Hobbyist fails at converting home user

[konsuke]

Warning: boring anecdote, but am sick and bored.

Some older person in my family has been using cheap'ish western knives all their life, and sharpened them with a (now very old) metal rod or some kind of hand-held, non-water stone that's too old and used to identify. I thought I could convert him to using stones, so that maybe he'd give me his knives from time to time so I'd have more to sharpen/ play with/ hone my skills (beginner). So I brought some stones to his place to show him the capabilities.

First I tried to use a Naniwa Pro 800, but it was too slow for his liking on that western knife. So we went to the Atoma 400 - brought nothing lower with me - and he was amazed how "sharp" it got real quick. I said something like "wait, now let's go up higher, to get it a bit sharper and remove the burr", but he said it "was already sharp enough and any sharper, he'd be afraid to cut himself". Then I said, but we should at least remove the burr on the finer stone, to which he replied that "it's not necessary, as the burr will fall off during use anyway".

Got him a Shapton Glass 500 as an xmas gift. He wanted the diamond plate, but I feared he'd wear it off too quickly (bad use) and it'd be a waste of money.

Some time ago I gifted him a Hitohira Silver3 santoku, which he really likes, but only uses it for texturing rough skin before frying or baking in the oven.

 

[mengwong]

As some might say,

de gustibus non est disputandum…

Though others might say,

chacun à son goût

 

[JustAnotherJoe]

I would call that a success!
If you are looking for another gift for them, you could get them a ceramic honing rod. Raising a burr on a coarse stone and removing it on a rod may be more familiar to them, and ceramic rods are a noticable step up from steel rods in my limited experience.

My grandfather was a butcher, and while he made a point to never teach any of his kids how to sharpen a knife, I'm 90% certain that was his prefered method.

 

[Jville]

Warning: boring anecdote, but am sick and bored.

Some older person in my family has been using cheap'ish western knives all their life, and sharpened them with a (now very old) metal rod or some kind of hand-held, non-water stone that's too old and used to identify. I thought I could convert him to using stones, so that maybe he'd give me his knives from time to time so I'd have more to sharpen/ play with/ hone my skills (beginner). So I brought some stones to his place to show him the capabilities.

First I tried to use a Naniwa Pro 800, but it was too slow for his liking on that western knife. So we went to the Atoma 400 - brought nothing lower with me - and he was amazed how "sharp" it got real quick. I said something like "wait, now let's go up higher, to get it a bit sharper and remove the burr", but he said it "was already sharp enough and any sharper, he'd be afraid to cut himself". Then I said, but we should at least remove the burr on the finer stone, to which he replied that "it's not necessary, as the burr will fall off during use anyway".

Got him a Shapton Glass 500 as an xmas gift. He wanted the diamond plate, but I feared he'd wear it off too quickly (bad use) and it'd be a waste of money.

Some time ago I gifted him a Hitohira Silver3 santoku, which he really likes, but only uses it for texturing rough skin before frying or baking in the oven.

It’s because you got him a santoku. Way to give a bad first impression of jknives. Had you gave him a gyuto probably would have went much better, shame on you.

 

[JustAnotherJoe]

It’s because you got him a santoku. Way to give a bad first impression of jknives. Had you gave him a gyuto probably would have went much better, shame on you.

Dem's fightin wards!
But I would be bringing a santoku to a gyuto fight...

 

[Jovidah]

Ugh, I'd much rather cut myself with a fine clean edge than a raggedy one with a burr still hanging off.
It's weird how people often make this mental gymnastics that they'd somehow cut themselves more or worse with a proper edge, when the opposite is true. Better edge = less pressure required = less accidents.

 

[Rangen]

Ugh, I'd much rather cut myself with a fine clean edge than a raggedy one with a burr still hanging off.
It's weird how people often make this mental gymnastics that they'd somehow cut themselves more or worse with a proper edge, when the opposite is true. Better edge = less pressure required = less accidents.

I think they are habitually using the knife in ways that make them come into contact with the edge, but without consequence, because it's not that sharp.

My wife, for example, cuts apple halves into eighths by cutting with a petty, along the apple toward her thumb. At the end of each cut, the edge is touching her thumb skin.

The last thing I'd do is hand her a sharp Takamura petty and say "why don't you try that with this?"

 

[Jovidah]

I think a lot of people with blunt knives have a lot of poor knife habbits. A couple of years ago we had a bit of a cookery situation here where we prepped the christmas meal for our climbing club here, about a week after I had sharpened my knives. I had to put bandaids on like 5 different people.
The 'cutting towards your thumb' thing is really not that problematic with a reasonably sharp knife. As long as it's a straight up/ down kinda thing and there's no forward motion.

 

[Nemo]

Lead a horse to water.

 

[Delat]

My wife, who hardly ever touches a knife except to cut fruit, came back from a long visit with her mother and complained how all of her mother’s knives were dull.

I immediately threw my arms up in the air and yelled, “Yes! I win!”

 

[Kawa]

Sounds familiar..

- Their knives are sharp, don't need any sharpening
- A rod sharpens as good as a stone, but faster
- (when finally giving them a sharpened knife), its too dangerous to have a knive this sharp..
- Their Wusthof/Zwilling is the best there is out there and hasnt needed any sharpening in over 10 years!


I call them 'ome Henk'. Stubborn to the bones, the kind of person who gets in an argument fight every family birthday over and over again.

And when the knife subject is on the table, I'm picking that fight

 

[Jovidah]

Sounds familiar..

- Their knives are sharp, don't need any sharpening
- A rod sharpens as good as a stone, but faster
- (when finally giving them a sharpened knife), its too dangerous to have a knive this sharp..
- Their Wusthof/Zwilling is the best there is out there and hasnt needed any sharpening in over 10 years!


I call them 'ome Henk'. Stubborn to the bones, the kind of person who gets in an argument fight every family birthday over and over again.

And when the knife subject is on the table, I'm picking that fight

Challenge them to a knife fight where you each bring your own knife. You're guaranteed to win!

 

[Lars]

I have gifted knives, offered to sharpen them, but still no luck. My brother even claims he prefers dull knives

 

[Jovidah]

I have gifted knives, offered to sharpen them, but still no luck. My brother even claims he prefers dull knives

After I saw how my brother stored his knives and maintained his gear I didn't even bother: anything beyond a Victorinox + pull through sharpener was entirely wasted on him.

 

[tostadas]

I have gifted knives, offered to sharpen them, but still no luck. My brother even claims he prefers dull knives

My wife says she prefers dull knives also. But when I'm not looking she uses the sharpened vic I keep in the drawer.

 

[Lars]

My wife says she prefers dull knives also. But when I'm not looking she uses the sharpened vic I keep in the drawer.

Nice, good on her - I love a vic btw…

 

[D. Vusir]

The thing is, some people just prefer certain knives. Today I watched my wife dice up a dozen sweet potatoes with a 4,5" paring knife.
There are probably 10 knives that will do the job much easier, but she likes these 5 dollar paring knives,

 

[Kawa]

Did shy actually try a proper chefs knife for that? Multiple times, for a longer period? And then came to the conclusion that a paring knife is her favorite?

Or is it just a habit?
Using something new once feels always worse..

 

[Jovidah]

And most of the times it's really just a reluctance to try anything new or change their ways.

And I've found that a lot of people on team paring knife compromise in how they cut things and what they cook.

 

[YumYumSauce]

I've facepalmed and cringed plenty of times at family/friends/coworkers etc knife skills/abuse. Some are basically pointy spatulas. The serrated knives are probably the best cutters in most peoples kitchen ha. Sometimes I have to remind myself not everyone is a pro or has any interest in the kitchen and that it's okay to not trigger myself.

Even many pros surprisingly have dull knives. Ironically, the most talented chef I've worked for so far, with great knife skills, has zero clue on how to sharpen a knife.

Another one that grinds my gears is really crappy cutting boards like the really thin plastic ones that just bend after a few uses. Cutting boards are even less thought about than knives.

 

[YumYumSauce]

 

[Jovidah]

Everytime he talks knife skills it's complete cringe. The way he cuts is usually incredibly inefficient and sometimes actually outright dangerous. He should really do some proper courses at a culinary school before trying to lecture people on the subject. It's like having a pacifist teach gun safety.

I think he also seems to misunderstand that for home users who don't have all the time in the world to cook, the efficiency gain from better knife skills is extremely worthwhile.
In general it feels like he should leave these kind of technique videos to an expert, like he usually does with a lot of other subjects.

 

[Jville]

These hacks make videos showing people how to do things that they suck at. And he has a custom chef knive after him

 

[HumbleHomeCook]

Adam Ragusea is a moron. His redeeming quality is to serve as inspiration that anyone can be successful.

 

[YumYumSauce]

, it was my first time running across this fool. It was triggering, had a good laugh roasting him in my mind. And with the knife maintenance routine of an average Joe, the knife is only gonna get duller and duller. Imagine someone trying to cut something hard and dense like kabocha for the 1st time, sliding and taking a finger or 2 instead.
Sadly, I wouldn't be surprised if a majority of the population agreed with him.

 

[Taurahe]

I gave up trying to convert knife users. It's pointless. If someone is willing to learn I am happy to help , but the stupid idioms of yore, like " it's too sharp" and " the burr will fall of " ...... They can have their crap knives. I just point them to Walmart and tell them to buy whatever set they like and an electric sharpener.