Grantons?

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Amon-Rukh

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(in best Jerry Seinfeld voice) So what's the deal with grantons?

I know the theory is that they're supposed to help with food release, although I'm unclear as to how that's supposed to happen and I have to admit I've never really experienced that to be the case. On the one hand, that may just be because I've never used a really good knife with grantons, but on the other hand, if they actually do work as advertised, how come none of the really well regarded cutters seem to feature them?

I kind of get the feeling that they're more of a marketing gimmick than anything else, but maybe the wiser folks out there can shed some more light on the subject?
 
They are supposed to create air pockets between the food you're cutting and the side of the knife, thus reducing the suction effect. I've heard the glestain ones work wonders, but besides that, they're just gimmicky and reduce knife lifetime. The suction effect can also be mitigated with a convex grind, which many good knives have.
 
I've heard the glestain ones work wonders, but besides that, they're just gimmicky and reduce knife lifetime. The suction effect can also be mitigated with a convex grind, which many good knives have.

I've read the same about Glestain knives functioning as intended, but otherwise I've never seen grantons/kullenschliffs do anything worthwhile. Gimmicky and they require making the blade thicker than necessary.
 
I know all the granton edged kullen type knives do nothing for food release - all hype.

If Glestians do work better (less sticking) as many claim they do then I'm guessing it's due to a combination of convex shaped outer blade face and low drag provided from such a small area of surface contact provided by the spaces between the large divots.
 
My Glestain releases better than any other knife I've tried. Even small, thin (not super thin) slices fall off. Frankly, it's the only reason it is still in my block. All the other grantons are useless for release, however, I do feel a little less drag in some cases when making slicing cuts.
 
I thought about it but the only cheese I have problems cutting is really soft so I doubt anything but a wire will really do it. Maybe not even then. Sometimes, I'll stick the cheese in the freezer for a bit to harden it up and then use a suji or if it's a harder cheese, I just press straight down through it.
 
I have a Glestain honesuki that I use for general purpose small knife stuff. Thick and sturdy, non flexible works great for cheese. Sharpens up pretty good. I leave it out on the cutting board and it takes a beating by the other occupants in my house and it does not rust when they don't clean it after they use it. so far after about 3 years of this it is holding up great.
 
I have a Glestain honesuki that I use for general purpose small knife stuff. Thick and sturdy, non flexible works great for cheese. Sharpens up pretty good. I leave it out on the cutting board and it takes a beating by the other occupants in my house and it does not rust when they don't clean it after they use it. so far after about 3 years of this it is holding up great.

That should be on the companies website. :D
 
My dirty little secret (apart from having several 180-210mm gyutos, some plastic boards and a GLOBAL wrapped up and hidden away back of a drawer lol) is that I think grantons/kullens look super-duper-cool, especially the Takayuki SP series and the GLESTAINS. I don't have any yet though, but may try out a GLESTAIN next year just for the heckuvit.

At the same time, I think they, along with 'damascus cladding' are a total rip-off and strictly for suckers (except of course the GLESTAIN).
 
I know all the granton edged kullen type knives do nothing for food release - all hype.

Certainly they work. Why would you think they wouldn't? I guess it depends on what you're cutting though. But they're probably not as effective as most people would think. Knives with the granton edge will have to be made thicker and with a wider bevel, which would already help in food separation. The granton would just be a little icing on the cake. But at the end of the day, I'm not a fan as I think a non-granton edge is better all-around. I guess it'd be good if you wanted an avocado knife... But who wants an avocado knife?!? If I really wanted something with less stickage, I'd use a sujihiki.
 
I have a 240 Glestain gyuto that I use pretty much daily at work and always reach for it before all my others when I'm doing cucumbers, zuchini, potatoes, or anything that has a propensity to stick to the blade. It really does work as intended and it's so nice to cut cucumbers quickly without throwing them all over the prep table. They just stay where you left them. That being said, edge retention or overall sharpness isn't spectacular and the steel seems a bit below what I would consider the potential of the knife. A 240 glestain made out of, um, lets say a great mystery carbon steel, or some of DT's damascus would be my dream knife by far.
 
A 240 glestain made out of, um, lets say a great mystery carbon steel, or some of DT's damascus would be my dream knife by far.

Now there's an idea. Props!
 
Certainly they work... The granton would just be a little icing on the cake.

Why would they ice the cake? Give me two knives, one with grantons, and an identical knife without--I bet cucumbers stack up on both of them.

I've never seen cullens/grantons do anything. All I see are intentional overgrinds.
 
Why would they ice the cake? Give me two knives, one with grantons, and an identical knife without--I bet cucumbers stack up on both of them.

I've never seen cullens/grantons do anything. All I see are intentional overgrinds.
I'm sorry. I have to disagree. They most certainly do something. You just can't tell on 90% of them. :rofl2:
 
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