Sorry for the newbie long post but I need some expert advice/real world experience in picking a blade material for my unique needs, I know the brand and model/shape but not the best blade material:
SCENARIO:
I'm a part time traveling hobbiest chef, cooking for 1-2 weeks at a time for a group of 15-25 people, 10+ times a year. Almost exclusively tropical environments, high humidity. We rent private villas for our group and some kitchens are well stocked with great cutting board options, others leave me scrambling to go buy a cheap wooden plank at the local market.
Although I travel with a variety of tools in the roll, I'm often pressed for time/space and this knife does a lot of quick cutting where I'd normally go reach for another tool in the home kitchen; it will see some abuse (plus, there's always a drunk model at 4am finding my roll and grabbing my knife to hack apart a coconut on the stone counter)
My go-to travel has been the Global G4, I prefer lightweight and I'm a sloppy cook so the easy to clean handle has been great and it's a thin and lightweight knife I was very comfortable holding. It recently was damaged beyond repair, and it wasn't the best knife to use anyway, so I'm looking for a better replacement.
I'm waiting to be approved to buy a real Kramer for "home" use, and read 100's of threads about different options and brands and what not, so all things considered, I've pretty much settled on a Zwilling Kramer knife line for this travel main use knife. I need help in deciding, is the carbon steel (will be my first carbon knife) or the stainless damascus blade a better choice?
CONCERNS:
As much as I'm attracted to the carbon blade's benefits, the high humidity environments concern me with keeping it from rusting. Last April I spent the entire month in Bali in an open air kitchen. 85% humidity, no AC, I don't think the towels were ever drier than "damp"!
1. How will the carbon blade hold up rust wise and is there something that can be done to clean it/treat it after use other than drying it off? "dry" is a somewhat relative term and not sure how "dry" I am going to be able to get it/keep it in each environment
2. Is there a good sheath to use that helps whisk away moisture or keep rust free in my roll (I already keep silica packets in my travel roll, a UE 3 section bag)?
3. Is there a home-remedy type way to best store/protect a carbon blade in high humidity environments (open to any wild ideas here...someone jokingly suggested wrapping it in a child's diaper since they're designed to absorb and pull away moisture...I'm open to any suggestion)
4. Which blade will hold an edge longer/better given unknown cutting surfaces and a wide variety of cutting needs? I have stones to resharpen at home but don't want to travel with them, but have only been traveling with a basic ceramic rod.
5. Am I right in thinking the stainless damascus blade would be a better overall choice for my travel needs? (home kitchen use is unrelated as that's it's own knife block and that set doesn't travel).
Budget isn't really a concern and I'm not really interested in a debate about the brand or model of my choice (a ceramic blade is probably my best choice but I just don't like the feel and are too fragile), so please, just suggestions on which blade material will fit my needs best.
PLEASE HELP ME DECIDE IS A CARBON BLADE RIGHT FOR THIS JOB :biggrin:
*If you're interested, as a joke so friends could follow some of my adventures, started a IG account for my travel cooking, @ristorantediron. If you're ever in the area of an event, we always welcome a guest chef for a meal!
SCENARIO:
I'm a part time traveling hobbiest chef, cooking for 1-2 weeks at a time for a group of 15-25 people, 10+ times a year. Almost exclusively tropical environments, high humidity. We rent private villas for our group and some kitchens are well stocked with great cutting board options, others leave me scrambling to go buy a cheap wooden plank at the local market.
Although I travel with a variety of tools in the roll, I'm often pressed for time/space and this knife does a lot of quick cutting where I'd normally go reach for another tool in the home kitchen; it will see some abuse (plus, there's always a drunk model at 4am finding my roll and grabbing my knife to hack apart a coconut on the stone counter)
My go-to travel has been the Global G4, I prefer lightweight and I'm a sloppy cook so the easy to clean handle has been great and it's a thin and lightweight knife I was very comfortable holding. It recently was damaged beyond repair, and it wasn't the best knife to use anyway, so I'm looking for a better replacement.
I'm waiting to be approved to buy a real Kramer for "home" use, and read 100's of threads about different options and brands and what not, so all things considered, I've pretty much settled on a Zwilling Kramer knife line for this travel main use knife. I need help in deciding, is the carbon steel (will be my first carbon knife) or the stainless damascus blade a better choice?
CONCERNS:
As much as I'm attracted to the carbon blade's benefits, the high humidity environments concern me with keeping it from rusting. Last April I spent the entire month in Bali in an open air kitchen. 85% humidity, no AC, I don't think the towels were ever drier than "damp"!
1. How will the carbon blade hold up rust wise and is there something that can be done to clean it/treat it after use other than drying it off? "dry" is a somewhat relative term and not sure how "dry" I am going to be able to get it/keep it in each environment
2. Is there a good sheath to use that helps whisk away moisture or keep rust free in my roll (I already keep silica packets in my travel roll, a UE 3 section bag)?
3. Is there a home-remedy type way to best store/protect a carbon blade in high humidity environments (open to any wild ideas here...someone jokingly suggested wrapping it in a child's diaper since they're designed to absorb and pull away moisture...I'm open to any suggestion)
4. Which blade will hold an edge longer/better given unknown cutting surfaces and a wide variety of cutting needs? I have stones to resharpen at home but don't want to travel with them, but have only been traveling with a basic ceramic rod.
5. Am I right in thinking the stainless damascus blade would be a better overall choice for my travel needs? (home kitchen use is unrelated as that's it's own knife block and that set doesn't travel).
Budget isn't really a concern and I'm not really interested in a debate about the brand or model of my choice (a ceramic blade is probably my best choice but I just don't like the feel and are too fragile), so please, just suggestions on which blade material will fit my needs best.
PLEASE HELP ME DECIDE IS A CARBON BLADE RIGHT FOR THIS JOB :biggrin:
*If you're interested, as a joke so friends could follow some of my adventures, started a IG account for my travel cooking, @ristorantediron. If you're ever in the area of an event, we always welcome a guest chef for a meal!