Tojiro is a good entry into japanese knives. Many of my chefs have used tojiro starting out.
Kitchen Knives Experiences
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Tojiro is a good entry into japanese knives. Many of my chefs have used tojiro starting out.
Recently was at a store that had a selection of Japanese and German knives on display, some of the Japanese knives were Damascus and pricey, when a women came in to complain about the knives she recently brought. She proceeded to take out of a plastic shopping bag about 5 of the Japanese Damascus knives that were on display and put them on the counter, they all were chipped like I never saw before. The chips were huge, some the size of a half nickel, and overall the knives were destroyed. The sales person actually asked if they were used for opening cans. The women was dismayed by the knives stating 'these were the most expensive knives you carry, how can this happen?'. In talking to the women it was obvious she knew little about knives and just equated high price to being the best. To see such nice knives so badly damaged was a shame but it does highlight one advantage of the German knives over the harder Japanese knives, toughness.
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Yeah, if you can't use a knife properly go german.
Japanese knives are for professional chefs who can care for their tools.
the Japanese also say stainless is for women and children. I didn't say it!
I keep a wustof only because the household can't properly use a japanese knife, i keep them at work.
Japanese knives are for professional chefs who can care for their tools.
the Japanese also say stainless is for women and children. I didn't say it!
I keep a wustof only because the household can't properly use a japanese knife, i keep them at work.
While I know everyone has their preference I've read quite a few sources that favor stainless over carbon in the professional setting. In one book I read by John Juranitch who serviced the textile and meat/poultry industries in North American he was adamant that carbon held no real advantage over stainless attributing the belief to lack of knowledge of proper sharpening. I've also read culinary schools steer their students away from Japanese knives for whatever reason. Regardless I recently brought a small carbon steel knive, swedish carbon, to try out and form my own opinion. One con I've noticed is the carbon has a metallic smell I've not noticed on my stainless and on some foods the smell transfers, not crazy about that.
Back in the 60's, I was probably six or seven years old at the time, I took a couple of mom's good knives outside to play with. Dad was in the Airforce and we were stationed in Okinawa. The only cartoons we had to watch on TV were ones about ninjas........... When I brought them back inside the blades had some big chips. Neither mom or dad took them back to the store, but I'm pretty sure there was a trip to the "woodshed."
~ Chance
~ Chance
ganymede
Enlightened
Hi P_A_S_1,
On reactivity, carbon knives are generally more reactive to food than stainless steel knives. Good quality mono steel carbon knives while still reactive (forming patina) to certain food but it won't affect the taste of the food. Pro sushi chefs use carbon knives because of its excellent sharpness and edge retention qualities. That said, no pro sushi chef would use a carbon knife if it affect the taste of the food especially raw food like sushi/sashimi right?
On maintenance, carbon knives do generally require more maintenance than stainless steel knives but if the chef knows what he is doing, I am sure he wouldn't mine that extra maintenance in return for much better cutting performance. If one spend a lot of time working on the chopping board especially in a fast pace commercial setting, better cutting performance and edge retention translate to faster prep time and less time spent on sharpening. This is important to Japanese cuisine especially in preparing sushi and sashimi where the ingredients are raw and visual part (5 senses) of the food presentation is extremely important. In Japanese cuisine, cleanness of the cut/slice is a real test of the chef's competency and any pro sushi chef worth his salt wouldn't want his plate of sashimi looks like being cut with a saw. It probably won't matter if this is a 10oz steak, noone can't tell whether the meat was cut with a Wushtof or 15 bucks kitchen knife from Target.
If you want a compromise then try "San-Mai" carbon knives like my Hiromoto AS which the carbon steel core is sandwiched (hence "San-Mai") between stainless steel clad, so only the cutting edge of the carbon steel is exposed and slightly less in maintenance. You will get the cutting performance of carbon steel and the ease of maintenance (aesthetic) of stainless steel. That said, I still diligently wipe dry my knives after cleaning.
Also, it is important to remember that carbon knives being carbon knives, they are more delicate because the hardness of the steel make it brittle and more prone to chipping and you wouldn't want to use your 200 dollars hand made J-knife to pry open a can of spam. :laughing:
An artisan made quality knife is something you have to use to appreciate its craftsmanship. Mind you, like custom titanium flashlights (ala SPY, McGizmo et al) after you tried an artisan made knife there will be no turning back, it is all down hill from here.
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My kitchen has been filled with Wusthof Tridents for about 15 years now, they go in the dishwasher, they lay in the sink...they are still great. Doesnt matter who uses them, they come out no worse for the wear and still keep a very good edge with just light steel hone before use, I think Ive had most of them actually sharpened just once.
Ive had a ZJAH/Bob Kramer 10" carbon for about a year and half or so I guess now, and really enjoy using it, even in a mass produced licensed knife theres a character that the WT's just dont have. My aunt, a chef, provided it as a gift after I fell love with her $4,000 custom BK 10"
Ive had a ZJAH/Bob Kramer 10" carbon for about a year and half or so I guess now, and really enjoy using it, even in a mass produced licensed knife theres a character that the WT's just dont have. My aunt, a chef, provided it as a gift after I fell love with her $4,000 custom BK 10"
What is a BK and why is it 4000?
MrJino, may I ask the name of the maker and the model of the knife in the middle of your most recent pic?
I love the shape of the handle.
I'm not a professional chef, but I do cook at home very frequently and love the knife/prep work.
I've tried keeping our "good knives" in shape, but it's a losing battle at home.
I would like to get one really good chef's knife and keep it hidden from my wife.
I love the shape of the handle.
I'm not a professional chef, but I do cook at home very frequently and love the knife/prep work.
I've tried keeping our "good knives" in shape, but it's a losing battle at home.
I would like to get one really good chef's knife and keep it hidden from my wife.
archimedes
Flashaholic
My guess would be that @Maven is referring to a fully custom Bob Kramer knife ....
.... Because he is referring to a fully custom Bob Kramer knife
EDIT - here's a link to examples of his work ...
http://kramerknives.com/auctions/gallery/
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The middle one is a konosuke fujiyama gyuto, at 270 mm. The handle is ebony I believe.
Excellent knife, but at about 350-400 it is not for everyone.
My guess would be that @Maven is referring to a fully custom Bob Kramer knife ....
.... Because he is referring to a fully custom Bob Kramer knife
EDIT - here's a link to examples of his work ...
http://kramerknives.com/auctions/gallery/
Good lord that's expensive, but to me the short necks of the knives is an annoyance for sharpening... japanese knives come with longer necks, since we tend to love sharpening our own knives.
That's some web site. I almost fell over laughing when I read this;
The Lottery
The Lottery
This is the current way to order a custom Kramer knife that you design from tip to heel. As Bob has room in his schedule, we select names from our email list to place an order.
Considering a knife of that quality will be handed down for many genarations, its price is a great value when contrasted to the $500 your former boss paid for a four ounce steak.
~ Chance
Had a left over turkey carcass I used for a soup (I like to debone and stuff poultry as opposed to cooking the birds w/ their bones in), a seventeen pounder who wouldn't fit in the pot. No meat cleaver so I took the Henckles large knife and a rolling pin and battoned right threw the backbone, three strikes total. When done about one inch of the edge was wrecked, as expected, but not as bad as I thought it would be. Ten minutes on a India/Arkansas and all damage corrected and it was back to shaving sharp. I keep a low back bevel and only a slightly higher micro bevel on it so it held up well all things considered. While it's something I wouldn't recommend doing it was pretty cool nonetheless and in the case of a total failure I've had my eye on a Misono anyway .
.
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P_A_S_1,
Did you take any before & after pictures?
~ Chance
Did you take any before & after pictures?
~ Chance
No. Didn't even cross my mind.
That's too bad. Going from wrecked to razor sharpe in ten minutes constitutes braggin rights. :thumbsup: If I had your skills back in Okinawa I might have saved myself a trip to the woodshed. :whoopin:
~ Chance
Well I've thinned out the edge well in previous sharpening so that helps but thanks. It's funny though I've read and been told by others how hard German stainless steel is to sharpen but I don't find that to be the case at all.
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