Santa gave me a Glestain 721TK last Christmas and I've enjoyed it immensely. Yes it's so mass-market you can buy it online, and yes it costs less than a thousand dollars. But I love it anyway. You sharpen it the same way you sharpen any single bevel knife, e.g., the Global sushi knives stuck to the wall magnets in every Williams Sonoma store in America.
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Some stainless steel is magnetic. It has what is called a ferritic structure. This is typical of the 400 series of alloys. 404 is probably the most common as it is used for everything from wall plates to counter tops.
The non-magnetic martensitic series are the 300 series alloys. 304 is the most common stainless steel used, easily for stainless works and forms. 316 is the toughest version and is hard to work but resists the most corrosion. Inconel is used when stainless isn't good enough.
The sharpest steel edges are on steel that is not as corrosion resistant. The most common version ls L6 alloy which is just dandy for very sharp tools.
There are some super expensive alloys which are though to be similar to the legendary Damascus steel. I haven't seen these on the market for a while though. The raw material to make a knife used to run around $300!
Tokyo is definitely on my to-visit list. I've got a lot of "catching up" in life, and exploring that corner of the world is a part of it. Likewise, seeing that kind of craftsmanship is always a joy. It'll be a long loooong time before I'll ever be in that price range though.
Ed -- yep, a lot of the better knife stainless steels aren't optimized for their corrosion resistance. Of course, regular use, cleaning and drying keeps them in good shape.
My roommate has Tojiro DP knives, which are a soft outer cladding with VG10 core. They perform very nicely at a modest price, too (if the ergonomics work), and can take a pretty fine edge. Come highly recommended at the ~$60/knife range, but expect to need to rebuild the edge on purchase (which, for me was a nice form of meditation).
Hey stupid, that's a mighty fine looking batch of goodies you have there. If there's something that says you care during the holidays, I think I'm looking at it. Not only that but delivering it so you get visit time on top really is the icing on the cake.
As me dear ol' Mammy used to say:
Good on ya!
how could I forget that one - or "Ambrosia" - aforementioned Cool Whip, canned marschinos and pineapple chunks, and something else that escapes me
Same here.
I'd almost postulate we is witnessing a shot of the ole southern hospitality at work, y'all come back now, ya hear.
Nice, but I notice no left handed ones on their web site. In going to restore a fine deba soon, filleting fish backwards is asking for a slit wrist.
Yes I know some companies keep a stock at the same price or nearly he same price (maybe only in Japan). One maker had only an $18 adder the above knife is 30% ouch, Misono is 15%. Not surprising handedness is still forced in parts of Asia, Japan 97%/3%.
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Looks are deceiving. A guy buys a $2000 8" knife and complains the the picture looked bigger than it is, funniest thing I came across today.
Do you think that's a direct or inverse relationship?
I "rescued" a large (14+") cheap stainless chef's knife and ground down the badly gouged blade. It's about 12-13" now, really thin and very soft, but just the thing to cut pizzas or large fruit with....
Do you think that's a direct or inverse relationship?
I "rescued" a large (14+") cheap stainless chef's knife and ground down the badly gouged blade. It's about 12-13" now, really thin and very soft, but just the thing to cut pizzas or large fruit with....
I had one of those, broke the tip off of a nice knife and the sharpening guy just made a new man out of it.
Is this where a little guy gets to pipe in about how the skill of the craftsman can trump - in 4 /8 yrs time will that be a dirty word?- the size /cost of the tool?
My wife's favourite kitchen knives are a nicely balanced Japanese chef's knife gifted from our son, and a pair of Kyocera ceramic blades. Those buggers are SHARP, but I worry about their durability, and I've heard they need special sharpening attention.
And, yes-after 45yrs together- the kitchen gadgets are the only tools she exercises on a regular basis. There's more than one kind of DIY
My wife's favourite kitchen knives are a nicely balanced Japanese chef's knife gifted from our son, and a pair of Kyocera ceramic blades. Those buggers are SHARP, but I worry about their durability, and I've heard they need special sharpening attention.
And, yes-after 45yrs together- the kitchen gadgets are the only tools she exercises on a regular basis. There's more than one kind of DIY
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I strongly suspect there are a lot of U-tube videos on sharpening, so of course I'll add my two cents.
First the ideal flat surface is a precision machine shop flat granite block. Some folks use a piece of float glass or a surface ground steel top like on a decent table saw.
Second the height is important, I like about 34" above the ground.
The the silicon carbide wet sand paper starting at 220 grit and ending at 4,000 grit. Stepping grit size up by 1.5 to 2 between sizes.
Next is the water! Chlorine residue is a no no for sharpening metal.
For those who want to use oil, what is meant is actually kerosine not motor oil.
The hard part is how to hold and move the knife dhring sharpening. This is best done standing. If you want a convex edge you grip the knife in one hand and use your other hand on the gripping hands wrist. Standing straight up you sharpen left to right. Obviously getting the angle right and consistant requires skill. You adjust the sharpening angle by the height of the surface not by bending over. That reduces the variations.
Now for the conventional machine style flat bevel you use both hands on the knife and push and pull it away and back to you. This motion is produced not jus from your arms but your legs also. Again the height of thè surface is critical in getting the angle right.
Now when sharpening anything the actual angle will affect how long it stays sharp. Too low and it will be weak. Too high and that blunts it. Some materials have a molecular structure the really requires a precise angle.
Some items such as chassis punches are best sharpened by moving them in a figure 8 pattern. Knives often require a tip to handle slide in addition to the basic motion.
I have sharper than new edges on many of my tools even after more than fifty years of use.
Of course my Swiss army pocket knife is my most used tool and I generally only get a year or two out of them. I cheat and use a powered flat whet stone to sharpen them. Nowhere near as sharp as other tools but the primary use is as a letter opener and in that use the scratchy grooves help. I voiles go on for way too long.... It did take me about 15 years to get decent at sharpening. I do remember when the master machinist watch me sharpen a lathe bit and passed it.
First the ideal flat surface is a precision machine shop flat granite block. Some folks use a piece of float glass or a surface ground steel top like on a decent table saw.
Second the height is important, I like about 34" above the ground.
The the silicon carbide wet sand paper starting at 220 grit and ending at 4,000 grit. Stepping grit size up by 1.5 to 2 between sizes.
Next is the water! Chlorine residue is a no no for sharpening metal.
For those who want to use oil, what is meant is actually kerosine not motor oil.
The hard part is how to hold and move the knife dhring sharpening. This is best done standing. If you want a convex edge you grip the knife in one hand and use your other hand on the gripping hands wrist. Standing straight up you sharpen left to right. Obviously getting the angle right and consistant requires skill. You adjust the sharpening angle by the height of the surface not by bending over. That reduces the variations.
Now for the conventional machine style flat bevel you use both hands on the knife and push and pull it away and back to you. This motion is produced not jus from your arms but your legs also. Again the height of thè surface is critical in getting the angle right.
Now when sharpening anything the actual angle will affect how long it stays sharp. Too low and it will be weak. Too high and that blunts it. Some materials have a molecular structure the really requires a precise angle.
Some items such as chassis punches are best sharpened by moving them in a figure 8 pattern. Knives often require a tip to handle slide in addition to the basic motion.
I have sharper than new edges on many of my tools even after more than fifty years of use.
Of course my Swiss army pocket knife is my most used tool and I generally only get a year or two out of them. I cheat and use a powered flat whet stone to sharpen them. Nowhere near as sharp as other tools but the primary use is as a letter opener and in that use the scratchy grooves help. I voiles go on for way too long.... It did take me about 15 years to get decent at sharpening. I do remember when the master machinist watch me sharpen a lathe bit and passed it.
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