what kind of knife do you have? - Page 4

Currently in my daily use work case:

 

Tojiro- 240mm Western Deba, Gokujo boning knife, ITK bread knife & Honosuke.

Kagayaki- CarboNext 300mm Suji & CN 240mm Gyuto.

Moritaka KS.

Tanaka Blue Steel Nakiri.

Akifusa 240mm Gyuto (SRS-15 hagane).

Nubatama 240mm Ryuba.

Current Working Bag

 

-Suisin Honyaki Wa Gyuto 270mm

-Sugimoto Cleaver 22cm

-Yoshikane Mioroshi Deba 255mm

-Aritsugu Wa Garasuki 180mm

-Mr Itou 65mm Stag Handle Paring

fujiwara fkm 240mm gyuto
tojiro dp 90mm petty

just bought these and are the only two I use right now, planning on buying the tojiro bread knife

Forchners, globals, Dexters, Tramontina, Wusties and Henkels... All of them now absolutely neglected and in my block the ones that rule are the following:

 

Mac gyuto...My all around knife

Konosuke HD gyuto... My favorite.

3 Tojiro shirogami. A Nakiri, a santoku and a petty.

Forchner/Victorinox bread knife and butcher knife.

 

That's it... And a Masamoto HC is on the way :)

Misono Swedish steel 270mm gyuto is my at home knife and I use my k sabatier 8 " knives as my line knives I have a really small cutting area on my line so the sabatiers are a great length.


Edited by Kristopher - 1/23/13 at 1:19am

Wow Kristopher!  Gorgeous patinas.  How did you do them?

 

BDL

I used yellow mustard and used the tip of my pocket knife to make the tendrils. I can post the picturess of the mustard doing its work but my internet connection is unrelyable so i have to upload them later.

 

I used yellow mustard and used the tip of my pocket knife to make the tendrils. I can post the picturess of the mustard doing its work but my internet connection is unrelyable so i have to upload them later.

 

That's wicked Kristopher. Amazing hand work on the patina

That is really neat looking work, Kristopher.  I just purchased the same sabatier knife and now I want mine to look like that.  How did you do that?  Is it just as easy as putting the mustard on?  How long do you leave it on?  

 

Do tell.

 

CDF

I don't have these knives.  But I love the concept.  Especially practical for a traveling chef.

 

 

 

http://www.deglon.com/outils_pros/gamme_Meeting_fr.php?id_gama=119

Damn...those are pretty cool.

 

Both the stacking knives and Kristopher's creation.

 

Waiting to hear more about those!

Most of my knives are Japanese, with my favorites being my 8.25" Tojiro gyuto and my 8" handmade santoku from Watanabe blade. I've got a left-handed set from Watanabe that I love.

Kudos to you for the artistry. That's pretty awesome. Makes me want to rush out and buy a full carbon blade and some mustard!

My current arsenal has recently expanded... 

 

Sakai Takayuki Grand Cheff 240mm Gyuto (just got this)

Wustoff Silverpoint bread knife (I got this for $3 at a flea market in Hawaii; it's pretty sweet for the price)

Fujiwara Kanefusa FKM Sujihiki 270mm

Sakai Takayuki Hammered Damascus Nakiri 160mm

Forschner Flacid Boner

Henckles serrated utility (I found this between the cushions of a couch in a hotel)

Wustoff Gourmet 8" chefs

Fiskars paring

 

 

 

Hilarious. I love the internet sometimes. 

I recently received this (Victorinox) as a christmas present, and so far I love it. Has a great natural curve grip, is light-weight, lighter than the wusthof chef knife I believe. I haven't attempted to sharpen it yet, not until I can purchase a Japanese whetstone. The stone I have right now is crap, and I wouldn't dare use it on my new knife.
 

For me, the more suitable knives to work with accuracy and speed are GLOBAL and PORSCHE TYPE 301 ones. Indeed, they are expensive but they are also strong and reliable. I have never regretted my purchase.

I left it on for 2 hours. You can visabley see the patina so wash the knife when its where you like it.The iphone cant do these patinas justice they are glossy blue and purple coloration that is  hard to get on its camera. Wayne Goddards patina method is a detailed really layered this is a huge deviation from that as i only did one later but you can get detailed instructions on how to do a wg patina on the knife forums. 

 

BDL the ksab in the picture was the blade that one of my coworkers damaged. I decided i needed to know how to to it so i just ground it back and repaired it. It was a long process but really rewarding.

 

 

The School i have Decided to go to is going to be supplying Mercer Cutlery 

usually i just go with what ever looks cool when i shop for cutlery 

for home use 

 

is Mercer a good quality or since the school is using it is it going to be a  beginning learning set not something really great ? 

 

the few things school does  not supply and recommends we get on our own 

was a straight  fork 

a bench scrap an oyster knife 

birds beak knife 

kitchen shears 

fish tweezers 

 

so the ones i have been looking at on amazon where i order most my things from 

iv been looking at what has good reviews 

 

so far I'm looking at 

 

 

OXO  good drip oyster knife 

Kitchen aid Kitchen Shears 

a Mercer 6 inch straight fork 

kotobuki Japanese fish tweezers 

winware stainless steel dough scraper 

 

are these a smart choice in others opinions or is there something El's i should be going with ? 

 

thank you 

Mercer is better than most of what you'll find at Target, but that's not saying much.  The knives are made from an inferior alloy (X45CrMoV15) which is only considered "high carbon," because the German steel industry watered down the term specifically to grandfather it in so knife makers like Mercer could advertise their use of "high carbon, German steel." 

 

Mercer knives take a fair, but not good edge; one which requires EXTREMELY frequent steeling.  Mercers are good enough to re-sharpen, but barely so.  On the other hand, they hold up to abuse well.

 

Whoever tells you that Mercers are "good," either doesn't know much about knives or is getting a piece of the action.  In the case of the school, it's probably both.  Be glad they're not trying to sell you As Seen on TV Chef Tony Miracle Blades.

 

If it's possible to do so, I suggest buying other knives.  As a sort of generic recommendation for a student kit, buy a good, but sub $100, chef's knife (Richmond Artifex would be an excellent choice); Forschner Fibrox for everything else; a "fine" Idahone ceramic steel, and a sharpening gag (if you don't know how to sharpen on bench stones) which will sharpen everything to 15*. 

 

The other tools you're asking about aren't really knives.  Your choices are okay.   

 

BDL

Edited by boar_d_laze - 1/25/13 at 9:14am

I use wusthof classic and shun Ken onion knives almost exclusively they're amazing sets

awesome thank you for your  response on this much appreciated for the information 

Thumper just keep an open mind and work your way up to improved quality. That way you reduce the risk of buyers remorse, loss and even theft.

Also there enough good quality choices in the sub $100 market to make your head spin lol so no sense locking yourself into one item, and it only makes sense that while your learning you will gain experience that will help you decide what is important to you and help you to make a decision in the future.

Lenny, I seldom disagree with your insights but fear this time you may be clouding the issues. 

Not really. 

 

There's one obvious best choice (two if you count each handle type as a choice) commonly available in the US, in the sub $50 range:

• Victorinox (aka Forschner) Fibrox; and Victorinox (aka Forschner) Rosewood (which, in case it needs repetition, are the same knives with different handles). 

 

There are just a few other 240mm/10" knives in the $50 - $100 range which are enough better than a Victorinox to be worth the difference in price.  The only ones I can think of (offhand and in alphabetical order) are:

• Fujiwara FKM;
• Kagayaki Basic;
• Richmond Artifex; and
• Tojiro DP. 

 

Remember, we're looking for something suitable for cooking school, and that means stainless, comfortable handle, good edge taking, good edge holding, steels well, and is sufficiently stout to take huge helpings of inevitable abuse.  Not that there aren't other knives in the world, but I didn't recommend the Artifex lightly or for any reason other than superior suitability given the circumstances.   

Thumper's looking for something to take to cooking school, not for a lifetime companion.  He's not only got to "lock himself" into a chef's knife and whatever other blades he needs for the coming semester, but must do it fairly quickly. 

 

BDL

Edited by boar_d_laze - 1/26/13 at 11:30am

Does any one else like Kiwi knifes?  They make a vegetable cleaver which cost between six and eight dollars and is indispensable in my knife kit.  I have not found a vegetable cleaver that I like more than this one.  Granted they have a rat-tail tang, really cheap handles, and no bolster so you end up with a chef callus the size of a pinto bean.  But they last years, always take an edge and are easy to maintain.  Kiwi also makes a knife that looks like a steak knife but it is a little longer, it has good flex so you can use it as a fillet sole and it cost like three dollars.  You wouldn't want to break down a primal with Kiwi knives, but for veg they are great.

BDL though much more precisely explained I have humbly disagree with some of that.

First though I agree SS would be the most sensible choice I also understand fully sensibility is not what drives everyone to their final decision and have learned from places like this that many times a buyers choice was very different than expected etc.

Just the two groups you list set the initial long list at 6 and this omitted most of the well known German brands (though not normally a part of my typical suggestions still desired and used by many etc) and all the similar designed brands from all over , and also most of what thumper would find inn a eBay search for 240mm gyuto or 10 inch chefs etc.

When I made the initial comment I kept thinking about the various influences anyone normally has on what is a good knife, and how much more complicated this may become from all the different opinions that he is going to see at a culinary school.

I can definitely see how this could get confusing real fast and be even more so than it is for the many home cooks seeking help etc.

Another thing that I kept thinking was that the school is already "pushing" their brands etc and much as I agree with the popular Forschner recommendations etc it just seemed to make more sense to"step up" higher since he would already be getting a lower end set that would allow to learn etc and much as I agree the Forschner to be a great value etc I just feel there are other interesting possible choices that could be preferred by thumper and even end up still being used after finishing school if there still around.

It's all good and I think we may find we agreed more than not in the end

Sabatier 10" one of the older (I lnow its hard to date them exactly but I believe its pre wwII) is my go to knife right now. It has its quarks but I love it. I've owned and regularly used Wustof knives up until three or four years ago when I made the switch to better Japanese knives, which the Germans just can't compete with, in my opinion. I'm also a pretty big fan of high carbon knives now, so much easier to sharpen then stainless for me. I think that my next big purchase is going to be a 240mm konosuke gyuto.

My two lists omitted ALL of the German brands.  Good 10" Germans cost more than $100.  Cheap 10" Germans are crap.

 

As always, "used" is an entirely different thing.  There's a limit to the recommendations I (or anyone) can give, or the sense I can make out of a universe which allows as much complication as you can give it. 

 

Fair enough.  My sense of Thumper's post led me to trying to help him choose a set of knives which will help him through school and for the next couple of years.  I've already got scores of posts on Chef Talk which discuss how to think about knives and how to choose them from a more general perspective.  It was my understanding that Thumper simply wants to know if Mercers were a good choice (they aren't), what might be if they weren't (Forschner, Fujiwara, Kagayaki, Richmond, and Tojiro), and had some questions about a few pieces of non-knife "cutlery" as well. 

 

It seemed as though he sought simple answers, but it's possible I misunderstood.  If Thumper wants more background he'll ask. 

 

I very seldom suggest Victorinox/Forschner chef's knives as a go-to gyuto, and did not here.  All I said about Victorinox/Forschner chef's knives were that they were the obvious choice in the under $50 set.  On the other hand, I do and did recommend Victorinox/Forschner Fibrox/Rosewood for the other profiles cooking schools want their students to use in class.  They're as good as it gets when it comes to meat knives; while the small knives are cheap and adequate. 

 

I recommended spending more than $50 for a chef's -- although didn't explain why -- and named the Richmond Artifex as the best choice for cooking school over the other "best, sub $100" knives I mentioned -- Fujiwara FKM, Kagayaki Basic ES, and Tojiro DP -- for reasons I already gave.

 

BDL