How did you get here? On this knife journey that is.

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dafox

dafox

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3 years ago I was cooking at my son's house and left my chef knife there, when I got home I realized I wouldn't be back for a while so decided to go on line to look for a new knife, had been using the same knife for a few decades, did lots of research/shopping, found the CKTG website and this forum, bought a Shun at a local kitchen store but returned it-thought it was too expensive and seemed impractical, then bought a Tojiro DP gyuto and a Konosuke HD gyuto. Learned to sharpen, which has been very rewarding, and have had about 50 knives come through my house, still discovering my preferences and enjoying the journey. Still miss my old knife, it was ruined by a "sharpener" who sharpened it on a grinder. It was a no name 9" french shapped stainless, with a bolster, had a low heal height. Still wish there were more 225mm gyutos available.
 
My first job as a cook I was gifted an old cutco that my sous chef had used in culinary school. I knew this wasn't a "good knife", but cherished it nonetheless. I remember it being pretty thick and wouldn't take an edge no matter what I did. I struggled with that knife everyday for five years at that restaurant, but learned a lot.

Eventually I moved on to a very serious chef owned restaurant. Chef was really in our business and expected PERFECT knife work. I brought the trusty cutco and found that I just could not keep up with this tight knit team that were all wielding very nice japanese knives. Once I had a good portion of my mise tossed 20 minutes prior to service because my cuts weren't fine enough. The sous chef at this restaurant had a few Takeda iron clad AS knives, letting me use one to chiffonade some herbs before service. This was the first time I really experienced "sharp" and it really opened my eyes.

Was not long after that I picked up a Kanehiro AS gyuto and the madness began.
 
Stole a pocket knife from my scout master when I was 12 years old, thought I really needed it. Made my first knife when I was 13. Been making knives for 42 years now. Made some kitchen knives at age 17 and my mom threw them away because they didn’t cut very good and they stained because they were made out of carbon steel.

Hoss
 
I ended up here after buying an 8 inch vg10 Damascus gyuto, just thinking it was the coolest, sharpest best knife ever. After doing a little research on this forum, I quickly found out it wasn’t. I lurked for a while and learned so much. How to hand sharpen, how to care for my knives, that MR wasn’t the say all be all voice of reason when it came to chef knives. And that the people here were pretty awesome too. I stuck around, glad I did.
 
I've been cooking since I was 7 years old, on a step stool so I could reach the countertop. Got a gig cooking at a hotel here in town when I was 21, and bought a cheapo set of knives. Also got a Chicago Cutlery set at the same time, and a Henckels Pro S slicer. Was building the Henckels set, when I accidentally left the boning knife in some bleach, and it got destroyed. Started looking at knives and doing research, and picked up a Tanaka Ironwood nakiri on a whim. Found this forum about 6 months after that, and started learning everything I could. Got to meet Hoss in January of 2014, and was able to forge out a piece of Damascus with his help and the help from John, one of his sons. Bought a lot of nice knives, studied them, and started making my own. Hellova journey, and more to learn...
 
I might hold the record for lurking... Came here 15 years ago (when it was old forum) to learn more about old Sabatier and extinct Solingen makers. There was still talk of that sort of stuff then. A-types were all the rage then as were Takedas with "extra belly". (Ha!--now it's all about the flat spot.)
Figured after a decade's worth of lurking and learning, I might as well join and say a few things too.
 
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By now, this knife journey is entwined with my Culinary journey and has also taught me that it's worth it to invest in quality tools and equipment. I celebrate every new gig with a knife.

I've always enjoyed cooking so I guess it was bound to happen. My dad did sushi for a long time but he almost never used his knives at home so I never gave it much thought.
Then I started going to culinary school and took the family cutco which I thought was good enough. Then I wanted something more so I browsed around on amazon and went with a 240 tojiro dp. It was sharp until it wasn't and then one of the instructors tried using it and told me so. So I went home and asked my dad to show me. That started the sharpening journey. My dad being the way he is and me being left handed it took a long while for me to grasp the concept of sharpening. But the next class I had, an older experienced kid used it and commented on how sharp it was and that felt good.

Eventually, I got a summer internship out of state and wanted to get myself something nice. Went back online to research knives, and learned about different steels etc. Decided I wanted to try a carbon and picked up the Gesshin Uraku 240 mm. Learned knife maintanence the hard way on that one. Was also sharp until it wasnt, and then an actual working chef used it and was told so yet again. He re-showed me how to sharpen and I picked up a stone that day. Since then, people have only commented on how sharp mine are and I'm the one commenting on the (un)sharpness of others knives 🤣

The Gesshin Ginga 150mm petty is THE knife that opened my eyes to "holy **** thats sharp" and thats when I really got hooked.

Shout out to all you great kkf'ers!
I've lurked here and there for awhile before finally joining and I've learned so much just reading. Thank you all!
 
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I was gifted a Shun paring and I bought some no name Chef knife from one of those "mobile knife sharpeners with a belt sander". Those got lost in a fire. Then I was gifted a WinCo santoku (full flat ground :mad:) and house knives... I looked for something to buy, Vnox, Wusthof, etc. Ran across here and a few Japanese knife retailers. Bought a Takamura Chromax for my birthday. Then bought a King KDS 1k/6k combo and a cheap stone holder/diamond plate off eBay. And now I'm here almost 2 years later..
 
Made my first knife when I was 8 after reading the Last of the Mohicans, used a penny nail. My dad laughed at me. Made my second using a broken metal saw blade, worked ok but was flexible and broke when I pried with it. Made my third half a year later out of a file using my dad’s grinder. It was double edged and looked like a dagger, my dad freaked out put it in a wise and broke the blade, told me I’ll end up in jail. Taught me 2 lessons that heat treat is important and kids should not carry daggers. Next day my dad gave me a very nice folder, I’ve been into knives ever since. Lurked and asked a few questions on the old forum, but people were arrogant and mean. Joined Bladeforums in 2000 and bought a few shuns. Thought I was done, but then I met Murray Carter around 2002-2003 at Pasadena knife show. He was sharpening knives and chatting to people at the same time, he came from Japan recently. I was so impressed with his sharpening skills that I bought one of his white 2 5.5” knives. This is when I realized what a sharp knife really is. I figured I was done with kitchen knives, but continued with other knives. 5-6 years ago I got into cooking more and realized that I use kitchen knives more than any other of my knives, but that my kitchen knives suck, lost Carter by then. Started researching to buy one kitchen knife and ended up here. The forum was much nicer by then or maybe I grew up....
 
Started when I was doing my Masters in the UK, and realised my set of knives were crap after a couple of months. Bought a Sainsbury's better by design Japanese steel chef's knife, which I thought was great at the time. Fast forward 4 years, I bought my first "high" end knife, a miyabi morimoto edition chef's knife, and it was down the rabbit hole from there...

That Sainsbury's chef's knife, the one that started it all, has since become a project knife and finally found a new home at my brother's.
 
When I started my apprenticeship for becoming a chef I didn't know what I really liked or suited me. So for the first 2-3 months I didn't have a knife of my own and wanted to try as many knives as possible, so I borrowed knives from the other chefs or used them under their surveillance. After more than 2 months one chef finally yelled at me to get my own, so I went out and got myself a Wüsthof Ikon since it felt really comfortable in my tall hand as well as a honing steel I felt comfortable with. For a year I only had this one and Victorinox paring, boning and tourné knives. I informed myself about honing and slowly got a feel for it and noticed when I did it insufficient or didn't keep the angle. But even with honing I felt my knife needed to be sharpened but I didn't want to give it to our house sharpener, so I informed myself about sharpening and bought whetstones and practiced with every cheap knife I could find. In second year I tried a Japanese knife of a good culinary student friend of mine and liked the feeling. I got myself into Youtube videos of knives and sharpening of guys like Justin Khanna and also Burrfection. So my curiosity grew even stronger. I was close to ordering myself an Enso or Yaxell but hesitated partly because of the hassle ordering from the US. Bought myself a cheap Iseya petty from hocho to see if I really liked Japanese handles and the weight. The handle felt cheap but overall I was intrigued. I started browsing all websites I could find with Japanese knives, compared prices, googled the brands and bookmarked and arranged the ones I liked into categories like length and steel. I researched the steeltypes and differences and landed on sites like knifesteelnerds. I tried to inform myself the best I could and noticed how bad burrfections recommendations were. So I bought myself a Suncraft Bunka and little later a Kanetsugu Zuiun which I loved aesthetically but wasn't sure balance point and feeling wise. I was close to sending it back but decided to use it in the kitchen for a full day and liked it. At first I was only interested in Stainless and didn't like kurouchi or Nashiji finishes which changed over time. I got interested in Carbon and got myself a Tanaka and started to like Carbon too. Later on I stumbled upon KKF and lurked here for like 7 months before I signed up. In the meantime I bought other knives like Kurosaki and Mazaki. I even created an IG account to follow knifemakers. So here I am today, still learning and trying new knives as well as practicing my sharpening skills. My Wüsthof became my beater and I like all the different knives I have and want to try more and also am on the list for some customs. Want to thank you guys for giving different perspectives and discussion and being quite informative.
 
Cook pay sucks outside of high end restaurants and I wanted a raise. It takes years to develop your cooking skills, but months to develop your knife skills. Every place needs an efficent grunt, and that grunt gets overtime. I almost doubled my pay just investing in a knife and eating more vegetables at home.

But then one knife turns into two knives... and eventually you end up here.
 
Sometime in the early 1990s I became interested in Japanese knives, I think because I have a friend interested in Japanese swords. At the time Messermeister had some AUS8 Japanese knives (Seki I think) in their catalog with horrible blocky Western handles. I didn't know any better and bought a Usuba and a Deba. After fumbling around with them for a little while I put them in storage and forgot about them. Fast forward twenty plus years and I got interested again so I bought a Takefu gyuto and things snowballed from there. I still have those original knives somewhere. I'll have to dig them out and put them on BST or else start to learn single edge sharpening.
 
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I always liked knives, using knives, carrying knives and sharp edges. But living in a city and having an office job does not offer many occasion to use a knife. After I moved out, I started to cook more, I always enjoyed the proccess and the end result. One day something clicked, and I understood that if I want to use good knife as often as possible its gotta be a kitchen knife. And the research for a good kitchen knife lead me here. And once you open the box there is no stop :( my poor wallet :’(
 
About a year ago I tried my friends old non marked japanese knife and was sold. Then I bought some stones and thought maybe I can get my Zwillings,Fiskars etc to the same sharpness. Well I didn't and after a little googletime I found this place, bought my first J-knife last july/august and since then a few more 🙈. I still can't get my old knives sharp enough but they still get their beating once in awhile.
 
Some of my earliest memories are of knives, guns, and other things of wood and metal. I still love the combination of wood and metal and can't get enough of it. Got my first serious cutting injury at age 3 while whittling. Secured my first pocket knife when I was maybe 4 or 5. First gun when I was 6. Learned to sharpen on oil stones when I was 7. Had a small collection of maybe a dozen hunting, fishing, and pocket knives until I moved from home and started cooking for myself in college. I prized but never liked two Henckles, paring and chefs knives, I got when I was about 22. First kitchen knife I actually liked was something cheap and nakiri-esque with flat sides and hard stainless steel I picked up around age 25. Don't think I ever got it J knife sharp, but loved it nonetheless. Years passed and I was in kitchen knife oblivion. Then I read a New Yorker article on Bob Kramer in 2009 or so. Got on his list for a knife (the list closed and went to auctions before my name came up, I was so close to the top and his gyutos could be had for $1500ish, found In The Kitchen on Blade Forums and then pretty much gave that up when I found Fred's on Foodie Forum. First J knives were a Mac bread knife, Yoshikane 210 SKD gyuto, and a Moritaka paring. Within a year I also had a Takeda gyuto and Carter nakiri, both still in my possession. About 80 buys and 30 sells later I pause with the knife drawer open before preparing a meal wonder what friend I want to play with today. I resist the urge to go crazy with stones: currently have 6 synths and 10 Jnats.
 
It seems like just yesterday, but it was December 2000 that on a fireworks trip to Japan, I visited the Tokyo fish market, and the knife shop in the adjacent shopping area. I came home with a knife which I rarely use, a single edge model designed for fish, but fascinated with the shop, the custom sharpening, common in Japanese cutlery stores, in every "chef's alley" I have been in on several trips to Japan.... Make my own knives now, with a class with Murray Carter, and talk to anyone who will listen about the absolute pleasure of a really sharp knife. Like a knife cult, and for obvious reasons to this group.
The first two Japanese knives I bought photo, would like to know the maker etc., if someone can tell me, and the last knife I made for myself...Later I am unable to attach more than one photo
IMG_20200507_092528.jpg
 
Was not happy with how blunt my knives were > apex-pro knock off > made a better one > wanted wicked edge $£$£$£$s, made a better one (IMHO) > still not happy > KKF > me: 'I want these knives, I cannot afford these knives, I shall make these knives' > wife: 'how much did all this cost?!!?!' > me: 'it works out cheaper PER knife than buying them'
 
My main knife which was a 10yr old victorinox (never sharpened) had a bent edge from when I hit it with a sharpening steel out of frustration. Instead of buying a new one, I considered having it sharpened somewhere, like Sur La Table, but was too impatient to go somewhere and wait. I purchased a $30 pull through sharpener from Bed Bath Beyond. I thought about it for a few days, and decided a stone might make the knife sharper for me. So I returned the pull through and got a Shapton 1k, which I justified by saying if I sharpened 2 knives with it, it would be cheaper than buying 1 new knife.

After my first sharpening attempt, I was blown away by how sharp it was (my standards are much higher now, and in retrospect, I would not be at all satisfied with the original result). I later picked up a Shapton 2k to see what additional refinement felt like. It was amazing. From there, I had to justify that second stone purchase with additional knives that could benefit from a nice edge. And so it began...

So essentially, I'm actually saving money by buying more stuff.
 
tostadas said:
My main knife which was a 10yr old victorinox (never sharpened) had a bent edge from when I hit it with a sharpening steel out of frustration. Instead of buying a new one, I considered having it sharpened somewhere, like Sur La Table, but was too impatient to go somewhere and wait. I purchased a $30 pull through sharpener from Bed Bath Beyond. I thought about it for a few days, and decided a stone might make the knife sharper for me. So I returned the pull through and got a Shapton 1k, which I justified by saying if I sharpened 2 knives with it, it would be cheaper than buying 1 new knife.

After my first sharpening attempt, I was blown away by how sharp it was (my standards are much higher now, and in retrospect, I would not be at all satisfied with the original result). I later picked up a Shapton 2k to see what additional refinement felt like. It was amazing. From there, I had to justify that second stone purchase with additional knives that could benefit from a nice edge. And so it began...

So essentially, I'm actually saving money by buying more stuff.
Click to expand...

First time making it sharper than it was is so satisfying.
 
Neat stories everyone. Keep sharing!

Here's mine:
I didn't care about knives as a kid.

As a young apprentice chef, I got thrown into the world of knives. The stuff people said back then was like, 'A quality knife needs a full bolster and full tang with rivets. Sharpen it with a butcher's steel'. I wasn't going to take that sh!t from people who passed their knives on for sharpening to a dude that came through the back of the restaurant every month. I needed better answers as to what made a knife... good.
The sharpening dude's answers were also crap, and so were the sales-people's.

I found sensible answers on a different, now-dead blade forum. For a long time, every good answer equated to two new questions (e.g, sharpening = carbide and abrasive questions), and I ended up on KKF for more answers after that other site died.

My knife skills and collection were getting pretty good at this stage. Eventually I needed to start making some knives for myself to answer some advanced questions. Learned how to do it from books and stuff online. I didn't know any better at the time, but some of the stuff bladesmiths said made no sense too, and I started with forging with charcoal (instead of stock removal) because I was lead to believe it was superior. Quenching in water was also a hard pill to swallow, the failure rate is insane. I learned a lot about the nature of steel from these decisions.

Now I'm pretty happy with what I know, so I started giving back some of the things I've learned. This forum is a great place to do it.
 
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