Best grid/edge for cutting lots of small tomatoes

I find myself cutting a lot of small tomatoes, ~1" in diameter. Tomato skins are known to be pretty hard on the edges and I like an edge that just goes through them. I can get to an edge like that many different ways, but I want an edge that will last for such cutting for an extended period of time. What grid is recommended for this? I use a push/pull cutting for this. I can do 4K, 6K, 1 micron diamond loaded leather strop.

Thanks

Why not something more like a 1k (maybe up to 2k) finish? Plenty of bite for the skins and will hold up much longer than what you listed.

chinacats said:

Why not something more like a 1k (maybe up to 2k) finish? Plenty of bite forthe skins and will hold up much longer than what you listed.

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I can do that too. I have both 1K and 2K Gesshins. Most of the knives I use are 52100, O1, A2, AEB-L and I usually sharpen them to higher grid, but if you think that lower grids are better I can try that.

Even an 800 grit or a coarser feeling 1k grit.....just deburr it well and it should last

Jnats excel in the toothy and long-lasting edge game, however.

Yeah I'd try lower grit. Overpolishing will just make it a fragile razor without any bite...
For the same reason I have my suji (mostly used on meat after cooking when it's crusty) on the lower side; more bite means less issues skating across crusts in no-time.

I like a 1k for canning season. I also use my 19c27 knives specifically because I feel that they take a 'toothier' edge and hold that aggressiveness off the stones for a longer period of time. That may be totally in my head but that is beside the point anyway. I like that 1-2k edge and can easily touch up on a ceramic rod or a few strops on a dry stone if need be.

I agree with StonedEdge on how J-nat edges feel but in the case of tomato slaying I still like a mid grit, natural or otherwise. Something like a Binsui or Ikarashi. Though Mozen-to and Aoto normally work well to I find them closer to the 3-5k range and better suited, for me, to butchery.

My favorite tomato knife is a Dalman laser gyuto in aeb-l sharpened on Kouzaki aoto stone (those muddy aotos 2-3k max).

Thanks guys. Sounds like the consensus is that I need to try something in the lower grid, significantly lower than my usual 4-6K. Even in simple carbon steels.

Yeah, a lower grit should help out a lot. The real question is what knife size should you buy next to help with small tomatoes. Gyutos feel too big IMO.

labor of love said:

Yeah, a lower grit should help out a lot. The real question is what knife size should you buy next to help with small tomatoes. Gyutos feel too big IMO.

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I like a 180mm gyuto or 165mm santoku for tomatoes. Though my 210 Ginga feels a lot smaller than my other 210s and works well too.

labor of love said:

Yeah, a lower grit should help out a lot. The real question is what knife size should you buy next to help with small tomatoes. Gyutos feel too big IMO.

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If I were smarter and quicker thinking I would've gotten yoshikane 180 SKD that you pointed me to. Ofcourse, by the time I got to it they were out of stock everywhere. That at 190x45 with SKD would be perfect for this task.

I like an obnoxiously big Gyuto for everything to be honest. The bigger the better. I'm kicking myself for not getting that 42cm Gyuto when I was in Osaka.

Cheap serrated paring/steak knife. I'm serious. Cutting high volume cherry tom with a non-serrated knife is just torture.

Sleep said:

Cheap serrated paring/steak knife. I'm serious. Cutting high volume cherry tom with a non-serrated knife is just torture.

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Shhhh!...they won’t believe us.

But seriously using a serrated knife is the same idea really as using a low grit edge. Serrations that easily pierce the skin.

i line up as many cherry tomatoes will fit across cutting board and 4 deep, then cut in half with mac bread knife going down a line. so much faster this way.

panda said:

i line up as many cherry tomatoes will fit across cutting board and 4 deep, then cut in half with mac bread knife going down a line. so much faster this way.

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Shhh...don’t tell them what happens inside the sausage factory. They might stop eating the sausage.

I use a shig suji sharpened to 2000 and slice about 10-15 at a time using a horizontal, under the palm, cut. You can get through a lot of tomatoes that way.

Just use bread knife much easier than use chef knife. with any crust skin item such as roast etc my bread knife is my go to.

Yes, I know, I know.....serrated knife such as bread or steak is the way to go.... but I have a crap load of very nice knives and I want to use them. Otherwise, what is the point....

tomato gatlin gun of a bout 6x fresh off the stones :rofl:

Barmoley said:

If I were smarter and quicker thinking I would've gotten yoshikane 180 SKD that you pointed me to. Ofcourse, by the time I got to it they were out of stock everywhere. That at 190x45 with SKD would be perfect for this task.

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Yeah, that was old stock. Real old stock. I know of something you might like just as much. PM me.

labor of love said:

Yeah, that was old stock. Real old stock. I know of something you might like just as much. PM me.

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PM sent impatiently waiting for an alternative, I might like.