Looking for carbon kitchen knives...

[aceofblades]

What do you all recommend?

 

[Absintheur]

I recently bought myself three custom knives from Ichimonji-Kichikuni in Sakai Japan. these are made with Yasuki high carbon No.2 Steel that is fully blacksmith welded between the outer iron. As a result, the blade can obtain both high carbon steel and soft iron characters. The blade with the construction of hard steel for cutting edge and of soft iron for body provides easiness to re-sharpen, exquisite sharpness, tenacity and durability. The handle material on these is magnolia wood with horn bolsters. From top to bottom:
Santoku - a general purpose chefs knife
Yanagiba - for carving meat and large fish such as tuna into steaks
Usuba - for cutting veggies

These knives do require care as they will rust and discolor if not taken care of. I immediately wash and dry after each use and they are stored on magnetic strips instead of in a drawer or block.

If you prefer traditional western style knifes you might try http://fantes.com/carbon.html

You can also find less expensive knives at http://www.ontarioknife.com/oldhickory.html these are made from 1095 carbon steel and are an excellent value.

 

[psy-ops]

Sabatier chef knives. They use a 1095 type steel. Scary sharp.

 

[knucks]

old hickory

 

[Absintheur]

Another couple you might want to look at are

http://www.wildfirecutlery.com/

http://www.japanesechefsknife.com/default.asp ... check out the HD series from Hattori, I own several of his smaller kitchen knives and they are some of the finest knives I own period.

 

[ahgar]

+1 for old hickory i've always really liked them and thought they were a good bang for the buck knife.

 

[camo kid]

dexter russell makes some good ones in carbon steel. Joe

 

[aceofblades]

I will look into the dexter russels, and I forgot to mention that I will NOT buy old hickory.

Thanks,
Joe

 

[gradall5200]

I made some of my own green river russell knives you can buy them as blanks for around $10 bucks and put whatever handles on them you want or you can buy handle kits. made 2 for my wife for around $22 bucks and she loves them. nice and thin easy to sharpen etc. just my 2 cents.- Joel

 

[whitedoor]

A similar thread a few months ago had a recommendation for Warther knives (warthers.com). They are American made in Ohio and seem like a cut above
Old Hickory knives.

 

[kodeslinger]

Question: how would these carbon steel knives compare to modern high carbon stainless steels, e.g. the VG-10 laminates of Shun etc.

 

[ahgar]

the carbon steel blades will come up sharp pretty quick but not hold the edge as long, i would expect. however the vg-10 would take longer to get sharp but hold it longer.