10.5 Inches of Pure Carbon Steel Pleasure (Chef's Knife)

LTH,

I've read the sign of a good knife, or at least a knife that is good for you, is you want to use the knife. Well, if that's the case my new Korin Gyutou is the perfect knife for me. First thing I said this morning was, I think I'll go over to Edgebrook Diner and see if Dimetri needs anything chopped. My wife convinced me it might not be a good idea to walk into the diner at 6am holding a large Chef's knife, though I still don't see why not, so I contented myself with reducing an onion to grain sized dice.

About 2-years ago Evil Ronnie, bless his evil little heart, turned me on to Misono brand knives, which are made in Japan, with (mainly) Western-style blade shapes. The only, slight, problem with Misono, and other top Japanese knife makers, is cost, they ain't cheap, nor should they be, but still, it's difficult to buy more knives when I have a drawer full of Germans. (huuum, that came out wrong. )

This, finally, brings me to my new Korin Gyutou, aka Chef's knife, the house brand of Korin Trading Korin currently has a clearance sale on house-brand carbon steel knives, which I prefer. Plus, for internet orders, there is an additional 10% discount.

Now don't get me wrong, the Korin carbon steel knives don't have the Luxury car door closing 'thunk' of a Misono or Masamoto, but they are very nice knives, at a good price, I'm very pleased with mine. One note of caution, let your local early morning diner know you are getting a new knife.

In addition to Korin Trading, JB Prince has a nice selection of Japanese knives. Unfortunately Northwestern Cutlery, which is a very good overall knife shop, has a limited selection of Japanese knives.

Enjoy,
Gary

Northwestern Cutlery
810 W. Lake Street
Chicago, Illinois 60607
312-421-3666

Edgebrook Coffee Shop and Diner
6322 N Central Ave
Chicago, IL 60646
773-792-1433
M-F 6:30am to 3pm
Saturday & Sunday 6:30am to 2pm

This has become my go-to carbon steel knife, and it's developed a nice patina. And it was under twenty bucks. Not sure they're still available, though.

Just another data point to support the concept of carbon steel knives over the more common stainless steel. They may be uglier as they get used, but the edge is great.

nr706 wrote:This has become my go-to carbon steel knife, and it's developed a nice patina. And it was under twenty bucks. Not sure they're still available, though.

Nr706,

The Lee Valley Peasant knife looks like a heck of a knife for less than $20 or, for that matter, for more than $20, but it is no longer available.

5-6 years ago Lee Valley 'discovered' a cache of carbon steel Sabatier from Thiers-Issard, elephant and all, which they were selling for a ridiculously cheap. Unfortunately I came late to the party and they were mostly gone.

I do have a few carbon steel Sabatier knives and find them quite exceptional. One word of caution, there is a huge quality variation within knives that have the label Sabatier. Common sense says you are not going to get a set of 24 quality knives for $19.95, unless Chef Tony is selling them on TV at 3am.

Enjoy,
Gary

I just recently bought the 8" Kershaw Shun chef's knife for trixie's birthday and was wondering if anybody who owns one has any opinions about them. Thanks

I have an opinion--

This is what she looks like:



And it's incredible. By far and away the best knife I have ever worked with.

Here is a review from a professional knife sharpener who's only complaint is that they don't need to be sharpened very often.

"Like I have said in previous reviews of Shun knives, I am a professional knife sharpener and have been sharpening knives for over 25 years.

I personally own over 125 kitchen knives and the Shun knives made by Kai from Seki Japan are without a doubt my favorites.

The blades on all the Shun Classic are made from VG-10 stainless steel and then there is a Damascus type layering performed just above the cutting edge. Damascus steel is a layering technique that resembles wood grain.

The handles on Shun Classic knives is made from Pakka wood which is a very dark wood that is impregnated with resin. Because of the D shape of the handles on Shun knives, they work best for right handed people. Kai claims that the Shun knives can be cleaned in the dishwasher. I believe that you could put them in a dishwasher, but I certainly would never do that. I believe these knives should be washed by hand and then dried with a soft cloth and then stored in a knife block.

There is really nothing I don't like about these knives. These knives are balanced perfectly and you can cut all day long and never get tired. I guess if I had to pick something that I personally didn't like about the Shun knives it would be that they don't need to be sharpened very often. By the use of a fine steel or cross steel you can keep these fine knives razor sharp. Remember I sharpen knives and tools for a living, and if all my customers used Shun knives I would be out of business. "

Curse you G Wiv, Chowhound and LTH, besides my recent purchase of a Weber Smoker, my weekly farmers market visits, my cookbook purchases, based on this post, I now purchased my second $100 dollar plus chef's knife. You guys are going to break me!

G Wiv wrote:The Lee Valley Peasant knife looks like a heck of a knife for less than $20 or, for that matter, for more than $20, but it is no longer available.

FWIW, the Lee Valley carbon steel knife is now again avaliable. They've raised the price, but it's still under $20.

thanks for the head's up, i just snagged one. I LOVE carbon steel, i only wish there were more/easier to find choices.


Erik.

SushiGaijin wrote:thanks for the head's up, i just snagged one. I LOVE carbon steel, i only wish there were more/easier to find choices.

Erik,

Not that I need another kitchen knife, though one can never really have too many, especially carbon steel, I bought one as well.

Thanks for the heads up nr706.

Enjoy,
Gary

Let me know how you guys like the knife. I use mine almost every day ... for the first few days I tried following their instructions on how to keep it shiny, then I ran out of 0000 steel wool, elbow grease and patience. It's kinda dark and ugly now, but it takes and holds a very fine edge, and sharpens a lot more easily than my prettier knives.

Does anyone have experience with the knives you get at an Asian market that don't seem to have a brand name? They look like carbon steel with a plain wooden handle. They types I've seen are the knife used by sushi chefs & the vegetable knife (which is the one I'm thinking of getting). They're usually very inexpensive. They're usually not available as a Western Chef's knife.

J Toguri has a selection of these types of knives. They also have a selection of Mac knives that I've had on my want list.

Oh yeah. Done Deal. Tnx sooo much for the heads up--I remember being disappointed last Spring when someone brought this deal up, but Lee Valley was out of supply.

BTW, they're an awfully good company to deal with. I get lots of my gardening stuff from them: they're always fast, always courteous, and they send the right stuff. Good people.

Geo

viaChgo wrote:Does anyone have experience with the knives you get at an Asian market that don't seem to have a brand name? They look like carbon steel with a plain wooden handle.

viaChgo,

I bought a carbon steel Japanese style vegetable knife at Chicago Food Corp for $14.95 last year. While it's only seen light use I've been quite happy with it, especially for the price.

Chicago Food Corp Japanese style Vegetable Knife


Enjoy,
Gary

Chicago Food Corp
3333 N Kimball Ave
Chicago, IL
773-478-5566

Gary, that's exactly the knife in question! Do you maintain it the same way you would other (German) knives? A few passes on the steel before use? I'm definitely picking one of these up. The price is right!

viaChgo wrote:Gary, that's exactly the knife in question! Do you maintain it the same way you would other (German) knives? A few passes on the steel before use? I'm definitely picking one of these up. The price is right!

viaChgo,

I maintain the vegetable knife the same way as my other knives. Never put in dishwasher, dry before putting away, lightly steel before use and, when it needs it, take it to Northwestern Cutlery for a professional sharpening job.

As I said the knife has not seem much use, but seems a good knife and a very good deal. One caution, I thought the (pictured upthread) Chicago Food Corp Japanese style vegetable knife was carbon steel, now I'm guessing it has a stainless component.

Enjoy,
Gary

LTH,

Got my Lee Valley Peasant knife yesterday, seems a very nice knife for $18.50. Upon closer inspection the Peasant knife strikes me as an excellent general purpose knife, maybe even dual purpose for camping/outdoor use, but not very effective as a Chef's knife. By Chef's knife I mean specifically tasks such as mincing, dicing, julienne, those that entail short repetitive rocking cuts and a thumb/forefinger grip on the blade.

I also bought the Japanese Carpenter's Knife which struck me as a good deal as well. The carbon blade is terrific, sturdy and sharp, but the handle it folds into, that one grips when using, strikes me as flimsy and I would not recommend the knife.

To complete my purchase I bought a few magnetic Hanger Knobs, these are already in use as refrigerator magnets, and seem markedly stronger than any refrigerator magnets I've had in the past.

Enjoy,
Gary

trixiepea, that shun knife is gorgeous. how's the weight/handle on it? i was thinking about using my BedBath&Beyond 20% coupon on it.

i currently wield 2 santokus (wust/henck), henck 10" chef and a global vegetable knife. looks like i'll be adopting a new child very soon.

so I have had my peasants knife for a few days now, and initially i had the same reaction as g wiv did; i loved the blade, hated the handle. I was really in need of a sub-eight inch chef's knife, but i just couldnt get the peasants knife to perform the way i wanted it to. so, of course, i modified it.



the pakkawood came away easily with a sheepshead pocket knife, and a little sandpaper really buffed the roughness out of the whittled areas. i would say that i spent about 15 minutes total removing the burr from the heel of the handle, which made the knife much more usable to someone with a normal hand size. the wooden bolster at the junction between the blade and the handle is also somewhat problematic, but only because i was slacking in the official CIA method of holding a chefs knife. since the handle modification, this knife is quickly becoming my favorite knife for fine julienne, chiffonade, and other extreme precision cuts.

Erik.


edit: fixed image

LTH,

In the good knife for the money category, Cooking for Engineers web site rated chef's knives and best value for almost outstanding performance was the Tojiro DP F-808 21cm Gyoto Chef's Knife for $50. They recommend purchasing from JapaneseChefsKnife.com over Korin Trading as JCK is $9 less than Korin. I've never ordered from JCK, but have had nothing but outstanding service from Korin. Currently Korin is offering a 15% holiday discount, which brings the price of the Tojiro to $49.73, a whopping .27c less than JCK. If interested I'd recommend ordering from Korin.

The overall winner was the MAC MTH-80 MAC Mighty Chef 8" with dimples for $110, but in that price range I'd recommend a Misono, which Cooking for Engineers did not test. I own one MAC, a MAC Superior Deba ( HMC-SD65) which, for lack of a better description, is cross between a light cleaver and santuko style knife. Fairly nimble, yet hacking through the occasional chicken bone won't twist or chip the blade. With the Korin 15% discount it's $55.

I have no intention of purchasing the Tojiro, I'm fairly long on knives at the moment, just thought it looked like a pretty good knife for the money and a Cooking for Engineer's recommendation ranks almost, but not quite, to a Cook's Illustrated recommendation.

Enjoy,
Gary

SushiGaijin wrote:so, of course, i modified it.

Erik,

Very good idea, and one that I'm about to copy. Thanks for posting your modification.

Enjoy,
Gary

dealinhoz wrote:trixiepea, that shun knife is gorgeous. how's the weight/handle on it? i was thinking about using my BedBath&Beyond 20% coupon on it.

dealinhoz--

I love my Shun knife--the weight, for me, is perfect--I think it strikes the good balance between heft and agility. As you can see the blade edge runs deep into the knife, which makes prep work so easy and really pretty fun. It also seems to keep it's edge longer than other knives.

I didn't realize that they were carrying Shun now in BB&B stores. I have seen them at Williams-Sonoma though--and because every person prefers a slightly different feel--I would go to the store and shop them in person to see what you think. They are definitely a little more expensive, and perhaps (?) not worth the extra expense. GWiv's last post on the $50 Tojiro DP F-808 is intriguing. Although, like shoes, I don't like to buy knives on the internet. I'd rather try them on first in the store.

trixie-pea

trixie-pea wrote:

dealinhoz wrote:trixiepea, that shun knife is gorgeous. how's the weight/handle on it? i was thinking about using my BedBath&Beyond 20% coupon on it.

dealinhoz--

I love my Shun knife--the weight, for me, is perfect--I think it strikes the good balance between heft and agility. As you can see the blade edge runs deep into the knife, which makes prep work so easy and really pretty fun. It also seems to keep it's edge longer than other knives.

I didn't realize that they were carrying Shun now in BB&B stores. I have seen them at Williams-Sonoma though--and because every person prefers a slightly different feel--I would go to the store and shop them in person to see what you think. They are definitely a little more expensive, and perhaps (?) not worth the extra expense. GWiv's last post on the $50 Tojiro DP F-808 is intriguing. Although, like shoes, I don't like to buy knives on the internet. I'd rather try them on first in the store.

trixie-pea

I was in Northwestern Cutlery last week and they also are carrying Shun knives.

trixie-pea wrote:

dealinhoz wrote:trixiepea, that shun knife is gorgeous. how's the weight/handle on it? i was thinking about using my BedBath&Beyond 20% coupon on it.

dealinhoz--

I love my Shun knife--the weight, for me, is perfect--I think it strikes the good balance between heft and agility. As you can see the blade edge runs deep into the knife, which makes prep work so easy and really pretty fun. It also seems to keep it's edge longer than other knives.

I didn't realize that they were carrying Shun now in BB&B stores. I have seen them at Williams-Sonoma though--and because every person prefers a slightly different feel--I would go to the store and shop them in person to see what you think. They are definitely a little more expensive, and perhaps (?) not worth the extra expense. GWiv's last post on the $50 Tojiro DP F-808 is intriguing. Although, like shoes, I don't like to buy knives on the internet. I'd rather try them on first in the store.

trixie-pea

trixie-pea, i just started as a pantry cook at a restaurant and one of the guys i worked with wielded a 12" Shun knife, which i assumed he use for fish. he took out a huge block of tuna and GRACEFULLY sliced off thin cuts. the weight of the knife was awesome.

i'm going next week with my BB&B 20% coupon and getting a Shun. thanks for your reply.

I got a 10" Shun at NW Cutlery this past weekend for $108 and it's AWESOME. Check the BB&B price beforehand to see where the 20% off leaves you. Their 8" is $111 on the website.

hi all,

sabatier carbon steel knives are 50% off at cutleryandmore.com.

i got a couple myself, this particular sabatier line is very nice.

Erik.