J knives changed my life

I'm a relative newbie to this obsession, only 4 years in but going strong. Up until then I only used clunky German softies. 13 years in the industry. The sharpness, aesthetic and upkeep of high carbon steel was what attracted me to at first. I love a simple ho octagonal. Learning to hand sharpen is one of my favorite skills. That being said J knives have been an absolute revolution in my cutting game. I've had decent skills for awhile but it was always a struggle with no edge. With the superior sharpness and edge retention of my new arsenal, previously tedious prep to be an absolute joy to do. Always striving for the more consistent dice and cleaner portioning J knives made it so possible. I just love to see the look in my cooks eyes when I give them my knife and they cut with it for the first time. They just light up. Any one else have this Damascus road experience?

Somewhat of a similar experience here, although from a home cook standpoint. I've gotten a few coworkers hooked on good knives and know what you mean by the "look".

First time using my first Japanese knife was cutting an onion. I almost giggled out loud.

I'm a little envious of those who had some kind of epiphanic moment with a sharp knife. My first kitchen knife was decently thin and decently sharp and worked fine. No years in a pro kitchen with an edged crowbar, no family junkers, no enormous changes...just a modest and rather expensive upgrade.

I cooked at home for many years with heavy, dull, off-brand german style knives. With the onset of arthritis, food prep was a painful chore. Now it doesn't hurt to cook. Unless I grab the knife by the pointy end.

It's been a HUGE difference.

....all the more crestfallen when I still find ingredients that do not feel like clouds when being cut And omg, it made me slower and technique-conscious in the kitchen and will have made me so for months or years to come... slowly learning when thinner/smaller dice/strips are not better/tastier ones .... but so what....

Before I read this thread I didn't even remember how much I used to hate prep at work when I started in the kitchen. I used use at work only really bad house knives (market brands) and tried to avoid any cutting jobs. When I got my first J-knife about 17 years ago, it changed my attitude completely and ever since then any prep including using knives are my favourite.

I don't know about "the look" though. Sometimes when a another cook is interested about my knives I usually give them a test drive, thinking they'll get a cool experience and maybe get more interested in quality knives. Every single time I get the exact same response. They never look positively surprised more like a little ashamed and...
"It's definitely sharper then mine. I really should get mine sharpened again"
Then they'll just start sharpening their Vics etc. and get back to work with no interest in the subject what so ever.
Every-single-time!

One guy who did all that just got a Yaxell Gou for his birthday (replaced his old Vic) and NOW is over the moon. Can't believe how good is the edge retention or how much better it cuts over all. :lol2:

Seven threads of it too!

CutFingers are these the old Shun Pro series (VG10 monosteel)? Oh, and are the paper steel knives duller a) out of the box, b) after you freshly sharpened them, c) after a workload comparable to what the shuns got?

I'll play devil's advocate. I love Japanese knives, but I can't help but feel like it's not a rational love. Like how suits made in Italy are just "better", it has more to do with perceived image than actual performance.

In reality, I'm sure a well sharpened Zwilling can probably take on the finest of Japanese knives. Though you can't pretend to be a Samurai when using a zwilling.

But is that Zwilling just as easy to get, and keep, well sharpened?

Zwilling? Unless we are talking Miyabi/Cermax/1731, this is using the same boring* steel category (probably better HT) that a $10 supermarket grab table knife uses. Will probably have terrible edge retention or even collapse if you put an edge angle suitable for a japanese knife on it.

Inexpensive VG10 is a different kettle of fish, somewhat state of the art.

And your italian suit is a more drastic example: There is no physical performance (keeping you warm, wearer comfort, durability/protection) benefit of ANY suit compared to simpler clothing. All "performance" is aesthetic/social, so aesthetic/social aspects DEFINE the performance.

*actually, it would likely end more entertaining than boring if you used it for boring.

It's clear that the softer, inferior steel won't hold an edge nearly as long as good steel. But it is quite amazing what kind of performance one can get out of even very cheap, generic blades with thorough thinning and treatment of the blade surface.

I have a few absolute garbage knives that I bought at various German WalMart equivalents or on ebay and used for practicing thinning with my belt sander. Any of them now beats the best "untreated" German knives from the well-known brands, and a good many of my cheaper Japanese knives too. They just glide through the food.

I sanded the whole bladefaces with a 400 grit belt and buffed it with a cotton cloth wheel with rough compound and now there is almost no stickiness anymore. I have two identical F. Dick ProDynamics, one is as it came from the factory and one "fully treated" and the difference is staggering.

Thorough thinning might have turned them into a Kiwi

My old Shun were VG10 damascus in the bamboo box. With sharpening they have been workhorse knives, they always retain a nice toothy edge, but the Japanese knives...yes they get finer edges, cut amazing, but simply don't retain the toothy edges of my old Shun stuff.

Nice to hear experience of how Japanese knives were a revelation. Same happened to me decades ago no turning back.:wink:

Am I the only one that thinks this when seeing the title of this thread?

https://youtu.be/GtfZbj4J71A

My son-in-law used to work as a cook for years before he graduated college. The first time I let him use my gesshin ginga 240mm gyuto he was stunned at how well it cut. And that was when it was in need of a touch up even. The look on his face was priceless.

tomsch said:

My son-in-law used to work as a cook for years before he graduated college. The first time I let him use my gesshin ginga 240mm gyuto he was stunned at how well it cut. And that was when it was in need of a touch up even. The look on his face was priceless.

Click to expand...

I had the exact same experience today with my mom, also a former cook, when I gave her my in-need-of-sharpening Shiro Kamo gyuto for a spin. Now she wants one too. Well, that solves the Christmas present problem.

Mucho Bocho said:

Am I the only one that thinks this when seeing the title of this thread?

https://youtu.be/GtfZbj4J71A

Click to expand...

You most definitely are not the only to imagine that, I have had that some in my head thanks to this thread title

Yes the title to this thread may seem hokey to ya'll, but I really mean what I said. Jknives changed my life. Clean, precise cuts make so happy. So hate all you want.

No hate here, I wholeheartedly agree. I bought my first Jknife less than two months ago and went from cooking 2-3 times a week to twice every day. I thought I'd get bored with it by now and class it under "expensive toy for grown-ups", but the truth is I really enjoy the tactile feeling of the blade gliding through food. I cook just as an excuse to use it more. I can only imagine the difference they make in a professional kitchen.

I use a German knife and I have a great time in kitchen... They add a new blend to my culinary skills

Hi Ralph, Do you prefer the Wusties, Henks or other German knives?

I just cleaned and sharpened my knife and when I did some prep the next morning I had that stupid silly grin on my face the whole time.

For me its more like this https://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=COiIC3A0ROM