Knife Thread

Glaucus · 15 Jun 2015 at 16:46

They're too far apart in grot levels to start with, and they shouldn't be taking off more material. However they may make more if a grey sludge as it's smaller particles. should never more than double the grit level.
And starting at 800 is only ok, if knifed are well maintained. If it's a poor edge more like 320 and repairing a properly damaged edge 120 or 220 depending how bad it is.

Sunbed · 15 Jun 2015 at 17:55

Glaucus said:
They're too far apart in grot levels to start with, and they shouldn't be taking off more material.

This surprises me because it's sold as a set of two blocks 240/800 and 2000/5000. Where have you seen this?

Snaggle · 15 Jun 2015 at 20:14

I agree its to much of a step . I grind an bevel with 120 but my stones are 180/400/600/800/1200/2000/3000

Sunbed · 15 Jun 2015 at 23:09

I'm not convinced it is. Like I said, it's sold as a package on a reputable website. If they thought the steps were too big then I doubt they would be selling it as a set. Plenty of video guides use whetstones in similar increments too. Maybe if you want sharpening perfection but that's not what I need.

newbiejim · 26 Jun 2015 at 23:13

This thread caused me to purchase a Wusthof Classic 18 cm today, I must say though I have never chopped peppers so effortlessly.

SonniLombardi · 27 Jun 2015 at 00:04

newbiejim said:
This thread caused me to purchase a Wusthof Classic 18 cm today, I must say though I have never chopped peppers so effortlessly.

That feeling you get when you chop food is something else isn't, especially when it glides through so effortlessly.

newbiejim · 27 Jun 2015 at 10:16

SonniLombardi said:
That feeling you get when you chop food is something else isn't, especially when it glides through so effortlessly.

Absolutely, it has however invoked a desire for more of this knife satisfaction, the knife itself exudes quality and germanic robustness, almost like its made from melted down panzers lol.

Invertigo · 27 Jun 2015 at 11:56

Recently started my collection too, currently rocking this:

The utility knife on the left came in a set with the 20cm chefs and 9cm paring knives, and was actually cheaper than buying those 2 separately.

newbiejim · 7 Jul 2015 at 08:02

Just a heads up, Robert Dyas doing some great reductions on Global atm.

CHokKA · 7 Jul 2015 at 11:12

Hey folks

I'm after a new paring knife and also a bread slicer. I have a Global Santoku but I have to say, I'm very, very disapppointed in it. I've looked after it really well but there's a nick and crack in the blade just past the middle. The warranty doesn't cover nicks and cracking so I'm stuffed from that point of view. Anyway, I always thought they'd be tough knives but now that they've proven not to be, I was wondering what else I should look at. How do the Wusthof blades compare? I always liked the thin edge of the Global's but they're clearly rather weak even though they're supposedly manufactured from a very tough material.

So what do you folks suggest I look at?

boxman2000 · 7 Jul 2015 at 11:51

CHokKA said:
How do the Wusthof blades compare?

I've had my Wüsthof santoku's for over 18 months now and they are absolutely brilliant. Really nicely balanced, solid and very usable.

The 7" santoku is my go-to utility knife now, I barely use anything else apart from my 'Wusthof Silverpoint II 3-Piece Paring Knife Set’ from Amazon, it was really good value and really handy blade types. I know you can get the gourmet option of the same blade types but these were fine for me.

My wife has been told never to put these in the dishwasher (which she hasn't) but never washes them after use and just dumps them with the other cutlery in the sink so definitely not as well looked after as I liked but no chipping whatsoever.

I'll probably get flamed for this but I always found Global a bit gimmicky, I find them horrible to hold and not at all usable, plus I don't think much of them to look at either.

newbiejim · 7 Jul 2015 at 16:31

boxman2000 said:
I'll probably get flamed for this but I always found Global a bit gimmicky, I find them horrible to hold and not at all usable, plus I don't think much of them to look at either.

I agree about the look/feel, traditional three rivet handle approach feels more natural, BUT they are supposed to be decent knives with their unique steel.

boxman2000 · 8 Jul 2015 at 12:23

newbiejim said:
I agree about the look/feel, traditional three rivet handle approach feels more natural, BUT they are supposed to be decent knives with their unique steel.

Not sure what to suggest really - a friend of mine is a professional chef and tutor at a local cookery school and he uses his global chefs knife all day and swears by them. After having a try I just couldn't get on with the sheer weight of it (and I had a set of one piece Sabatier knives at the time which weren't exactly light).

Trouble is you can understand why a company like Global wouldn't guarantee chips/cracks as there is no way to prove what caused it (i.e. product fault or poor care by the owner).

newbiejim · 8 Jul 2015 at 13:30

boxman2000 said:
Not sure what to suggest really - a friend of mine is a professional chef and tutor at a local cookery school and he uses his global chefs knife all day and swears by them. After having a try I just couldn't get on with the sheer weight of it (and I had a set of one piece Sabatier knives at the time which weren't exactly light).

Trouble is you can understand why a company like Global wouldn't guarantee chips/cracks as there is no way to prove what caused it (i.e. product fault or poor care by the owner).

I already have a Wusthof and its awesome, I bought one of the Globals from that deal for £51 (13cm cooks usually circa £75) so we`ll see how they compare.

Sunbed · 16 Jul 2015 at 13:45

Does an ordinary honing steel have any effect on Globals because of their hardness? Do you need a ceramic rod to get the same effect?

Makhaira · 17 Aug 2015 at 21:23

I got a Lansky deluxe sharpening kit for my birthday this month, what a fun toy

. I've only done a couple of knives so far, and even though my "eye" hadn't been too far off on my previous freehand sharpens, it took a bit of work to get the angle back to 20degrees.

A question though - I have a boning knife that I'm doing at 17degrees, and have found two challenges:

1) It's flexible (I know, I'm a quick one!) - the best way I've found to far is to rest the blade horizontally along the corner of a piece of worktop such that it is supported but the honing stone can clear the end of the blade. Does anyone know a better method?

2) What's the best way to strip a blade back quickly? There are quite a few nicks on the boning knife due to it being such a fine angle - do I just need to invest quarter of an hour with the coarse stone to grind off that metal to a consistent edge?

NickK · 18 Aug 2015 at 12:49

Jolteh said:
Grab one of these, or a similar system off ebay. They're based on the really expensive Edge Pro sharpening system, but at a fraction of the price. Dead easy to use and good results.

People pimp whetstones but they're a pain in the arse to use, and unless you're willing to commit time to learn the skill are a waste of money. On the other end of the scale, the automatic sharpeners (pull through, plug in etc) eat away at your knives really quickly and don't make as good an edge. The above is a good middle ground.

Nice idea - I have a constant angle tool for sharpening my wood chisels.

May be interested in one of these..

Scottland · 18 Aug 2015 at 13:09

I've got one, works pretty well.

NickK · 18 Aug 2015 at 13:16

Actually, thinking about it - I could make one!

Bipolar Kittens · 26 Aug 2015 at 18:43

It's so pretty!