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Knife Collection

Matthew_Snyder_68770

Super excited to see the Knife Collection added to the Shop. Glad that all came together and those products are available to the ChefSteps community in a way that helps the site.

Been holding off getting some things in the hopes of being able to lump a knife or two into the purchase.

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Comments

Brendan_Lee_56950

I just listed a few of my global knives that get little use for sale so I can snag one of those hammered babies.

Brandon_34695

Ordered a hammered gyotu and a 3000/8000 stone

I started out last year with a 1000 grit stone from Korin, and I try to keep my knives in such a shape that I won't need the 220 for awhile. But it will be fun to see if my results get even better refining the edge on the high grit stones.

What do you guys think about grip? I learned to hold a chef's knife by wrapping three fingers around the handle and pinching the back of the blade between thumb and forefinger. On the knives with more traditional Japanese handles, it seems like the most natural position would be to hold it much further back, which would be a big change for me. One reason I went with the Ohishi and the European style handle, but maybe I am over-thinking it?

Matthew_Snyder_68770

I've noticed in the instructional videos here that some of the crew at ChefSteps tend to hold their knives in a very Japanese fashion. (That's a terrible way of saying it, I know, but it's the only way I can think of right now to differentiate)

Definitely want one of those Ohishi numbers. Was looking at Suisin knives recently, and this is comparable in price. And, frankly, it looks wicked cool.

Lennard__34626

Anyone know if the ohishi knives are 50/50 bevel? I asked in the other thread but got no reply

Matthew_Snyder_68770

Just ordered one of the Ohishi gyuto knives. Super stoked.

Daniel_O_Malley_38420

@Lennard: The knives that the folks selected are all 50/50 beveled knives and fully ambidextrous. They all feature a convex grind, to assist in releasing foods from the sides of the knives. Let me know if you have any other questions about the knives and I'll be happy to answer.

Daniel_O_Malley_38420

@Brandon_: You will have better control with both Western handled and traditional knives when you use a pinch grip (as you describe). In fact, traditional Japanese handled knives are generally designed to be more forward balance (about 1 - 1.5 inches in front of the ferrule), so a pinch grip is much easier than with most western handled knives (where higher end knives will generally be balanced at the bolster or approx. 1/2 inch in front of the bolster).

Matthew_Snyder_68770

Thanks, guys!

Chris_Young_80640

Post some photos of that bad boy in action!

Brandon_34695

Hammer twins! I can't believe what a value this knife is, handles like a dream. The leftover veg in my pantry didn't even see it coming.

Thanks Daniel and team!

Brandon_34695

One more question for Daniel if you can - a lot of websites selling Japanese knives say not to use a honing steel. I use this one (http://korin.com/Masamoto-Sharpening-Steel) on my German knifes every few days, I sort of understand that they are softer and roll over before they actually lose the edge. Is it good to keep this up, or just go to a medium and then fine stones as needed? Thanks!

Johan_Edstrom_5586

Damn that is nice looking.

Lennard__34626

Beautiful!

Brandon_34695

More fans... http://food52.com/provisions/products/222-frog-hollow-farm-dried-pluots-peaches-and-apricots (2nd photo)

nasv

The knife collection is really inspiring. Like many here, I'm an avid home cook, and knives are particularly interesting to me. My current go-to knife is a Mac Mighty MTH-80, my first more Japanese style knife. I've had it for a few years and really enjoy it as an all-purpose "chef's knife". I use this knife primarily for vegetable prep, slicing meats.

I'm interested in growing my knife collection, and the Chef Steps collection has two knives that I think would significantly add to what I use: Asai Chef's Knife and the Yoshikane Chef's Knife.

Both look beautiful and very functional, but beyond price, I'm not totally aware of the differences that I should consider between these two. From the descriptions, the Asai has a carbon steel blade. I know that, without care, these can rust, but beyond that, I'm not sure how its use would fare as far as reactivity with acidic ingredients, or if it is more specialized for use with proteins. The Yoshikane looks obviously beautiful, but at that price point, I want to learn as much as I can about it (and I'm bummed that it is out of stock for now, could have been a nice birthday present for myself ). The blade is described as made with stainless steel, yet there is a comment in the vendor site about the need to dry it. Also 79 grams seems ridiculously light for a chef's knife, so I'm curious if there is an error there in the Chef Steps site.

So, to the Chef Steps team and others, do you use one of these knives over the other for any particular reason/purpose? Other things to call out when considering both of these?

Your comments are greatly appreciated. Cheers!

Tim_Sutherland_52834

For those that are quick (less than 21 hours to go) you can still bid on the auction for a Bob Kramer 10" Chef's knife. Bring your cheque book, current bid is $25k.

Jack_Mayer_85396

OMG! The house I grew up in cost less than half that! But it is a beautiful work of art ...

Mira_63004

Morimoto posted this today on his facebook page, crazy how worn they are since he sharpens them everyday: https://www.facebook.com/ironchefmorimoto/photos/a.119451928109462.28757.119012561486732/622528221135161/?type=1&theater

Matthew_Snyder_68770

@Mira, you should look up Morimoto's appearance on Ming Tsai's show. He brought those knives on air.

Jack_Mayer_85396

@Matthew, do you have a link to the episode? Or just do a YouTube search ...

Matthew_Snyder_68770

Can't find it on youTube, but here's the link to the show's site.

Simply Ming: Episode 1104 - Morimoto & Knives

There's a possibility it might be region-locked.

Jack_Mayer_85396

@Matthew - gracias amigo!

nasv

Any thoughts on my question above? Cheers all!

Nicky_J_17040

@Nico-

I had a MAC MTH 80 for years. I worked the hell out of it, sharpened it so much that it's been retired now. It was my go-to knife for awhile. Oh, how I loved that knife.....

nasv

Well hello there my new friend

This is the Yoshikane Chef's Knife.

I have NEVER held anything like this in my hand, this is a beautiful and vastly different knife from my previous. The feel of the steel makes me think that swords are made of similar caliber (I've never held a real sword, so this is a conjecture).

I'm very eager to put this beauty to use, and I have my normal "babying" of the new tool that I'll go through: how to properly store it (I have a magnetic edge-mag that covers the blade fully), how to make sure it is properly washed and dried, and then eventual sharpening. I also received the recommending sharpening stones that I will use to keep this investment in tip-top shape.

As I mentioned above, the material of the blade is new to me: "SLD stainless steel forge welded between stainless suminagashi (Damascus)". My go-to knife right now, the MAC MTH 80 is made with Molybdenum steel that has been "sub-zero tempered". The Mac knife is wonderful, and has been very easy to take care of, and I'm curious about any key differences in the maintenance.

Lastly, I was curious how this knife would feel as this is the first I have with a Japanese bolster; I was worried that my "pinch" grip would be uncomfortable, but my initial moments with the knife have not been uncomfortable at all.

Daniel_O_Malley_38420

Brandon_ (I know your question was forever ago, but I apologize I didn't see it sooner). I am a big fan of ceramic honing rods - both for Japanese and German knives. Over 95% of the sharpening that I do is brought in sooner than it should have been because the person didn't hone (or did so incorrectly). Regardless of if a knife is made from softer German steel or ultra-hard Japanese steel, the steel is still malleable. When we're wacking it against a cutting board over and over, it is no surprise that the edge begins to bend over. The goal to honing is to straighten that edge without distorting it in any other way.

Metal rods work ok for soft steel knives. **For a harder knife, they will cause your knife to chip.** Ceramic rods will keep your softer knives sharp longer than a metal rod, plus they will work exceptionally well for harder knives. Don't use diamond hones, which will remove too much material and rip off the wire edge you are trying to straighten when you are honing. Some folks will use a fine waterstone frequently (in much the same way as honing). I think it is pretty hard to make this work ... it can be done, but for it to be effective you would need to pull out your stones every 3-4 hours of cutting ... most of us won't do that. So in practice, these folks frequently end up doing quick sharpening jobs which removes more steel than would have been removed had they just been regularly honing.

Honing with a ceramic rod is quick and easy and so effective.

Daniel_O_Malley_38420

Nico Sanchez - you got one of my absolute favorite knives. I have totally fallen in love with the Yoshikane's SLD line. I can't wait to hear your experiences as you use it. If only it was easier to get him to make them ...

Brandon_34695

Thanks Daniel! Still loving my knives, and I don't need to actually sharpen them as often as I thought. I really need to upgrade to a ceramic hone.

christopher_12897

My gear. Oihishi 600 grit. Naniwa 220 grit. Shun 1000/6000 grit. Wusthof super slicer. Chinese Cleaver. Wasabi Deba. Victorinox boner. Kitayama 8000 grit with Nagura. Sabatier slicer. Usuba. Shun Petty. Shun Paring. Shun 10 inch chef. Masakage 270mm gyuto. Ceramic honing rod.