Author Topic: Fun with knives!  (Read 6198 times)

Gattopardo

  • Lord of the sith
  • Overseaing the building of the death star

Re: Fun with knives!
« Reply #26 on: 17 September, 2020, 03:23:21 pm »
Is this a real Yaxel?
https://fr.osakatools.com/collections/knives-cutlery/products/copy-of-yaxell-santoku-nakiri-2-knives-set-stainless-steel-165mm-japan


At £34.00 for the pair, they aren't going to be the real thing.
ETA -Actually, they might be - they're just not going to be Damascus steel.

Tigerrr

  • That England that was wont to conquer others Hath made a shameful conquest of itself.
  • Not really a Tiger.
    • Humanist Celebrant.
Re: Fun with knives!
« Reply #27 on: 18 September, 2020, 07:50:33 am »
Unsurprisingly, there's a mass of video tutorials on how to sharpen your knives.
This one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fxL8v2dMho
is better than most, and goes into a bit more detail than my course at Blenheim Forge did.
And a bit more cheesy music than the cousre at the forge had.
Although I appreciate that a video is not the same as a 1on1 experience.

Don't confuse not being as good as I would like to be, with not understanding how....
The one critical thing he seems to underplay in the video (although he does mention it), is the forming of the burr on the blade, and the subsequent removal of the burr by turning the blade over and offering it to the stone.
Rinse and repeat using the next finer grade stone.
Get that and the angle of the blade in relation to the stone correct, and you're there.

Yup - and the need to not apply much pressure.

Sure, you are grinding steel. The bit you are 'working' (unless reprofiling) is thinner than a bit of aluminium foil.

Knife-sharpening nerds often aspire to a 'razor edge'. For much cooking, that is a mistake. A good profile achieved with a coarse stone, then honed on a strop, will cut much better. Microscopic saw-tooth edge.

That's not the same as a bad burr edge, which will initially cut well but quickly blunt (when the burr snaps off).

Woodworking tools benefit from a razor edge.
While a micro saw may be good, it isn’t half as much fun as an actual razor edge. I can do a good micro saw, but now I’ve played with a razor edge I want to be able to achieve that. I could indeed cut stuff perfectly well with a cleaver, but what’s the fun in that?
Humanists UK Funeral and Wedding Celebrant. Trying for godless goodness.
http://humanist.org.uk/michaellaird

ian

Re: Fun with knives!
« Reply #28 on: 18 September, 2020, 09:32:40 am »
Have you chaps tried juggling these things? Juggling being a very boring thing that's inflicted on you by the sort of people who have spent years perfecting an act for which the half-life of interest in spectators will be measured in lonely seconds. So it has to season in a vague attempt to push the interest up into the ten seconds. Hey look, I'm juggling fire! Chainsaws! Temperamental ordnance, rusted canisters of volatile nerve agents, test tubes full of plague!. That kind of thing.

I think super-sharp knives could keep my attention for several seconds.

Re: Fun with knives!
« Reply #29 on: 18 September, 2020, 11:12:27 am »

I think super-sharp knives could keep my attention for several seconds.

... after which time it would drop off  :demon:

Gattopardo

  • Lord of the sith
  • Overseaing the building of the death star
Re: Fun with knives!
« Reply #30 on: 21 September, 2020, 03:00:44 pm »
Isn't it nice to have sharp knives to prep food?  I think it is.

Re: Fun with knives!
« Reply #31 on: 21 September, 2020, 03:04:00 pm »
I sharpened my two Damascus steel knives yesterday.

Gattopardo

  • Lord of the sith
  • Overseaing the building of the death star
Re: Fun with knives!
« Reply #32 on: 22 September, 2020, 02:06:34 pm »
Need to sharpen the kitchen knifes and sharpen a couple of the cheap outdoor knives.

Valiant

  • aka Sam
    • Radiance Audio
Re: Fun with knives!
« Reply #33 on: 05 October, 2020, 08:47:17 pm »
After I had my Henckels stolen during a party, I discovered a love of micro serrated blades and now save my ultrasharp for my chisels which I take upto 16k grit which leaves a lovely mirror finish. I did once cut my finger with the Henckels, didn't even realise til I started to cuts lemons. Anyways I got no scars from it, so I'm putting that down to the sharpness of the blade.
You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say will be misquoted, then used against you.

Support Equilibrium

Gattopardo

  • Lord of the sith
  • Overseaing the building of the death star
Re: Fun with knives!
« Reply #34 on: 12 October, 2020, 02:27:19 pm »
Have bought a sharpener like this....



Wonder how you set the angles correctly.

Valiant

  • aka Sam
    • Radiance Audio
Re: Fun with knives!
« Reply #35 on: 15 October, 2020, 04:20:01 pm »
That looks interested, could use an angle finder  and measure that?
You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say will be misquoted, then used against you.

Support Equilibrium

Gattopardo

  • Lord of the sith
  • Overseaing the building of the death star
Re: Fun with knives!
« Reply #36 on: 15 October, 2020, 08:01:21 pm »
That looks interested, could use an angle finder  and measure that?

Or I could use some maths....

Re: Fun with knives!
« Reply #37 on: 15 October, 2020, 10:39:05 pm »
I'd have thought the precise angle doesn't matter (as long as it's within a couple of degrees), as long as the adjustment doesn't wander.

Re: Fun with knives!
« Reply #38 on: 18 October, 2020, 04:21:37 pm »
Very fucking annoyed as I must've dropped my petty knife https://tinyurl.com/yxk3dar7 at some point which has ended up in bending the tip.
No matter, I'll tap that out, I thought.
30 seconds with a jeweller's hammer and an anvil and "tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap­-tap----plink!" I snapped the fucking tip off.
Ouch!
Some grinding to be done.

Gattopardo

  • Lord of the sith
  • Overseaing the building of the death star
Re: Fun with knives!
« Reply #39 on: 19 October, 2020, 08:14:39 pm »
I'd have thought the precise angle doesn't matter (as long as it's within a couple of degrees), as long as the adjustment doesn't wander.

Fear of fucking up.

T42

  • Apprentice geezer
Re: Fun with knives!
« Reply #40 on: 23 October, 2020, 08:27:31 am »
Saw an article somewhere about a successful chef who uses Kiwi Thai knives because they're "thin, razor-sharp and so cheap it's easier to buy a new one than sharpen them".  Not very laudable environmental policiy, but if the things can be sharpened they might be interesting to try.

https://www.chopchopchop.co.uk/kiwi-knives.html
I've dusted off all those old bottles and set them up straight

Gattopardo

  • Lord of the sith
  • Overseaing the building of the death star
Re: Fun with knives!
« Reply #41 on: 28 October, 2020, 06:11:39 pm »
I have a couple of kiwi and KomKom knives, they are very nice. Have the 7inch wood handled chef knife, and the cleaver and a kom kom melon knife.

Mine can from Hoohing and Loon fung and were cheaper than chopchopchop.

Tigerrr

  • That England that was wont to conquer others Hath made a shameful conquest of itself.
  • Not really a Tiger.
    • Humanist Celebrant.
Re: Fun with knives!
« Reply #42 on: 28 December, 2020, 05:18:47 pm »
Whatever you do, don't join an american knife enthusiast facebook group! I knew I was a bit 'dysfunctional' with my interests in sharpening, but the true horror of knife fetishism and slicing/cutting lust in the USA has been a bit of a shock. I think it's related to scalping and stuff.
All I wanted was to achieve a really sharp blade. Forgive me.
Humanists UK Funeral and Wedding Celebrant. Trying for godless goodness.
http://humanist.org.uk/michaellaird

Re: Fun with knives!
« Reply #43 on: 30 December, 2020, 11:08:36 pm »
Eminor gave me a Wusthof utility knife for  Christmas. It's a bit good