FOOD

[600#gorilla]

hah!

now i think i want one of these lil' fellows.



the above was the one i thought looked bulky,

but i knew i was prolly just stirring the conversation when i said it.

like i said, though, sweet knife.

rope cutting knife for sho-

those kershaws are really nice looking.

i got started with spyderco working on movie sets BITD,

so i'm partial to them.

man i'm hungry.

gonna have some shake and bake pork chops with crystal sauce

as soon as i get back from my bike ride.

(food and bikes for skav)

[slim]

Old Kickhereye

Whens you wanna hang out? We can smoke some meat and talk about how much we hate shit.

[600#gorilla]

you guys are all bad influences.

titanium camping folding food prep knife $50



chef (gyuto) $125





santoku dojo blue steel kobayashi (!) (i'm picking this one for tarantino value alone.)

$76



http://www.japanwoodworker.com/product.asp?s=JapanWoodworker&pf_id=11%2E011%2E04&dept_id=13170

slim,

ur the master - are these knives cheap, or inexpensive?

[Tronic]

That collection is gnarr. I like the magnet action too. Starting to keep some tools like that now. I think I only use like 3 knives...
I have a signed and numbered one of these:
http://tomsachs.org/work/nasa-spyderco-knives
complete with totin chip card with one corner torn off... I don't know where it is though. dab.

[600#gorilla]

serrated for rope.

rope.

or,

in the event that your arm gets stuck under a rock and your all by yourself..........

also awesome for pencil sharpening and steak!

[slim]

slim,

ur the master - are these knives cheap, or inexpensive?

The Japanese typically cut corners on the handle before they compromise the steel. In fact, there is a whole cottage industry of woodworkers replacing knife handles, which they do every five years or so. So a lot of the more inexpensive blades still stay really sharp and will last a long time. That said you might find imperfections in some of the handles on the companies you listed and the first couple companies below. They might be rough and need a little sanding, and the back edge of the blade might be sharp and need rounding off with sandpaper so it doesn't make a blister on your hand as you cut. These types of things can be overcome easily.

If you don't mind wiping the blade down after use and seeing it tarnish over time I recommend the carbon blades. The edge retention is ridiculous.

JapaneseWoodworker has some decent stuff, but for the money I'd get Tojiro DP series http://www.chefknivestogo.com/tojirodpseries.html
They are carbon on the edge but clad with stainless so they don't appear as rusty.

Or get the Fujuiwara carbon http://www.chefknivestogo.com/fufkhse.html
They use a very high quality carbon steel and are priced very reasonably.

If you step up a price level I would get the Hiromoto. http://www.chefknivestogo.com/hiromotoknives.html
Just got a couple for my mom and HOLY SHIT they are sharp and nice. Not TOO expensive.

If you step up AGAIN I would get the Misono Swedish. http://www.chefknivestogo.com/miswst.html

[slim]

A word of caution though. The Japanese style knives are very thin and can be brittle. Their chefs (gyuto) style is NOT made for hacking up chickens, which the German chefs can do without breaking a sweat. I wouldn't hack the head off a fish with one either. You are asking for little chips in the blade. Also, your regular steel will not work with these knives you will need a glass honing rod (borosilicate) to hone your blades.

The old style gyuto that I have is VERY impressive, but it requires constant tune-ups and touchups with sharpening stones. It is like a Ferrari.

[600#gorilla]

excellent primer and suggestions, thanks.

[slim]

speaking of which, how do you guys sharpen your kitchen knives? i tried using a flat stone. then a lansky system, but i found that i didn't want to spend hours of precious time honing a goddamn knife. (especially since my gf has a bad habit of cutting food on plates instead of our nice cutting board.) half the time i couldn't get these methods to produce a sufficiently sharp edge, and i didn't feel like taking the time to ascend the steep learning curve, so i said, "fuck it," and now i just run my knives through a pull sharpener and across a steel a few times, and they're good for a week or two. cut tomatoes with ease. good enough for me.

First, tell you GF to get a fucking clue and cut on wood, or in the absence of wood, plastic.

I am learning to use Japanese water stones to sharpen my knives, with mixed results. Definitely a steep learning curve, and relatively expensive stones make it a difficult hobby to justify.

The Lansky system should work decently, although doing it freehand will get better results. You can get a knife screaming sharp using a block of concrete to set the edge and cardboard to hone it. No joke.

For the lazy, the handheld sharpener works I guess. I would never touch one of my knives to one though.

[malachi]

... i found that i didn't want to spend hours of precious time honing a goddamn knife...

In which case you should just buy cheap shit knives and not stress about it.

People who own good knives care about them and respect them. Spending time with them is never a burden.

[slim]

What carbon knife do you own?

[slim]

Old Hickories.

lol

I mean dude I was gonna call you a dumass but for that price who give a shit? Word.

[slim]

What would be really funny is to learn to sharpen for real and then put scary edges on al your Old Hickories.

Not a bad knife for ten bucks I gotta say.

Will recommend to meth addicts and bird catchers.

[skav]

So Ka-Bar Arkansas oil stone, yay or nay? Need to soak it to open up the pores again, but the thing puts a great edge on knives. Only problem I have with it is the hard corners make sharpening a straight blade properly impossible.

[slim]

So Ka-Bar Arkansas oil stone, yay or nay? Need to soak it to open up the pores again, but the thing puts a great edge on knives. Only problem I have with it is the hard corners make sharpening a straight blade properly impossible.

I will never again use an oilstone. Waterstones are so much better. Oil is a lubricant. Why would you want to use that when you are abrading the edge of a knife? You can use water with you Arkansas stone, but once you put oil on it once you are screwed.

[bazo qop]

I still contend you only need three blades...A good chefs knife, a paring knife and a serrated bread knife...(also good for tomatoes..)

Saying that, a good cleaver and a boning knife are wonderful things to have..(and sharp shears as well)

My chefs knife of the moment (just bought last week) is a of a Japanese pattern...and I don't like it that much..it's too straight..

I like a french pattern ( the way I cut and chop stuff, I like the curve/rocker of the French knife..)

But then again, you can cut anything with anything...(just as long as it's sharp enough)

The problem is stainless steel...

[skav]

So Ka-Bar Arkansas oil stone, yay or nay? Need to soak it to open up the pores again, but the thing puts a great edge on knives. Only problem I have with it is the hard corners make sharpening a straight blade properly impossible.

I will never again use an oilstone. Waterstones are so much better. Oil is a lubricant. Why would you want to use that when you are abrading the edge of a knife? You can use water with you Arkansas stone, but once you put oil on it once you are screwed.

Water is also a lubricant... Point taken though. I'm tempted to buy one of the ones you listed since I need an upgrade, but it'd probably just be destroyed anyway by roommates. Maybe a lock box with booby traps. Heh, booby.

[slim]

When you use the waterstones the stone breaks down and forms a "slurry," basically a slush made from the ceramic stone mixed with water. That slurry does most of the sharpening as you pass the knife over the stone. So the water becomes more of a medium for the abrasive. It is very effective.

Since discovering ceramic stones and Japanese carbon blades my American Express card has had little respite. I urge you have some caution.

[slim]

I like a french pattern ( the way I cut and chop stuff, I like the curve/rocker of the French knife..)

But then again, you can cut anything with anything...(just as long as it's sharp enough)

The problem is stainless steel...

Yeah if you use the French style "rocking" motion with a Japanese gyuto you will most likely chip the blade. It is designed for slicing straight up and down with either a slight push or a slight pull. If you rock the blade it will dig into your cutting board and torque to the left or right thus putting enormous lateral force on the edge of the knife. This equals destruction.

Bazo if you like that style of cutting buy a damn Sabatier and be done with it. Just be aware that there are like four companies making Sabs and the only one worth a shit is the Issard one with the Elephant logo. You can buy it here: http://www.thebestthings.com/knives/sabatier.htm

I'd get the regular carbon or the nogents.

[slim]

I rock when I mince garlic, otherwise I push just a little. When you get used to "real" sharp knives your style will change.

BTW Porchie why did you leave off these lyrics from your sig?

"You leave your girl around me
And she bet she gonna get stuffed."

Might as well eh?

Stuff that bitch!