Unpopular opinions

Japanese Knives - by Tokushu Knife
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S grinds on knives are kind of ugly. I certainly can't say their function since never used one. The Dalman Honyaki was on a group buy BST. Guess didn't want to sell that particular knife.
 
aporigine said:
I grew up with both systems side-by-side and am pretty handy with on-the-fly conversions. German grade/high school in US.

My folks put up an outdoor alcohol thermometer by the kitchen window. It was graduated in Réaumur. I’m no stranger to offbeat systems of measure.

It did take me a while to get used to British colleagues describing their weight in stone. But it does explain the source of the American idiom “ninety-eight-pound weakling.”
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there is a perfectly usable system, and most of the world is using it...just have a look at the map to see the odd ones out.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_System_of_Units
 
Enso Forge said:
This may be an unpopular opinion… S-grinds are no better than a good convex grind.
I suppose they have their merits if you wanted some weight reduction or are slicing through a thick slab of something and were peculiar about the amount of drag on the blade. What do all you think about it?
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There are two things which an S-grind can impact
1. reduce drag and stiction, so a smoother cutter
2. food release, reduce sticking
A near perfect convex grind is really hard to execute. There are some people who do really good convex grinds. But even though their convex grinds are top notch they often times get outperformed by their S- or special grinds.
Let's take Kamon as an example. His Walkschliff grind is absolutely great, his S-hook is pretty much as good of a cutter but with even better food release.
Kippington's convex grinds are great but his half S-grind is better.
Got one S-grind by Smedja Aspen, food release is okay to good but nothing too special. It's a really smooth and nice cutter though which was his primary intention. AB Blades, who is doing a passaround, has an S-grind with the ridge quite low. Food release is good but could be better since it's not as distinct but it makes it a darn fine cutter. I also got to try S-Grind with the ridge too high, they work alright but imo lose against a well executed convex grind. Got two knives by German hobby makers which are among my top performers. Their convex grinds are really good but their special grinds are even better. Simon Herde's convex grinds are really nice but wasn't blown away by his hollow. Got to try and also have some Bidingers. His B-grinds, symmmetric or asymmetric, are super nice. One of the convex grinds was good, another one I got to try was superb and slightly rivaled his special grinds.
Overall convex grinds are hard but S-grinds aren't all that great and also need to be executed well. If you do it right they usually outperform normal grinds imo.
 
Vertigo said:
Unpopular Opinion:

Describing something on your menu as Asian, Asian-style, or Asian-inspired in 2024 is ridiculous. Soy sauce and sesame oil do not remotely encapsulate the collective cultures of some 5 billion people. Narrow your **** down and try harder.
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Like how restaurants put Lawry's on something and call it "Cajun" 😔
 
HolyDiverScallop said:
Wait. What? Lawry's Seasoned Salt is considered "Cajun" in any context anywhere? Tony Chachere's, I could see maybe, Frog Bone maybe, but Lawry's?
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Same reaction I had. The rural Midwest is my closest approximation to purgatory. (Best beer in the country though)
 
Enso Forge said:
This may be an unpopular opinion… S-grinds are no better than a good convex grind.
I suppose they have their merits if you wanted some weight reduction or are slicing through a thick slab of something and were peculiar about the amount of drag on the blade. What do all you think about it?
Click to expand...

A Dalman s-grind gyuto has been on my wish list for well over a decade, still want one very badly, but always been too slow to land one. I've a few J-knives with subtle s-grinds (Shig, old Kochi, etc.), but keen on a more pronounced s-grind.
 
I've got a Eddworks s grind nakiri, really like the smooth cutting and food release on it. The food release is far better than the workhorses I have.

The downside is the reduce material for my pinch grip to rest on. So here's my new order!




Takeda is really something that took me a while to get used to. I must admit that I really hated it when I first got it, but once you figure out which food is good at cutting and which one to avoid, it really becomes quite a unique niche knife.
 
MarcelNL said:
there is a perfectly usable system, and most of the world is using it...just have a look at the map to see the odd ones out.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_System_of_Units
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I’ve made my peace with the fact that I live in a nation that is in some ways a world leader, and in other ways … a wee bit backward. We’ve discussed exhibit A. But … I have trouble explaining a few other items.

1715791018917.jpeg


crop;webp=auto;jpeg_quality=60;progressive.jpg

(though that could be Scottish)

And of course, spherical geometry.
Rest of the world:

Soccer_Ball_Size_74e1ea7a-c0e6-4c78-b633-657a0234d64a.png


US:

1715791240995.jpeg
 
OkayMode said:
I am being serious, although it’s perhaps not one for someone’s first go trying offal…

Chicken livers on toast though… divine.
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I find that for people to even try offal, it has to be in a form where it can't really be seen. E.g. salted fried liver will get protests, pate / headcheese household loves....
 
I tried a couple of things, just isn't for me.
A lot of the stuff has really distinct textures and flavors that just don't fly with me.

I have a colleague at work who always enters 'no organ meat' whenever we get asked about dietary wishes at an event.
I always wonder if the guy is afraid there will be no other choice, like they're going to have a huge offal fest for all 150 invitees or something 🤣
 
I can’t do brain. Tried 3 times and it’s the only food I can think of that I just can’t do. I really enjoy pretty much all other offal though.
 
Offal is so unpopular in the Netherlands that the hardest part about eating it is actually finding it on sale somewhere. You're most likely to find it in a pet store...
 
JayS20 said:
There are two things which an S-grind can impact
1. reduce drag and stiction, so a smoother cutter
2. food release, reduce sticking
A near perfect convex grind is really hard to execute. There are some people who do really good convex grinds. But even though their convex grinds are top notch they often times get outperformed by their S- or special grinds.
Let's take Kamon as an example. His Walkschliff grind is absolutely great, his S-hook is pretty much as good of a cutter but with even better food release.
Kippington's convex grinds are great but his half S-grind is better.
Got one S-grind by Smedja Aspen, food release is okay to good but nothing too special. It's a really smooth and nice cutter though which was his primary intention. AB Blades, who is doing a passaround, has an S-grind with the ridge quite low. Food release is good but could be better since it's not as distinct but it makes it a darn fine cutter. I also got to try S-Grind with the ridge too high, they work alright but imo lose against a well executed convex grind. Got two knives by German hobby makers which are among my top performers. Their convex grinds are really good but their special grinds are even better. Simon Herde's convex grinds are really nice but wasn't blown away by his hollow. Got to try and also have some Bidingers. His B-grinds, symmmetric or asymmetric, are super nice. One of the convex grinds was good, another one I got to try was superb and slightly rivaled his special grinds.
Overall convex grinds are hard but S-grinds aren't all that great and also need to be executed well. If you do it right they usually outperform normal grinds imo.
Click to expand...
I recently tried a lot of food release orientated knives and had about 10 in a side by side testing. I don’t want to name them all here, but out of all the knives I tried and tested, Kamon S hook was the clear #1 when it comes to food release. This convex knife I bought from @ashy2classy was #2. It outperformed all other “food release grind” knives I had in my testing (although by a tiny margin against a couple of them). In addition, both of these knives are S tier cutters if the easy of cutting was the only criteria. Another thing that’s a bit funny to me - I bet you if I list this absolutely S tier knife I bought from @ashy2classy on BST today at the same price I bought it at, it won’t be an instant sale.

https://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/threads/miura-itadaki-y-tanaka-polished-as-240mm-gyuto.70075/
 
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