Cooking Knives

[Terrywoodenpic]

I think there's a decimal point or two which ought'a be a little to the left on the carbon content of
those kitchen knives. (16% carbon would result in free graphite formations in an iron matrix.)
Ya know, if you'd just accept that discoloration, all your troubles would vanish. My old plain carbon
Sabatiers were antiques when I bought'm over 30 years ago, & they're holding up well.

I would agree that most old Sabatier and sheffield steel knives are perhaps the nicest to sharpen and use that can be found anywhere. However I am sure every country has well made knives made From carbon steel. The difficulty is identifying the good ones before you buy them.
I tend to use pre war laminated carbon/mild steel blades in in my wood working tools, and over the years have fond many blades and many chisels that both hold and maintain a keen edge but are very easy to sharpen.

However Kitchen knives work best (as does cutting oak) with a slightly saw edge. Where a polished edge can cut beautifully in pine it soon fails in oak or a wood with silica crystals in its structure.
Apart for the Japanese, it is rare to find a chef or butcher using a knife with anything like a polished edge. A steel produces a fresh edge on carbon steel with the almost perfect tooth, It will cut soft fruit and meats with almost no effort or distortion of the cut.
Every time you pick up a knife you should dress the edge for that perfect cut.
As for stainless, well I do have one stainless heavy Knife that takes a good edge, You can even cut frozen with it using a mallet on the back. I don't know what steel it is but it is tough rather than hard.

All of my blades are rust free but virtually black with age.
ancient pre-atomic carbon steel sort of looks to have a dark glow to start with, it will polish bright, but why bother. It seems to better resit rust the darker it gets.

 

[Revoltingest]

You can keep your sawtooth edge.
I find a smooth edge best for cutting & durability...no need to sharpen with each use.

 

[Terrywoodenpic]

You can keep your sawtooth edge.
I find a smooth edge best for cutting & durability...no need to sharpen with each use.

And I thought you were a traditionalist.
if you can feel the edge it will be just right and be a saw edge. If it is a polished edge it will cut you before you can feel it.

 

[Revoltingest]

And I thought you were a traditionalist.
if you can feel the edge it will be just right and be a saw edge. If it is a polished edge it will cut you before you can feel it.

One must be very careful with both very sharp & very dull tools.

Now, I do like the serrated knives when the serrations are far enuf apart
that I can sharpen the gullets. They're great for cutting things which might
hit stones, eg, roots, cuz the sticky-up-thingies take the brunt of abuse.
Serrations are also best for bread with tough crust...the best kind.
Chisels should always be smooth. They work better & stay sharp longer.
Moreover, the back side should always be flat (except for hollow ground
portions on the backs on Japanese chisels).

 

[Terrywoodenpic]

One must be very careful with both very sharp & very dull tools.

Now, I do like the serrated knives when the serrations are far enuf apart
that I can sharpen the gullets. They're great for cutting things which might
hit stones, eg, roots, cuz the sticky-up-thingies take the brunt of abuse.
Serrations are also best for bread with tough crust...the best kind.
Chisels should always be smooth. They work better & stay sharp longer.
Moreover, the back side should always be flat (except for hollow ground
portions on the backs on Japanese chisels).

I dont think you know how fine I work in wood, after I use a hand plane or chisel I do not expect to sand, the wood will shine. I will use a 400 grit after I raise the grain when final finishing.
what I call a saw edge is only visible with a 12x magnifier. It would polish out easily with a strop and paste.

I too have an 18 inch serrated knife which I sharpen with a diamond rod. It is sharp enough for ham or bread.

All my plane irons and chisels are flattened on a lap.

American tools are among the best but unlike european tools are mostly designed for soft wood. Hard wood planes are set at higher angle and some like oak sharpened differently with a tougher edge.. pippy oak is almost impossible to plane as the grain rises in small whorles in every direction. It is then that I say a prayer for the inventor of the belt sander.



s

 

[Revoltingest]

I dont think you know how fine I work in wood, after I use a hand plane or chisel I do not expect to sand, the wood will shine. I will use a 400 grit after I raise the grain when final finishing.
what I call a saw edge is only visible with a 12x magnifier. It would polish out easily with a strop and paste.

I too have an 18 inch serrated knife which I sharpen with a diamond rod. It is sharp enough for ham or bread.

All my plane irons and chisels are flattened on a lap.

American tools are among the best but unlike european tools are mostly designed for soft wood. Hard wood planes are set at higher angle and some like oak sharpened differently with a tougher edge.. pippy oak is almost impossible to plane as the grain rises in small whorles in every direction. It is then that I say a prayer for the inventor of the belt sander.

We can go into tricks such as angular plane blades, scraper planes, wood specific edge
geometry, etc, but ultimately, we each finds what works for us.
I use the same edge geometry for chiseling soft & hard woods. Technique is adjusted
for each. I also use different angle planes depending upon the work, & I love belt sanders,
especially on larger projects, such as engine skids which can weigh thousands of pounds,
but will look much like furniture.
Btw, I hand cut dovetails....no router for those. This is one place where a very
sharp smooth edge shines.
Another great invention is the segmented spiral carbide planer/jointer blade.
Criminy, they last forever, they're smooth, & they're quieter.

 

[dantech]

Geezus.... I was asking about knives and got a whole diploma worthy course on steel, woodworking, and morals of life.

Just tell me which models to buy!!!! links would be much appreciated.

 

[Revoltingest]

Geezus.... I was asking about knives and got a whole diploma worthy course on steel, woodworking, and morals of life.
Just tell me which models to buy!!!! links would be much appreciated.

It's a bit complicated for a forum.
I suggest going to a store which has expertise & a big selection of knives for a talk.
You could also go to a thrift store, & buy an assortment to play with.
I also recommend getting advice on sharpening, & buying some basic equipment.

 

[roger1440]

Selecting a good knife or set of knifes would be dependent on your budget, the frequency of use and what the knife(s) would be used for.

 

[dantech]

Selecting a good knife or set of knifes would be dependent on your budget, the frequency of use and what the knife(s) would be used for.

$100-150.
I like the chef's knife, and the santoku knife.
I use them at least 3 times a week.

 

[Valjean]

Just get an ordinary chef's knife at a department or thrift store. Nothing fancy looking -- glitz hides poor quality. You're not a professional chef or, I'm assuming, a dedicated foodie. The metallurgical differences are probably of little difference in your case. The only pressing issues are design and sharpening.

Design: My friend Vicki has a knife with a bevel on only one side, (!). It's essentially an elongated chisel. You can't even cut a potato with it. It wants to cut an arc, and binds.
I'd also discourage anything serrated. If you need serrations buy a saw. Serration is a crutch for those who don't sharpen their knives.

Sharpening: Knives need regular sharpening. Even a cheap knife will cut OK if sharp, and an expensive one will be next to useless if the edge isn't maintained.
You must learn to sharpen a knife. That's the key to everything.

 

[Terrywoodenpic]

Just get an ordinary chef's knife at a department or thrift store. Nothing fancy looking -- glitz hides poor quality. You're not a professional chef or, I'm assuming, a dedicated foodie. The metallurgical differences are probably of little difference in your case. The only pressing issues are design and sharpening.

Design: My friend Vicki has a knife with a bevel on only one side, (!). It's essentially an elongated chisel. You can't even cut a potato with it. It wants to cut an arc, and binds.
I'd also discourage anything serrated. If you need serrations buy a saw. Serration is a crutch for those who don't sharpen their knives.

Sharpening: Knives need regular sharpening. Even a cheap knife will cut k

[/CiODE]OK if sharp, and an expensive one will be next to useless if the edge isn't  maintained. 
You must learn to sharpen a knife. That's the key to everything.[/QUOTE]

sharpening is very much the key.
the romans hated grinding their edges. And preferred a hammer and small block anvil to re shape the edge. They could even create a rasor edge for shaving on bronze that way. It was still a favourite way to sharpen sickles in victorian times. Hammering both draws out and hardens the edge.

I mention this because sharpening is about what remains,  not what you grind away. A properly used steel draws an edge. It hardly removes any metal at all. Where as most stones or sharpeners work by removing metal.

sometimes a blade does need a grind to shape but this should be kept to a minimum.

I bought a high quality steel when I married in 1960 I stll use it most days.

 

[dantech]

I need a knife that could slice through a tomato without pressure. I very much am a foodie and watch many cooking shows. I just hate that I need to put pressure on everything I slice or chop.

 

[Terrywoodenpic]

If you have to use pressure the edge is blunt. Cheap or expensive if it is blunt it is blunt. I have an old pastry knife that was my late wifes grandmothers. It can slice tomato wafer thin. I use it every day as my sandwich knife. It has the round end and broad parallel blade of an old viictorian table knife but a rosewood copper riveted scaled handle.
Any knife you already have could be sharpened to do that. Though it would be difficult with one of the super hard ones.

I doubt you need a new knife, though that would be nice. What you need is to find someone who can teach you how to sharpen.

 

[roger1440]

I need a knife that could slice through a tomato without pressure. I very much am a foodie and watch many cooking shows. I just hate that I need to put pressure on everything I slice or chop.

Do you have a knife sharpener or sharpening steal?

 

[dantech]

Do you have a knife sharpener or sharpening steal?

I have the honing stick thing, and I have a diamond dust rock.

Also, I heard you can sharpen knives on the bottom of mugs?

 

[Revoltingest]

I have the honing stick thing, and I have a diamond dust rock.
Also, I heard you can sharpen knives on the bottom of mugs?

I've heard you survive a free falling elevator if you jump up at the last micro-second.
Don't believe everything you hear.
(Mug bottoms would have grit the wrong shape for effective sharpening.)
Hey, what's a diamond dust rock?

 

[dantech]

I've heard you survive a free falling elevator if you jump up at the last micro-second.
Don't believe everything you hear.
(Mug bottoms would have grit the wrong shape for effective sharpening.)
Hey, what's a diamond dust rock?

I'm not sure what it's really called. It's basically a stone built out of diamond dust. Mine is of a rectangular shape so it would be easy to swipe a blade through it.

 

[Revoltingest]

I'm not sure what it's really called. It's basically a stone built out of diamond dust. Mine is of a rectangular shape so it would be easy to swipe a blade through it.

If it's a fine grit, then it should serve you well.
If not, just pick up something finer.
Too bad we can't all have a sharpening bee together!

 

[Thief]

Geezus.... I was asking about knives and got a whole diploma worthy course on steel, woodworking, and morals of life.

Just tell me which models to buy!!!! links would be much appreciated.

Chicago cutlery.
You can get the whole set for about 100bucks.
Get the one with the butcher steel.