Ceruleanveritas
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- Joined
- Sep 3, 2013
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Hello, my name is Lee.
I'm new here and don't know much about knives, except that it's not really fun when you don't have a good and sharp one when you need to cut something.
Yeah, I have had a dull knife for a while now, and even after I sharpen it, it still has difficulty cutting things like potatoes, carrots and celery, the things I wanted to make for dinner, a nice stew.
I've been obsessed with finding a good knife over the past couple of days and have done as much research as I could take, reading for maybe 10+ hours in trying to find the "best", "perfect" knife for my purposes, which is basically chopping vegetables and meat(the usual fare, chicken, beef and pork), usually without bones.
First off, I should point out that I'm not a professional chef, or sous chef for that matter, but I do like to cook at home, and take pride in what I am able to do when preparing meals for myself and my family.
Having a limited budget I was looking for a basic all-purpose knife that I could use for just about everything in basic food prep. I don't really make anything fancy, the most intricate thing I do is probably fine dicing an onion, if you can call that intricate, but I'm shocked by how many people don't know how.
I've owned a pairing knife for years, but have never actually used one for any "intricate" and detailed knife work, not even peeling/skinning an apple. I actually like the skin, have heard it contains 90% of the nutrients.
Well, to make a long story I'll say that I was seriously considering a ceramic knife, but after reading many critical reviews have come to think it's probably not the best choice. I actually bought a Yoshiblade just to see how great a ceramic knife would be, and I like it, it is very sharp, but honestly I feel the blade's too short to be really useful, and of course there are restrictions on what a ceramic blade should cut.
Being part Japanese, I'm now considering a Japanese style knife, as I've read how they are some of the finest in the world.
I was thinking about getting a Japanese SAKAI Kama-Usuba Vegetable Knife 180mm Akebono.
Sold online by bluewayjapan for what I consider a reasonable price, just under $70.
Here's a description of the knife and its features:
This Usuba is designed for dicing and mincing vegetable, or for rolling action paring when thin raw radish comes with Sashimi. This head round-shaped blade is called Osaka type and used in West Japan. This single-beveled edge can cut vegetable to hair thickness and make extremely clean cutting plane. This affordable priced quality knife is recommended for home or hobby chef.
The blade is beautifully finished by KASUMI technique. The blade with this construction of hard steel for cutting edge and of soft iron for body provides easiness to re-sharpen, sharpness, tenacity and durability.
Brand---Sakai Yoshiharu
Edge---Japanese Carbon Steel
Blade---Single-beveled edge for a right-handed person
Hand crafted
Handle---Hou Wood(Magnolia) with hand painted Akebono Nuri(Japanese lacquer ware)
Blade Length---180mm(7.1") from tip to handle
Total Length---315(12.4")
Weight---200gr(7.1oz)
What is the quality of this knife? Do you think this would be a good all purpose knife to meet my needs?
They also sell a much more expensive knife made with Japanese Blue steel no. 2, but this is geared mainly towards professional chefs, and I suspect the 200 dollar price difference wouldn't be worth my extra expenditure, no?
I'm also considering a Nakiri, vegetable knife with a square edge, would this shape/design necessarily be stronger, more durable?
Would a double bevel knife be better suited for my amateur skills and cooking purposes? I've read that this is usually the case for home cooks.
Sometimes I do like to very finely "shave" some vegetables though, like onion and cucumber, or even carrot and bell peppers.
Is there something else altogether that you would recommend first, like a good western style chef's knife? I should say that I don't want something too long, it starts to feel clumsy and unwieldy, and I don't eat a lot of watermelon which would require a very long blade.
I've never owned or used a Wusthof or Henckel's knife, but I've been considering them... it's just that when compared to good Japanese knives, they may have met their match or master so to speak.
I was looking at the Wusthof Classic East meets West knife set with a 7" Nakiri and 6" hollow edge cooks knife, for $99.95. Would this be a good choice?
I am willing to get a knife by any maker and just want what would best fulfill my needs. My budget is pretty limited though, I would say about a hundred bucks tops.
Lastly, about Carbon steel knives, I've read their primary downside is that they require a little extra care to insure they don't rust or discolor.
If anyone is familiar with Klasse auto care products, the All in One and High Gloss sealant, would you know if it would be okay, food safe to coat/seal the knife steel from air, water, food acids, etc. to make sure it doesn't become degraded by rust or discoloration?
I'm assuming an ultra thin, fraction of a millimeter/micrometer film/coat should protect the blade surface and not significantly affect the cutting ability of the knife.
Well, I don't know what else to say, I've probably already said too much, so I'll just ask for your help if you've read this far, it would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
I'm new here and don't know much about knives, except that it's not really fun when you don't have a good and sharp one when you need to cut something.
Yeah, I have had a dull knife for a while now, and even after I sharpen it, it still has difficulty cutting things like potatoes, carrots and celery, the things I wanted to make for dinner, a nice stew.
I've been obsessed with finding a good knife over the past couple of days and have done as much research as I could take, reading for maybe 10+ hours in trying to find the "best", "perfect" knife for my purposes, which is basically chopping vegetables and meat(the usual fare, chicken, beef and pork), usually without bones.
First off, I should point out that I'm not a professional chef, or sous chef for that matter, but I do like to cook at home, and take pride in what I am able to do when preparing meals for myself and my family.
Having a limited budget I was looking for a basic all-purpose knife that I could use for just about everything in basic food prep. I don't really make anything fancy, the most intricate thing I do is probably fine dicing an onion, if you can call that intricate, but I'm shocked by how many people don't know how.
I've owned a pairing knife for years, but have never actually used one for any "intricate" and detailed knife work, not even peeling/skinning an apple. I actually like the skin, have heard it contains 90% of the nutrients.
Well, to make a long story I'll say that I was seriously considering a ceramic knife, but after reading many critical reviews have come to think it's probably not the best choice. I actually bought a Yoshiblade just to see how great a ceramic knife would be, and I like it, it is very sharp, but honestly I feel the blade's too short to be really useful, and of course there are restrictions on what a ceramic blade should cut.
Being part Japanese, I'm now considering a Japanese style knife, as I've read how they are some of the finest in the world.
I was thinking about getting a Japanese SAKAI Kama-Usuba Vegetable Knife 180mm Akebono.
Sold online by bluewayjapan for what I consider a reasonable price, just under $70.
Here's a description of the knife and its features:
This Usuba is designed for dicing and mincing vegetable, or for rolling action paring when thin raw radish comes with Sashimi. This head round-shaped blade is called Osaka type and used in West Japan. This single-beveled edge can cut vegetable to hair thickness and make extremely clean cutting plane. This affordable priced quality knife is recommended for home or hobby chef.
The blade is beautifully finished by KASUMI technique. The blade with this construction of hard steel for cutting edge and of soft iron for body provides easiness to re-sharpen, sharpness, tenacity and durability.
Brand---Sakai Yoshiharu
Edge---Japanese Carbon Steel
Blade---Single-beveled edge for a right-handed person
Hand crafted
Handle---Hou Wood(Magnolia) with hand painted Akebono Nuri(Japanese lacquer ware)
Blade Length---180mm(7.1") from tip to handle
Total Length---315(12.4")
Weight---200gr(7.1oz)
What is the quality of this knife? Do you think this would be a good all purpose knife to meet my needs?
They also sell a much more expensive knife made with Japanese Blue steel no. 2, but this is geared mainly towards professional chefs, and I suspect the 200 dollar price difference wouldn't be worth my extra expenditure, no?
I'm also considering a Nakiri, vegetable knife with a square edge, would this shape/design necessarily be stronger, more durable?
Would a double bevel knife be better suited for my amateur skills and cooking purposes? I've read that this is usually the case for home cooks.
Sometimes I do like to very finely "shave" some vegetables though, like onion and cucumber, or even carrot and bell peppers.
Is there something else altogether that you would recommend first, like a good western style chef's knife? I should say that I don't want something too long, it starts to feel clumsy and unwieldy, and I don't eat a lot of watermelon which would require a very long blade.
I've never owned or used a Wusthof or Henckel's knife, but I've been considering them... it's just that when compared to good Japanese knives, they may have met their match or master so to speak.
I was looking at the Wusthof Classic East meets West knife set with a 7" Nakiri and 6" hollow edge cooks knife, for $99.95. Would this be a good choice?
I am willing to get a knife by any maker and just want what would best fulfill my needs. My budget is pretty limited though, I would say about a hundred bucks tops.
Lastly, about Carbon steel knives, I've read their primary downside is that they require a little extra care to insure they don't rust or discolor.
If anyone is familiar with Klasse auto care products, the All in One and High Gloss sealant, would you know if it would be okay, food safe to coat/seal the knife steel from air, water, food acids, etc. to make sure it doesn't become degraded by rust or discoloration?
I'm assuming an ultra thin, fraction of a millimeter/micrometer film/coat should protect the blade surface and not significantly affect the cutting ability of the knife.
Well, I don't know what else to say, I've probably already said too much, so I'll just ask for your help if you've read this far, it would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,