Parabolic grind for food release on vegetable knife?

That looks like it would work great. We eat potatoes here like they are going out of fashion. Now if I could get my cheddar to quit sticking.
 
What happened to the Granton ?? But now we have a Nathan !
I always thought the second slice pushed off the first one , etc . ???
 
Robert, you are right, but given my poor technique i usually end with a full potato cover on my blade ;)
 
Robert, I shot this video just for you!

[video=youtube;jJQD3_APGTc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJQD3_APGTc&feature=youtu.be[/video]

I know, my kitchen knife cutting technique is lame. I'm trained as a machinist, not a chef. But this illustrates my point.

I don't like it when food sticks to the blade, I want it to fall off as it's cut. I know you can knock one piece off with the next, but when I do it they go everywhere. When I get potato duty Jo hands me three potatoes. I want to sit them on the cutting board and when I'm done I want three neat piles that are like stacks of playing cards, not a random pile of potato debris. :thumbup:
 
Now you've got me thinking about not only a parabolic grind for slicing taters, but a left-hand chisel grind for a right-handed person to peel potatoes and make tournee's (cutting toward the thumb with the right hand)...

[video=youtube;Br0vr0vBo_Q]https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Br0vr0vBo_Q[/video]
 
This is something I'm always thinking about. Interesting approach you have Nathan, and I also wonder about the steering and wedging. I've focused all on convex grinds but I do daydream about alternatives like what you have here.

Here's a video that's a pretty good visual for conventional convex grinds

[video=youtube;FXviazyA0yg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXviazyA0yg[/video]

One very good grind (start at 2:40, also nsfw language)

[video=youtube;0kVs8aJlq3E]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kVs8aJlq3E[/video]
 
Pomme Cocotte - Reminds me of an old Bob Elliot, Ray Goulding program where they interviewed a tooth pick maker ,in Maine IIRC. He cut a tree like the Pomme to get ONE tooth pick per tree !!!
Me and some of the Classic French Cooking don't get along well !

The biggest insult I ever got - ''could you slice that ham?" I then met , for the first time , a spiral cut ham !!! AAARRRRGGG !
 
mete said:
Me and some of the Classic French Cooking don't get along well !

!
Click to expand...

Few things I find more annoying than Professional chefs wasting their time , and that of their students, teaching outdated, useless French techniques like , Potato Tourne.
 
Nathan, I think it's a real interesting the way you went about making your improvements. Backing up to your original Old Hickory knife, does the food release off of the grind you put in it or do those rectangular grooves up by the spine break the surface tension of the sticking food. Just wondering that's all. Take care.
 
Hesparus said:
How is it in terms of steering and wedging?

Chris
Click to expand...

It steers like a single bevel knife I guess? It cuts straight to me. *shrug*

It wedges more than a thin full flat grind, but less than a short hollow. Part of this is the flat side against the work being cut, and part of it is a funky grind that starts off flat but develops into a deep hollow towards the top rather than a dramatic hollow going directly into the cut.
 
Don Nguyen said:
This is something I'm always thinking about. Interesting approach you have Nathan, and I also wonder about the steering and wedging. I've focused all on convex grinds but I do daydream about alternatives like what you have here.
]
Click to expand...

I'd hoped you'd chime in. Perhaps I could send it to you for your thoughts?




cdent said:
does the food release off of the grind you put in it or do those rectangular grooves up by the spine break the surface tension of the sticking food.
Click to expand...

Both I think.
 
I do several different grinds on my kitchen knives but a "blended" mostly single side grind works very well for me when I want the best of food release and no steering. I also like a wedge with a lower single bevel like many forged or my stock removal knives are. I'll do a video the next time I have one completed.
 
Nathan, your video speaks out loud! You nailed it in the bull's eye :thumbup:
Now i'm very concerned about the outcome of the evil plans you and Don Nguyen are going to do....a kitchen revolution???!!!! :eek:
 
Hi Don, in the Mario video I take it's a part flat grind part convex? If so, what would you think works best 50% flat 50% convex or 75-80% flat and the rest convex?( for something like potatoes) Thanks Lu.
 
Lu, the knife could be full convex or part-flat, I'm not sure. I could ask Mario if he remembers.

I don't know what's best :) I have tried a lot of knives and they all kind of vary. Some are thicker with heavy convex grinds and they still stick, and some are flatter but don't. I've even tried S-grinds and they stick, and some very thick full convex knives that cut very well without any sticking. I have a thin santoku I made years ago (0.100") with a high, flattish grind and potatoes don't ever stick on that thing. I'm sure other makers have figured out what works for them, but I'm still trying to optimize mine.

What I do on mine is I make two different bevels, then smooth them out. Something like this:

7Njx3Dv.png
 
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