The White #2 Experience

[jayhay]

excellent, thanks Mr. Hay!

Lol. No problem, Mr. Fel!

[Dave Martell]

I like the idea of white steel yanagibas.

[chuck239]

So having to sharpen a knife all the time makes it good? In a profession where you have very little free time I cannot agree with this. I got rid of all my White #2 knives because the edge retention is not good and I got tired of sharpening them every week or so when I had others that would last a month. I suspect a lot of young cooks would try something else or just use it blunt after a few weeks of regular sharpening a White#2 blade

Hey,

Which knives do you use in a pro kitchen that last you a full month without sharpening?? I can't say I have any knives that I would still consider sharp after 2 weeks of solid use in my kitchen.

Also, I am just curious as to which white steel knives all of you are using that you dislike so much? I personally think people worry to much about the steel of a knife. I have some white steel knives that out perform many of my other steels. At the same time I have had some white steel knives that had terrible edge retention like my kono gyuto. But I am just curious exactly which white steel knives you have all used that you hated so much?

-Chuck

[TheDispossessed]

of course edge retention is key, and crucial in a pro environment, this i do not argue. i'm just saying, there's hidden virtues in the fault of things. for a beginner, having to sharpen every day or two will make you learn much, much faster is all. and as i said, there's always room for upgrading in the future.
fyi, i'm using white #2 gyuto and petty for all my knife work which is a very solid 8 hours a day (out of a twelve hour shift), on poly boards. the gyuto i sharpen daily, the petty every two or three. both knives could absolutely be used for much longer between sharpening but i enjoy doing it and want a really keen edge for every shift.

[TheDispossessed]

I personally think people worry to much about the steel of a knife.

+1

[theLawlCat]

I loved starting with a tojiro white steel. And that was only $80 for a 240. Really good steel to learn on, seems like no matter what I do it gets scary sharp. Lasts ok in home kitchen and seems to strop pretty well.

[keithsaltydog]

In my collection I have two stainless; an Ealy parer, and an ITK bread; a few semi, and a few dozen carbon, probably close to half being white 1 or 2.

I have zero issues with maintenance, besides having to be mindful of keeping them well oiled when out of rotation.

I find that with deliberate, push cutting, with light board contact, that my edges last far longer than a night.

The fact I bring them back to whistling sharp with a few passes on a green brick or a Rika is awesome...

Love white and blue. 52100 and 1095 aren't so bad either....

Agree Carbons deff. work well for Pro. Kit.Used everyday little or no maintainence except sharpening.Ease of sharpening eg. whistling sharp on a few passes is huge when spending hours cutting.

I used White & Blue steel Yanagi's both worked awesome.Thin Lazors & thicker workhorse carbon gyuto's.Look at a Japanese Fishmarket,cutting huge quantities of fish wt. carbon blades & Chinatowns all those cleavers cutting Duck,Chicken & Pork,tons of vegitables.Asian nationals esp. pro Kit. use more carbons & have sharper knives than Americans & Europeans as a rule.

No Sushi Chef I know ever used stainless steel yanagi's or other Single Bevels.Is it because they are ignorant or they prize extremely sharp edges that peel thin sheets of daikon & Fish & are easy to sharpen.I go for the latter

[eshua]

Its always hard to judge other peoples workload and let it translate into "I only sharpen every X days"

If you shave a case of green onion during each of your 12 hour shifts, but only need to sharpen once a month, I am doing something fundamentally wrong on the stones.

Which ... is not at all out of the question lol

[tk59]

I'm inclined to agree with Chuck on this one. Sharp is relative and I don't have any knives nor have I been exposed to any that don't beg for a touch-up within a couple of months and I'm not a pro. Maybe I suck at sharpening or stretching my edge life but I don't think so. To the OP, I agree but you don't have to spend $200 for decent carbon steel and white 2 isn't very stinky at all in the grand scheme of things.

[chuck239]

Its always hard to judge other peoples workload and let it translate into "I only sharpen every X days"

If you shave a case of green onion during each of your 12 hour shifts, but only need to sharpen once a month, I am doing something fundamentally wrong on the stones.

Which ... is not at all out of the question lol

I am not saying he is wrong or lying. To be honest my 2 week quote is even pushing my liking of a sharp knife. I just have not found a knife that can last a month with an edge I am satisfied with and I think I have tried quite a few knives (only a few people on the forum know how sick I am). I was just curious which knives they had this luck with because I have not found that knife. There could be something wrong with my sharpening but I have several other people very well known for sharpening sharpen some of my best knives.

My main concern was about the white steel knives. I have used one or 2 that I hated but I have also used many knives with different steels that I have disliked just as much. My main point is that I feel the heat treatment is more important when it comes to edge retention. Hell, give some of the crazy steels devin is using (mystery carbon, Wear resistant, ect) to an old school Japanese knife maker and I would bet the heat treatment would not be as solid as it is on the steels they are used to using.

-Chuck