Posts by ChrisLehrer

For what (little) it might be worth, I agree with BDL -- and with Benuser about Kramer.   I don't understand where Kramer is coming from at all. Setting aside all the more obvious concerns about the knife and edge, this...

When in doubt, look to what the Italians do. Chop them coarsely, sweat in olive oil with a little salt and pepper, until very soft. Add water or light chicken stock and cook at a simmer for 15 minutes or so. Purée in a blender, then...

As a Chocera user — I've got 400, 800, 2k (and then non-Chocera from there), I'd say it depends a good deal on what you're sharpening. If you are trying to learn to sharpen big single-bevels, Chocera is a great place to be, because you...

I'm not sure why you need a slicer for veggies, especially with a gyuto this good.   Mostly slicers are for meat and fish. The questions there are complex, certainly, but veggies don't come into it much. One does see Japanese...

That's odd. Is it just the photo, or are those characters in relief?   Anyway...   In a month or two I can check, but I think I have a deba like this. It was made in Shikoku. A lot of minor brands are there, in the...

+12 for everything BDL just said.   There is such a thing as a "do-everything" knife, but it's about as good for complicated and intricate custom work as you'd expect from a good handyman. You want a true jack-of-all trades,...

BDL's point is very well taken. The issues here are very complex, because there are many different types of manufacturers, and lots of middle-men, and competition is greatly complicated because it is international. All that together...

I haven't used an EP or other similar setup, but I do have a bunch of Chocera bench stones.   The advantage of Chocera is that they are fast, don't dish much, and they provide a great deal of very subtle feedback. If you are...

One more thing, as Columbo used to say.   Durability and hardness aren't at all the same thing. Unfortunately, there is no absolute measure on durability: you have to go largely by anecdotal data, and even then it's going to...

Notes from the peanut gallery:   1. I was apparently wrong about the Shun profiles. I am sure BDL is right about this: he's right about most things, but also he has actually compared scads of knives head to head, which I...