Thailand trip coming up

Work is going to fly me to Thailand in order to research the food there. Anything that I could pick up knife wise down there? I'll pick up a kiwi knife for a guy who is always broke to get his own knife. I was thinking about something that would be useful from their specific knives like coconut knives etc.
I remember seeing a thread some time ago with lots of info on thai knives but I can't find it

The Kiwi knives are everywhere as are the Kom Kom, a slightly better grade from the same company. I like the Penguin brand as it seems to be more the choice of restaurant pros. Most of the wet markets will also have somebody selling the knives from the Aranyik knifemaking village. The village is about 40 miles north of Bangkok so if you have time, there are dozens of knife shops there. Not sure Kiwi makes a coconut knife but there are certainly plenty from Aranyik. I would skip the huge weekend market if you looking for knives. There are some but that place is to vast it is hard to find anything. And the maps to particular products seem to only be suggestions to some people.

Definitely choose Penguin and Kom Kom over Kiwi. Kom KOm sells a chefs knife that I haven't seen available in the US that while soft steel (<$8 when I was there) that is an awesome value for the money with a nice grind and a wonderful profile and makes a great present.

I'd love to hear about a trip to Aranyik if you go!

By the way, if you want to see them forging knives in the village, don't go on a Monday. That seems to be there day off. The knife making museum was also closed but we found the guy with the keys and he opened it up for us. It's small but there are a few interesting things in it.

The first group is leaving on tuesday, staying in bangkok till friday where I fly in in the morning. I think we are staying there for a day, then we are flying to chiang mai and we are going around 4 villages there and we are learning some of the local specialties. I mentioned knives to the owner and he told me "oh we must go to this place I know while we are there" so I hope its Aranyik. Will bring photos if that's the case.
But I will defenitely pick up knives for the guys at the restaurant. They do not care about knives that much so they will use other people's knives all the time. I would make it a bigger point if I was staying, but we are opening a new restaurant and I am moving there.

If you are hunting knives in Chiang Mai, go to the wet market north of the U.S. consulate. You will need to search all the side streets but it is worth it. The really big market south of there along the river is OK but not as good. The other three wet markets around the town are pretty marginal for knives.

Have bought some of those cheap cleavers with the exotic wood handles finished of the rough lacquered handles came out really nice after a rework.

I love Thai food:hungry3:

Unfortunately the chiang mai part didn't work out. I only found two shops with knives and they only had kiwi. Any advice for Bangkok?

Well I got my Kom Koms and Penguins at one of the standard department stores in Bangkok, I suppose the prices would have been better if I shopped around but they were certainly reasonable at the dept store. I do (and did) wonder if there is the equivalent of a restaurant supply store in Bangkok

toufas said:

Unfortunately the chiang mai part didn't work out. I only found two shops with knives and they only had kiwi. Any advice for Bangkok?

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So you didn't find the knife stall in the Warawot market I take it? Or the old lady with the blanket spread on the ground at one of the entrances to Warawot? Or any of the places in the wet market north of the consult.

Bangkok, skip Chatauchak. There are restaurant supply shops around town but they mostly sell Kiki and Penguin. Go to the wet markets in China town and in the center of Bangkok and hunt up the knife stalls and venders. Or out to the knifemaking village north of Bangkok.

I didn't find them no, only found a sort of restaurant supply store inside a market

Sorry you missed them but I made two trips to Chiang Mai several years apart and nothing had changed except the elderly lady a knife push cart had moved from the Warowat up to the market north of the U.S. consulate. The knife stall in Warowat is against one of the inside walls. There is an old lady that sells knives on a blanket in the hallway to one of the entrances of Warowat. And there are a couple of restaurant supply places along the edge near the river. One is under kind of a tent and the other in a regular building. I bought several Penguin knives from the second one. But I still like the shops in the wet market north of the consulate better.

i LOVE to travel. but i'm not dragging myself or (more importantly) my wife along for my hobby stuff. i was in Japan and went into one shop. i kinda feel the other countries dont even understand the word "obsession". they just buy tools, we buy knives.

i was in Cambodia, and saw a guy butchering a hog. he was using this gnarly curved blade. he thought i was retarded when i took a picture of it. that knife had no logo, and i bet he wouldnt even know where he got it.

As someone that has taken photos in places like that for a living I know what you mean. A pro travel photographer and I were disusing it while back. There are three responses if you ask to take a photo of them at work. 1. They just say no. Many many people don't want their photo taken. 2. They strike a pose with the knife held across their chest like they were Napoleon or something. 3. They want to be paid for posing. And as far as they are concerned you never give them enough. The answer we both concluded was don't ask, just sneak up on them and shoot. Not very polite but it is the only way to get publishable photos.