First Day of School Coming up...What to take

[Gravy Power]

Thanks for the help!

 

[Benuser]

You're welcome!
Perhaps interesting for you: Murray Carter's free sharpening tips by mail. See www.cartercutlery.com

 

[Keith Sinclair]

Took your advice. This knife will accompany me on the first day. I'll still use the Mercer initially, but will need to learn on the Fujiwara as well, as it's a different knife.

I think you did well getting the Fujiwara.Good choice.Learn freehand sharpening the carbon Fuji will take a sharp edge.Ward,Dave Martel,Mark ******** at CKTG,Jon,Chiharu Sugai at Korin are all good freehand teachers wt.DVD & online tutoral.NO pull through jigs,throw it away.

You mentioned trailing stroke,this tech. will serve you well once you master it.Steel honing rods are for trueing the edge sharpening is done on the stone.You are correct angle is important on a steel should be the same as last angle on stone,not steep,that can round your edges.Smooth polishing steels are best,or polishing ceramic.I like the Forchner 12" combo steel around 30.00 it is tough & will not break the bank.It is fine on one side & polish smooth on the other.Do not use coarse or daimond steels on good knives.

You see cooks wailing away at a steep angle on steels trying to get a sharp edge,this shows a fundimental lack of sharpening skills.I used the Forchner polishing(correct angle)on my carbon Masamoto's to hone the edge during long cutting sessions.Steels do serve a purpose in a production Kit.Stick to the polishing rods,it only takes a few lite measured strokes.

 

[Keith Sinclair]

I might add polishing steels can be used on Gyuto & cleavers,I never use a steel on a Japan single bevel like Yanagi,Usuba or Deba.

 

[brainsausage]

I might add polishing steels can be used on Gyuto & cleavers,I never use a steel on a Japan single bevel like Yanagi,Usuba or Deba.

I use a ceramic on my single bevel Kono white #2 petty whilst cleaning proteins, and I get a marked increase in performance. Just my two cents

 

[Vertigo]

A single bevel petty? Whaaa....??

 

[GlassEye]

A single bevel petty? Whaaa....??

Thin, short yanagiba essentially; I recall Jon having some at one point. Yet another knife on the endless list of knives I want but haven't bought because I still need to buy food for eating and not just cutting into as many tiny pieces as possible.

 

[brainsausage]

A single bevel petty? Whaaa....??

It's so awesome. So thin. Like a whisper. Works wonders on fine tuning proteins. Ive been using it a bunch lately to seam out pork shoulders for sausage. My only complaint would be the length(150, have to choke way up more often than not) , and that the tip is just a bit too pointy. Which might sound odd to some, but it it snags easily. I might have dave round when i eventually send it off to him. I dont dare fumble with it on my own, hands are too big and barely outta school And yes- I got it from john

 

[Keith Sinclair]

I use a ceramic on my single bevel Kono white #2 petty whilst cleaning proteins, and I get a marked increase in performance. Just my two cents

Is that a single bevel wt. flat backside or hollow ground back?I use a polishing steel on single bevel gyuto,but not on my Yanagi's which are mostly for cutting Ahi Sashimi & Sushi topping.The edges are so sharp wt. my finishing stone,they never touch a steel.With fine carbon single bevel hollow ground blades,the edges are thin & razor sharp,personally I prefer no steel ,the finishing stone is enough:doublethumbsup:

 

[brainsausage]

I'd prefer not to steel as well, I definitely notice some waves in my edge after steeling for awhile. But I keep blowing my load on new knives instead of getting a proper stone/strop setup. I'm moving into a new place later this month, after I catch up financially I'm gonna start throwing money at John and Dave and get my kit together. Followed closely by a big Boardsmith for work

 

[Gravy Power]

I need to figure out what exactly a strop is and how to properly use it...

 

[Keith Sinclair]

I need to figure out what exactly a strop is and how to properly use it...

I would encourge learning freehand on stones as a first step.A little freehand skill goes a long way & sets a good foundation for things like strops.Again spend a little coin for Dave Martell's(The Art Of Knife Sharpening)He covers freehand skills,strops + some good tips & theory,one of the better sharpening DVD's

 

[Gravy Power]

Couple of updates.

Since beginning this thread, I have aquired Dave's set of core stones and a strop set from...ugh...wherever, but yeah. I've been practicing pretty hard on some cheap knives on the stones (either mine or some dull friends kitchen knives). Last night I decided to go all out on the Shun 7-inch Asain cooks knife, which I have been primarily using at school in place of the Mercer that is issue (Shun far superion).

I have picked up a few comments, as one of the TA's noticed the Shun on the first day and said, "wow, nice knife." Keep in mind this is a $95 Shun. I said, "yep, you can get them for a great price with our student discount at SLT right now." He responed, "oh yeah, I love Shun, I have their chef's knife. I don't think I've ever seen a Foundations I student carrying one though..."

I chuckled a little.

Well last night as I went to sharpen said Shun, I was working pretty late. At some point I screwed up. After stropping and removing scratches with those colored sand paper things, I ran my finger over the edge. The bottom half of the blade was completely smooth. It was like a used up kitchen knife. Not sure how I screwed up, as I had checked progress after the stones. Additionally my sharpening on the stones had been extremely effective on my friends butterknife-like Santoku.

Anyway, it was too late to restart. So I said, "screw it, I'll just take in the Carter for our hour on knife skills." Bearing in mind everything we've mentioned in this thread, I wasn't worried about anyone taking it, or even any one grabbing it for their own use a la minute. We have a small lab with four stations and 13 people total. My station only has three people. A 45-year old pilot and his 17-year old son whom I've built a great relationship with. (Note, the father has a 9-inch Shun Chef's knife which he's pretty proud of, and I won't discount him for that. He did drop it the other day though and completely took the tip off). Additionally, no one in there has any clue whatsoever who Murray Carter is. Frankly I don't think the Chef Instructor does either. Maybe he does, but I'm not about to brag about the fact that I'm carrying a $500 knife.

Anyway...I proceed to go through knife skills. Damn. I'm so much more efficient and precise with this knive. It's a shame that some chef's would do themselves the disservice of not employing the superior technology that is available out there. My fine jullienne received high marks, and I was the only one who did it properly. There is no way I'm leaving this at home for our remaining three classes. When I start Foundations II, I'll leave it at home for a few classes, just so I can get a feel for my classmates, but it makes my tasks so much damn easier.

 

[Crothcipt]

Great to hear!:EDance2: