smkit's Profile
Misono and Masahiro knives
Wow, this post is a time capsule.
I have one Misono UX10 gyuto 240mm. I bought it used and the previous owner put a 90/10 edge on it. I would agree with scubadoo97 that the width of the bevel is important. It was very noticeable when I got the knife.
Edit: since this is an old post, Misono prices are much higher now, so there may be better options out there in terms of price and value. I got mine used with a custom rehandle for less than the list price. Go used if you can.
Knife sharpening
Btw, Burke Cutlery has a new website and relocated to Hurst. With that said, he is now doing knife work full time and working on his own line of knives.
http://burkecutlery.com/
Chopped All-Stars Finale (5/6/2012) [SPOILERS]
Just watched this episode today. I shy away from saying Penny is a horrible person, but here is someone who (1) roots for others to make mistakes in a charity event and gloats about it (2) ultimately tries to promote herself more than her charity and (3) is an ungrateful loser. She definitely is someone I would never want to be around, see on TV, or take cooking advice from. She may have made the final round, but Penny is definitely a chopped loser.
What's the BEST cooking site?
I like Eat Your Books. It's nice to have all the recipes in my cook books indexed and searchable.
Masahiro guidance.
No clue, but I am interested in seeing what you do with it. My only masahiro is an M3 cleaver.
Early Impression of a Moritaka AS honeuski
"Come to think of it. What Moritaka really need to gain control is the grinding..... -- that is where the improvement needs to be made. Not that mine has any problem, but others have."
_________
And the big thing is not to make a mistake and overgrind an area of the blade. Once metal has been taken away, it can't be put back. I've had knives that have had mediocre grinds, but they can be fixed by thinning, evening out the bevels and just regular sharpening. But an overgrind that extends to the edge will usually get worse over time and may be unfixable.
Early Impression of a Moritaka AS honeuski
Don't have much of a patina on it yet, but it will come. Almost all my knives these days are more reactive carbon (W2, O1, and 52100). No chicken contest yet ;)
Early Impression of a Moritaka AS honeuski
Well, if their are no high spots along the edge, you are probably ok. Yeah, I need to dedicate a month to breaking down chicken and really put my through some work. The steel on mine is 52100.
Early Impression of a Moritaka AS honeuski
Thanks for the report chem. I must admit that I got a custom honesuki in and have yet to use it very much, so I will use your post as inspiration. Btw, are there any over grind issues with your Moritaka? That brand has gotten some pretty bad reports in the last couple years and it seems to be hit or miss on whether it is an issue or not.
kitchen knives
I've heard good things about both knives. I don't think you can go wrong really, and if you are just starting to sharpen, it is nice to have something not so expensive that you don't feel you can 'screw up'. I'd probably go for the CarboNext JCK line which is supposed to be close to a TKC. I love my TKC 240mm gyuto.
Care of carbon steel knife--patina question
"How you know you're way too into Japanese knives: you accidentally cut a finger off and your first thought is: "dammit, I hope I didn't chip the blade on the bone"
________
...and then which do you do first: bandage your finger or wipe the blade down?
Care of carbon steel knife--patina question
Very much agree Kaleo. It is strange how steels become popular (and not so popular) and 1095 will hopefully have its day again. I remember when Devin Thomas and his son, Larrin, stood by AEB-L at KnifeForums for a long time before people started accepting that steel for knives. Now it has become quite popular. 1095 just needs a 'booster' to stand by it once again (in the kitchen), make great knives with it, and interact with the knife community. Unfortunately, the knives of Joel Bukiewicz (of Cut Brooklyn) don't break out of the NYC locale much. He doesn't care to interact with the forums really and one time I wrote him AND called him to buy one of his knives and never got a response. I respect him, still want one of his knives, but he doesn't seem to need knife knuts and forums. He makes his coin in other ways.
Care of carbon steel knife--patina question
No, why? Am I missing something. I was thinking about this thread from KKF.
http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/showthread.php/1637-Cut-Brooklyn-Opinions
Care of carbon steel knife--patina question
+1 to what cowboy said. I can't remember hearing anyone take on 1095 recently in the knife forums. Sometimes if a knife is made out of 1095 and it is really expensive, people might question the 'value' of the knife and label 1095 as 'simple' (Read: Cut Brooklyn). With that said, 1095 definitely isn't in the 'popular crowd' these days with custom kitchen knife makers. It seems W2, O1, and 52100 are the favored carbon steels right now.
Care of carbon steel knife--patina question
I agree with Kaleo on this. Before going down that route I would try forcing a more even patina that you can live with. Also, I have often used the BKF and cork on my knives and it sort of works. It removes the big stuff, but ate awhile it just sort of gets cloudy and dull.
Btw, what type of carbon steel is it? Maybe I missed it up thread. I'd also try the carbon blade on some food like apples and see how they taste. Some carbon imparts not-to-pleasant taste to the food, and a patina helps reduce that. It may be that you need a patina. I have a couple of knives like that.
Does anyone have an opinion on WMF cookware?
Yeah, with those specs you will have few options, and they will all cost. Eva Solo has nice stuff too with draining lids and interior markings, but it is also spendy.
Ready to Buy New Pots: Need Advice
Have you considered the Vollrath Tribute line of cookware? I've read good things about them and most seem to like the handles and balance. I don't need new pans, but if I did, I would likely try this line.
http://www.vollrathco.com/catalog_browse.jsp?id=193
Does anyone have an opinion on WMF cookware?
I'm sure WMF cookware is well made as is their other equipment and will perform well, but I always thought the lid was a bit gimmicky and the added cost for that feature is quite significant. Did I see that correct? $190 on Amazon?
Even if my cooking style demanded that I boiled food a lot and needed to use a strainer, I don't think I would pony up the cash. I use a spider strainer for most pastas except spaghetti.
Benchmade Kitchen Knives
The point I am trying to make is that the (few) knifemakers that make both good hunters/folders AND good kitchen knives, actually know how hard it is to make a good kitchen knife. It takes them a lot of time to master it and demands a lot of feed back from cooks. Whether or not Benchmade has gone through this process or not, I don't know, but the comment from the reviewer on their site regarding the thick blade and how it wedges, seems to imply it they might not have figured out a good kitchen knife yet.
Stainless Steel Bento Boxes -- Do they even exist?
I don't know if these fit your needs or not. Rakuten can be a little bit more of a challenge to order from (sometimes) depending upon which Japanese company fulfills the order. You may need to go through a shipping broker.
http://global.rakuten.com/en/store/all-zakka/item/dbs701_s/
http://global.rakuten.com/en/store/imaster/item/e222444h0000/
http://global.rakuten.com/en/store/dhi/item/thbb001-198587/
Everything sticks to the knife!
It doesn't have to be thick at all -- not like a yanagi. The convexing is really subtle. Check out this picture.
What kitchen equipment do you never use but is always in your kitchen?
My lefse making equipment, terrine molds, and immersion blender, but that is probably because I haven't taken it out of the box in almost two years.
Everything sticks to the knife!
Below is an image from KnifeForums of different grinds. The flat grind tends to be sticky and wedge, where the convex on the right less so. In Salty's videos up thread the Delbert Ealy blade that performed very well is sort of like the scandi grind but the last lower part where it tapers to the edge is convexed much like the slight curve in Cowboy's image (but on both sides). It tends to cleave the food more. BUT if the blade gets too thin you lose the ability to have that pronounced curve near the edge. The Ealy blade is a bit 'planky' on top so it doesn't slice like a laser, but it is very good for food release. Once again, the trade off.
Everything sticks to the knife!
Fully agree on the trade off. I have one of the Ealy's in the 'grind' videos above and it has that type of grind. At first the chunkiness of the blade was off-putting, but I have come to appreciate it for it's food release. I have a custom suji coming in this week too with an 'experimental' grind that also plays with this exact trade-off.
Benchmade Kitchen Knives
440 steels get raised here more than any other food forum it seems. All it takes is one reference to Cutco and it's off to the races...
Everything sticks to the knife!
Yeah, a 'wedgy' knife can be good for food release, but they stink when it comes to cutting large dense veggies. I have a hunter that I would say has a wedge geometry and I like using it when cubing meat. The geometry cleaves the meat nicely and sticks less than my thinner chef knives.
I also have a kids mini chef knife that I ordered from Japan. The wedge geometry surprised me at first, but when I tried it on a cucumber that my kid would cut, it worked really nice and the slices fell away. It struck me then that it would be better for kids as they wouldn't be trying to pull stuck food off a blade with delicate tiny fingers.
Benchmade Kitchen Knives
Knifemakers that dabble in kitchen cutlery usually make good quality kitchen knives that are mediocre performers in the kitchen -- at best. Their profiles are very 'hunter-ish' with drop tips, more belly, and even sometimes bolsters that prevent good sharpening.
Their clientele is often different, they are not professional cooks or serious foodies but people who already use their hunters or folders and now want a kitchen knife in the same brand because they like what they have had so far.
Even if you ignore the profile issues, knives from these makers are often thicker at the spine (read: wedging) or flat ground (read: food sticking) and they disregard steel out there that is better suited to the abuse of the kitchen.
A year or so back I was trying to get a billet of steel from a well-known maker of hunter knives and blacksmith so I could have an experienced kitchen knife maker turn it into a functional blade. He wouldn't do it because he didn't trust others to heat treat it, but the comment was: "Kitchen knives are easy" so he could do it. This is a common misunderstanding. I would trust those makers with fillet knives and carvers, but not a workhorse chef's knife.
As the hunter and folder market has died down, more of these makers are branching out into kitchen knives because it is a growing market. IMO I'd be very cautious of these makers at this time.
Benchmade Kitchen Knives
Did you see this review on the site? It sounds as if it is a petty good assessment.
"These knives are just OK for me. They came very sharp from the factory. They are solidly constructed but a little lacking on fit and finish especially the flushness of the handles, spacer and blade tang. This small detail made them somewhat uncomfortable to use. The handles themselves are not shaped well for secure grip and comfortable use. My final gripe is thet the blade stock is far too thick. The Chefs knife wedges itself in hard foods like carrots and potatoes. The steel is unremarkable, 440C is good steel, but nothing exceptional. I much prefer my Shun brand kitchen knives. They are much thinner and more comfortable to use. Cheaper too. IMO, these are for Benchmade fanboys and no one else. They are good, but there are much better out there."
Everything sticks to the knife!
Good point about cutting with knives that are shorter than the food you are cutting. You can also use different parts of the blade to achieve the same thing (depending upon the knife shape). Towards the tip the blade is narrower than the heel, so you'll have different sticky issues.
I like the video of Salty that Chem linked to. He also has three interesting videos dealing with a variety of knives with different grinds to show how it affects food release. It won't help with your current knives, but it is illuminating nevertheless.
http://youtu.be/E7XTGYY4yE0 (The Grind)
http://youtu.be/LF2VFo1_yrQ (The Grind II)
http://youtu.be/FXviazyA0yg (The Grind Continued)
USA Baking Pans
Lincoln Food Service was bought out by Vollrath, and I think it is under the WearEver line and made in the USA. My pan says Lincoln WearEver on on it. Restaurant service stores sell this brand more from my experience.
With that said, I am not averse to buying stuff made in China when it comes to products like these. I do shy away from stuff kids will suck on or handle a lot though.
Just FYI, I recently spoke with a cast iron producer who had made cast iron in the USA for over a hundred years, but their foundry closed and they no longer had a viable material source to be price competitive. They could buy it from a more expensive, farther away USA foundry, raise pries, and go out of business or source it from China and stay in business. IMO these issues aren't always simple.
Even the USA cookware deity of All-Clad has its covers made in China. That's fine it seems...for now...
