...of the damage you've done to my sanity (that's also the name of my leather wallet, btw).
I used to be a normal guy with a sane, healthy habit for home cooking, preparing food to enjoy with my wife and friends, exploring different ethnic cuisines and recipes, cooking techniques and funny kitchen apparatus.
I even received an awesome Felix Solingen chef's for my birthday (a X50CrMrV15 german steel - btw, can you see the damage? I shouldn't know what that code mean...) and I was (and still am) very happy with it. This was a serious piece of equipment!
But then, one day, a realization suddenly took place: I was tired of working with dull knives. Really. No kiddin.
You know that feeling when everything inside you just smooths down calmly but firmly into place while the world around you becomes silent? Yeah, that one. "Determination" or "Resolution" someone might call it, although I now know it for being a close relative to "Mania" or "Creeping Insanity".
Anyway that's when I started to find a way to get my knives sharp and initially thought "Oh, not a big deal, I'll just buy one of those electric pull-through sharpeners and end-of-story". Ehehe... yeah. Bought one and after a bit of use in conjunction with a grooved steel (brrrrrr) my knives wouldn't be any sharper.
That's when I discovered waterstones on the forums and that made me also aware that there were japanese kitchen knives around and many considered them superior to anything else!
From then onwards it's just been a sheer drop toward insanity... knowing you guys on the forums, learning the types of steel, handle styles, blade styles, F&F (only knew M&Ms before...very smooth and polished!), etc...
So here I am, I've made the plunge and bought myself a Hattori HD 210 Gyuto from Koki (NZ here, and JCK's the only one that ships stuff around at decent rates), and also got myself a Tojiro stone 240/1000 and a SunTiger 1000/6000 (purely based on what's available here - and price) alongside with two guiderails, one Minosharp (set at an angle described as "between 10* and 15*") and another brand (can't really say the angle but definitely something close to 20*). Also got myself a DMT CS2 ceramic steel (again, no Idahone or MAC here in NZ).
Now, masking tape notwithstanding, my Hattori HD has the sanmai pattern completely scratched (
) but is quite sharp and the german Felix too! Finally!!Ahhhhh!!!
Just the beginning though. I can easily get that damned burr flippin on the 1000 but somehow I got the feeling I mess things up when I move to the 6000 (even with the guiderails on).
I can shave my arm and slice newspapers but can't effortlessly push-cut a cherry tomato.
I hate cherry tomatoes now.
I have nightmares with flawless cherry tomatoes bouncing around and laughing at me.
"The Silence of the Lambs" has been achieved, I can slice through lamb fine.Now the quest is to reach the "Silence of the Cherry Tomatoes".
Ah, and I really need a petty now... maybe carbonext or blazen just to try a different steel. 120? 150? Suggestions needed!!
Ah, need prob also a cutting board... wood or non-wood? (no sani-tuff in NZ)
Ah, and I might also need...
That's the end of the post guys. Too long? I won't apologize. You're the cause and you only deserve it!
---------------------------------
Rumenta
I used to be a normal guy with a sane, healthy habit for home cooking, preparing food to enjoy with my wife and friends, exploring different ethnic cuisines and recipes, cooking techniques and funny kitchen apparatus.
I even received an awesome Felix Solingen chef's for my birthday (a X50CrMrV15 german steel - btw, can you see the damage? I shouldn't know what that code mean...) and I was (and still am) very happy with it. This was a serious piece of equipment!
But then, one day, a realization suddenly took place: I was tired of working with dull knives. Really. No kiddin.
You know that feeling when everything inside you just smooths down calmly but firmly into place while the world around you becomes silent? Yeah, that one. "Determination" or "Resolution" someone might call it, although I now know it for being a close relative to "Mania" or "Creeping Insanity".
Anyway that's when I started to find a way to get my knives sharp and initially thought "Oh, not a big deal, I'll just buy one of those electric pull-through sharpeners and end-of-story". Ehehe... yeah. Bought one and after a bit of use in conjunction with a grooved steel (brrrrrr) my knives wouldn't be any sharper.
That's when I discovered waterstones on the forums and that made me also aware that there were japanese kitchen knives around and many considered them superior to anything else!
From then onwards it's just been a sheer drop toward insanity... knowing you guys on the forums, learning the types of steel, handle styles, blade styles, F&F (only knew M&Ms before...very smooth and polished!), etc...
So here I am, I've made the plunge and bought myself a Hattori HD 210 Gyuto from Koki (NZ here, and JCK's the only one that ships stuff around at decent rates), and also got myself a Tojiro stone 240/1000 and a SunTiger 1000/6000 (purely based on what's available here - and price) alongside with two guiderails, one Minosharp (set at an angle described as "between 10* and 15*") and another brand (can't really say the angle but definitely something close to 20*). Also got myself a DMT CS2 ceramic steel (again, no Idahone or MAC here in NZ).
Now, masking tape notwithstanding, my Hattori HD has the sanmai pattern completely scratched (
Just the beginning though. I can easily get that damned burr flippin on the 1000 but somehow I got the feeling I mess things up when I move to the 6000 (even with the guiderails on).
I can shave my arm and slice newspapers but can't effortlessly push-cut a cherry tomato.
I hate cherry tomatoes now.
I have nightmares with flawless cherry tomatoes bouncing around and laughing at me.
"The Silence of the Lambs" has been achieved, I can slice through lamb fine.Now the quest is to reach the "Silence of the Cherry Tomatoes".
Ah, and I really need a petty now... maybe carbonext or blazen just to try a different steel. 120? 150? Suggestions needed!!
Ah, need prob also a cutting board... wood or non-wood? (no sani-tuff in NZ)
Ah, and I might also need...
That's the end of the post guys. Too long? I won't apologize. You're the cause and you only deserve it!
---------------------------------
Rumenta