RDaneel

Hey - I did a search and don't think this is a repost, but I just stumbled onto what I think is a decent deal for anyone considering either an IR gun style surface thermometer or a thermocouple based instant read probe thermo. ThermoWorks has a special on an IR gun that allows you to plug in one of the standard probes - you get both for $99 plus about $6 shipping (at least for me). I was on the fence about buying a ThermoPen type thermometer - it's about $80 or more on its own. This is more of a 2-in-1 type deal where you use the probe only when you need it. It's two pieces instead of just a ThermoPen or just an IR gun, but if you want both, this seems to be a pretty cost effective way to do it. Just FYI for you Kitchen Consumers... Standard disclaimer applies - I have nothing to do with this company, just placed an order yesterday and they seem to have good reviews on the products from CI, Alton Brown, etc. Cheers, RDaneel

It sure did, Bob, thank you so much! I've been wading through all the info I can find on this new line, and I have to say that I'm almost completely sold. Can't wait for them to become available and find out the final pricing. I'm hoping I can fit a 210mm gyuto in the budget...

Hey Bob - Thanks again for all this personal advice, I really appreciate your time. I'll make sure to check out more of the links on KF. I now see why Koki seemed so impressed with the new Hattori line - I didn't realize that it was the "Forum Knife" that I'd seen discussed! As I'm buying just this one knife, I might be willing to consider that price, though it's pretty steep. I had looked at the Nenox and liked the shape and quality, but felt the steel itself wasn't up to the high standard of the Blazen and others (pure VG-10 etc.). Going to Rockwell C 62 is pretty impressive... Decisions, decisions! If you don't mind, could you explain why you feel the prototypes "blew Blazen out of the water"? That's a pretty bold statement! I'm not doubting you in the slightest, just shamelessly using your experience and opinion to help make my decision!

D'oh!!! I'm an idiot and didn't realize you are looking at electric... I forget that the whole world doesn't have gas. My apologies for wasting your thread space!

I recently (about a month ago) purchased a GE Profile, the model 916. My budget was right about yours, and The Great Indoors had a good sale (5% off, 10% off by mail) that brought this $1650 model down below the threshold. It's a great piece. The burners are higher output, up to 17000 btu, the electronic controls work well, the oven temp is actually correct(!!!), and it looks great. I really wanted: - continuous grates, these are nice and heavy - center burner for oblong items - convection oven - stainless/black I also got with this model: - interior meat thermometer (that I'll probably never use, I have a probe already) - wide range of simmer to power boil burners - electric warming drawer - griddle insert for center burner (ok, but I'd rather use a larger cast iron one) The GEs are very highly regarded on Consumer Reports, as well as people I talked to and forums I read. Cleaning a black surface with stainless cladding is a pain, but it's worth the look to me. I'm new here, but assume you have PMs on this forum - feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions that I might be able to answer about this model or the GE models in this price range. They seem to offer the best value, at least IMHO... Good luck with your choice!!!

Hi Bob - The nakiri gets delivered today, very excited. The gyuto is still up in the air in terms of brand. I think I'm going to wait to see what the new Hattori VG-10 line looks like, it's non-damascus and should be a great value. Otherwise I think I'm leaning towards the Blazen. Really can't make up my mind till Hattori finishes the new line... The other place I've posted is knifeforums.com, lots of pretty serious knife folks over there, though they seem to focus a lot on custom knives and such. There aren't many places that you see names like Misono and Hattori discussed other than eG, knifeforums, and one other site I can't remember right now. Thanks again for the advice! The one thing that is keeping me from ebaying the Henckels chef knife is whole chicken, duck, etc. They're about the only bone-in foods I work with, and I'd be concerned to use the gyuto on those. However, I have poultry shears, so the amount of blade to bone work I do is minimal. Just afraid to put a really hard edge on bone, you know? I know what you mean, though, about needing only a few good knives. Other than the random and very specialized task, I really rely on only about two of my current 6 or 7 knives...

Thanks, Octaveman, that's a ton of great advice. I went ahead and ordered the Tojiro nakiri, which ran 'only' about $45. Based on your advice and some similar sentiment on another forum, I'm going to go with a 210mm gyuto rather than a 7". I'll phase out the Henckels and possibly even sell them, I guess. As for having both the nakiri and gyuto, I'll just be a bit spoiled by having the choice!

Darn, Marlene, that's organized!!! Very nice... appropriately OCD I have one of those snap spin sets I received as a gift and find it annoyingly useful. I say that because the set is far larger than you need (tons of pieces), but they're all too small for anything but the rest of a diced green pepper, some soup, a lunch portion, etc. However, I can't bring myself to junk them. I really like Gladware - it's top rack dishwasher safe, seals well against everything but a full container of liquid (you need real rubbermaid or something for that, though I will freeze soup or chili in Gladware), and is cheap and long lasting. I think when we redo the kitchen I'm going to junk everything we have now (random mismatched pieces) and get something uniform and stackable. Thanks for all the ideas in this thread!

Hello - I'm relishing the thought of getting my first Japanese knives, and could really use some advice from the blade experts on the forum... I've used Henckels for many years, but want to compliment the heavy German blades with some Japanese steel. I am getting a nakiri for vegetable prep work, but would also like a medium length knife for general purpose use. I prepare a lot of veggies, boneless chicken, fish fillets, etc. - I want the knife to work on most everything but whole chickens and other bone-in critters. I originally was leaning towards a yo-deba, but realized the blade is probably about as thick as my Henckels, and I'd like to slim it down a bit. I think this means that I want a gyuto, probably about 7" long. I know this is shorter than most gyutos, but I like the maneuverability of my 6" utility knife more than my lumbering 8" chef's, so I think a 7" Japanese style knife would be a great middle ground (I also have a 12" Messermeister granton slicer for the really big stuff). Contenders include the Ryusen Blazen, Hattori HD series, Misono UX10, Tojiro Suminagasi series, maybe even a Nenox 8" as a stretch (I love the aesthetics of the G Type series!). I know it's a personal choice, but I'm buying somewhat blind because I can't hold the knives or try them out. I'm going to (mostly) ignore the cost differences at this point, and want to focus on solid construction and great steel. I'll be keeping them sharp on a Edge Pro Apex (also new, and which I am loving). I believe all these choices are double bevel designs, which I prefer (I think). What do you all think? Please point out if you think I'm asking the wrong questions! Any advice will be much appreciated!

Wow, I'm surprised that you're so surprised! Thanks so much for the feedback, I'll try autolysing the dough next time. It's a pizza dough recipe from Good Eats, makes great dough, but it takes a long time to reach the point it windowpanes. I test it about every 5 minutes, and there is a clear breakpoint when it goes from gummy to stretchy and the windowpane works. I find that level 3 or 4 works better than two for small amounts of dough, as the slow speeds tend to chug along a bit (the hook doesn't move as smoothly or evenly), so I sped it up. I'll try to back it down a bit in the future!

My two cents... I have one of the lower powered KA stand mixers, a refurb 300 watt model that I got from Amazon for under $99. I have only recently started using it on doughs, and only pizza dough recently. The motor casing does get warm if it runs for 20-30 minutes, and that is at level 4. The machine seems pretty tough, but I would go for the higher power models if you're doing doughs with more than a few cups of flour - I don't know how much headroom my mixer has, but I'm not going to burn it out in a blaze of glory! But for less than a c-note, I'm happy with the purchase... Good luck with your choice!