Let's see your kitchen knives

thombrogan said:
It gets a bad wrap; the whole brand does; because it's commercially popular. They hate the Classic line because the VG-10 is too soft, but praise Hattori for softening the VG-10 in the line Ryusen makes for him and go nuts for Masamoto's even softer VG-10. They hate the Pro line because the VG-10 is too hard. They hate the chef knives because they're too curvy, but love the exact same curve on one Suisin's chef knives. I got rid of my Suisin for having that curve, but kept my Kaji, because, well, because it's just awesome. I'm part of the they; a shameless knife-snob; but the darksider in me says: "Thin knives, super-thin edges; affordable considering the materials and labor - lemme at it!"
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I think you may have misunderstood me. I meant that Santukos get a bad rap.
 
Hard H2O said:
I think that sharpness is more important than forged versus stamped, bolster versus non-bolster... If it is sharp it will cut and slice.
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Yep, if you know how to sharpen, have the equipment to do so and don't mind the process, the world is your oyster for user knives! :thumbup:

thombrogan said:
"Thin knives, super-thin edges; affordable considering the materials and labor - lemme at it!"
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I'm guilty of using some very thick knives in the kitchen (carrots are a real pain with such blades) but I hear ya on affordability. If the blade is suited to what I want to do with it, fits my aesthetic tastes, and won't break my wallet, that's what I consider ideal.
 
C.S. Graves said:
fits my aesthetic tastes, and won't break my wallet, that's what I consider ideal.
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My aesthetic taste revolves around if it works.

If it will do the job well without undue trouble or pain and not break the bank I am in.

Appearance is tertiary.
 
Hard H2O said:
I think you may have misunderstood me. I meant that Santukos get a bad rap.
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Oh yes, that. :o Chip on my shoulder and all that.

They're great knives, but tend to be "almosts." Almost as good as a chef knife, but not long enough; almost as good as a utility, but not pointy enough; and almost as good as a thin-bladed cleaver, but not wide enough.

Plus, the santoku's association with Rachael Ray and not wanting to seem like the knife version of the guy who buys products because of the attractive spokesperson.

If Furitech hired The Crypt Keeper, I'd probably have more santoku and less wagyuto.
 
Hard H2O said:
My aesthetic taste revolves around if it works.

If it will do the job well without undue trouble or pain and not break the bank I am in.

Appearance is tertiary.
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I agree that when it comes down to it, appearance is not a big deal. But with the sheer variety of blades that do work out there, there's plenty for us knifely folk to choose from. If I can get my hands on a blade that is functional, affordable, AND attractive, I will always opt for that over anything missing one of those factors when possible. In lieu of this ideal scenario, of course, looks will have to be the first sacrifice.
 
thombrogan said:
Jerker,

Many of 1.4116 steel knives are drop forged. It's all done with presses and dies and is of no benefit to the performance of the steel being used, but those knives are forged.

Speaking of stamped steels, I'm told the cooks knife I've been wanting should be available in the USA in about two weeks. So hoping the importer isn't familiar with Jerry Busse's version "two weeks." :D
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I stand corrected. I forgot about drop forging. Still the number one reason for forging is marketing. people agree to pay more for a heavier knife that is "forged".
 
Here is a forged san-mai damascus chopper from Kin-men island near Taiwan.
This knife is a cutting machine, I convexed the edge when I got it and just a quick strop once in a while keeps it singing.
:):thumbup:
attachment.php
 
thombrogan said:
"Thin knives, super-thin edges; affordable considering the materials and labor - lemme at it!"
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C.S. Graves said:
If the blade is suited to what I want to do with it, fits my aesthetic tastes, and won't break my wallet, that's what I consider ideal.
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Cheers.


I only have two GOOD kitchen knives, and both are chef's knives:

chefsknives.jpg

balanced.jpg


the one on top is my favorite - fits well in my hand, well-balanced(POB in the center of the bolster), and holds an edge well. I picked it up at TJMAXX for twelve dollars and originally intended to grind the edge off and use it as a costume prop. turned out to be so much better than what i had that i dulled one of my old ones instead. :D
the bottom one i found at Big Lots for THREE dollars. :eek:
it's nice too, but it doesn't fit me quite as well, so it doesn't get much use.
 
ZDP-189 is a great steel, but I'm not sure how I would feel about using it in a kitchen. It seems to rust more easily than other steels. And with regular honing, ZDP-189s famous edge retention wouldn't be much more advantageous than some other steel.
It should cut forever, though, and that is a truly beautiful knife.
 
Looks great, Zvi!

Very nice knives, darth kcorbe! My hands would probably enjoy the Sabatier more, but my eyes are drawn towards the Pradel.
 
Jim, I'd be very surprised if ZDP-189 has rust problems. Most of the stainless steels have ~15% Cr in the alloy, ZDP0189 has 20%.
On the other hand, I doubt I'll ever get to that point, I have bunch of "carbon" kitchen knives and nothing more than patina on those.

Brogan, you'd love that knife ;) One of the thinnest edges I've seen on the knife out of the box. Dunno how or why, but food sticks less to it compared to many other knives.
 
Gator97 said:
Jim, I'd be very surprised if ZDP-189 has rust problems. Most of the stainless steels have ~15% Cr in the alloy, ZDP0189 has 20%.
On the other hand, I doubt I'll ever get to that point, I have bunch of "carbon" kitchen knives and nothing more than patina on those.

Brogan, you'd love that knife ;) One of the thinnest edges I've seen on the knife out of the box. Dunno how or why, but food sticks less to it compared to many other knives.
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Hi Gator,
Chrome content is only part of the truth when it comes to corrosion resistance. 20% yes (I think it's 22% actually) but also a whopping 3% carbon. This carbon "steals" chrome into carbides, increasing wear resistance, which means that corrosion resistance decreases. To me it absolutly makes sense that ZDP is only soso in terms of corrosion resistance.

Carbon steels and stainless (martensitic chrome-steels) react completely different to oxidation so the corrosion mechanism is fundamentally different. Carbon steels gets "coated" in rust/oxid which protects the steel somewhat. This is why you get patina on carbon steels like 1095. Have you ever seen a patina on a stainless knife? Dont think so since the corrosion type for them is pitting corrosion which digs straight into the steel. And is also much more destructive. of course the restance for a corrosion process is much higher in the steels, but the type of corrosion is worse.
 
Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Never seen patina on the stainless steel, although in another thread, someone else made an argument that rust spots I've seen on stainless silverware was patina. I figure it was still rust.
Anyway, the way I use my knives it's very unlikely I'll ever see rust on them ;)
 
Zvi,

STeve Garsson gets rust/staining on his ZDP kitchen stuff a lot.

Very neat about that knife being thin. I enjoy SG-2 in my parer and chef knife, so ZDP-189 in an ultra-thin chef knife would probably r0xx0rz my b0xx0rz, too (though, I'd be checking out a Masamoto HC if going back to handles that don't look like pool cues).
 
Ok, I'll watch out for the rust spots.
Masamoto HC? Like his virgin carbon? Do you know the RC on those?
 
This is the most interesting thread to turn up on BF in a long time.

I gotta go take some pictures!

I have a cut on my finger RIGHT NOW from a very good kitchen knife!


.
 
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