Advice to J knife newbies

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Nemo

Nemo

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What advice do we need to give to those new to Japanese knives when we gift or lend them a knife?

I'll kick off with:

No dishwaher.
No soaking.
Don't leave in sink.
Wash and dry thoroughly immediately after use.
Store in a dry place where the edge won't be dinged.
For carbons, rinse and wipe down after acidic food or when putting knife down for more than a few minutes.
No scraping with edge. Careful with rock chopping.
No frozen food or bones.
They are probably a lot sharper than you are used to so careful not to cut yourself.

Did I miss anything?
 
no glass cutting boards/don't cut on the counter

no bolster, watch out for the tip of your index finger

don't drop them off at the corner kitchen store to get sharpened

no honing steels
 
I'd throw in

Don't use the abrasive side of a two-sided sponge if you want to preserve the finish on the blade or avoid scuffing it up
 
I reckon the was and dry immediately is really only applicable for carbon, and to chuck under that use.

Stainless J knives can handle being used and sitting around for a while without any issue. And even then typically you are only talking diacolouration if anything happens as opposed to rusting.
 
Only advice I can give is:
  • Try to understand what thin hard steel is like and avoid activities likely to damage it.
  • Try to understand the conditions that make cutting dangerous and learn/use techniques that reduce risk.
  • Understand the benefits of maintenance and be willing to sharpen and potentially make your knife less pretty.
 
unless you know they are interested in maintaining one, my advise is don't get them a jknife. if you HAVE to get them one, then it should be a global because they are tanks. only thing they need to know is dont cut frozen sh*t with it or use it as another tool (hacking, sawing, puncturing, etc)
 
Dont use it to open cans ( seen it before)
Dont scrape it against the edge of another knife to "sharpen" it. (seen it before)
Dont rest the blade in the ice well on top of the ice( seen it)
Dont stick the knife in your "tool bain-marie" tip down.
No, you cant use my carbon knife to cut tomatoes when you dont have a dry rag in sight.
 
Being a J knife newbie myself, although I have come up to speed quickly in the last few months, I have learned a few things that might help:

  1. learn to sharpen freehand
    Sharpening freehand seems very awkward when first learning how to do it, but in my opinion it is the way to go. How to hold your knife, where to put your fingers, how much pressure -- there is so much going on at first that it is difficult. However, practice makes perfect and you need to spend sufficient time gaining the skill and muscle memory of how to sharpen freehand. I would even suggest starting with a used stainless steel knife like a Victorinox just to gain experience on a stone which should be 1000 grit or less. Holding the same angle while sharpening is where you want to get. Then understanding the correct angle for thinning vs sharpening the edge. Finally, the correct pressure and time spent to polish the Jigane and Higane, and achieve an extremely sharp edge.​
  2. start with a knife that is on the expendable side of choices
    I started with an Gesshin Uraku 210 stainless gyuoto, and I am glad I did. It is a very good knife to learn how to thin and sharpen a JCK. I made a mess out of it a couple of times -- flattening the belly and also scratching the sides. These mistakes contributed to learning how to restore a nice profile and how to refinish a knife. Wrecking a $400 work of art knife is not the best way to start out.​
  3. get a decent cutting board
    Self-explanatory. I have TheBoardSmith butcher's blocks, Hi-Soft, and epicureancs.com Kitchen Series cutting boards. My favorite is maple end-grain.​
  4. watch what you cut into
    A couple of weeks ago I had a bunch of cilantro that still had the tie wrap on it, and I tried to chop the top half of the bunch. I did not see the metal tie wrap, and I microchipped my blade on a brand new Toyama 240 Gyuto. I really hate it when something like this happens, but the end result was positive: another lesson on what not to do and I learned how to repair chips.​
  5. be careful how you wipe the knife clean/dry
    Don't snag the towel on the heal of the edge because it can bend or break off. Make sure everyone who might use your knives knows the proper way to wipe a knife with a towel.​
  6. make your life easier while sharpening
    Seeing exactly what is happening while sharpening is crucial. You can use the sharpie trick, a 20x to 30x jewels loupe, or Optivisor. I use 2.5x Optivisor in good light every time I sharpen.​
  7. use the right knife for the job
    I keep my Gyutos very thin behind the edge. Not a wire edge, but still pretty thin. Three times I have rolled my edge with different knives while chopping cooked bacon, so now I use a sturdy butcher knife for this task instead.​
 
OK. I'll go....

Don't use the edge of the knife to scrape ingredient across the board. You're just begging for chips.
 
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