Knives

[buzzard767]

What makes or kinds of kitchen knives do you like? Why?

Buzz

[Jared]

I've got a couple Suncraft knives, a chef's knife and one that looks like a really lightweight cleaver (I forget what the style is called). They're lightweight, easy to hold, they hold a good edge, and, best of all, they cost about $20 in an asian grocery store in Mountain View.

Mine are a few years old so they don't look quite like these, but this is pretty similar:





Mine say "Listage 30" (instead of "Demica 30")

[buzzard767]

Originally Posted by Jared

I've got a couple Suncraft knives, a chef's knife and one that looks like a really lightweight cleaver (I forget what the style is called). They're lightweight, easy to hold, they hold a good edge, and, best of all, they cost about $20 in an asian grocery store in Mountain View.

Mine are a few years old so they don't look quite like these, but this is pretty similar:

Mine say "Listage 30" (instead of "Demica 30")

Wow. I've never heard of them. your little cleaver is called a Nakiri if it is double beveled, and Usuba if it is single beveled.

The only place I could find that has a variety of Suncraft knives is here, unfortunately I don't read Kanji.....

When "Suncraft Knives" is Googled, all I can find is this very nice looking paring knife with a Wa (Japanese style) handle. It's a little beauty and it even comes with a Saya (wooden sheath). I know several Japanese bladesmiths who charge $25 for the Saya alone. I can't believe how inexpensive this knife is. The forging technique (kasumi) is the same (I assume) as much more pricey blades. The cutting edge (hagane) is clad on either side with soft stainless (jigane). I'm sure the edge isn't some crappy steel or why would they bother using the kasumi forging process. This has my attention.

[buzzard767]

My SunCraft arrived a couple days ago. The "paring knife" site in my previous post states the following:

"Our NHS knives are from Seiki City, Japan, famous for the Samurai sword and fine Japanese cutlery. They feature extraordinarily thin blades of the highest quality compound steel in the center and outer sandwiching layers of SUS-410 stainless steel. Each blade is finely ground, tempered, and sharpened. NHS combines sword grade high carbon steel for maintaining a superior edge with the convenience and durability of stainless steel.
This handy fruit paring knife has a razor-sharp, stainless steel blade. A solid teak handle and sheath makes it ideal for picnics and camping trips. Also great in Bonsai layering. 3 3/4" blade, 7 1/2" overall"

They must have ripped that info from another site as they don't know what they're talking about. The knife is NOT kasumi, rather a solid piece of stainless steel. The good news is that I think it might be 13C26 Sandvik Swedish steel as is used by some other Japanese manufacturers. 13C26 is an outstanding blade steel. It is inexpensive, stainless, but much more importantly has extremely small carbides, enabling it to be sharpened to insane angles. Most razor blades are made of 13C26 and they are sharpened at 7 degrees per side more or less depending on the maker.

I reprofiled the blade to 10 degress per side and then sharpened it at 15 degrees, finishing the process by taking the polish down to .3 micron honing film. The result is an edge that is as good as any 15 degree bevel in my house, and I have a lot of them. Now, the important factor is how well that edge holds up. This afternoon I'm going to use it for trimming conch and some small vegetable work. It'll get enough time on the cutting board to see. If it holds up, it's probably Sandvik. If it doesn't, it's likely a version of 440A like is found on most German and American stainless kitchen cutlery.

Buzz

[Jared]

Wow, you must have quite a setup! I'm happy with a whetstone and "yep, that's sharp" when I'm done, lol.

It does keep an edge pretty well, given the mediocre storage I give them.

[buzzard767]

Originally Posted by Jared

Wow, you must have quite a setup! I'm happy with a whetstone and "yep, that's sharp" when I'm done, lol.

It does keep an edge pretty well, given the mediocre storage I give them.

Most of the time I freehand, but in this case I wanted specific angles so I could make a comparison. I used an EdgePro Apex to do this.

[buzzard767]

Originally Posted by buzzard767

It'll get enough time on the cutting board to see. If it holds up, it's probably Sandvik. If it doesn't, it's likely a version of 440A like is found on most German and American stainless kitchen cutlery.

Buzz

I chopped a few vegetables on the rubber board but put some real pressure on the edge while slicing and dicing conch on a poly/plastic board. This stuff is much harder on edges than people have been led to believe. Today I retested the knife's sharpness. The forward half of the knife had lost most of its ability to push cut and slice paper, my personal gauge for sharpness. Cheap steel would crumble and not come back to original sharpness when realigning the edge with a smooth steel. Quality steel will until it eventually becomes fatigued and needs to be reworked on the stones. I used a borosilicate (glass) smooth honing rod and, when retested, the blade had come back to life and push cut paper on all sections of the blade. It was as good as when I had finished sharpening it.

For the money, this knife is an absolute steal! :cool:

[Dustin_m]

How much does it usually cost to get a knife sharpened? I don't have anything nice, just a cheap $25-30 knife, but it has always been pretty sharp. Now its a few years old, and I have no cash to buy a good knife, so I want to see about having a place sharpen it, but don't know if it's worth it or not.

Also, the other day I was walking through Target and saw that they now carry low end henckels stuff. 8" Chef for $12, haha, so I picked one up. I figured even if it sucks, its dirt cheap. I haven't had a chance to use it yet but it doesn't seem to be too sharp, and I'm not sure if I should just return it or not.

[buzzard767]

Originally Posted by Dustin_m

How much does it usually cost to get a knife sharpened? I don't have anything nice, just a cheap $25-30 knife, but it has always been pretty sharp. Now its a few years old, and I have no cash to buy a good knife, so I want to see about having a place sharpen it, but don't know if it's worth it or not.

Also, the other day I was walking through Target and saw that they now carry low end henckels stuff. 8" Chef for $12, haha, so I picked one up. I figured even if it sucks, its dirt cheap. I haven't had a chance to use it yet but it doesn't seem to be too sharp, and I'm not sure if I should just return it or not.

Dustin - the knives you have chosen are made of relatively soft steel. My recommendation would be to obtain something like an electric Chef's Choice. This device will keep your knives relatively sharp and will work well enough in a home kitchen.

When it comes to expensive knives with high end steels, sharpening them is also costly, even if you do it yourself.

[Dustin_m]

Thanks. I looked at the electric sharpeners, but wasn't sure about them. Is there anything to look for in one?

As far as a "nice" knife. what do you all think of the titanium blade ones? I saw the guy on Dinner:Impossible using one and was curious, so I looked em up but I can't remember the brand right now. How do they stack up against the other Japanese ones that have been discussed on here?

I'm hoping to get a good one by my b-day this year or xmas, something in the 100-200 range. lol, gonna have to tell the gf and my mom to just combine their gifts.