Calling all the kitchen knives aficionado

[Inigima]

I scrub potatoes with a vegetable brush, but leave the skins on, the skin abraded off by the stuff brush notwithstanding. Carrots I peel.

[Lily Valley]

Just ordered this. I am pretty excited about it. I am planning to use it to teach the baby some basic knife safety. He cooks a lot, but he is sloppy and will probably put way too much blood in his food for the rest of his life without it.

Thanks to y'all's responses, I realized that I learned how to cook with a butcher's knife. Switching from that to a vegetable cleaver might be as easy as switching to a more traditional chef knife. Might be really hard. I'll find out when it gets here. I'm quite sure that it will result in less diced onions on the floor once dinner is ready.

Having had housemates with a variety of great kitchen equipment has been eye opening. Problem is, when they move out they take their stuff with them. The last housemate had a great chef knife he kept in the block, the really REALLY great ones he kept in his own cupboard. The traditional chef knife was fine, definitely a step up from the crap knife I picked up at TJ Maxx while looking for the knife I'd lost.

So tomorrow I am going to Williams Sonoma to handle as many styles of knives as possible. Then I will go home and use the internet to order a new knife. Sadly, it appears that New Orleans no longer has one single kitchen shop that has a decent selection of knives. I am a little ashamed.

I have a couple of questions.

With carbon steel, I am seeing that I want either white or blue steel. I have pinned a couple of Gyutos and Sankutos that I like. Rather than cladding, I prefer the look of the kourouchi finish. The sizes range from 16-24 cm. I'm hoping the trip to WS will help me pick a size. I do like the slightly curved blade on both of these knives. I have had no luck on finding reviews.

Anyone ever used Zakuri or Kajiwara or Yamashin?

Major perfomance differences between white and blue steel?

Thanks

I'm definitely replacing the knife that I lost. I think it was an old hickory / hickory hill carbon steel butcher's knife circa 1970. Turns out they are still around. Because carbon steel is awesome.

Chef, my Global is getting lonesome for a santoku. Recommendations? I think it's going to mutiny if it sees another root vegetable. Don't worry, I'm not using my chef knife for root veggies. Except carrots. I have an axe that gets used for the sweet potatoes.

Got a preferred brand of ax? I need one for the butternut squash too.

Or I might keep sending my plate back. We have standards in the Mercenary abode, as you know.

:rofl: Sorry I missed you in London. I hope y'all had fun.

And thanks MC. Had 100 of my questions answered just reading this thread.

[Inigima]

I am really curious how you like the CCK, because they have a great rep and they look fucking awesome.

[Jslay427]

I'm partial to Global knives. But Wustoff also makes a good knife, at a fraction of the price of global.

[MercenaryChef]

lily, may i suggest you look into a takeda? i have one and i love it. it is a little more expensive than the kourouchi finish knives you showed, but much much nicer. i have a gyuto i just love.

go gyuto over santuko. it is going to give you the length that will handle bigger jobs. i am a fan of not having a lot of knives. sure, i do have a lot, but that is out of lust not necessity.

jslay427, the time of the wustof is over. i used german knives when i was in my teens and first starting in kitchens. japanese knives are just far superior these days. i like global as well. it was my first foray into japanese blades. but, at this point i am all about handforged japanese and american carbon knives.

[Yagathai]

Oh, I have that CCK. It's the knife I use most often for prepping veggies. It's great, but it isn't a cleaver -- it's a slicer. Don't use it to cleave, but for veggies it's a wonder.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/75149876@N00/14259760141/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/75149876@N00/14634700714/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/75149876@N00/14263076945/

[Lily Valley]

Yags, I am replacing that butcher knife for a reason. I would never use my pretty vegetable cleaver for that type of thing. I am a LADY.

MC, I have found that your polite suggestions usually derail total disaster. What did I do wrong?

Takeda was one of my first stops, but why do I need the stainless clad? Sell me. Please. I actually want to buy all of their knives. And maybe wear them for a costume because they're so sexy.

Edit: Their Carbon are almost always out of stock.

[MercenaryChef]

Yags, I am replacing that butcher knife for a reason. I would never use my pretty vegetable cleaver for that type of thing. I am a LADY.

MC, I have found that your polite suggestions usually derail total disaster. What did I do wrong?

Takeda was one of my first stops, but why do I need the stainless clad? Sell me. Please. I actually want to buy all of their knives. And maybe wear them for a costume because they're so sexy.

Edit: Their Carbon are almost always out of stock.

i own this knife. i like it a great deal but it is the gyuto i use the least. i use my carter the most followed by the wantanabi and then the takeda. that said, the takeda is a fantastic knife. it looks very bulky, but it is very nimble and attains a very sharp edge. i have not ever used their stainless clad blades.

the only reason i might enjoy a stainless clad carbon blade (like the carter) is it effects acidic food less and the acidic food affects it less. let that not deter you though.

i am a big fan of the takeda i linked.

[Lily Valley]

Sigh. That's exactly the one I was looking at after wading through the options,I also looked at the 240.

I wouldn't have seen it if someone-who-is-now-getting-nominated-as-board-antichrist hadn't used the word Takeda at me.

After agonizing for about 5 minutes I decided if I spent this much on boots (which I did this month already) I could justify the knife purchase. I'll have to wait a couple of weeks to pull the trigger. I definitely would be more uncomfortable with the purchase without the recommendation, so thank you.

In the meantime, the CCK should get here this week to keep me busy.

[MercenaryChef]

Lily, good tools make the craftsman and the product better.

In the 1990s when I bought my first global I noticed my knife work improve immediately.

I get a bit of a thrill using a wonderfully crafted knife to make a nice dish. It is a touch spiritual. I am but continuing the work of the knife maker and the farmer when I bring the blade and produce together in something respecting both elements.

[Lily Valley]

Long overdue update on the cleaver.

I love the knife.

The factory edge leaves much to be desired. The belly of the knife that I would use more often for tap chopping is duller than the front and back edges. I have a lead on a local sharpener who will be getting this knife for sharpening as soon as they can be tracked down. Even the front and back that are sharper can't press cut paper. Shaving is out of the question.

On housemates, cast iron and carbon steel:

I have come home several times to find the cleaver sitting on a dirty cutting board covered in greens and lemon juice.

Needless to say it is already picking up rust spots.

I have given instructions about how to care for the knife (Clean, dry immediately after use). I added an "oil" instruction since the climate here is so damp, I figured it couldn't hurt.

Unfortunately, the cast iron isn't hurt by sitting in food waiting for someone who will care for it properly. This instruction has prevented the horror of coming home to see the cast iron "soaking". The knife is hurt by sitting out.

The plusses:

Everyone loves using it. Everyone. Even the baby is eating more vegetables because he likes using the knife so much. In addition, he sees the point of knife safety skills with that thing in his hand. HUGE SUCCESS. The weight is wonderful for chopping even without having it sharpened. My floor is much cleaner because the size makes transfer to the stove so easy. Garlic and ginger are smashed with a few strikes strike of the pommel. What a great tool.

So Yags,

I have a question for you. Can you recommend a stainless cleaver for general kitchen? Looking at the same $60 price range. I'm going to get pissed having to sand that thing down every other week because of carelessness.

Purchase of the Takeda will wait until I have finished filling out "community use" tools. I would have a fucking cow if I came home to that knife in the sink or sitting on a dirty cutting board. The best way to preserve domestic harmony is to address issues before they come up. Everyone in the house now cooks all the time. We have one vegetarian and she isn't fussy, but her tools are off limits unless we're cooking with her. My other housemate will be back in October and she's great for helping me find stuff, but has no tools of her own.

Thanks again everyone!

[MercenaryChef]

I would kill housemates who touch my knives.

You are insane or saintly.

[Lily Valley]

Hahahaha. The latter has been ruled out. I think you might kill a housemate who used your kitchen.

It's a commune. I'm as irritating to live with as every single other asshole in the house.

There is almost always a cooked meal in the fridge when I get home late from work.

[BigFatCoward]

I would kill housemates who touch my knives.

You are insane or saintly.

we have a semi decent £40 chefs knife so the other half doesn't use my good ones.

[Inigima]

The cleaver costs less than that, she just doesn't want it fucked up anyway.

[Yagathai]

Hm. I'm afraid that I don't have a stainless cleaver I can recommend, especially in that price range. Sorry. =/ I like Shun knives in general, but that's waaaaay outside the price range.

[MercenaryChef]

Oh, I have that CCK. It's the knife I use most often for prepping veggies. It's great, but it isn't a cleaver -- it's a slicer. Don't use it to cleave, but for veggies it's a wonder.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/75149876@N00/14259760141/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/75149876@N00/14634700714/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/75149876@N00/14263076945/

just realized i have the same cleaver. it was a gift a few years ago. it has never found use at work but i do use it at home a bit. i just have never attained the skill of using a cleaver.

lily, forget a stainless cleaver. just get your housemates to care properly for the knife you have (that you so kindly let them use). buying a stainless blade because they are too careless to treat a carbon blade with the respect it deserves only continues the problem. you have to keep buying dumbproof items and the cycle continues anew.

to that i say, not a fucking chance. everyone in your commune act as adults. wash and dry the carbon knife and put it away when done.

don't make me come down there.

[Inigima]

don't make me come down there.

Do it, tape it, post it

[wolverine]

I've seen it called a butcher's knife, but often that also means cleaver. More accurately I think you'd call it a scimitar, sometimes spelled cimiter. See http://www.knifemerchant.com/product.asp?productID=4869&gclid=CjwKEAjwsdafBRC2rYuDuYXk2TESJACsUN_uvF-avRnTp4Lq1ofStc3-HU_iEcfJv0L3C6PDKPyd5RoCqQvw_wcB

Says that is recommended for hunters. Hunters of what? Woolly mammoth? I don't see many applications of that knife for a hunter, but maybe I am doing things wrong? Removing front shoulders is about the only thing I can see, but to own one for such a specific purpose seems unnecessary.

How badass would one look using it though?

[Lily Valley]

Says that is recommended for hunters. Hunters of what? Woolly mammoth? I don't see many applications of that knife for a hunter, but maybe I am doing things wrong? Removing front shoulders is about the only thing I can see, but to own one for such a specific purpose seems unnecessary.

How badass would one look using it though?

Wolverine, I used mine for everything in the kitchen. The only thing I butchered with it was poultry. It's especially good for that because you can get the point into a joint and the wider end can be used as a lever to pry the joint apart and simultaneously cut through the ligaments or tendons or whatever. I can see how it would be a great knife for field dressing. It's thicker than a chef knife and can take that type of abuse.