Best grit for (crusty) meats & steaks?

Hello all,

I have a seperate slicer (think 20 cm / 8 inch cheapo VG-10 carver) that is pretty much dedicated to meat work. Essentially it's what I use to tranche large parts of meat, steaks, etc before serving (home use). I'm wondering what you guys think is a preferable finishing grit for this task. I know polishing the crap out of it is pointless as it'll just slide over the crust, but I'm afraid simply giving it a 400 grit serrated edge will just tear up the meat too much and cause it to leak more fluids.
So...anyone figured out the 'sweet spot'? What's reasonable for a finishing grit for such a task?

My arsenal: Naniwa pro 400, 1000, 3000, 5000 & Arashiyama 6000

Thanks in advance for the insight!

The stones used, the knife used, your technique used are all variables. Why don't you try finishing on your 3K then decide from there?

By technique, do you mean cutting or sharpening technique? I tend to make long pull-motions in my cuts, trying to see-saw as little as possible.
The stones & steel are all in the original post; I wasn't planning on expanding those anytime soon (no money).

But I was hoping I could tap into 'what worked for others'. Given the limited on-and-off and inconsistent usage it's hard to make an honest comparison over what works better or worse.

Like Dave said, the sweet spot for your knife and crusty meats is going to be different from any other knife.

You've got what you need in your lineup to test it out. If I had to guess, 3-5K will probably give you what you're looking for.

From what you've listed the 3K should work fine. If you would like a little finer edge go up a stone. I usually finish on 6K for suji but sometimes will want a little toothier edge.

Only use the 400, and strop on 1000

Not sure you will get rid of the burr @1k.

On a related note, just to be sure: would I gain anything from thinning it? I always reasoned not, given the non-carroty nature of meats...or is that just the folly of my lazyness?

For uncooked meat you may use overly convexed edges, far too thick behind it. You will for sure feel the difference, but it works. I've cubed huge amounts of raw beef and pork with a yo-deba.

And on cooked / crusty meats? I'm really only using the slicer for prepared meats... For raw meat I actually tend to grab my gyuto (which is a far better blade / knife) and it leaves nothing to desire.

For cooked pork have as thin as possible, for beef make sure you can deal with the crust, so have it a bit coarse, thinness won't mind that much.

I think of getting through the crust as a technique issue. Once through it, I want the edge to be ideal for the underlying meat, so it makes the cleanest possible cut.

You may indeed use the heel.

My carving knife doesn't have a heel.

Get a basic carbon 270 sujihiki. http://japanesechefsknife.com/FKHSeries.html#FKH

One day... when I have my degree and an actual income. Right now I can barely afford the food it's supposed to cut. Hence my attempts to squeeze the most out of my crappy VG-10 slicer.

Electric. zoom zoom zoom. Just don't cut on your nice cutting board. Tis a saws all after all.

Jovidah said:

My carving knife doesn't have a heel.

Click to expand...

Have you rounded it? Please post a photo.

As I said... it's cheap and crappy. But still a VG-10 blade.
Shame they modelled the slicer to be more European in appearance, with the bolster going down to the edge. A bit of a heel and a bit more length and it'd be pretty decent. But for the 15 euros I paid for it at the time I guess I can't complain too much.

I see, this photo made me believe there was actually a heel.

Ah... you had already deduced the ones I have?
That's the chef's knife. Indeed a proper heel.... but I want to keep it tuned as a gyuto; it's the knife my girlfriend always uses when she's over.

It's a bit of a shame they discontinued the line. Sure there was some room for improvement and I'd have made a few minor changes... but at the price? I paid 20 euro's for that chef knife (due to the combo-deal; add a few and prices would drop rapidly). Served me well for the first few years of my knife-awakening.