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Japanese Knives - by Tokushu Knife
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pentastich

pentastich

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Hi, I seem to have caught the Japanese knife bug. After reading up on the subject for the last few weeks I've decided that the real issue for me is whether I'm willing to maintain my knives properly. I've been cooking (at home) for over thirty years and haven't done a good job yet, so my willingness is a real concern!

My current thought is to get some stones and maybe a Chinese cleaver, switch to my (existing) IKEA wood cutting board, and concentrate on sharpening and maintaining the cleaver and my existing stainless knives (Tramontia, full bolster, generic knife set). Later on, my thought is to take a class on sharpening and pick up some fancier knives.

My question is: does this make sense, or am I likely to develop bad habits? After all, practice doesn't make perfect, it just makes permanent!

Jim
 
Greetings! Get some stones, watch Jon Broida's sharpening videos and practice...makes perfect sense. May want to stick with stainless though if you are not planning on high maintenance.
 
Many are intimidated by sharpening. Basic sharpening is rather simple. It's all about the angle, and holding steady, with as little wobble as possible. Speed is not important. Style is not important.

Starting with a basic mid grit, and following the factory bevel shouldn't be beyond anyone capabilities. Once you can raise a nice burr consistently, more advanced techniques can be explored....
 
pentastich said:
Hi, I seem to have caught the Japanese knife bug. After reading up on the subject for the last few weeks I've decided that the real issue for me is whether I'm willing to maintain my knives properly. I've been cooking (at home) for over thirty years and haven't done a good job yet, so my willingness is a real concern!

My current thought is to get some stones and maybe a Chinese cleaver, switch to my (existing) IKEA wood cutting board, and concentrate on sharpening and maintaining the cleaver and my existing stainless knives (Tramontia, full bolster, generic knife set). Later on, my thought is to take a class on sharpening and pick up some fancier knives.

My question is: does this make sense, or am I likely to develop bad habits? After all, practice doesn't make perfect, it just makes permanent!

Jim
Click to expand...

Getting a Chinese cleaver makes perfect sense to me :D
 
quantumcloud509 said:
Getting a Chinese cleaver makes perfect sense to me :D
Click to expand...
+1
in fact, get any simple carbon steel blade.
The Tramontinas are made of soft stainless, and this a special case where refinement is counterproductive, They should be sharpened with the coarsest stuff you may get. It won't give you a very good idea of what sharpening is about.
 
Benuser said:
+1
in fact, get any simple carbon steel blade.
The Tramontinas are made of soft stainless, and this a special case where refinement is counterproductive, They should be sharpened with the coarsest stuff you may get. It won't give you a very good idea of what sharpening is about.
Click to expand...
Yeah I wouldnt bother Trying to sharpen the Tramontinas, it will likely just frustrate you and/or induce bad habits and false impressions. The carbon cleaver is a very good idea, both the material and shape are easy to sharpen.
To answer your question: yes, this makes sense. A lot of it.
 
Thanks all... I now have a CCK small cleaver on order and I'm researching stones.

Jim
 
Sounds good. Grab a 1-3k stone for starters. Bester, Gesshin 2k, Sigma Select II or Gesshin 1k for splash n go convenience.
 
Benuser said:
+1
in fact, get any simple carbon steel blade.
The Tramontinas are made of soft stainless, and this a special case where refinement is counterproductive, They should be sharpened with the coarsest stuff you may get. It won't give you a very good idea of what sharpening is about.
Click to expand...

Hi... two followup questions:

(1) My wife's knives are labeled "no stain chromolybdenum inox <Mundial> brazil". There's a slicer labeled "2111-8" and a chef's knife labeled "2110-8". Is the steel in those knives likely to be similar to what's in my Tramontias?
(2) What is a good grit for the soft stainless knives? The place we've taken them in the past for sharpening has switched to a machine and we didn't like the results. Keeping them reasonably sharp will make a nice present for my wife and should be practice in keeping a consistent angle if nothing else.
 
Well, this very special case of counterproductive refinement has to do with its relatively low carbon content, 0.45-0.5%. Only in Germany that's considered as 'high carbon'.
I would sharpen the Tramontinas on a stone of J400, or corresponding sandpaper, and deburr and strop very, very lightly on a 800, No polishing.
I don't know what Mundial uses now. The last Mundials I've sharpened were from some time ago. To me the steel was equivalent to the German and I treated it correspondingly.
 
Benuser said:
Well, this very special case of counterproductive refinement has to do with its relatively low carbon content, 0.45-0.5%. Only in Germany that's considered as 'high carbon'.
I would sharpen the Tramontinas on a stone of J400, or corresponding sandpaper, and deburr and strop very, very lightly on a 800, No polishing.
I don't know what Mundial uses now. The last Mundials I've sharpened were from some time ago. To me the steel was equivalent to the German and I treated it correspondingly.
Click to expand...
These are nearly 30 years old, so I'll assume they are similar. Thank you.
 
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