Yeah it does, really good to use for cooking but also a work of art, even if you never use it, you would still be happy to look at it.
Knife Thread
- Thread starter Glaucus
- Start date
Just back from Toronto on holiday and visited a Japanese knife shop called Knifewear while in the city, my missus had spent a small fortune on clothes by this point in our trip and was ribbing me for being a tight arse,... so I treated myself to a couple of knives.
I use a few Chinese knives at the moment so these are a considerable step up. The Nagara Guyoto/Kiritsuke is Aogami Super (Blue Carbon Steel) with stainless steel cladding and the Fujimoto Santoku is SLD semi-stainless steel with stainless steel cladding.
Fujimoto Hammer Tone SLD Santoku 165mm and a Nigara AS/S Tsuchime Kiritsuke Gyuto 240mm.
I use a few Chinese knives at the moment so these are a considerable step up. The Nagara Guyoto/Kiritsuke is Aogami Super (Blue Carbon Steel) with stainless steel cladding and the Fujimoto Santoku is SLD semi-stainless steel with stainless steel cladding.
Given how much decent whetstones cost, £6 is not so much a bargain as a red flag IMO. It'll be relatively soft, and very easy to dig your knife edge into if you over-angle the blade or press too hard. Also, it'll probably take much longer than a more expensive stone to put an edge on harder steels.Comes with a 20 degree guide though... my knives are jap, so I'll have to buy a different guide?
The also sell a 400/100 stone, but I gues you don't need 400grit unless the knife is wrecked?
That said, at £6 you can always buy one to practise on, if you've not used one before. Practice on one of your crappier knives, not your favourite Japanese knife, but do be aware that the results you get on a cheap Western knife won't be the same. I actually struggle to get a decent edge on my Wusthof with the same whetstones that put a super-sharp edge on my Japanese knives, but that might just be me not adjusting my technique properly.
I've never tried to use a whetstone with an angle guide still attached (always figured it would scratch the stone), but yeah, 20 degrees is generally going to be a bit too much for Japanese knives. That said, it's a complex rabbit hole to go down, and there isn't really a universally "right" angle to sharpen at. But sharpening at a right angle would definitely be wrong
400 grit is a perfectly reasonable grit for re-sharpening a blade if it's gotten really blunt, or working out small chips. To be honest, for most of us home cooks you can put a more than adequate edge on a knife with a 400 grit stone. All the silly paper slicing tests I do at home are just hobbyist b******t really, I'm not doing anything in my kitchen that needs that sharp an edge
Given how much decent whetstones cost, £6 is not so much a bargain as a red flag IMO. It'll be relatively soft, and very easy to dig your knife edge into if you over-angle the blade or press too hard. Also, it'll probably take much longer than a more expensive stone to put an edge on harder steels.
That said, at £6 you can always buy one to practise on, if you've not used one before. Practice on one of your crappier knives, not your favourite Japanese knife, but do be aware that the results you get on a cheap Western knife won't be the same. I actually struggle to get a decent edge on my Wusthof with the same whetstones that put a super-sharp edge on my Japanese knives, but that might just be me not adjusting my technique properly.
I've never tried to use a whetstone with an angle guide still attached (always figured it would scratch the stone), but yeah, 20 degrees is generally going to be a bit too much for Japanese knives. That said, it's a complex rabbit hole to go down, and there isn't really a universally "right" angle to sharpen at. But sharpening at a right angle would definitely be wrong
400 grit is a perfectly reasonable grit for re-sharpening a blade if it's gotten really blunt, or working out small chips. To be honest, for most of us home cooks you can put a more than adequate edge on a knife with a 400 grit stone. All the silly paper slicing tests I do at home are just hobbyist b******t really, I'm not doing anything in my kitchen that needs that sharp an edge
I dunno, My Japanese (vg-1) nakiri is an absolute pleasure to use compared to my pro-cook 'nihon' XC-50 german steel knifes... it's bloody lethal though.. the blade edge is a lot finer and it just glides through onions and potatoes (and fingers
) with pretty much zero downward pressure.I take your point though, my Jap knife cost almost as much as 5 procook x-50 knives (when they were on offer), so I won't be practising on that!
Associate
Can anybody Vouch for the Horl 2 (used regularly) for large and small knives, my pull-through single stone type just keeps messing up when I use thick and thin knives.Look up rolling knife sharpener. The way it is design, it is at a right angle everytime.
HORL Knife Sharpeners
Browse the wide range of Horl Knife Sharpeners and accessories available at Borough Kitchen and enjoy free UK delivery on orders over £50.www.boroughkitchen.com
There are lots of knock offs for less on Amazon.
The best purchase I've ever made, folks here will crucify me for backing this once again. Unless you want knife sharpening to be a hobby - this hands down is the best thing I've ever bought.
Caporegime
Seems expensive for what it does.
I picked up this:
Lansky 4 Rod Diamond Ceramic Turnbox Crock Stick Knife Sharpener
Lansky 4 Rod Diamond/Ceramic Turnbox Crock Stick Knife Sharpener - TB-2D2C This is the fast and easy knife sharpener that is simple to use and compact enough to carry in your tackle box or back pack. The four 5" rods: 2 medium grit Diamond
www.cyclaireshop.co.uk
Which seems pretty decent and is very easy to use.
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you get what you pay for though
decent stones are expensive and dirt cheap ones will not compare to them
Associate
Yeah I'm just trying to get a proper read on long term performance, flat stones and diamond steels arn't my thing. I just want a reliable tool.
Associate
I would have to agree It does the job that I need it to do, of course you are not going to get a polished fiinish as you can see with the standard attachments but thats not what I need. I like my fingers just the way they are thanks. The German steel works well as does the following daily cheaper knife shown below albeit with a slightly rougher edge.
Would I buy one for a wedding gift... yes I would.
Couple of high carbon steel from the Japanese knife company, and a surprisingly good (cheap) bamboo knife holder from Amazon..
I've just got to remember to look after these properly.
I think all my knife needs are now catered for..
And just for ***** and giggles I bought these from Ali Express for £2.99 when I was ordering a bunch of other stuff..
I ran a couple of them through a water sharpener and tbh they're certainly functional and will serve well as beater knives.
I've just got to remember to look after these properly.
I think all my knife needs are now catered for..
And just for ***** and giggles I bought these from Ali Express for £2.99 when I was ordering a bunch of other stuff..
I ran a couple of them through a water sharpener and tbh they're certainly functional and will serve well as beater knives.
Couple of high carbon steel from the Japanese knife company, and a surprisingly good (cheap) bamboo knife holder from Amazon..
I've just got to remember to look after these properly.
I think all my knife needs are now catered for..
And just for ***** and giggles I bought these from Ali Express for £2.99 when I was ordering a bunch of other stuff..
I ran a couple of them through a water sharpener and tbh they're certainly functional and will serve well as beater knives.
I bought a similar set in spain, for my holiday rental for about 10 euros..I mean they are sharp whan brand new but i doubt they will keep an edge, and the metal was so thin, you can just bend the blade with your hand!!!
Caporegime
I have to admit I baby the 2 Japanese knives I got…I still use my beater I got during university. I just sharpen it on a whetstone from time to time.
I'm kinda the opposite, I use my nice Nakiri for pretty much everything as it's just so nice to use.. it's holding it's edge really well but I'll have to sharpen it at some point.. I have a whetstone, so I should really practice using it on my cheaper procook x-50 knives first, as some of them are in need of a bit of a spruce up!
Associate
WOW this set is amazing.Couple of high carbon steel from the Japanese knife company, and a surprisingly good (cheap) bamboo knife holder from Amazon..
I've just got to remember to look after these properly.
I think all my knife needs are now catered for..
And just for ***** and giggles I bought these from Ali Express for £2.99 when I was ordering a bunch of other stuff..
I ran a couple of them through a water sharpener and tbh they're certainly functional and will serve well as beater knives.
Soldato
Yup I use my Nikiri for chopping vegetables which I find is the majority or what you need a knife for.
I have a decent but cheap small(ish) cleaver I use for chopping meat.
I have sharpened my Nikiri twice since I've had it, both times it only needed a very light go with a really high grit whetstone.