New Knife =) Recommended!

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Well this is their response:

I.O Shen said:
Dear Will
Stainless steel is a general term and has many formulae, much of which is a secret maintained by the steel manufacturer, but basically is a varied mix % of the same elements, carbon, cobalt, chromium etc. The desired result is a high degree of hardness plus stain resistance, for which there is a measuring scale called Rockwell rating. ( for precise info on how this is ascertained go on the net). The harder and higher the Rockwell rating, the better the edge and the longer the edge will maintain working sharpness, but the trade off is the brittleness factor. The hardest commercial grade of stainless steel is HRC 62% and it is not possible to make a one piece blade of this hardness, it would be too fragile, but if the manufacturer sandwiches hard steel between softer layers, the soft layers act as shock absorbers, and the blade, like any laminated structure, increases strength dramatically.
I am sorry but that is as precise an answer as we can give



Not an ideal response but hey....

To be honest i just cant ignore the quality of my new knife - it really is stupidly sharp and holds is edge longer than any other knife i have ever used, so i think ill be buying more from them....

Just thought id share me experiences with you all tough

Will
 
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In the last few years I have picked up a couple very good knives from Hattori. I have used Shun, Global, Kershaw, Kai, Kyocera and others, (I used to own a cookware store & knife sharpening [FONT=&quot]business[/FONT]). The Hattori is as fine of a knife as I have ever had in my hand. Most of the knives discussed up-thread are way better than what is used daily in and out of commercial kitchens, and will do the job better. There is a bit of pride owning one of these hand made knives, that are absolute razor sharp and stay that way with proper use.
Hattori Damsacus Japanese Kitchen Knives at The Best Things
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...HRC 62%...


To paraphrase Morbo: Rockwell scales do not work that way!

I get the feeling that response was written by a marketing person after rereading the website. At least they responded. Thanks for sharing the info and good to hear you're still loving your knife!
 
I have a 6-inch URI Eagle Ceramic knife I bought exclusively for slicing tomatoes. I bought it at Taget Online with a gift card one of my clients gave me last Christmas. It can slice a tomato so thin you can read through it! And if I stick to using it just for tomatoes and other soft vegetables, it will probably never require sharpening in my lifetime.
 
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Gotta love the feeling of sharpening a knife to the point where its just plain ridiculously sharp - alomst too sharp lol :cool:
 
I have a 6-inch URI Eagle Ceramic knife I bought exclusively for slicing tomatoes. I bought it at Taget Online with a gift card one of my clients gave me last Christmas. It can slice a tomato so thin you can read through it! And if I stick to using it just for tomatoes and other soft vegetables, it will probably never require sharpening in my lifetime.

And if you had a terrific Japanese made Damascus knife you would put it up for just cutting acidic things or put it up altogether. IMHO...

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And if you had a terrific Japanese made Damascus knife you would put it up for just cutting acidic things or put it up altogether. IMHO...

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Well, I agree it would be put up, someplace. I don't buy anything Japanese, ever.
 
Me too. Not that they need protection other than washing and drying when in daily use, but when being stored they need something to prevent rust. I go a teeny bit further than just oiling. I melt bees wax into mineral oil (it stays in solution) and coat the non-stainless areas. This is the same formula I use monthly on my walnut cutting board.

Mineral oil and beeswax, great for protecting steel, and shoes.:ROFLMAO: I use a product to protect and waterprrof my leather hunting boot that's made from mineral oil and beeswax. Beeswax is also great for protecting bow strings, and for chewing on when you're out in the boonies and have nothing else to do.:)

Ok, I've gone far enough off topic. I'm going home now.:cool:

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North
 
I have a 6-inch URI Eagle Ceramic knife I bought exclusively for slicing tomatoes. I bought it at Taget Online with a gift card one of my clients gave me last Christmas. It can slice a tomato so thin you can read through it! And if I stick to using it just for tomatoes and other soft vegetables, it will probably never require sharpening in my lifetime.


I'm sorry, I misspoke. I didn't buy the ceramic knife for tomatoes, I bought it to cut up lettuce without the lettuce turning brown from the metal blade of a regular knife. It does, however, slice a tomato so thin you can read through it.
 
Well, I agree it would be put up, someplace. I don't buy anything Japanese, ever.


I find that a bizarre statement! It's like saying you wouldn't drive a German car or drink a French wine! Japanese cultery is hands-down the best in the world. The only competition I know of is from a handful of Western knifemakers trained in Japan, such as Murray Carter.

To each his own, but you're almost guaranteeing yourself of getting a poorer product than you otherwise would have by eschewing Japanese cutlery.:)
 
That does seem odd, Caine. Is it a political issue or a product quality issue? Nothing wrong with the former, but, as Bob points out, even the most pedestrian Japanese knives are unrivaled in steel and overall build quality.
 
I find that a bizarre statement! It's like saying you wouldn't drive a German car or drink a French wine! Japanese cultery is hands-down the best in the world. The only competition I know of is from a handful of Western knifemakers trained in Japan, such as Murray Carter.

To each his own, but you're almost guaranteeing yourself of getting a poorer product than you otherwise would have by eschewing Japanese cutlery.:)

I understand and appreciate the discussions about the best knives and knife steels.

I don't feel the need to have the very best knife available (and don't choose to pay for it). Just as I don't feel the need to have a Ferrari or a Rolls Royce (well, maybe a Ferrari). A very good one that serves my needs is usually just fine.

Those of you who want only the "best" should be able to understand and appreciate that.
 
I don't feel the need to have the very best knife available (and don't choose to pay for it). Just as I don't feel the need to have a Ferrari or a Rolls Royce (well, maybe a Ferrari). A very good one that serves my needs is usually just fine.

Those of you who want only the "best" should be able to understand and appreciate that.

Actually I don't understand it. A buddy of mine did buy a Ferrari two weeks ago. Now, just like you, putting 300 large of my own for a car puts me in the gag mode. For him, however, it's worth it. In his words, "I'm 65. What am I going to do, wait 'till I'm 75?" :cool:

As for Japanese knives we're talking a different world all together. Knives are used daily in the kitchen. For an endeavor given so much of your time why wouldn't you want to have a sharp instrument that makes everything easier and is a pure pleasure to use? And, you don't have to break the bank. You can get an excellent 210mm (8.2") Gyuto here for the cost of filling your car up with gas one time. The knife will last you the rest of your life. For a fifty dollar bill you can toss that old betamax in the garbage.
 
I understand and appreciate the discussions about the best knives and knife steels.

I don't feel the need to have the very best knife available (and don't choose to pay for it). Just as I don't feel the need to have a Ferrari or a Rolls Royce (well, maybe a Ferrari). A very good one that serves my needs is usually just fine.

Those of you who want only the "best" should be able to understand and appreciate that.

I think our disagreements stem more from what constitutes "good enough" rather than what the "best" is.
 
I think our disagreements stem more from what constitutes "good enough" rather than what the "best" is.


...and what's going to be "good enough" is different for each person. Each individual decides that for himself, no others need to or waste time disagreeing over what's better for me or anyone else other than themselves.
 
I guess I have no problem with whatever a person chooses to buy, but in this case I agree completely with Buzzard. I have several Tojiro's, and they're what finally led to abandon German knives altogether. Before getting my first Tojo I reasoned that while Japanese knives were great, not everyone would be willing to pay $125 or more per peice. And as much as I loved my Shun's, obviously not everyone will find them worth the money. But anyone who's considering dropping $50-100 on a Wusthof or Henckles would be smart to check out a Tojiro first. The only use I still have for my Germans is to carry in my work roll, usually to lend out. A couple guys have cut themselves on my Tojiros and are too afraid of the scary edge to use them!:ROFLMAO: I let those guys hack up parsley with my Wusthof.

Unless you have a political or emotional problem with Japan for some reason, I think anyone looking for a good blade is cheating themselves by ignoring Japanese cutlery. And obviously if you just don't want stuff that's not made in America, you can dismiss most of the other big names, too.
 

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