/ck/ - Food & Cooking

1. www.kitchenknifeforums.com

2. www.japaneschefsknife.com

Whatever you buy, stay away from santokus with those Kullen hollow ground dents. They have very little, if any, positive effect and you need a thick blade for them,which has a very distinctive negative effect.

I have just looked up some santokus on amazon.com, holy shit it seems almost impossible to get one without Kullens.

Sharpening tool steel and sharpening kitchen knives are a lot different

>>6100317
No it's not. The geometry might be different but that literally is the only difference. You have to contend with the same types of steel, curvatures in the blade, etc. in both.

>>6100310
Thanks. I saw the Opinel Intempora ones, they looked good to me. I know the steel in them is good and wil take an excellent edge.

>>6100317
I'm pretty confident in my abilities in that regard. I know a lot about steel and a lot about edges. Working with a semi decent steel, I can put a decent edge on whatever edge angle I fancy.

>>6100302
Thanks for the directions, anything you would recommend personally?

I'd be a bit careful with the Opinels, I have three in my collection and they all were overground (a concave spot in the edge profile where the blade doesn't touch the cutting board and consequently will not cut in that spot), I corrected ony little parer myself and sent back the big chef's knive (the ones with the natural wood handles) for another one. Same problem with the IKEA Slitbar "Damascus" VG10 knives, inspected three of them, all overground. the standard Slitbar is pretty nice though if you can check for overgrind before you buy. Good profile and geometry of the blade. Decent steel, too.

>>6100373
>www.japaneschefsknife.com

Look under "JCK Originals", the JCK "Kagayaki Basic" and the "CarboNext" series are pretty good. The CarboNext series is known to take a screaming edge and retain it too, excellent value. Very low chromium content, so not entirely rust free if neglected though. other good brands are the Fujiwara FKM series and the Tojiro DP series. (not from JCK though)

>>6100379
Thanks for the heads up!

>>6100390
Excellent pointers. The low chromium doesn't faze me, I wash my knives by hand and dry them carefully. All my bushcraft and woodworking knives are 01 tool steel, which rusts if you look at it moistly.

Is there a stand out budget knife?

If someone came to me looking for a bushcraft or wood working knife, I would point them to a Mora costing less than 10USD that would be fine for the first 80% of their learning journey. Is there a kitchen equivalent? A knife without any silly aesthetic features but which is good steel and grind? Which doesn't cost 100USD?

>>6100295
What's the deal with the notches on the knife? I have a knife like this.

>>6100671
While its use requires different technique than a chef's knife, I'm a fan of a Chinese cleaver for a cheap knife. They're available in Chinese stores for $10-$15, and can do 90% of what I need a knife for in the kitchen.

I realize non-Chinese cooks who favor the cleaver are a minority, but plenty of us are out there, and for most uses it's a legit knife. And an inexpensive one.

>I like the santoku type blades for cooking

Why? Do you have a reason? Are you a filthy weeb?

Santoku means 3 uses in Japanese, this refers to the 3 duties it performs well, slicing, dicing, and mincing. A true santoku is well balanced, with a blade length and weight very close to the weight and length of the handle/tang. The knife is made from a harder steel, with a thinner blade than many German blades, making them seem sharper. The short length, wide profile at heel and tip, lack of belly (flattish edge profile), and the dropped (sheep's foot) tip make the knife very friendly for people who work on small boards, don't have or want developed skills, and/or are somewhat intimidated by big, pointy knives. The lack of belly lends this knife to push cutting, as in chopping straight down, as opposed to the rocking motion used on knives with more belly. The tip shape and wide blade make santokus good for scooping food off of cutting boards., and the extra height of the handle helps those with "naive" grip to not wrap their knuckles on the board. Female chefs often prefer them for their smaller size, giving the inexperienced a greater sense of control.

That being said, I would never recommend a santoku to anyone. A santoku is just a different design for an old concept, the universal kitchen knife. Unlike a chef's knife however, it sacrifices much of it's utility in exchange for being smaller, safer, and more friendly and forgiving to inexperienced users. Compared to a sharp chef's knife a sharp santoku is less productive, slightly less versatile, and awkward for jobs that want a lot of length like portioning meat and fish.

I recommend a Wusthof Classic Chef's knife, 8 inches. Around 75-100 dollars, a solid workhorse beginners knife. I personally prefer Japanese steel, but such knives are better in the hands of experts, as they can be fragile, with thinner blades and more brittle steel. Trust me, I'm a professional.

>>6100705
good for cutting off duck heads huh?

>>6100750
I have used mine to cut off chicken heads and feet, but it's just as good for chopping vegetables. And the side of the blade is great for smashing ginger and garlic.

>>6100699

They're meant to break the capillary formed between the food and the knife blade, thereby preventing slices of the food from sticking to the knife. It's called a "granton edge".

>>6100705
Agreed. I prefer a chinese cleaver. Though I think it is important to distinguish that there are two kinds of "Chinese cleaver" out there. The normal one is thin, like a western chef's knife. That's the good all-purpose one. There is also a very thick type, that's more like a western cleaver. That is not good for general purpose use but is very handy for breaking down bones for making stock.

>>6100718
I just prefer the santoku slicing motion to the standard western technique of rocking to the point. Also I never end up using the sharp point on a western chefs knife, for anything. I find if I need a point, I am using a paring knife. Overall, I prefer the control and efficient chopping of the santoku for the kind of kitchen work I do. I never claimed it was better overall, just a personal preference. Thanks for the recommendation though!

>>6100718
>Are you a filthy weeb?
>proceeds to be a filthy weeb

>>6100755
>he normal one is thin, like a western chef's knife. That's the good all-purpose one.
That's the one I use every damned day. Don't even own a proper chef's knife. Haven't in years. Don't really miss it, either.

Shun.

>>6100883
This thread is literally a weeb fest.

>>6100295
http://shun.kaiusaltd.com/knives

>>6100892
beautiful, but out of my price range.

>>6100890
Where is anyone being a weeb? Go shitpost in your own thread.

Whenever I look into professional kitchens, many of the cooks are using very plain looking chefs knives that have good grippy plastic handles. Where could I look for a knife like that? I imagine it would be cheaper than a lot of the knives aimed at home cooks, but I don't mind it looking less fancy.

>>6102523
Those are probably Victorinox brand knives. If there is something like a Mora in kitchen knives world, that is them.

>>6102550
They look reasonable I suppose. The ones I saw were chunkier and coloured, more like pic related.

>>6102600
forgot image

>>6102602
These can be had for 15USD and look reasonable too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54diKumE_Qs

>>6100302
Does anyone have time for these websites?

>>6102624

Why wouldn't they, they have time for 4chan after all.

>>6102624
just skim through a few relevant threads every so often

>>6102603
>we're not the best because we're the oldest in america, we're the oldest in america because we're the best
god damn how are you yanks so good at marketing?

>>6102656
no self reflection

>>6102658
I have noticed this about americans
a kind of "fuck you we're great burger burger beer guns"
bravado

>>6102662
'murrica

Turns out Mora do do chef's knives also. Made of 12C27 steel. Might go for one of these.

>>6102714
Pic here

>>6102715
Similar price to the Victorinox ones, but I don't know what steel is in those. The Mora steel I know and trust.

>>6100379
I have noticed this with most Opinels anon.

>>6102972
Strangely, I really rate their pocket knives. For the price they have superb steel and excellent convex edge grinds.

>>6103221
Convex Edge Master Race checking in.

>>6103236
Do you use a convex edge on kitchen knives also?

I have one on all pocket knives and my bushcraft knives, and a scandi on my wood knives.

Alright /ck/ I have ordered the mora 8 1/2 inch chefs knife. I will give it a twirl and get back to you with pics.