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ColinCB

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First of all, this forum looks awesome! Lots of information to read!

So, a little background since that's always fun. When I was 4 my crazy mother trusted me with a sharp knife and began teaching me kitchen skills and techniques. Since then I've grown a bit and now I'm 20 with the same love of cooking. I've always loved cooking and preparing meals with care. However I've never really purchased a "full" set of knives. I've always used whatever I can get my hands on. I'm currently in university and this year I will have an apartment style room with a kitchen.


I'm looking to buy a couple knives, a whetstone, and a cutting board (or two).

I currently use a Global 8" chef's knife. To be honest, I bought it on a whim a couple of years ago when I was younger. I never really thought about it thoroughly. Worth it, or terrible decision? I've used a variety of knives from the cheap, "stays sharp forever!" knives to Furi Santoku sytle knives to a Global to Kyocera ceramics. I liked the Kyocera, but it shattered when my dad accidentally dropped it!

So, the first thing to talk about, budget. I'm looking to spend less than $800-900 on everything. If something really looks worth it, I can push it a bit. Optimally I'm looking for 2-4 knives, a good general purpose board, a good meat board, and a whetstone or other sharpening device.

I'm open to all suggestions. I'm looking for a good general purpose knife, a paring knife, a ceramic knife, and anything else deemed necessary. Maybe a serrated knife?
Also, for cutting boards, are the Boardsmith boards standard? Does type of wood matter, other than end-grain? Plastic board for meat or no?

And finally some type of sharpening device. Whetstone seems to be the go to for sharpening.



Thanks!
 
Welcome. Lots of information here. You'll get a lot of knife recommendations, all of them good ones too.

I think a beginning question is, have you ever used carbon steel knives? Do you know the difference between Carbon vs Stainless? Would you be willing to put extra care into a knife (always drying it promptly and never leaving it with food on) to get extra benefits?

What type of length are you looking for? What type of handle (wa [japanese] or yo [western])?

take a look at this thread and perhaps fill out the questionnaire to give everyone a better idea: http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/showthread.php?2058-Which-knife-should-you-buy

welcome again!
 
Welcome. Lots of information here. You'll get a lot of knife recommendations, all of them good ones too.

I think a beginning question is, have you ever used carbon steel knives? Do you know the difference between Carbon vs Stainless? Would you be willing to put extra care into a knife (always drying it promptly and never leaving it with food on) to get extra benefits?

What type of length are you looking for? What type of handle (wa [japanese] or yo [western])?

take a look at this thread and perhaps fill out the questionnaire to give everyone a better idea: http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/showthread.php?2058-Which-knife-should-you-buy

welcome again!

I have not used a carbon steel knife. Always stainless. I don't know specifics, but carbon steel is strictly C+Fe, while SS is a mix of C+Fe, V, Cr and other metals. Basically SS has extra metals for certain desired properties, such as rust resistance.

I'd be willing to do some extra work to ensure the knives stay in top condition. If I put money into something I'm not going to forget about it. Especially not a tool. Something my dad always said was, "a tool is worthless if you don't treat it with care." Though at the time he was talking about carpentry tools, ha!

Something around an 8"/20cm knife would be good. As for the paring knife, and any others, I'm open to suggestions. I don't have very much experience with Japanese style knives, however I've always been interested in them. Typically though I'm used to western, but that doesn't mean I can't switch!



Sorry, didn't even see that!

What type of knife(s) do you think you want?

See above. General purpose knife, paring, serrated, ceramic.

Why is it being purchased? What, if anything, are you replacing?

Need a good set of knives! Looking to get my first set of serious knives. Replacing a Global chef's knife. On a side note, I've been using my mom's Furi and Wusthof knives.

What do you like and dislike about these qualities of your knives already?
Aesthetics- Not bad, don't pay that much attention, but I do enjoy a beautiful knife.
Edge Quality/Retention- At the moment, they're ok, but not great.
Ease of Use- Depends what I'm doing, but not bad.
Comfort- Pretty good.

What grip do you use?
Mostly western, but I use a global knife.

What kind of cutting motion do you use?
Rocking, slice, chop mostly.

Where do you store them?
Magnetic strip on the wall.

Have you ever oiled a handle?
No.

What kind of cutting board(s) do you use?
A probably terrible end-grain board. Most likely walnut.

For edge maintenance, do you use a strop, honing rod, pull through/other, or nothing?
Diamond rod.

Have they ever been sharpened?
Professionally, once.

What is your budget?

800-900, can be pushed a bit.

What do you cook and how often?
Often. Currently less because I am abroad, but at home nearly everyday, and at college, often.

Special requests(Country of origin/type of wood/etc)?
Any. I'm open to any and all suggestions!
 
I think a good place to start would be: How would you like to improve on your Global? What knives do you use the most and why?

Boards: I wouldn't say BoardSMITH are standard. They are excellent boards. I have several but I mostly use a 16x22 walnut board. It looks nice but I wish it was maple. I have a plastic board for raw meat. It's a PITA to have to wash the big board in the kitchen sink (or the bathtub).

Whetstones: Low maintenance would be a diamond plate (fine). Most of us use Japanese waterstones. I like the convenience of splash-n-go stones like the Gesshin 1k http://www.japaneseknifeimports.com...es/gesshin-1000-grit-splash-and-go-stone.html. They aren't the fastest but I can put them away after a couple of hours (as opposed to days) and I like getting a little extra practice. Putting an extra couple of minutes into my sharpening routine is a good thing, in my opinion. Some people like to have a bucket of water with their stones soaking permanently which is fine. I use an Atoma 140 diamond plate to flatten but there are cheaper options.
 
king combo 1000/6000 = 30 USD
Ikea plastic cutting board = 10 USD
and this
http://www.cartercutlery.com/japane...zai-series/61sun-stainless-fukugozai-funayuki

Based on: I think you have a small kitchen, you are young and will have people dropping by, you will start off with a really high preforming knife.
You can also buy a carter at Buy/Sell/Trade here at KFF (you need one more post to see that subforum) and I guess you are a home chef :)

Buy nice or buy twice :)
 
I belive you are in for a treat =), lots of knowledge here. Id like to mention that there is also "in betweene steel" not really stainless and not really carbon that some ppl like alot.
 
Yeah, I'd get a Carter SFGZ and get it rehandled. If it were me and I couldn't get a Carter, I'd get either Ashi or Suisin for stainless, TKC or CarboNEXT for semistainless or Konosuke or Masamoto KS for carbon.
 
I think a good place to start would be: How would you like to improve on your Global? What knives do you use the most and why?

Boards: I wouldn't say BoardSMITH are standard. They are excellent boards. I have several but I mostly use a 16x22 walnut board. It looks nice but I wish it was maple. I have a plastic board for raw meat. It's a PITA to have to wash the big board in the kitchen sink (or the bathtub).

Whetstones: Low maintenance would be a diamond plate (fine). Most of us use Japanese waterstones. I like the convenience of splash-n-go stones like the Gesshin 1k http://www.japaneseknifeimports.com...es/gesshin-1000-grit-splash-and-go-stone.html. They aren't the fastest but I can put them away after a couple of hours (as opposed to days) and I like getting a little extra practice. Putting an extra couple of minutes into my sharpening routine is a good thing, in my opinion. Some people like to have a bucket of water with their stones soaking permanently which is fine. I use an Atoma 140 diamond plate to flatten but there are cheaper options.

With the global, I've noticed that edge retention isn't that great and the egde isn't razor sharp. This is probably my fault though, due to the use of a diamond rod instead of a whetstone.

I mostly use a chef's knife for general purpose work, but I've found that I like santoku style knives a far bit as well. The chef's knife for slicing and things of that nature, but the santoku knife is better for chopping. A paring and serrated knife as well for smaller work and bread, etc.


Are they any other good boards that I should look at? I think I'm going to have to go the plastic route for meat as my sink is small and I'm not washing my board in the shower! Unless I really really have to!

As for whetstones, what's common to have? Do you really need 5 or more stones to have the best edge? As for soaking/use of water, what's the deal with that?
 
king combo 1000/6000 = 30 USD
Ikea plastic cutting board = 10 USD
and this
http://www.cartercutlery.com/japane...zai-series/61sun-stainless-fukugozai-funayuki

Based on: I think you have a small kitchen, you are young and will have people dropping by, you will start off with a really high preforming knife.
You can also buy a carter at Buy/Sell/Trade here at KFF (you need one more post to see that subforum) and I guess you are a home chef :)

Buy nice or buy twice :)

I am a home chef, haha. Though I once had dreams of being a pro chef, but then I discovered may things about it. Off to marine biology!

I really hate plastic, it's such a slow surface to cut on!

Interesting knife choice, any reason why?

I belive you are in for a treat =), lots of knowledge here. Id like to mention that there is also "in betweene steel" not really stainless and not really carbon that some ppl like alot.

Interesting, I'll look into it.

Yeah, I'd get a Carter SFGZ and get it rehandled. If it were me and I couldn't get a Carter, I'd get either Ashi or Suisin for stainless, TKC or CarboNEXT for semistainless or Konosuke or Masamoto KS for carbon.

Any places to buy these from the US?
 
Some really "need" at least 5 stones and some manage just fine with 2, i get by with a 1000/4000 combo and stropping. Some stones need soaking to perform but there is also splash n go stones which doesnt need to be soaked. Learn more about stones by searching for whetstone in the forum lots of good stuff there.
 
I really hate plastic, it's such a slow surface to cut on!

You in a hurry when you are a home chef?
Plastic is easy and you are not ruined if you destroy it. You have a small sink, and need small easy cutting boards. And you need several cuttingboards for different kind of food :)



Interesting knife choice, any reason why?

Bang for the bucks
Great profile, perfect for your small kitchen, great grind. When you use it you will understand it. White steel = Easy to sharpen, fun to use and will get really sharp! Cutting with a Carter makes making food more fun :)

But then again, maybe stainless is the way to go if you have a habit of getting drunk, cut some food and fall to sleep in the kitchen :p
 
I'm not meaning to be a shill for Jon, but I'd recommend calling him before you spend any money. http://www.japaneseknifeimports.com/
In my experience he won't sell you something you don't need and I suspect he can get you some awesome knives for much less than you have budgeted. Even if you don't buy from him, I'd still include his opinion in your decision making.
 
I'm open to all suggestions. I'm looking for a good general purpose knife, a paring knife, a ceramic knife, and anything else deemed necessary. Maybe a serrated knife?
Also, for cutting boards, are the Boardsmith boards standard? Does type of wood matter, other than end-grain? Plastic board for meat or no?

I'm a big fan of my Bester 2k stone paired with my rika 5k. Both cut fast and arent too soft or two hard, etc.

If you wanna drop some money on a board get a nice one from boardsmith for general purpose, and then just a plastic one you can throw in the dishwasher for meat and fish. I have a plastic on with a rubber rim to keep it from sliding that my roommate forgot to take with her when she moved out, it's great.

I am a big fan of the Masamoto ks line, but I'm not sure if that would suit you. I haven't seen a lot of love for it on this forum, but I commonly recommend the suisin inox gyutos to newer cooks in the kitchens I work in; something a little slimmer and elegant than the typical German knives they come out of school wielding, a good transition.

So bester 2k: $45
Rika 6k: $50
Suisin inox 210 gyuto: $110
Suisin inox 120 petty: $70
12 x 18 boardsmith: $88
victorinox serrated knife: $25

That's under $400. If you really wanna spend more and upgrade the gyuto I would get a Nenox G series at $230. I wouldn't get any crazy carbon knives for home use. Nenox are really great stainless knives.
 
Try the sani-tuff boards. Not as great as wood, nowhere near as bad as plastic. And you can cut them down to the size that you want, if so inclined.

+1 on contacting Jon at JKI (Japanese Knife Imports). He's got great stuff, and is super cool about sharing his knowledge.
 
The reason people suggested the Carter is because it is about as good of a blade you can get for that price. To restate what other people have said, generally carbon can out-preform stainless, but it has to be babied a little bit. If you want to do that, go carbon and don't look back. If your roommates will be using these knives, go stainless.

1k stone - $48 - http://www.japaneseknifesharpeningstore.com/Bester-1200-Sharpening-Stone-p/bstr1200.htm
5k stone - $50 - http://www.japaneseknifesharpeningstore.com/product-p/suerika5k.htm
Chef's knife - $190 - http://www.cartercutlery.com/japanese-knives/kitchen-cutlery/stainless-fukugozai-series
Petty / paring knife - $150 - http://www.japaneseknifeimports.com/kitchen-knives/konosuke-sakai/konosuke-120mm-hd-wa-petty.html
Bread Knife - $27 - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00093090Y/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
Boardsmith w/ shipping - $103 - http://www.theboardsmith.com/catalog.htm

All for under $600
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Colin,

First, welcome to KKF. You'll find a lot of great information here.

Now, I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that your current knife, an 8" Global, is what you should stay with for right now, and that you should buy a few good sharpening stones and learn how to sharpen the Global to a razor edge. Until you can do that, there really isn't much point in buying any better knives, as a dull knife is a poor knife no matter how much it costs, and all knives will get dull with use. You need to be able to maintain any knife you own, whether it is a Carter, a Kramer or a Global.

I recommend that you get three stones - a coarse one of 400-500 grit, a medium of 1000-1200 grit and a polisher of 5000-6000 grit. From my own personal experience, I would get the Gesshin 400, 1000 and 5000 from Jon Broida of Japanese Knife Imports( http://www.japaneseknifeimports.com/gesshin-1/gesshin-toishi.html). These stones are not inexpensive, but will last for years, if not decades. There are less expensive alternatives, the Beston 500, Bester 1200 and Suehiro Rika 5000 trio come to mind, but in my opinion, they are not as good as the Gesshins.

I also recommend that you get a copy of Chad Ward's book, An Edge in the Kitchen, which is loaded with good information. Amazon carries it.

There are lots of videos about sharpening techniques on YouTube, but not many of them are useful. Jon Broida has put together a series that is excellent, and can be found at this link:

http://www.youtube.com/user/JKnifeImports?feature=mhsn#g/u

You may also want to purchase Dave Martell's DVD set:

http://www.japaneseknifesharpeningstore.com/category-s/23.htm

Of course, if you find you absolutely cannot wait to get a new knife, give Jon Broida a call, as someone mentioned. Jon is more than willing to talk with you and make a recommendation, even if it's for a knife he doesn't carry.

Best of luck,
 
Colin,

First, welcome to KKF. You'll find a lot of great information here.

Now, I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that your current knife, an 8" Global, is what you should stay with for right now, and that you should buy a few good sharpening stones and learn how to sharpen the Global to a razor edge. Until you can do that, there really isn't much point in buying any better knives, as a dull knife is a poor knife no matter how much it costs, and all knives will get dull with use. You need to be able to maintain any knife you own, whether it is a Carter, a Kramer or a Global.

I recommend that you get three stones - a coarse one of 400-500 grit, a medium of 1000-1200 grit and a polisher of 5000-6000 grit. From my own personal experience, I would get the Gesshin 400, 1000 and 5000 from Jon Broida of Japanese Knife Imports( http://www.japaneseknifeimports.com/gesshin-1/gesshin-toishi.html). These stones are not inexpensive, but will last for years, if not decades. There are less expensive alternatives, the Beston 500, Bester 1200 and Suehiro Rika 5000 trio come to mind, but in my opinion, they are not as good as the Gesshins.

I also recommend that you get a copy of Chad Ward's book, An Edge in the Kitchen, which is loaded with good information. Amazon carries it.

There are lots of videos about sharpening techniques on YouTube, but not many of them are useful. Jon Broida has put together a series that is excellent, and can be found at this link:

http://www.youtube.com/user/JKnifeImports?feature=mhsn#g/u

You may also want to purchase Dave Martell's DVD set:

http://www.japaneseknifesharpeningstore.com/category-s/23.htm

Of course, if you find you absolutely cannot wait to get a new knife, give Jon Broida a call, as someone mentioned. Jon is more than willing to talk with you and make a recommendation, even if it's for a knife he doesn't carry.

Best of luck,

+1

-AJ
 
As mentioned, I suggest investing in stones. The global is a good starter knife in its own right. What you need to do is learn how to sharpen. Get Dave Martell's DVD and while you're at it, order a few stones. I suggest starting out with the beston 500 (Japaneseknifesharpening) or gesshin 400 (Japaneseknifeimports)-that will be your course stone; and a Bester 1000 or gesshin equivalent, that will be your medium stone; finally you'll want a finishing stone, I suggest the Suehiro Rika 5000 or Arashiyama 6000 or gesshin equivalent.
Jon (JapaneseKnifeImports) has a bunch of youtube videos on sharpening, watch them. Ask a lot of questions, you can even make a video of your sharpening and have us critique you. Practice sharpening, read about knives and you'll be able to make a much better knife buying descision. Getting your tools sharp is 90% or the battle.
 
1. With the global, I've noticed that edge retention isn't that great and the egde isn't razor sharp. This is probably my fault though, due to the use of a diamond rod instead of a whetstone.

2. I mostly use a chef's knife for general purpose work, but I've found that I like santoku style knives a far bit as well. The chef's knife for slicing and things of that nature, but the santoku knife is better for chopping. A paring and serrated knife as well for smaller work and bread, etc.

3. As for whetstones, what's common to have? Do you really need 5 or more stones to have the best edge? As for soaking/use of water, what's the deal with that?

1. Globals can definitely get plenty sharp. Edge retention should be fairly good, too. You need to learn to sharpen, otherwise, you'll think all knives have sharpness/retention issues.
2. Sounds like you want something with a flat profile. Masamoto KS (Japanese Chef Knives) or Carter would fit the bill (some here swear by Mizuno, as well), a third option is an Aritsugu A-type (semi-stainless) but some of them require a fair bit of work before they are really great performers.
3. Like I said before, start with a 1k and go from there. I like to use a Gesshin 1k and 5k and then finish by stropping on leather but I often add an 8-12k finishing stone and/or start with a 400 or 500 stone. My first stone was a 3k Superstone and I used only that for several months. It is soft so sharpening was difficult at first but I learned to hold my sharpening angle very quickly with it. For waterstones, you basically need to see a little film of water on the surface of the stone while you are using it. You apply additional water whenever it looks and/or feels dry.

Places to obtain these knives and stones are Japanese Knife Imports, Chef Knives To Go and Japanese Chef Knives. All of them have an online presence.
 
I would be a little cautious about starting out with a 400 or 500 stone. Until you develop some technique a lot of damage could be done in a very short time.
 
I would be a little cautious about starting out with a 400 or 500 stone. Until you develop some technique a lot of damage could be done in a very short time.

Spike,

I'd agree with that if he were starting out with a brand new knife, but the Global has likely had the factory bevel obliterated by the diamond rod by now. I know from experience that you don't want to set a fresh bevel on a Global with a 1000 grit stone.
 
It would give him lots of practice, tho!
 
Get the Carter, its night and day to the global. Its like comparing a Stock Car to a Ferrari.
Keep the Global so you learn how to sharpen, and sharpen some friends knives.

I see no reason to keep on using the Global, when you can have a Carter. Life is to short for not having things you easily can afford now. You came with a budget of 800, my advice is to use a little of these on a Carter, some plastic boards and sharpening kit. Have fun now, believe me: life is more fun when you give yourself small gifts like this ;)
 
I forgot to mention, get a DMT XXC or Atoms 140 for stone flattening.
 
Don't Globals come with a convex edge? Might take a while to put a new bevel on it. Maybe an 800-ish stone would be a compromise. 800 and 4000 are the only stones I ever really use and I have a 220 for any heavy stuff
 
Ok, so here we go!

Some really "need" at least 5 stones and some manage just fine with 2, i get by with a 1000/4000 combo and stropping. Some stones need soaking to perform but there is also splash n go stones which doesnt need to be soaked. Learn more about stones by searching for whetstone in the forum lots of good stuff there.

Interesting, seems like a lot. Will definitely search about them more on the forum.

You in a hurry when you are a home chef?
Plastic is easy and you are not ruined if you destroy it. You have a small sink, and need small easy cutting boards. And you need several cuttingboards for different kind of food :)

Bang for the bucks
Great profile, perfect for your small kitchen, great grind. When you use it you will understand it. White steel = Easy to sharpen, fun to use and will get really sharp! Cutting with a Carter makes making food more fun :)

But then again, maybe stainless is the way to go if you have a habit of getting drunk, cut some food and fall to sleep in the kitchen :p

Never in a hurry! Will look into a sani-tuff board for meats and things.

Any good place to learn about different steel types, e.g. blue, white, etc.

No drunk cooking here!

I'm not meaning to be a shill for Jon, but I'd recommend calling him before you spend any money. http://www.japaneseknifeimports.com/
In my experience he won't sell you something you don't need and I suspect he can get you some awesome knives for much less than you have budgeted. Even if you don't buy from him, I'd still include his opinion in your decision making.

Definitely going to give him a call before I buy anything. A lot of people seem to recommend talking to him.

I'm a big fan of my Bester 2k stone paired with my rika 5k. Both cut fast and arent too soft or two hard, etc.

If you wanna drop some money on a board get a nice one from boardsmith for general purpose, and then just a plastic one you can throw in the dishwasher for meat and fish. I have a plastic on with a rubber rim to keep it from sliding that my roommate forgot to take with her when she moved out, it's great.

I am a big fan of the Masamoto ks line, but I'm not sure if that would suit you. I haven't seen a lot of love for it on this forum, but I commonly recommend the suisin inox gyutos to newer cooks in the kitchens I work in; something a little slimmer and elegant than the typical German knives they come out of school wielding, a good transition.

So bester 2k: $45
Rika 6k: $50
Suisin inox 210 gyuto: $110
Suisin inox 120 petty: $70
12 x 18 boardsmith: $88
victorinox serrated knife: $25

That's under $400. If you really wanna spend more and upgrade the gyuto I would get a Nenox G series at $230. I wouldn't get any crazy carbon knives for home use. Nenox are really great stainless knives.

Will do.

Anything special about the Matsumoto MS?

Try the sani-tuff boards. Not as great as wood, nowhere near as bad as plastic. And you can cut them down to the size that you want, if so inclined.

+1 on contacting Jon at JKI (Japanese Knife Imports). He's got great stuff, and is super cool about sharing his knowledge.

Will do. Thanks!

The reason people suggested the Carter is because it is about as good of a blade you can get for that price. To restate what other people have said, generally carbon can out-preform stainless, but it has to be babied a little bit. If you want to do that, go carbon and don't look back. If your roommates will be using these knives, go stainless.

1k stone - $48 - http://www.japaneseknifesharpeningstore.com/Bester-1200-Sharpening-Stone-p/bstr1200.htm
5k stone - $50 - http://www.japaneseknifesharpeningstore.com/product-p/suerika5k.htm
Chef's knife - $190 - http://www.cartercutlery.com/japanese-knives/kitchen-cutlery/stainless-fukugozai-series
Petty / paring knife - $150 - http://www.japaneseknifeimports.com/kitchen-knives/konosuke-sakai/konosuke-120mm-hd-wa-petty.html
Bread Knife - $27 - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00093090Y/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
Boardsmith w/ shipping - $103 - http://www.theboardsmith.com/catalog.htm

All for under $600

I don't have an issue taking a bit more time caring for my knives. Thanks for the recs.

Colin,

First, welcome to KKF. You'll find a lot of great information here.

Now, I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that your current knife, an 8" Global, is what you should stay with for right now, and that you should buy a few good sharpening stones and learn how to sharpen the Global to a razor edge. Until you can do that, there really isn't much point in buying any better knives, as a dull knife is a poor knife no matter how much it costs, and all knives will get dull with use. You need to be able to maintain any knife you own, whether it is a Carter, a Kramer or a Global.

I recommend that you get three stones - a coarse one of 400-500 grit, a medium of 1000-1200 grit and a polisher of 5000-6000 grit. From my own personal experience, I would get the Gesshin 400, 1000 and 5000 from Jon Broida of Japanese Knife Imports( http://www.japaneseknifeimports.com/gesshin-1/gesshin-toishi.html). These stones are not inexpensive, but will last for years, if not decades. There are less expensive alternatives, the Beston 500, Bester 1200 and Suehiro Rika 5000 trio come to mind, but in my opinion, they are not as good as the Gesshins.

I also recommend that you get a copy of Chad Ward's book, An Edge in the Kitchen, which is loaded with good information. Amazon carries it.

There are lots of videos about sharpening techniques on YouTube, but not many of them are useful. Jon Broida has put together a series that is excellent, and can be found at this link:

http://www.youtube.com/user/JKnifeImports?feature=mhsn#g/u

You may also want to purchase Dave Martell's DVD set:

http://www.japaneseknifesharpeningstore.com/category-s/23.htm

Of course, if you find you absolutely cannot wait to get a new knife, give Jon Broida a call, as someone mentioned. Jon is more than willing to talk with you and make a recommendation, even if it's for a knife he doesn't carry.

Best of luck,


In response to this and a post below, I know for a fact that i have obliterated the edge of my Global. Can I rescue it from death with a coarse stone and move up to finer stones?

I've seen stones like the Naniwa stones with 12,000 grit. Is there a true necessity for having a stone this fine? Would it be better to buy a 500/1000-2000/5000-6000, or something like a set of 1000-2000/5000-6000/10000-12000?

Thanks for all of the info, definitely going to practice on my Global before I risk anything on a $300 knife.


Thanks!

As mentioned, I suggest investing in stones. The global is a good starter knife in its own right. What you need to do is learn how to sharpen. Get Dave Martell's DVD and while you're at it, order a few stones. I suggest starting out with the beston 500 (Japaneseknifesharpening) or gesshin 400 (Japaneseknifeimports)-that will be your course stone; and a Bester 1000 or gesshin equivalent, that will be your medium stone; finally you'll want a finishing stone, I suggest the Suehiro Rika 5000 or Arashiyama 6000 or gesshin equivalent.
Jon (JapaneseKnifeImports) has a bunch of youtube videos on sharpening, watch them. Ask a lot of questions, you can even make a video of your sharpening and have us critique you. Practice sharpening, read about knives and you'll be able to make a much better knife buying descision. Getting your tools sharp is 90% or the battle.

Thanks.

I'm thinking a youtube video might help, but then I have to show off how terrible my sharpening skills are, haha.

1. Globals can definitely get plenty sharp. Edge retention should be fairly good, too. You need to learn to sharpen, otherwise, you'll think all knives have sharpness/retention issues.
2. Sounds like you want something with a flat profile. Masamoto KS (Japanese Chef Knives) or Carter would fit the bill (some here swear by Mizuno, as well), a third option is an Aritsugu A-type (semi-stainless) but some of them require a fair bit of work before they are really great performers.
3. Like I said before, start with a 1k and go from there. I like to use a Gesshin 1k and 5k and then finish by stropping on leather but I often add an 8-12k finishing stone and/or start with a 400 or 500 stone. My first stone was a 3k Superstone and I used only that for several months. It is soft so sharpening was difficult at first but I learned to hold my sharpening angle very quickly with it. For waterstones, you basically need to see a little film of water on the surface of the stone while you are using it. You apply additional water whenever it looks and/or feels dry.

Places to obtain these knives and stones are Japanese Knife Imports, Chef Knives To Go and Japanese Chef Knives. All of them have an online presence.

What's this soft/hard stones thing?

And thanks for the info!

I would be a little cautious about starting out with a 400 or 500 stone. Until you develop some technique a lot of damage could be done in a very short time.

That's what i thought.

Spike,

I'd agree with that if he were starting out with a brand new knife, but the Global has likely had the factory bevel obliterated by the diamond rod by now. I know from experience that you don't want to set a fresh bevel on a Global with a 1000 grit stone.

Completely right. I doubt there's anything left of the original edge. I've definitely murdered it. Starting with either a 500 or 1000 is the best bet.

It would give him lots of practice, tho!

Definitely! Better practice my technique taking off a small amount of metal versus taking off way to much metal and still having a poor edge.

Get the Carter, its night and day to the global. Its like comparing a Stock Car to a Ferrari.
Keep the Global so you learn how to sharpen, and sharpen some friends knives.

I see no reason to keep on using the Global, when you can have a Carter. Life is to short for not having things you easily can afford now. You came with a budget of 800, my advice is to use a little of these on a Carter, some plastic boards and sharpening kit. Have fun now, believe me: life is more fun when you give yourself small gifts like this ;)

Haha, we'll see!

I forgot to mention, get a DMT XXC or Atoms 140 for stone flattening.

Definitely. Just added that to the list of things to buy.

I agree, a fast cutting 1k is in order.

Fast cutting meaning takes metal off the blade quickly, correct?

Don't Globals come with a convex edge? Might take a while to put a new bevel on it. Maybe an 800-ish stone would be a compromise. 800 and 4000 are the only stones I ever really use and I have a 220 for any heavy stuff

I believe so.






+++++++++++++++++++++++++

So, more questions.

When sharpening my Global, what's the proper technique? Is the blade's edge symmetrical like a western knife, or asymmetrical like an eastern knife? Also, I will be basically starting fresh. I've destroyed the edge from poor sharpening.

With whetstones is there any reason to use a stone that requires soaking vs. a stone that does not require anything more than a 5 minute or less soak?


What would be the next step up frpm the Carter? Is there is a reason it is so highly recommended?


Anything else to consider other than knives, 2 cutting boards, whetstones, and a diamond plate for leveling?


I appreciate all of the help guys, thanks!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Ok, so here we go!
So, more questions.

When sharpening my Global, what's the proper technique? Is the blade's edge symmetrical like a western knife, or asymmetrical like an eastern knife? Also, I will be basically starting fresh. I've destroyed the edge from poor sharpening.

With whetstones is there any reason to use a stone that requires soaking vs. a stone that does not require anything more than a 5 minute or less soak?


What would be the next step up frpm the Carter? Is there is a reason it is so highly recommended?


Anything else to consider other than knives, 2 cutting boards, whetstones, and a diamond plate for leveling?


I appreciate all of the help guys, thanks!
I appreciate all of the help guys, thanks!

The original (factory) bevel was 50-50, symmetrical. The technique to sharpen it can be seen in JKI's video series on youtube, which is fantastic.

I don't know if there is a functional difference between soakers and "splash n go" stones, as far as I am aware there is none.

The next step up from the Carter we are recommending (one of his lower lines) is one of his higher lines or a custom maker. Some would argue that you can't get any better than his blades, at that level of quality what's better than what is very subjective.

There are always more things you could buy, but there really isn't anything more you need.
 
The original (factory) bevel was 50-50, symmetrical. The technique to sharpen it can be seen in JKI's video series on youtube, which is fantastic.

I don't know if there is a functional difference between soakers and "splash n go" stones, as far as I am aware there is none.

The next step up from the Carter we are recommending (one of his lower lines) is one of his higher lines or a custom maker. Some would argue that you can't get any better than his blades, at that level of quality what's better than what is very subjective.

There are always more things you could buy, but there really isn't anything more you need.

on sokaing stones vs. splash and go, there does tend to be a functional difference (i would say this is true for 90% of what i see)... soaking stones tend to be faster cutters with better tactile feedback whereas splash and go stones tend to feel more slippery and dont usually cut quite as fast (especially on harder steels like sg2 and zdp-189)... again, there are exceptions, but i find this is true most of the time
 
Personally I would go with the Hiromoto's, Their a great knife easy to sharpen, great edge retention and if you jump onto the rehandle group buy you'll make out like a bandit.
I have and old Hiromoto Hc 240 that I will never sell. love that thing
 
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