta for my daughter this past Christmas. Click on the pic for a better view of the micarta.

We were talking about Rachel Ray promoting them, right?




You could carry those into the woods to keep hunters from mistaking you for a deer!

 

[Witchlord]

We were talking about Rachel Ray promoting them, right?

You could carry those into the woods to keep hunters from mistaking you for a deer!

Better yet, leave the pots at home, but bring Ray Ray with you blindfolded and wearing antlers. I think the world would be a better place.

 

[buzzard767]

Stop picking on Ray Ray.

 

[EastWestknives]

Someday the Chinese may mass produce a good knife... but it will take a while to find out if it's a reliable product. Or if it's mixed with lead. It would be interesting if their was a resurgance of traditional Chinese steel working. The Chinese sword as compared to the Japanese was much softer but still had excellent tensile strength. I wonder if that tradition and technology was lost...

 

[iswhaticrave]

LOL! Snapcrotches..

 

[buzzard767]

LOL! Snapcrotches..

Ray Ray endorses all kinds of things....

 

[arcanius]

Your statement assumes I am not happy with my current knives. I have Henkels Pro S and keep them sharp. They are comfortable in my hand and do everything I can do with my limited knife skills. A "better" knife" won't make me a better chef any more than a better pan would. Different strokes...

You're right about the better knive/chef statement. The right knife is a very personal decision and when you find that one, it will allow you to do better work while standing for 8 to 10 hours.

 

[chef_william]

Anyway... back to topic lol

Ok...... i have seen the light. These knives are shall we say... not very good - as you may have already guessed!

A first they seem great - they were undoubtably very very sharp, but since further use i am not impressed.

Like many of you, i am not happy with their OTT marketting stratergies. I am not impressed by the fact they are marketed in such a manor to indicate that they are japanese, when they are infact made in china, using steel imported from japan. Neither am i impressed by the fact they cannot tell me what steel they use. Even more annoying is the fact they try and make out the handle design is an integral part of the knife balancing system, when the knives are infact very badly balanced - MUCH heavier over the handle than the rest of the knife, so i presume their spout is bullsh!t...

A friend of mine at college brought in the filleting knife for me to look at, and i was shocked at how little flex it had - it barely flexed whatsoever, and would have made a truly awful filleting knife.

My 2 knives now seem to have lost their edge, despit being only a couple of months old... i take excellent care of my knives - honing them after every work out, so its not my lack of care resulting in this!

Just thought id air my opinions - ery dissapointed, so i wont be buying anymore!! Will