Kitchen Cutlery (Pictures)

[Crag the Brewer]

Crag the Brewer, Another wood for scales you may want to consider is ipe. It's dense, hence heavy, & extremely strong. Exceptionally wear resistant. Often used for decks & other outdoor applications, so readily available. A friend decked the trailer for his metal tracked excavator with it. So it's super tough.

Downside being that it's a rather plain looking wood. At least what I've seen of it.

Edit to add: As with lots of other tropical woods, toxicity of the dust when cutting or sanding it requires remediation measures. Lots of online info about it. Caution is mandatory!

I've read that a certain national home improvement store sells it, I think?

I love working in wood, so I'd be willing to try it

*I don't have a Spyderco Moran, never seen one up close ....but I can't think of a better compliment to be compared to such.....Thank You.
I spend most of My designs working on the handle, and what it Should be.... Haha. I don't think about the blades all that much

 

[roaduck]

Crag the Brewer, Another wood for scales you may want to consider is ipe. It's dense, hence heavy, & extremely strong. Exceptionally wear resistant. Often used for decks & other outdoor applications, so readily available. A friend decked the trailer for his metal tracked excavator with it. So it's super tough.

Downside being that it's a rather plain looking wood. At least what I've seen of it.

Edit to add: As with lots of other tropical woods, toxicity of the dust when cutting or sanding it requires remediation measures. Lots of online info about it. Caution is mandatory!

I second that RokJok ipe is very practical hard and long-lasting - I can`t remember where it`s native - Australia, South America ? forgot.
On my posh chopper I have Asian striped ebony which is harder and denser than snakewood but more beautiful - very expensive though - it`s used on posh bespoke guitars.

 

[Crag the Brewer]

I second that RokJok ipe is very practical hard and long-lasting - I can`t remember where it`s native - Australia, South America ? forgot.
On my posh chopper I have Asian striped ebony which is harder and denser than snakewood but more beautiful - very expensive though - it`s used on posh bespoke guitars.

My beater, shop knife is decked out in ebony....very durable wood for sure!

 

[roaduck]

Lovely Crag the Brewer - I have one knife with an African black ebony handle ( like on piano keys ) apparently Asian striped ebony is a completely different species but is harder and denser which is saying something.

 

[Aardvark]

Crag the Brewer, Another wood for scales you may want to consider is ipe.

Ipe (ironwood) is the first wood that I used to handle a knife. Hard as heck. I used to buy blade blanks, handle them, and distribute to protesting acquaintances. Been about 20 years since I used the ipe on that knife. No problems with shrinking or cracking. Also, the figure of the wood was anything but plain, but each tree is unique.
No, I will not show a picture of that. There are only a few things that you can mess up when handling a knife. I did all of them, and maybe came up with a new one.

RokJok's caution about the toxicity of wood dust, exotic or domestic, is worth heeding.

 

[roaduck]

Ipe (ironwood) is the first wood that I used to handle a knife. Hard as heck. I used to buy blade blanks, handle them, and distribute to protesting acquaintances. Been about 20 years since I used the ipe on that knife. No problems with shrinking or cracking. Also, the figure of the wood was anything but plain, but each tree is unique.
No, I will not show a picture of that. There are only a few things that you can mess up when handling a knife. I did all of them, and maybe came up with a new one.

RokJok's caution about the toxicity of wood dust, exotic or domestic, is worth heeding.

When I was a teenager I was a trainnee chippie (carpenter) , worked on construction sites and sanded loads of wood and asbestos without a mask, smoked loads of pot etc but I can still cycle up medium 15,000 foot mountains, club all night and play the tenor sax - at sixty - plus I smoke - I`m a caveman.

 

[Aardvark]

worked on construction sites and sanded loads of wood and asbestos without a mask, smoked loads of pot etc

Is this a subtle ploy to avoid being asked to babysit?

 

[roaduck]

Is this a subtle ploy to avoid being asked to babysit?

Not at all lads - I was a single dad with 2 kids after my fiance died in a car crash and terry towel nappies don`t bother me in the slightest.
If the little ones are good I can do all the voices reading fairy stories - love it.

 

[Chefget]

About four years ago

 

[RokJok]

A couple from the shop of Murray Carter: a Muteki series nakiri by Taylor Shields and a model from Murray himself he named the Perfect Kitchen Knife.


Crosspost of picture of three kitchen knives from three different eras. Top to bottom are a David Mary Boomerang, Chicago C42 7" chef's knife, and an I. Wilson carbon butcher knife.

 

[roaduck]

About four years ago

View attachment 2651119

Oh my Goodness - fabulous mate - and I thought I was bad.
Most are mine are are junk - I don`t mind - I can cater for 300+ using a $3 bendy 5 inch so anything else is a total luxury haha !
I just got offered $8500.00 for my unique bespoke PM caidao - I turned the b-list chef down; it`s going to my son when I die.
I cook seriously ( 2-5-way fusion ) plus for the homeless but I don`t time or weigh things; I`m no chef - recipes are for boring amateurs.
Knife skills, HT and angle are the crucial things - 4 onions a minute etc; chiffonade 2lbs of flat parsley drunk on vodka etc.
When I was 17 I could turn a 56 lb bag of unwashed potatoes into thick French fries in 45 minutes using a 5 inch bendy Tramontina in a Fish and Chip shop - hard but fun times !
Doing a 200lb basking shark barbeque on the shore in Indonesia at midnight with a $10 carbon caidao feeding a full beach is where it`s at man.Obviously the vodka was free !
No choice - chucked in the deep end; not waving but drowning LOL.
Did I meet Keith Floyd ?- no comment - haha ! Love big F1 Yachts with sails in Monaco - Cannes F/F and the F1 Grand Prix in the Spring is Heaven.
Had 4 passports - lived and worked in 62 Countries - but I`m not quite dead yet ! got offers in Morocco looks ideal !.
So it`s Rabat, Meknes or Tangiers now and Fez and Marrakech later - decisions - decisions.

 

[roaduck]

Thanks Rokjok - my 40 year old kids in Bordeaux are sorted out now so I can go on walkabout now.
I`ve had a hard life so I deserve it now mate.
Relaxevous Yippee !
My idea of retiring is cooking for 14 at Christmas - bunging the pots in the dishwasher and getting out my tenor sax for a jam !
No rest for the Wicked - poker card school for afters Hehe - `cos I`m a caveman.
Candles and oil-lamps around the campfire are fine.
Who need the TV or electricity - ? not me LOL
I`m used to a 2-storey 18th Century miller`s cottage with a well and no stairs or electric at six years old in rural Wales.
So I`m not easily impressed.

246 kph on the dash equates to 152 mph which is insane on narrow roads with blind bends coming up.

At seven I moved to the Isle of Man - where this happens in early June - mad was normal for me.
You could hardly see "em - but you sure could hear `em !
In the early seventies they were doing an average of 100mph+ on 11 foot wide roads - sometimes in the rain - they`re much faster now.
Sometimes seven motorcyclists a year die - totally mental.
There`s no room for error going 210mph past stone walls a foot away; I`m not kidding.
I prefer 4 wheels and did a bit of rally driving when I was younger - alas too ill to drive now.
Only 500-700 hp but loads of power to weight ratio.

The Japanese hill climb boys were unreal - totally illegal now of course - spoilsports - 1000 hp per ton - mega
I`m a lightweight - Dad was an F1 driver in the 1960`s.

 

[Khromo]

I don't need Damascus, I don't need a hammered finish. This Kobayashi cow knife has a clad SG2 blade, and it cuts like a demon. The Sonora Desert Ironwood handle is just dessert. Lightweight, nimble, and beautifully balanced, it handles like a paring knife. It makes you want to cook something.

It was not cheap but I'm off cheap knives. The thrill of saving a little money wears off quickly, and then all you have is a low-rent cutter.

 

[Aardvark]

That is indeed a beauty, but is "cow knife" a typo? I've never heard of that, and Google is not forthcoming.

 

[Khromo]

That is indeed a beauty, but is "cow knife" a typo? I've never heard of that, and Google is not forthcoming.

Depending on who is translating, it might be cow knife, or beef knife. I think I picked up cow knife on a higher-end Japanese seller's site (meaning the seller is located in Japan), so I believe it is a legit term among the cognoscenti.

Cow knife sounds a lot more humorous to me than beef knife, and it is important that we retain our senses of humor around here. We don't want to start treating a hobby like a religion!

 

[Aardvark]

Thanks. Is that a translation of what is stamped into the blade?

Also, what is the length of the blade?

I swore that I wasn't going to buy another kitchen knife, but... OK, to be more accurate, my WIFE swore that I wasn't going to buy another.

 

[Khromo]

Aardvark, I don't know what the stamps mean. The web site has short bios of the blacksmiths, I'll check back to see if it is his name.

From heel to tip it measures 7 7/8" or about 20 cm. The big difference between this knife and a Western style or mongrel chef's knife is the thin blade (!!!), the light weight and the balance. It only weighs 166 grams, where a thicker blade and metal bolster pushes a typical mongrel well over 200 (My Miyabi Artisan is 208.). The wa handled knife balances about 1/4" inch in front of the heel, the Miyabi balances about 1/2" behind the heel.

The differences don't sound like such a big deal, but when you start using the lighter knife you notice it immediately. The knife glides back and forth using the recommended push-pull motion with very little effort. I keep my knives very sharp, but the thicker blades in my other knives will not cut or slice like the thinner blade does. It might be compared to the difference between driving a light pickup truck and a sports car.

I found a few vendors located in Japan that offer similiar blades with simpler handles for well under $100 in AUS-8, or for just a little more in VG-10. I ordered the one in the picture over the weekend and it was delivered to San Diego on Wednesday.

 

[Crag the Brewer]

Aardvark, I don't know what the stamps mean. The web site has short bios of the blacksmiths, I'll check back to see if it is his name.

From heel to tip it measures 7 7/8" or about 20 cm. The big difference between this knife and a Western style or mongrel chef's knife is the thin blade (!!!), the light weight and the balance. It only weighs 166 grams, where a thicker blade and metal bolster pushes a typical mongrel well over 200 (My Miyabi Artisan is 208.). The wa handled knife balances about 1/4" inch in front of the heel, the Miyabi balances about 1/2" behind the heel.

The differences don't sound like such a big deal, but when you start using the lighter knife you notice it immediately. The knife glides back and forth using the recommended push-pull motion with very little effort. I keep my knives very sharp, but the thicker blades in my other knives will not cut or slice like the thinner blade does. It might be compared to the difference between driving a light pickup truck and a sports car.

I found a few vendors located in Japan that offer similiar blades with simpler handles for well under $100 in AUS-8, or for just a little more in VG-10. I ordered the one in the picture over the weekend and it was delivered to San Diego on Wednesday.

What's the hardness?

 

[Khromo]

What's the hardness?

Crag, the vendor doesn't list the hardness. As you know, the manufacturers who use this steel usually say 61 to maybe 63 HRC or so? I haven't used it enough to have to sharpen it yet.

The website I used has mostly higher-end knives on there. This was the least expensive ($280) SG2 "blade only" they offered in this style and length! They had mostly tool steel knives; AO, white, blue. I am not a professional, so I stuck with stainless. When a pro finishes cooking, he cleans his knife; when I finish cooking, I eat!!! Sometimes the knife doesn't get cleaned for a while, so it is stainless for me!

 

[Crag the Brewer]

Crag, the vendor doesn't list the hardness. As you know, the manufacturers who use this steel usually say 61 to maybe 63 HRC or so? I haven't used it enough to have to sharpen it yet.

The website I used has mostly higher-end knives on there. This was the least expensive ($280) SG2 "blade only" they offered in this style and length! They had mostly tool steel knives; AO, white, blue. I am not a professional, so I stuck with stainless. When a pro finishes cooking, he cleans his knife; when I finish cooking, I eat!!! Sometimes the knife doesn't get cleaned for a while, so it is stainless for me!

The green handled cleaver is ours. I made it for my wife.
It's 8670 and will rust. It does, my wife is beyond horrible with its care.

I still love that steel for in the kitchen (and woods) it gets Crazy, sticky sharp. It's hard to describe.