Lemon Seeds and Other Annoyances

[OldSaw]

In my pre J-knife days, I never worried about hitting a lemon seed with my old Dexter, Cutco, or Chicago Cutlery knives. Now I’m finding that there are many different ways to chip a knife.

Just last night I made a tiny chip in my favorite gyuto while slicing a lemon. I didn’t think a lemon seed, fully encased in the lemon, would hurt anything. I was also using a safe Hasegawa board, so I’m sure it wasn’t the board’s fault.

I don’t mind using multiple knives in a single session, but I see others talk about doing everything with one knife. So if you’re a one knife kind of person, how do you avoid the inevitable obstruction that could chip your knife? If you use multiple knives, which knives do you turn to when you’re gyuto might not be the right choice?

 

[Delat]

Whenever I’m in doubt, I grab my Shiro Kamo in R2. It’s a tough midweight that hasn’t chipped on me yet.

Last week I nearly had a heart attack when my wife proudly displayed a mangosteen she’d cut in half, straight through the seeds (which are big and hard). I asked how she did it, and she said “I used your new little cleaver”. My new “little cleaver” is a laser wakui nakiri in white #2… cue the heart attack.

Surprisingly it was completely undamaged. I gave her my actual cleaver to chop the rest I’ve chopped many lemons and oranges in half without worrying about which knife to use knife though. Sounds like you just got unlucky?

 

[blokey]

Luckily I haven’t encounter this problem yet, a microbevel might help.

 

[blokey]

Whenever I’m in doubt, I grab my Shiro Kamo in R2. It’s a tough midweight that hasn’t chipped on me yet.

Last week I nearly had a heart attack when my wife proudly displayed a mangosteen she’d cut in half, straight through the seeds (which are big and hard). I asked how she did it, and she said “I used your new little cleaver”. My new “little cleaver” is a laser wakui nakiri in white #2… cue the heart attack.

Surprisingly it was completely undamaged. I gave her my actual cleaver to chop the rest I’ve chopped many lemons and oranges in half without worrying about which knife to use knife though. Sounds like you just got unlucky?

That’s surprising and good to hear, my Wakui nakiri is literally paper thin bte, can’t really image it went through hard seeds.

 

[ian]

A lemon seed? If your knife chips on a lemon seed, your edge is too acute/unstable.

 

[gentiscid]

Whenever I’m in doubt, I grab my Shiro Kamo in R2. It’s a tough midweight that hasn’t chipped on me yet.

Last week I nearly had a heart attack when my wife proudly displayed a mangosteen she’d cut in half, straight through the seeds (which are big and hard). I asked how she did it, and she said “I used your new little cleaver”. My new “little cleaver” is a laser wakui nakiri in white #2… cue the heart attack.

Surprisingly it was completely undamaged. I gave her my actual cleaver to chop the rest I’ve chopped many lemons and oranges in half without worrying about which knife to use knife though. Sounds like you just got unlucky?

Time for a new wife, maybe?

 

[OldSaw]

A lemon seed? If your knife chips on a lemon seed, your edge is too acute/unstable.

Thanks, I thought that might be the case. I haven’t resharpened it yet, so I’ll see what I can do.

 

[M1k3]

Z-wear....

 

[QCDawg]

Magnacut is going to make us all sell our old stuff.

 

[M1k3]

Magnacut is going to make us all sell our old stuff.

Sell?

 

[WildBoar]

Sell?

He meant to write "cell." Cells split, and split and split, so one becomes two becomes 4 becomes 8, etc..., just like a good knife collection should.

 

[Perverockstar]

In my pre J-knife days, I never worried about hitting a lemon seed with my old Dexter, Cutco, or Chicago Cutlery knives. Now I’m finding that there are many different ways to chip a knife.

Just last night I made a tiny chip in my favorite gyuto while slicing a lemon. I didn’t think a lemon seed, fully encased in the lemon, would hurt anything. I was also using a safe Hasegawa board, so I’m sure it wasn’t the board’s fault.

I don’t mind using multiple knives in a single session, but I see others talk about doing everything with one knife. So if you’re a one knife kind of person, how do you avoid the inevitable obstruction that could chip your knife? If you use multiple knives, which knives do you turn to when you’re gyuto might not be the right choice?

SRS13 or SRS15 steels hold like true champs. Now, for the surprises of many, I haven't chipped my Shun Premier with a seed. Ever. Only time I did it was when I stupidly made a chip with a bamboo chopstick... Don't ask me why, please .

So, I guess VG10, ATS34 and similars are ok with that as well. As long as they are properly applied...

 

[Williamchan87]

I've cut 10s of thousands of lemons with japanese knives and other things, I've acutally never chipped a knife, however i have lost small portions of my tips before

 

[daveb]

I thought about this thread a couple nights ago when working a catering event. I had some down time and offered to cut the bar fruit (much better than bartender wanting to borrow a knife and having to decline)

Well into a bag of lemons with my little Wat, I thought of the thread and realized I never think about chipping an edge. But I could see it happening - not on the seeds but if the blade experienced any type of torsion while going through the skin of the fruit. I've done the same task with any number of other petty and gyuto, just never a problem.

 

[ModRQC]

Thanks, I thought that might be the case. I haven’t resharpened it yet, so I’ll see what I can do.

Might help assess the case to know what that knife was indeed. I can see a lot of OOTB edges getting chipped on stuff like lemon seeds. Seen a Yoshi SKD get some damage for less and it's a relatively tough steel. Happily though it's I think the only occasion I ever experienced that for myself.

Whenever I’m in doubt, I grab my Shiro Kamo in R2. It’s a tough midweight that hasn’t chipped on me yet.

Last week I nearly had a heart attack when my wife proudly displayed a mangosteen she’d cut in half, straight through the seeds (which are big and hard). I asked how she did it, and she said “I used your new little cleaver”. My new “little cleaver” is a laser wakui nakiri in white #2… cue the heart attack.

Surprisingly it was completely undamaged. I gave her my actual cleaver to chop the rest I’ve chopped many lemons and oranges in half without worrying about which knife to use knife though. Sounds like you just got unlucky?

That’s surprising and good to hear, my Wakui nakiri is literally paper thin bte, can’t really image it went through hard seeds.

Yeah surprised too... I have that "little cleaver" as well (180mm) and it's crazy thin indeed. Reworked the edge early after I got it... too worried to use natural momentum. But it did prove tougher than I would have expected either way. It's with a lady friend right now - no supervision whatsoever - and she's having the time of her life with it and the little devil takes it like a chief. Wouldn't even have thought possible to lend one of mines to anyone without supervision and a really tight elastic. Got "blasé" somewhere along the way I guess. I'd even say it's good therapy.

Unlucky is a good point. Sometimes it's really just that. **** happens.

 

[tgfencer]

Chipped a knife on a solitary poppyseed from my wife's bagel hiding out beneath a pile of onion I was chopping. Sometimes the universe lines up against you.

 

[chefwp]

I always grab an ancient Wusthof santoku to cut avacados in half, then slam the blade into the seed and twist to remove it from one half. I'm not sure that process would really bother any of my J-knives, but since I do this all in hand, I at least don't have to fear going all the way through in any part of this process and into my own flesh.

 

[sumis]

I always grab an ancient Wusthof santoku to cut avacados in half, then slam the blade into the seed and twist to remove it from one half. I'm not sure that process would really bother any of my J-knives, but since I do this all in hand, I at least don't have to fear going all the way through in any part of this process and into my own flesh.

yea, i use an old global or a vic for that.

a lesson was learned a few years ago when the seed broke and i sliced the base of my thumb open. stictches and antibiotics ensued.

.

 

[OldSaw]

yea, i use an old global or a vic for that.

a lesson was learned a few years ago when the seed broke and i sliced the base of my thumb open. stictches and antibiotics ensued.

.

I’ve done that. Now I set the avocado down on the cutting board before trying to stick the edge into the seed.

 

[sumis]

I’ve done that. Now I set the avocado down on the cutting board before trying to stick the edge into the seed.

^^^ best practice.

.

 

[Jovidah]

One possible solution is to have a somewhat more 'sturdy' petty / paring knife as the sidekick to your gyuto. So when I know I'm gonna be doing lemons or other abusive stuff I often bring out my Wüsthof 16 cm slicer alongside whatever gyuto I'm using.
Not that I ever really chipped anything so far.

 

[OldSaw]

One possible solution is to have a somewhat more 'sturdy' petty / paring knife as the sidekick to your gyuto. So when I know I'm gonna be doing lemons or other abusive stuff I often bring out my Wüsthof 16 cm slicer alongside whatever gyuto I'm using.
Not that I ever really chipped anything so far.

This is what I will do going forward. Most likely from this group, but if I really need to hack at something I’ll grab one of my Cutco knives, that way if I break it they’ll send me a new one.

 

[Rangen]

Last week I nearly had a heart attack when my wife proudly displayed a mangosteen she’d cut in half, straight through the seeds (which are big and hard). I asked how she did it, and she said “I used your new little cleaver”. My new “little cleaver” is a laser wakui nakiri in white #2… cue the heart attack.

I strongly recommend the "public knife/private knife" approach. The public knives are abusable, probably stainless, and very easy to reach for. The private knives are hidden away somewhere. My public knives are in a knife block. The private ones are in a drawer. The only time this system has failed is when it was not in operation -- I had to put my private knives on the counter, to accommodate some contractors, and it did not take long for an old French boning knife I had lovingly restored to wind up in the sink, with a bent tip, and black with corrosion.

However, there can still be other problems. I bought my wife a not-too-expensive but excellent Tojiro knife, a stainless gyuto with a thin blade. I even ordered from Japan, so I could get the red handle, to increase the appeal. She loves it, and uses it often. But one day I caught her using this thin blade to try to cut a spaghetti squash. Those are really really hard. The chances of her succeeding without bleeding seemed low. So I stopped her, and cut the thing with a heavy Chinese cleaver. I guess dispensing with vigilance is an impossible goal.

 

[timebard]

A nice gyuto with a tough steel and workhorse grind can work fine for stuff like avocado pit removal. After some hesitation I started using my Prendergast in 52100 for the job and it's totally up for it. Same with the Shihan 52100 I had a while back.

 

[blokey]

I think the delicatness of gyuto is kind overblown, sure there are rare cases, but apart from tough bones and super hard seeds I hardly find anything that I need to use another knife for, I use my Yoshikane and Kobayashi Kei for butternut squash and kabocha just fine, in fact they make the job much more easier than my old beater. Just remember to avoid lateral stress and put a micro bevel if necessary.

 

[Jovidah]

This is what I will do going forward. Most likely from this group, but if I really need to hack at something I’ll grab one of my Cutco knives, that way if I break it they’ll send me a new one.
View attachment 172221

That's what I have my Wüsthof set for... Regardless of all their underwhelming performance, they are pretty abuseproof. Thing on the far right looks like my 16 cm slicer. That's actually my most used of the bunch because it's long enough to be a bit more versatile (being an ersatz petty), has a decent sized handle (unlike most petties / paring knives), and still has a low enough profile to be used as a paring knife.

 

[Benuser]

A lemon seed? If your knife chips on a lemon seed, your edge is too acute/unstable.

Or it was a residual burr that partially came off. Often seen with soft stainless.

 

[Jason183]

When comes to abusive tasks, I always grabbed my beaters knife, ones that I can use on everything and least worried about chipping.

 

[OldSaw]

This is the knife in question. It’s really becoming my favorite knife. The tiny chip was easily worked out on my stones. It is a Munetoshi 240 Gyuto.