Knife arsenal

[malkazanie]

I know there's been a bunch of specific posts about knives and knife use, but I'm really curious as to what knives you all have, love, and/or use regularly. (Photos encouraged, of course.) As for me:

At home:
-All Wusthof Classics (received as gifts):
-6" chef's knife
-8" bread knife
-3.5" paring
-7" santoku
-5" tomato knife
-210mm Fujiwara FKM Gyuto - new favorite
-7" Mercer Millenium Usuba (really fun knife for $13)
and many, many assorted paring knives featuring a couple ceramic (don't like) and some Kuhn-Rikon (like very much)

My kit from school is all Mercer Millenia - slicer, serrated slicer, boning knife, and paring - plus a10" Wusthof Classic chef's knife, and Kuhn-Rikon boning and paring knives. I'm seriously considering keeping the Wusthof at home and getting a Victorinox or Forschner to use exclusively at school... things disappear there more frequently than I'd like.

[BigE]

8" Shun Classic Chef
7" Mac Santoku
10" Forschner Chef
12" Forschner Hollow Edge Carving
10" Forschner Serrated
4" Forschner Paring
4" Shun Classic Paring

The Mac is my favorite for everyday use. The Forschner carving knife was a gift that I used for the first time on yesterday's ham...I instantly fell in love.

As I read through that, I realize there is quite a bit of redundancy. 3 chef's knives, 2 slicing knives and 2 paring knives. Oh well, I (try to) find uses for all of them. :)

[Eiron]

Long post eaten by MicroSoft. :'-(
Pics only:

[petek]

I love show&tell !! :D

[Eiron]

Yeah, sorry about missing the "tell" part. I spent about an hour last night typing up full usage descriptions on everything. When Windows Vista decided to lose its brain (again) & dump my text, I decided I was done.

[petek]

no worries. sometimes a picture is worth ....yada yada :D I couldn't wait to get rid of Vista and upgrade to Windows 7(still not problem free but way better)

You got yourself a real nice kit there.It's nice to see what other people are using in the kitchen.

[Eiron]

Thanks, I have about 2x as many knives as I need right now! :-D
When I started this whole process about 18 mos ago, I cleared out about 20 knives from the "knife drawer." They were all dull & decidedly un-ergonomic. I simply never gave kitchen knives a 2nd thought. The only one that's left from that original cache is the 8" Tramontina micro-serrated "carver" (3rd pic, far left), & I'm going to get rid of that one, too. It's worthless.
Of all the knives I have now, the ones I actually use are:

1st pic, J-knives:
Kanetsune 210mm (8.3") gyuto/chef
Shun 150mm (6") petit/utility

2nd pic, Swiss army (Forschner):
Rosewood 8" bread
Rosewood 7" santoku
Rosewood 3-1/4" parer

3rd pic, motley crew:
any one of the 3 smaller blades, only for cheese, as they're all decent "wedgers"

That puts me at six useful pieces. My wife & daughter use the Cutco 6" santoku, Victorinox 3-1/4" parer & Farberware 3-1/2" mini santoku, but only because they're there & not because they're better for a particular job.

Of course, you've got much more invested in your kit than I do in mine; I'm a comparative "hack" when it comes to trading quatloos for knives. (I've got WAY more invested in coffee brewing eqpt than I do cutlery!) I think if I wasn't planning to do my own, I'd have a lot more spent by now! :-)

[petek]

Eiron:

Considering what most trades people have to invest in their "tools of the trade" I got off relatively cheap,around $1000.00 including my sharpening kit.

My bartering skills didn't hurt either :D "A well informed consumer is a consumer that will save money",or something like that.

I've had to put the brakes on my knife obsession for a while. 5 or 6 good knives is all anybody really "needs".

So are you planning on making your own knives?

[Eiron]

Yes, I recently got a small belt grinder (1x42 belt, light duty motor) to practice reshaping & repairing existing knives. (Chem: free usuba repair if you want it; send me an email!) I've built my own dust collection system for it & need to start practice-grinding in earnest. I've also got a motor that I need to build mounting parts for, & then wire it up to a switchbox to make it usable as a buffer.

I've been hoping to work with a friend to build my own large belt grinder (2x72 belt, heavy duty motor) for shaping raw steel blanks, as he's got lots of spare frame material & the metalworking machinery for me to use. But his ADD has overtaken my request & he's now piled "another 15 projects ahead of that one." So I just purchased all of the steel myself last weekend & I'm going to borrow a friend's workshop to cut/drill the pieces. I've already got the motor for that one, too, & just need a few accessories to complete the materials list. The steel cutting & drilling is the big time-sink on this project.

[petek]

Nice! Sounds like a very cool project.When you get things up and running make sure you post some WIP pics for us.

[Kagemusha]

Speaking of knife-making, this guy's stuff is very pretty:

http://cutbrooklyn.com/home.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAFG5Z...

[Eiron]

I agree, "very pretty," & I give him points for... uh... eagerness, I guess. But I am NOT a fan of Joel's. Maybe it's his 'tude, I dunno.... something just rubs me the wrong way about him.

If I'm not mistaken, you've promoted his work before, & appear to be a fan.
Do you have one of his products? Or are you planning to get one?

[Kagemusha]

"Promote?" Unlike some frequent posters, I don't chatter about and plaster the site with merch I've never used, much less actually seen. Brother-in-law got a Prospect 180 last year--a beautifully-finished, well-balanced blade I got to play with over the holidays, Eiron. They're pricey and not exactly an off the shelf item. Handles come any way you want 'em. They're virtually bespoke knives at a price point that's not totally unreachable.

[Eiron]

promote ≠ plaster

(nor was it even implied)

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/765089

As I said, I agree with you; they're "very pretty" (quoting your words). The recollections of your previous enthusiams were only an aside.

[petek]

I've seen those cutbrooklyn knives before. They sure are purdy.Not my cup of tea,but they look cool.I'm wondering if buddy is trying to attract more women to his knives with all the pink and baby blue handles? Great market to tap into.

Lots of great custom knife makers out there,a bit too rich for my blood though...

[Chemicalkinetics]

"trying to attract more women to his knives with all the pink and baby blue handles?"

Are you trying to suggest something to Eiron?

[petek]

I'm not suggesting anything to anyone sir.Just an observation.

[Chemicalkinetics]

:) Thought you may be trying to give our friend Eiron some business tips.

[petek]

I didn't realize Eiron was going into the knife business,I though it was more of a hobby.But if he is he's welcome to use my brilliant idea :-D

[Chemicalkinetics]

:) Eiron said that he will start it off as a hobby, but his goal is to make it into a real business. Eiron, anything to add?

[Eiron]

Ha, no, that's pretty much it: Hobby → Business (hopefully, at some point).

I'm not really into the multi-colored thing for knives. It's just a personal preference. I like wood for knife handles, but I do have plans for alternatives to wood as well. (I believe I recall Joel saying (somewhere) that he likes man-made materials for handles? There are certainly a lot of materials to choose from.)

I do think petek's on to something with the whole color/marketing angle. It's something I'll have to consider when I get to that point. Whenever that may be....

I started cutting the steel for the "big grinder" yesterday. I got about one-third of the way thru the stack of material (in an hour). I hope to finish the cutting next week. Then it's on to drilling.

[BiscuitBoy]

what is swiss-cheese looking blade meant for? Cool looking

[Eiron]

It's a "soft sheese" knife. The holes help to keep the cheese from sticking to the blade so much. It works really well on brie & camembert. I used to use it all the time, but the hole edges are so sharp that they immediately shred my wash sponges, so now I usually struggle with the "mini santoku" to the right of it. I should buy a deburring tool & just fix it.

[Eiron]

Cheesy update: I took the edges off all the holes yesterday. I should get a chance to try it out soon, maybe even tonight.

[BiscuitBoy]

everyday steel

[cowboyardee]

Nice, BB. Which one is your first weapon of choice?

[BiscuitBoy]

the wust chef and the sabatier chef...the yellow benchmade in my pocket everyday

[Chemicalkinetics]

I think I recognize most of these knives.

[BiscuitBoy]

yeah, most common stuff, 'cept the cleavers I made. Reading the banter on this forum has me thinking about a nice Japanese addition

[cowboyardee]

If you like using the Sabatier chefs knife, you're likely to enjoy a good gyuto. Similar profile, though a gyuto will typically be lighter with better edge retention and less resistance in cutting.

[BiscuitBoy]

late to the party:

[tim irvine]

used a lot by me...10" Sabatier carbon chefs and 2 1/2" Nogent carbon paring. and 8" Henckels bread knife (wish it we a longer Mac or offset Lamson)
used a lot by my wife ...8" Sabatier carbon chefs and 4" Sabatier carbon paring
used infrequently ...10" Sabatier carbon slicer, 6: Sabatier carbon chefs, Sabatier stainless cleaver.

[mateo21]

I'm at work, so I don't have any photo's, but here's my humble list :)

- CCK 1103 Chinese Cleaver
- Yoshikane 240mm Gyuto
- Takagi 180mm honyaki Nakiri
- Tojiro 165mm Deba

- 8" Forschner chef
- 9" Shun Classic slicer
- 9.5" Shun bread (lame!)
- 6" Gokujo (sp?) shun boning knife
- 6" Shun Chef
- 6" Shun Untility
- 3.5" Shun paring

Not a bad set I suppose :) I'm looking into adding a 270mm to the lineup, but it's a tough choice as the Yoshikane is almost 250 even after a little tip repair... but I don't think I want to step up in size (price too) to 300mm. Choices!

[Chemicalkinetics]

A lot of Shun knives.

[mateo21]

Yar! In my youthful ignorance I was duped by a charlatan into purchasing a large set... I've actually returned two of the original set knives (8" chef and 6" western boning, the latter being one of the worst designed knives I've ever encountered).

[Chemicalkinetics]

You could do a lot worse than buying a set of Shun knives.

[mateo21]

True. I would have, however, liked to have saved say the $130 I spend on their bread knife (and snagged an arguably analogous -- or better -- one from Forschner) and used that $100 for something else more interesting -- same with the slicer too, I'd love to snag a CarboNext sujihiki or the Yoshikane which looks amazing.

I think what happened is that I purchased the Shun with the thought and with the tag-line that I'd never remotely desire anything better -- because there wasn't anything better. I suppose I'm slightly jaded to have found only a few months later, while browsing knifeforums for sharpening info, there was an entire world to explore -- much of it demonstrably superior!

[cowboyardee]

How do you like the Yoshikane gyuto? That was one I considered buying a while back as my first major gyuto (got the Hiromoto instead), and I've always found it interesting. Never did get a chance to play with or sharpen one. Any thoughts on the grind, f&f, edge taking, edge retention, etc?

[mateo21]

I really like it, personally. It was my first Gyuto and geometry and cutting performance rocked the Shun chefs I had before it (the Shun was returned to fund my Yoshikane). I don't have a lot of other Gyutos to compare it to, but the SKD steel takes a really nice edge -- but it requires a little oomph I've found -- my Takagi seems to take an edge a little faster (the Yoshikane is listed at 64rc); it can also burr like nothing I've had before, it took a few months worth of touch-ups to really get it right, and occasionally I'll have a burr that I can't seem to deal with. This has, however, gotten much better after taking it to the DMT plate and remaking the bevels only off the blade grind, which I would estimate at 70/30 right hand bias -- it seems to be very happier with a similar edge profile as well.

Retention is great -- but I don't have an AS or the like to compare it to (some day!). It outlasts my CCK (not surprising), but it does better than the Takagi (I do, however, put a ripping edge on the Nakiri -- we're talking 12-15 combined bevel). F&f was nice, although I've heard about others that aren't; I purchased it through The Epicurean Edge (about 5 miles away in Kirkland, WA) and I almost suspect Daniel has slightly higher demands with f&f than say JWW. I will say, however, it's a fat Gyuto. Wedging with a big potato or the like is sometimes an issue, although not excessively.

[tanuki soup]

Hey, who can resist a chance to play with both knives AND cameras?!

These are the knives that currently live in my knife block.

First pic (L to R):

Masahiro 180mm cleaver (for cutting heads and tails off fish)
Tojiro PRO 270mm gyuto (for slicing heads of cabbage for coleslaw, watermelons)
Kumadori 240mm gyuto (general kitchen duties)
Shun Classic nakiri (love this one for chopping vegetables and spices - nice flat belly)
Glestain santoku (my go-to knife - amazing for slicing potatoes, onions, eggplant, etc.)

Second pic (L to R)
Global nakiri (really don't use this one much - I like a flatter profile for chopping)
Global bread knife (for cutting French bread for subs)
Tojiro PRO spatula (great for spreading PB&J etc. - just the right amount of flex)
Global cheese knife (actually never used this one; I think it looks cool, though)
Kyocera ceramic utility knife (for cutting delivery pizza in the box)
Mizono UX10 utility knife (handy little knife - good for tomatoes, boneless chicken breasts)
Masahiro paring knife (love this one for salad prep - mushrooms, cauliflower, radishes)

[petek]

Nice collection tanuki! Wish everyone else would post pics :D

[chuckl]

chefs
Solingen 10" chefs
F. Dick Premier 8" chefs
Sabatier stainless 8"chefs
Forschner fibrox 8"

santokus
Shun stainless 7"
MAC professional 7"
Wusthoff grand prix 1 7"
Henckels twin signature 7"
Messermeister elite 5"
Henckels 5"

slicers
Sabatier 3 lions 8"

Bread
Wusthof
Henckels

paring
Wusthof
Henckels

[Dave5440]

I have a rather small collection mostly gifts from my MIL.
8" Miyabi MC gyuto-- single grind at 10 deg , micro grind at 15 deg
8" cough coughfuri chefs ,, really soft works good now that I thinned it out and dropped the angle to 30 deg but requires sharpening every time it's used, hasn't been used in about a year.
7" furi santoku , left it in the trailer haven't seen it since last summer
2 cutco 10" "butcher" knifes 1 reground to 30 deg works pretty good that way, I'm not sure why my MIL got us 2
1 cutco veg knife, reground to 30 deg
10" cutco bread knife
7" global boning knife, friggin hate it
3 ceramic paring knifes kyocera brand
10" cutco fillet knife , not bad but dulls on the first fish skin it cuts, so it's a utility knife on the boat.
I end up using the miyabi for everything except bread, great for cleaning fish , cutting up chickens veg, meat , holds an edge great now and easy to sharpen.

[Chemicalkinetics]

Time for your Watanabe, right?

[Dave5440]

It sure is , I tried to get CK to Go to order me one but he forwarded my e-mail to Watanabe
, who is still really busy , i.m off work again and can't use my right hand now, so no cutting anything, can't even hold a fork with my right hand , on the up side I am getting pretty good with my left hand(which is still pretty weak) in the kitchen.

[Chemicalkinetics]

Did you get in some work-related injury. Take your time and rest up.

[Dave5440]

It's work related carpal tunnel sydrome, surgically repaired but is turing out to be a long recovery time for me , 3 months for my left hand and it's about 50%, right is only 2 weeks and useless. Resting is extremely boring, I can only read so much

[Chemicalkinetics]

Yeah, I better be careful about carpal tunnel syndrome as well. Though mine will be more about keyboard. You should rent some movies and TV. I have just started watching Battlestar Galactic two days ago. It is very cool.

[Dave5440]

I can't sit and watch a movie during the day , I can barely do it at night, far too restless for that, at least I can drive

[Chemicalkinetics]

In that case, I strongly suggest you to practice persistence hunting to get in touch with our ancestors (before the time of stone age):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wI-9R...

[Dave5440]

If I had to do that to eat , i'd be a lot thinner!!

[Chemicalkinetics]

If you can do persistence hunting, I will have a lot more respect than knife sharpening or knife forging skill.

I thought of this great sport for you because you really don't need your hands to do this, plus it is totally awesome to hunt a deer by literally chasing it down til it collopases.

[Dave5440]

The deer up here have way more stamina than that, I have followed them for hours, not to mention how tough the meat will be when run to death

[Chemicalkinetics]

Sorry about the confusion Dave. I won't start with deer first. Try rabbits.

[Dave5440]

Bunnies are hard as well , they hide untill you are standing on them , then they run and hide again if you miss them,

[Chemicalkinetics]

"210mm Fujiwara FKM Gyuto - new favorite"

Favorite? When did that happen? I thought just a few weeks ago, you wrote that you were not impressed by the knife.

[malkazanie]

Hi Chem,

I posted in the thread a few days later that now that I've had a chance to play around with the knife some more, I'm enjoying it much more - especially the thinness of the blade as opposed to the Wusthof. I'm also working towards playing to its strength (push cut/draw cut, as discussed). All in all I'm really liking the ways it is different.

[Dave5440]

That's all it takes to convert to these knives

[cowboyardee]

"I'm seriously considering keeping the Wusthof at home and getting a Victorinox or Forschner to use exclusively at school... things disappear there more frequently than I'd like."
____
Wusthof classics are nice knives, but the problem with them is so many have sold that used ones have very little resale value - not that much more than the cost of a new Forschner. So the concern of whether or not to bring it in becomes less of a financial issue than one of how much you'd miss the knife if it grew legs.

You also might plausibly find that you like the Forschner as much as the Wusthof, which puts you in yet another bind, though at least your classmates might be less likely to make off with a forschner.

[cowboyardee]

Used almost every time I'm in the kitchen:
- Sakai Yusuke 240 mm white steel gyuto, custom ground for a lefty

Used frequently:
- Hiromoto 240 mm AS gyuto
- Tosagata 165 mm blue steel nakiri
- Tojiro DP honesuki (a beast at breaking down chicken)
- Dojo 90 mm AS steel paring knife

Used infrequently:
- Forschner 8 inch chefs knife, fibrox handle
- Tosagata small fruit knife in white steel (ground too thick)
- 2 Misono moly hankotsus (I use em as steak knives when I'm trying to impress)
- Kikuichi white steel yanagiba (mis-ground by its last owner, and right handed to boot)
- Henckels knock off bread knife (good for crumbling chocolate. Maybe bread sometimes too)
- Set of cheap serrated steak knives, maker unknown (for the wife, for steak when it's just me, for cutting cardboard or aluminum cans)
- 8 inch stainless Sabatier chefs knife, maker unknown (very narrow, uglied up by last owner, takes a decent edge though - I use it as a long utility knife... mostly for cutting mangoes)

Gathering dust:
- Most of a set of Henkcels knock offs, including 8 inch chefs knife, 8 inch slicer, 4 inch paring knife, 6 inch utility knife

Lent out (indefinitely?):
- Forschner paring knife
- Global 8 inch chefs knife
- Large carbon CCK Chinese cleaver 1103 (I want this one back eventually)

Utilitarian cutting in the kitchen:
- Hacksaw (for large bones)
- Cheap hatchet from walmart (also for bones, but sometimes you just want to make a mess at maximum speed)
- Scissors (not kitchen shears, just regular-ass-scissors... for cutting nori)

That's it, I think.

[motownbrowne]

-10.5 inch Chicago Cutlery 44S Chef's knife, circa 1980 - work horse, easy to maintain, easy to replace so I don't worry about it too much.
-270mm Takeda Aogami Super Steel Gyuto - amazing knife, just got into japanese non-stainless steel, and I'm not going back
-Tanaka Aogami Nakiri - great knife for the price, factory edge and finish was so-so, but for the price, it's a steal
-Kiwi Brand Nakiri- incredible knife. Cheap soft stainless steel, but the blade is so thin that it just glides through vegetables and a couple of passes over a steel is all I've ever done to it.
-3" paring knife from a garage sale, worth every single one of those 75 cents
I also have a couple of Cutco knives (gifts, I promise), a slicer, which works great as a bread knife, and a "vegetable knife" which is a large nakiri style knife. The vegetable knife is alright, but it is too heavy and thick for what it is supposed to be, it does however get used occasionally for a job I don't want to do with a nicer knife. I don't own a meat cleaver and the veggie knife works for that. That's what the warranty is for, right?

If I get more I will grab a CCK 1303, and then maybe some old american carbon steel knives.

[petek]

That Takeda Gyuto is a real beauty! I'm also considering a CCK 1303 and a Misono Swedish steel hankotsu for some heavy butchery work.

[Chemicalkinetics]

The interesting thing is that the real CCK1303's street price is closer to $20. It is really a steal at that price. Mark (from Chefknivestogo) originally offered them at ~$28 I think. I guess they sell really well, and it just gradually went up to $32 and then $38 now.

[motownbrowne]

When you say "street price" I imagine someone with a trenchcoat approaching me while I'm feeding a parking meter and looking shiftily from side to side before asking "hey man, you need a cleaver?" I just thought I would share that image with you all. Is there another online retailer that sells them cheaper, or is Chinatown the way to go?

[Chemicalkinetics]

:) Yeah, totally, maybe some street slang too. Maybe with an attitude too "Yo, you looking for some CCK? I got some 1303 and some 1103. You want it big or you want it small. It is all up to you, man. I ain't here to judge...."

I don't think there is another online retailer which sells them cheaper. If you just so happen to visit a West Coast Chinatown, sure, but I won't just visit Chinatown to buy a knife. The time and gas is not worth it.

[cowboyardee]

Ha!

[petek]

I still haven't made it out to the CCK store in the Pacific Mall here in Toronto.Do you think $38 is too much to pay for a 1303?

[Chemicalkinetics]

"Do you think $38 is too much to pay for a 1303?"

I don't mean the knife is not worth $38. I really meant to say that "can you believe these knives are sometime sold at a much lower price point?" You can call the CCK store in Pacific Mall up ahead and see what their prices are. A CCK store is not necessary cheaper, just like the Lodge cast iron online stores are often more expensive than elsewhere. They don't want to compete with their retailers.

[Dave5440]

Where's the pacific mall?

[petek]

Dave: Steels& Kennedy

www.pacificmalltoronto.com

[Chemicalkinetics]

And that Chan Chi Kee (CCK) store is somewhere inside the mall. Kind of a small store, but it seems to have quiet a bit of merchandise:

http://www.chanchikee.com/toronto.htm

[petek]

All the shops at Pacific mall are small.Kind of maize like.Quite the adventure.Great food court with their own Beard Papa!

[Chemicalkinetics]

"All the shops at Pacific mall are small."

Really. I didn't know that. Somehow I thought only the CCK store is tiny small. Thanks for sharing. I have never been there.

[motownbrowne]

Thanks, I agree, it is amazing. I must admit I sort of stumbled onto it. I spent the better part of a few days looking longingly at CKTG before I called Mark up with a few questions. He had a 240mm Takeda in the "seconds" section, but I was in the market for a 270, so I was looking pretty closely at the Moritakas. Then Mark happened to mention that he had two 270mm Takeda Gyutos that were also seconds because of the finish so I got it for about $200. Now it seems that the price has gone up on the Takedas, so I'm glad I got in when I did. By the way, I've read a little bit about quality control issues from Moritaka. Petek, have you seen anything that didn't live up to your expectations from them? I am interested in their knives because it looks like they take the AS up to 65 HRC, which sounds like fun to use.

[petek]

Hey Mowtown:
$200.00 for a 270 Takeda!!! Wow. That's what I paid for my 240 Moritaka.. That same Takeda is about $300-$350 now.You were definitely in the right place at the right time.

The only complaint(minor to me) is the slightly uneven grind on the edge.Otherwise the F&F are very good,especially for the price point. I'm sure if you brought this issue up with Mark at CKTG he might be able to figure something out for you.

[Chemicalkinetics]

I will list the knives:

Dexter-Russell Chinese medium blade Chef knife (aka Chinese cleaver)
Chan Chi Kee (CCK) Chinese thin blade Chef knife
Shun bread knife
Tojiro DP gyuto
Dexter-Russell boning knife
Tanaka Kurouchi Aogami Nakiri
Kuotming (spelling?) meat cleaver
Henckels L paring knife
Wusthof Ikon paring knife
Dexter-Russell sheep foot paring knife
Tojiro Shirogami Usuba (actually I don't use it ...)

[petek]

I love show and tell! :D

Left to right

Kasumi 6" S.S boning knife

6" Moritaka Aogami carbon honesuki (boning)

Kasumi 7" S.S santoku

Moritaka 7.3" Aogomi carbon santoku

Sabatier 9.5 Carver carbon steel

Moritaka 9.5 Aogomi carbon gyuto

+ Henckels 3.5" S.S paring knife(not pictured)

[Chemicalkinetics]

I always get confused if you are a Moritaka guy or a Watanabe guy. In other words, I get your knife preference confused with Dave's. This post clarifies much.

[cowboyardee]

Your pics always make me want to get a Moritaka.

How is the grind on those things? Laser thin like the Takeda or not so much? Have you reground the edges at all? Any F&F issues? They look great from photos.

[petek]

Hey cowboy.I love me my Moritaka's. I've never had the pleasure of handling a Takeda so I can't compare it to my blades.They're not laser thin but not bone crushers either.The grind was not perfect but the F&F was,in my humble opinion. The sharpen up beautifully and the edge retention is excellent.

I noticed you have a couple of Misosno moly hankotsu in your kit.What do you think of them? I'm considering the Swedish or the moly for a new butchering job that may be on the horizon.

[cowboyardee]

What was wrong with the grind if you don't mind my asking?

I have no complaints whatsoever about the misono hankotsus. They're nice knives, look super cool, take a good edge, solid edge retention, maybe a bit beefier than you'd expect.

Problem is I don't do a whole lot of boning - mostly just chicken, fish, and boning out the occasional pork shoulder. For all that, the honesuki is my weapon of choice. I just don't do enough large mammal butchering to be a whole lot of assistance on boning knives.

[petek]

The grind on the Gyuto's edge is not perfectly flat. When placed on a flat surface you can see a little light coming through(not sure if that makes sense).The heel of the blade seems to protrude just slightly.Dave Martell complained about this a few years ago on K.F. To me it's a pretty minor issue and it hasn't effected performance enough for me to consider a home re-grind(I don't think I have the skill to do it anyway)

[Chemicalkinetics]

Oh SH*T. Not the wavy edge thing, is it? Well, you won't know until you sharpen the knife. Having you verify this means even more than Dave Martell. Now, I really know this is true for Moritaka knives.

[petek]

No Chem not wavy,just not perfectly flat. I haven't noticed any "ribboning" when I'm slicing or doing a chiffonade so I'm not too concerned with the slight imperfection.Hopefully with enough sharpening the problem will just go away :D

[BruceMcK]

Hey Petek how do you like the Kasumi knives? I compared a Kasumi chef to a Mac Pro recently and liked the Kasumi's blade shape and handle feel better than the Mac (despite the fact that I have always been partial to Mac).

Also in another post her you mentioned you are in Toronto. Do you mind saying where you buy your knives?

I am looking to replace a heavy "full forged German steel made in China" chef with my first J-knife. Since I am a lefty I don't want anything that is radically one-handed. Thanks.

[Chemicalkinetics]

"Since I am a lefty I don't want anything that is radically one-handed"

Get a radically left-handed knife. It will make you feel special. :)

[cowboyardee]

You're a fellow lefty, huh - take a look at this thread.
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/757992

We got pretty deep into discussing asymmetrical knives for lefties.

[petek]

Hey Bruce

I like my Kasumi's very much.They don't get any love on any of the knife forums(too pedestrian I guess). Because they have a softer steel than my Moritaka's,R.C 59-60,I don't mind abusing them at work.They have a nice heft to them,F&F is good and they take and keep a nice edge. Good all round work horse.

I got the Kasumi's at the healthy butcher. best prices in town for Kasumi's

www.thehealthybutcher.com/knives.html

The Moritaka's I purchased at "Knife" on Queen West. great little shop with a very nice selection of Japanese steel.

www.knifetoronto.com

There's a new purveyor of J-knives in Toronto called tosho knife arts.right now they're online shopping only.Very nice high end steel(Takeda,Konosuke

)

www.toshoknifearts.com

Hope this helps.

happy hunting!

[BruceMcK]

Thanks Pete. Your comments are very helpful. Eugene at Knife sharpened some of my knives last year; he has a very interesting store. I had not heard of Tosho. Healthy Butcher is where I saw the Kasumis. Some recent threads here about chipping of hard knife blades started to give me second thoughts so I am glad you don't find them fragile. They don't get much love on the knife boards, but they also don't get criticized.

Now I am wondering about the quality difference from a Tojiro DP or a Fujiwara FKM on CKTG. Mac knives are higher priced in Canada vs. the USA. I am fortunate to live within walking distance of Healthy Butcher, Knife, Nikolaou, Tap Phong and a few others, so I prefer to buy local.

Chem and Cowboy thanks for the replies and the pointer to the other thread. I read that before but will give it another look. Lefty knives make it harder to share the love which is why I want something relatively symmetrical. I don't want to drag this thread too far off its original topic so I will leave it at that.

[petek]

You're welcome Bruce. Unfortunately everything is priced higher here than the U.S but I still prefer to buy local.CKTG probably has the best selection and prices anywhere,but when you figure in shipping,duty and unforeseen holdups at the border to me it's not worth it.
Oh well that's life.
Pauls finest out of Montreal might be worth checking out.

www.paulsfinest.com

[Chemicalkinetics]

Can someone explain to me why knives are more expensive in Canada than in USA? It certainly cannot be due to shipping fee since the two counties are right next to each other. Is it due to lack of competition? Or is it due to a higher custom duty?

[Kagemusha]

Volume. More people live in California alone than all of Canada. It's especially annoying now that the C$ is worth more than the US$. Even with shipping, duty and taxes, it's still cheaper sometimes for us to shop crossborder in the U.S.

[BruceMcK]

Yeah, the US population is 10 times that of Canada in a smaller area. Higher prices usually get blamed on lower volume and the resultant higher distribution and inventory cost. It also results in less competition which also enables higher pricing. We also tend to have less selection. Imagine you want to set up an internet based knife store to service US and Canada. Other things being equal, would you set it up in the country with 90% of the population or 10% of the population. I don't think customs duties cause it, since Canada and the US have a harmonized tariff system with similar duty rates. Items like big box electronics, cameras and cars can be priced much higher here.

But on knives I have found Canadian prices to be competitive or even a touch lower if you shop carefully. Mac knives are an exception, priced higher here. I notice CKTG says they are not authorized to ship Mac knives to Canada. Here are a couple of examples (remember the C$ buys about 1.05US$ at this time):

Misono UX10 210 mm guyoto
Pauls Finest $229
CKTG $244

Wusthof Classic Ikon 10" Chef
Pauls Finest $158
CKTG $180

Mac Pro 8" Chef MTH-80
epicureshop.ca $175 (This seems to be the going rate in Cda)
CKTG $130

The above is not the result of an exhaustive search, but is representative of what I have seen.

[Chemicalkinetics]

Thanks. I have seen selective knives being cheaper in Canada than in US, but most knives seem to be more expensive in Canada, but I should take a closer look.

[BruceMcK]

I also found this Canadian online store, but it has a generic web store look that does not inspire confidence. Anyone heard of it or bought there?
www.merrycookware.com

[Kagemusha]

Looks a bit shady. Very evasive about where and who they are, too. Other legit places to buy, so why chance it?

[mpad]

If you are ever in Calgary be sure to check out Knifewear.

http://knifewear.com/

Awesome shop. Big selection of a full price range of Japanese knives with potatoes and tomatoes set out to try them out on. They hand sharpen knives too, through 6 stages of water stones.

[petek]

Oh I know all about knifeware.That's one drool worthy shop,I must say.Beautiful knives indeed.Prices are pretty much in line with the rest of the Canadian retailers.

Here's another great looking shop I stumbled upon.This one's in Montreal.

www.montrealknife.com/index.html

[mpad]

Wow, gorgeous photos on their site.

[petek]

I know. I wish they had some descriptions and prices but I might be taking a trip to Montreal this summer, so I'll get to check it out first hand.

[srsone]

hey chem...

ive been thinking about getting an usuba...
if u dont use it and want to send it to me ill take it off your hands...

[Chemicalkinetics]

You don't want my usuba. I F-ed it up, and that is why I don't use it. Otherwise, I would have totally use it. I keep tell myself that I need to go back and regrind, but I know it will take me hours to do. The knife taugh me much about knife sharpening, so it was a good investment from that angle.

Linya_Japan offers a Tojiro usuba, which is pretty authnetic usuba. White paper (shirogami) carbon steel, wa-wood handle, the back side of the blade is "Uraoshi-ed", which means it is slightly hollowed out which is what a real traditional usuba should be.

http://cgi.ebay.com/JAPANESE-SUSHI-KNIFE-TOJIRO-WHITE-STEEL-USUBA-165mm-NEW-/250798586945?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a64c2bc41

http://cgi.ebay.com/TOJIRO-JAPAN-KNIF...

[Westy]

Hey Chem -

I like my Dexter, but had a question: I think there are different grades and types of stel for the Dexter cleaver (and the Japanese vegetable knife). Which do you have?

Matt

[Chemicalkinetics]

Hi Matt,

Most of the Chinese stainless steel Chef's knife by Dexter-Russell should be made from 420 HC. There is a carbon steel line as well. It is possible the Connoisseur Chinese Chef's knife is made of X50CrMoV15 since the Connoisseur paring knives are made of X50CrMoV15, but that does not mean the Chinese Chef's knife has to be. Specifically, I have the item # 08040 (prod # S5198) knife:

http://www.dexter-russell.com/Univers...

It is Dexter's best selling Chinese Chef's knife.