Carrot wedge test

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mack said:
That's a Kamon. 5-layer san mai. It was his first custom (and order) ever made. A knife for my wife.

Mack.
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Ou, that is nice. I didn't look the makers mark closely enough 🙈. Your wife has one heck of a knife.
 
Southpaw said:
So I’m new here but... is that wedging on celery thing a joke?
Where the f-word do u wedge on celery?

I know this is one of things that will be obvious to me once you’ve explained how you mean.
(Also I used to cut celery when I was bored at work, and then just would throw it out, it’s practically free and I was the one doing the ordering anyways)
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I believe it can happen if the stalk is in an inverted u-position. The blade can act like a keystone in an arch as it makes the cut.
 
Stupid question, but at what level of resistance or noise do you complain that a knife is wedging in a carrot and not cutting well? I mean, it's easy to disqualify a knife that just doesn't want to go into a carrot, but when can you say that a knife is a good cutter but does not happen to slice into carrots effortlessly? Also, are there any knife skill errors you should watch out for that might cause wedging in a carrot and is not the knife's fault?
 
josemartinlopez said:
Stupid question, but at what level of resistance or noise do you complain that a knife is wedging in a carrot and not cutting well? I mean, it's easy to disqualify a knife that just doesn't want to go into a carrot, but when can you say that a knife is a good cutter but does not happen to slice into carrots effortlessly? Also, are there any knife skill errors you should watch out for that might cause wedging in a carrot and is not the knife's fault?
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Not stupid questions.

It's only annoying if you're going for presentation with thicker pieces like glazing oblique cut carrots for 800. By forum standards...if you hear basically anything it's not "effortless" enough.

In practical use there aren't many knives or applications that struggle in this specific area. You really only crack on cuts thick enough for zero give...3/4" or bigger maybe? It's a bigger problem with squash, where you usually do want a laser.

When you push cut, keep your wrist loose and enter at an angle (similar to a rock chop) to use the natural curve of the blade for both cutting and leverage, while also minimizing blade contact. The longer the cut, the more exaggerated your angle of entry.

When tap chopping quickly practice keeping a firm pinch grip with a loose wrist to basically do the same thing. Think of it as very small slicing motions as opposed to straight up and down. This is an area where blade weight shines.

Bad knife skills are generally people who lock their wrist and use their arm/elbow. Some people make it work, but like most things...flicka da wrist.
 
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I'm convinced that carrot cutting vids are just as dependent on the water content of the carrot (or something) as the girth. I mean, I was cutting beets the other day and had a really fresh hydrated one, and even though it was pretty hard to the touch and was bigger than my fist, my knife just slid through it like it wasn't even there. On the other hand, with a super hard and dry 1 cm in diam carrot, I can get cracking with the same knife.
 
ian said:
I'm convinced that carrot cutting vids are just as dependent on the water content of the carrot (or something) as the girth. I mean, I was cutting beets the other day and had a really fresh hydrated one, and even though it was pretty hard to the touch and was bigger than my fist, my knife just slid through it like it wasn't even there. On the other hand, with a super hard and dry 1 cm in diam carrot, I can get cracking with the same knife.
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Yes, but doesn’t that show that a true performer - like a really thin knife - would also add water to the produce to make the cut as smooth and non-cracking as possible. Perhaps a true performer even incorporates its own silencer? 🤔🤔🤔 Jml here are two new topics for you!
 
Cutting the corners of carrots silently is child’s play and not worth talking about. My benchmark is still right through the middle without making a sound. If your knife can do that, it’s a good carrot knife 😎
 
Nagakin said:
When you push cut, keep your wrist loose and enter at an angle (similar to a rock chop) to use the natural curve of the blade for both cutting and leverage, while also minimizing blade contact. The longer the cut, the more exaggerated your angle of entry.
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Is the stroke the same for a nakiri?
 
ian said:
I'm convinced that carrot cutting vids are just as dependent on the water content of the carrot (or something) as the girth.
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Truth. A friend was "auditioning" to be the Garde Mange for one of Orlando's Japanese attractions. Part of test was katsuramuki with several carrots. He soaked them overnight so that they would all have same water content. And got the job. (And now uses a mandolin....)
 
lemeneid said:
Cutting the corners of carrots silently is child’s play and not worth talking about. My benchmark is still right through the middle without making a sound. If your knife can do that, it’s a good carrot knife 😎
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It also depends on how tall the carrot is. A 5 cm tall carrot is obviously more difficult than a 2.5 cm one.
 
Finally adding some videos to this fantastic thread. I've been trying to find carrots that are 4-5 cm tall but there is inconsistency here.

This one I did a couple of months ago but had been too lazy to upload. I just did 1 cut by tip and middle part for each knife so may not say enough about them. Those are Shibata R2, Kono FM, Y. Tanaka and Wat, out of which I like Kono FM best.


This is a 10” 52100 Zkramer that I’ve thinned quite a bit. Tried a carrot then found I forgot to record, so it starts with the 2nd carrot followed by a sweet potato. This knife is my quietest carrot cutter although as you can see the food release is not the best. I'll try to add a bit of s grind to the right side and see if it helps.


These are a 220 stock removal mono RWL34 knife made by a Chinese custom maker and a 170 Takamura r2 santoku. I really love this Chinese knife as it cuts better than my most Japanese knives including Kono FM, Wat, Mazaki, Yoshi Amekiri, Y. Tanaka, etc.. The 170 Takamura r2 santoku is a really good small knife. I like it better than the 210 version of it as it's a bit taller and less flexible. It doesn't have much weights to help cut but it's really fun to use as a small laser.
 
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It’s a CCK 1303 that I thinned a little bit. Its weight distribution and profile as a cleaver are not what I’m very familiar with tbh, but it’s fun to use.
 
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