Octaveman

That's their standard shipping too and only for $7 up to 5 knives. Koki et.al. are great people to deal with. Glad you like the knife. Post some pics!

I have not but I've heard it can be difficult. Any knife with high HRC would be tough to sharpen really. Also how you sharpen or what stones you use can make it difficult or easy. Actually, the only time you would have a hard time with it is when it comes time to thin the blade. Regular sharpenings should not pose much of a problem. Keeping it touched up on the stones should be just as easy. Although I've never owned one, I've heard they're great knives.

Rack of lamb...frenched, crusted, red wine/balsamic reduction served atop a medly of sauteed mushrooms and garlic with side of fingerling potatoes and wilted baby spinach. Going to do a test run tomorrow night before family comes for Xmas. Time from prep to plate is about 30 minutes.

Just noticed...the ZDP189 knives are now available now at JCK.com

Send Koki at JCK an email inquiring when they will get more. He will get back to you pretty quickly.

Funny, I forgot about this thread and noticed that all those pics I posted are knives I no longer have. So what they hell, I'll post my current stuff. Helenjp, very cool to see those old knives holding up. Sucks about your humidity levels. Carter Int'l Pro series Aogomi kuruchi 11 Sun gyuto Takeda 255mm Gyuto Kikuichimonji Aogomi Honyaki 270mm gyuto w/ custom stag horn handle Hattori KD 270mm gyuto Shigefusa 165mm Nakiri Korin Ginsanko 165mm Deba Suisin INOX Honyaki 270mm Yanagiba Nenox S-1 285mm Sujihiki Hattori FH 150mm petty MAC bread knife and rehandled Tosagata Ajikiri

Gorgeous looking board Pat. Hope you use the hell out of it!! Thanks for posting.

It is more fragile than a carbon steel wok but you have to imagine that if it was THAT fragile that you'd break it by hitting with a wok spatula, they would sell very many. I think Tane from The Wok Shop said mine would break if I dropped it or banged it against the sink. I've had mine for several years and it's fine. Utensil accidents I think are safe. These woks have been around for a long time and even Grace Young author of The Breath of a Wok, mentions these I believe and also mentions The Wok Shop in her book. Given how cheap it was I say use it like you normally would and you'll be fine. Honestly don't think TWS would sell these if they were garbage. Maybe send them an email and tell them your concerns and ask how to take care of it? It is cast iron but it is thin. You take any metal and make it thin and it will become flexible. Cast iron is a fairly soft metal so it will flex but because of it's softness it will not shatter. It could split if enough force was applied but for use as a wok on top of a stove there's very little force applied to it to cause breakage. I don't think you have anything to worry about honestly.

It's definately not as "finished" or refined as Lodge CI but it does a great job. Plus it has the long handle which is a plus. I miss that with the Lodge as they don't make them anymore like that. I would've kept the cheapy but it was just small for cooking for my family plus I like to make sure I have leftovers. Heat it up to 450-500 degrees and I gaurantee it will not cool down when meet is added. Another note, the method of cooking with the thick CI is not the same as with a standard carbon/CI wok. Things cook FAST and the sauces thicken very fast too. When I cook with the thick CI wok I always make sure the sauce is more than what the recipe stated and I always have some stock ready to throw in if things get too dry and the sauce dissapears. You just have to modify your cooking methods slightly. It takes a little adjusting to.

The Kumagoro is certainly a good looking knife and yes, it would reduce the rust issue. But if you wash and dry your knife after your done using it, rust will never be a factor...ever. I've got many carbon steel knives without the kurouchi finish and they've never showed any signs of rust. I've heard that the Tojiro DP is a great SS nakiri. I haven't heard anything about the MAC but it looks like a decent knife. It's super light though. If it were me I would get something else.

Carbon steel woks are made thin for a reason. They heat up fast and they adjust to temperature very quickly. Same thing goes for thin cast iron woks. Different material but have the same ideal properties for a wok. What you have is not a Lodge type of CI wok as you've seen. It is most definately a traditional designed wok. The fact that it's flexible should not be a problem because this isn't the type of wok you "jump" the food around with so it will just sit on your cook top. These type of woks are not ideal in every situation though and I'll tell you why. I have the Wok Shops' CI wok w/ enamel and it is a wonderful wok. It's different from yours in that it doesn't have the enameled backing and it's got a flat bottom. While it is flexible, it's not so much. These kind of woks are actually puddled steel woks and came highly recommended and are used by locals who visit the Wok Shop in San Francisco. Mine has seasoned up very nice and currently has a fantastic black seasoning going on. It unfortunately is not ideal for me as I currently have an electric cook top. The wok cannot stay hot enough when food is added because of the lack of temperature control with the stove. This is not the fault of the wok but what I'm using to it cook on. Because of it's thinness it cannot retain the heat necessary to do proper stir-fry on my electric stove but it does an okay job...again, not the fault of the wok. With that said, a friend of mine recommended I get a thick CI wok like the Lodge wok. He told me of a cheap brand to get that does a fantastic job of doing stir-fry's. I know what you're thinking...why would I say a carbon steel wok and a thin CI wok are ideal for cooking Chinese stir-fry's then I say the thick CI pans are better, right? Here's why. The thick CI will not cool down when meat is added. This is a perfect solution for doing stir-fry's on an electric stove. Pre=heat it enough and the wok will retain enough heat to keep the meat from stewing in it's own juices and do proper searing even though the cook top is inefficient. I've had great success using thick CI that I now keep both woks and use each one depending on what I want to cook. Now if I was cooking with gas, I would ditch the thick CI for the thin CI. The cheap CI wok can be found HERE for only $13. It seasoned up very fast and did a great job but I found it to be too small for my style and gave it to a friend. I now have the Lodge 14" wok. Another thing...the big draw to these woks is that they do NOT have a flat bottom. Both of these woks have rounded bottoms making them even more ideal for stir-frying Chinese food. Here is a pic I took a while ago with the CI wok from the Wok Shop. If you were looking for a round bottom wok that will season up and perform just like a carbon steel wok then I say keep what you got. YMMV.

I thought it was the Yoshikane that had the stainless sides. From JWW.com... The center layer is rust resistant SKD die steel originally designed for cutting metal. The cladding layers are soft SUS-405 stainless steel. The Kumagoro has the carbon core (blue #2) with hammered carbon cladding. I've never owned or used either one so I can't make first hand comments but people who have seen both give the Kumagoro a slight edge (no pun) over the Yoshikane. Both knives are very good though and can't go wrong with either one.

okay, um, I'm going out on a limb here...why would I be worried about KF.com? I know who Takeda is and sorry but I wasn't asking about what a single-beveled knife is. I own plenty already and I know what they are and what they do. I guess I should have been more specific. What do you think of Takeda's single-beveled knives' quality of craftmasnhip? Performance? Durability? Generally a maker will put his name or have a set signature for all his knives. The kanji on the single-beveled knives are completely different than his kuro-uchi knives. Makes me wonder who actually makes them. Thanks but I already know how and where to get all the knives I want and can afford.

Preserve the flavor? I don't think a dull knife would change the flavor but certainly mouth feel. I have non-seratted steak knives that are kept very sharp. The mouth feel of a smooth slice of juicy steak is much better than a ripped up slice from a serrated knife. If one was to bring a knife to a joint for steak eating, it certainly shouldn't be limited to Shun's knife marketed as such. Any folder would work. But then there are laws regarding blade length one can carry in a pocket or purse. I just checked. The Shun's blade length of 3.5" is in the same general length as standard every day carries (EDC's). Looks like they thought of that too. Would I buy it or bring another option to a restaurant to cut my steak? Probably not. I'd be surprised if high-end steak houses use serrated knives just like Sizzler does.

Yes, Bud, I'm very familiar with Carter and Takeda. I'm also familiar with Hattori, Kikuichimonji, Nenox and Suisin. I recently got a Carter that is an incredible piece of cutlery. I've gone from buying production knives to buying purely hand-made knives over the years and don't regret buying any knife along the way. I've settled on a handful of knives I use regularly. Below is a recent Carter purchase and below that are the three amigos. I have others knives of course but these are my main prep knives I rotate. I'm interested in your thoughts regarding Takeda's single beveled knives. Are subcontracted out or did Takeda make them? Why the drastically different kanji? Carter 280mm white steel kurouchi Kikuichimonji Honyaki 270mm Hattori KD 270mm Takeda 255mm custom with xtra belly

Paul, great review of the entire process you went through before and after buying your knives. I would beg to differ on the cost of stones to keep your knives going though. While some stones are better than others, there are a few good brands that are reasonably priced. Of course, the terms "expensive" and "reasonable" are relative to the individual but one has to keep in mind that the stones will last many many years. I've had my stones now for two years and they show little signs of wear. For an average home cook, I can honestly say stones will last more than 10 years. Your choice of knives too are excellent choices: the AS, the Al Mar and the MAC roast slicer are all great knives. You are also very correct in your assessments of how a truely sharp edge affects the quality of the food being cut. Good read. Bud, very very nice knives. Is the Yanagiba and Deba in the first pic Takeda's too? If so, I think you're the only one I've seen who has them. What do you think of them? Also, your honyaki is stunning. Is that a Suisin? Tadatsuna? Beautiful. I'm sure it's a pure joy to use. As Paul said, most (not all) western styled Japanese knives are clad. Doesn't matter if it's a production knife or hand made.

You want to know if charging $170 for a board is too expensive and your asking for advice on how to build them too? Hmmm.

Ya know, I didn't read this post because I thought it was going to be lame based on the title. I mean...grocery bags...what the hell are people going to talk about. This is hilarious and I'm glad I peeked in. If Mr. Baggins wants to visit America's Finest City just let me know. kthxbai

That's what I meant. Now you've got me curious why a RBP soup would taste like tomato soup...almost enough to try it.

Yeah, 1 cup of cream seems a lot to me. Adding even more just diluted the flavor or made it taste tomato'y. Red bell pepper is not a strong enough flavor to withstand the other ingredients you listed IMHO...specially the cream. Try concentrating on making a Red Bell Pepper Soup before trying to make a Cream of RBPS. Changing one's perspective could make all the difference. Then again, I didn't taste what you had in the restaurant so I have no clue how to recommend anything over another when it comes to duplicating it so keep that in mind. BTW, where did you get your recipe? I'd suggest looking around for one that has ingredients in it that would appear to be what you're looking for. Variations abound on the internet.

Isn't the purpose of roasting to impart a roasted or grilled flavor into the BP rather than just to char the skin for removal? Then you take the skin off an you're left with, well, just a red bell pepper. I've seen people use a torch to char the skin so they can remove it. Did nothing to the flavor. Cut the pepper up in quarters and roast both sides (did someone say this already?). Also, doesn't cream mellow out flavors? Did you use half/half or heavy cream? I know using coconut cream instead of coconut milk in Thai curries affects it's pungency. Maybe you didn't use enough red pepper? I would think less cream, less stock and more pure'ed BP will give you stronger flavors. Add salt and Cayenne as you did. You can also try different pepper types too other than cayenne. You'd be surprised how they differ in taste. Maybe try smoked paprika too? I'm just brainstorming here.

That syrup would make for an interesting gift basket item. Sold out though. If you can't get it then a high grade maple syrup would be good choice too. I was in Vermont a few years ago and stopped at a roadside store. Got me a gift box containing 4 ounces each of the different grades of syrup. Some of it I used on waffles, french toast, etc. but other grades I cooked with. Interesting to see the differences. Bueno, I can't let a statement like that go unreplied. So, um, thanks (?).

I like to get exotic dried mushrooms for Xmas.

Cool!! Look forward to the pics. Also, I kid you not about the board wax that I referenced above. The stuff is amazing. I HIGHLY recommend. I used basic food grade mineral oil for a few soakings and when I got this stuff there was a noticable difference in the quality of the cutting surface. Fantastic stuff.

Wow, 2" thick counter? That's a substantial countertop for sure. Thanks for the mentioning this option.