6-inch, hollow ground edge slicer

[Ariel Schor]

I've been looking for this particular style of knife for a while now, and they don't seem to exist. The shortest knife I can find with such features is about 8 inches long, and it is definitely too long for the type of work that I'm going to be doing. Does anyone know of any companies that make models with such features? I'd be willing to settle for a utility knife as well, as long as it has a the hollow ground edge.

Ariel

[slkinsey]

To what use will you be putting this knife?

George Tichbourne makes a chicken slaughtering knife that sounds close to what you're looking for (see here and scroll down to the section on Kosher slaughtering knive).

[Octaveman]

By hollow ground edge do you mean the kullens that are ground onto the side of the blade to help reduce food stickage? If so, don't think you will find a 6-inch slicer with them. Matter of fact, there is probably no such thing as a 6-inch slicer. A 6-inch petty would probably be your best bet...thin, low profile shape of a slicer.

[jmfangio]

Would one of these do the trick?

[Ariel Schor]

Would one of these do the trick?

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They look perfect, though a little out of my price range. However, this one interests me. Has anyone had any experience with such brand?

Edited September 3, 2008 by Ariel Schor (log)

[nickrey]

Still not sure of how you want to use it but have you considered cheese knives, which use cutouts in the place of the dimples?

An example is http://www.amazon.com/Swissmar-Cheese-Knif...20425758&sr=8-4

[HKDave]

However, this one interests me. Has anyone had any experience with such brand?

I've got a Misono paring knife - same brand, same steel. Beautifully finished and very sharp out-of-the-box. The Molybdenum series uses Misono's lower-end steel. I haven't had it long enough to comment on the durability. I've bought a few knives from japanesechefsknife.com and they've always provided good service.

As Octaveman pointed out above, I think you're confusing "hollow grind" with kullens. The former is a way of setting the edge of a knife and isn't common on kitchen knives because it's fragile. The latter refers to the reverse dimples that are supposed to keep food from sticking to the knife. They're arguably not very useful on a small knife. Further reading here: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...0entry1198530

[dougal]

Would one of these do the trick?

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They look perfect, though a little out of my price range. However, this one interests me. Has anyone had any experience with such brand?

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Ariel, you can answer your own last question by searching this "Kitchen Consumer" forum for that brand name. {Try the search box at bottom left of the Kitchen Consumer thread list page(s)}

However, it does need to be mentioned that those knives are not "slicers" and they are not "hollow ground" - as per your original request.

This is the point to gratuitously plug Chad's eGullet knife tutorial

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=26036

and the full-length book that it spawned

http://www.amazon.com/Edge-Kitchen-Ultimat.../dp/0061188484/

On page 55 of Chad's book one learns that the 9 inch plus length of a "slicer" is specifically there in order to cut a slice (of roast beef for example) with a single stroke. So a 'short' slicer is a contradiction in terms.

Hollow grinding has traditionally (going back before any of us were born) meant a convex shape to the whole of (at least) the lower half of the blade. While common on hunting knives, its not really an important distinguishing feature of good kitchen knives - though it is found on sky-high-end custom-made blades (page 137).

And Chad confirms (on page 138) Octaveman's terminology of "kullens" for those dimples on the knives you linked.

If the 'dimples' extend all the way to the edge, its called a "Granton Edge".

As Chad notes, Granton edges and kullens "are sometimes incorrectly called hollow ground".

Ariel, from the mistaken terminology and the unfamiliarity with the brand name linked, I must say that it does sound as though you might benefit from taking a look at Chad's (tutorial and) book - which is subtitled "... how to buy them, keep them razor sharp, and use them like a Pro."

Particularly because you indicate that cost is a factor for you, specific background knowledge is a great way of minimising the cost of mistakes.

[Octaveman]

As Dougal said, they are not slicers at that size but are thin enough to use as one. The Misono you linked is decent, not great, but can be used as a slicer of food without problem because technically any knife can slice food. The petty will have the closest blade profile to a sujihiki or slicer than any other knife. Keep in mind that you pay extra for those dimples and IMHO they rarely work. Glestain has knives with dimples and I've heard that the dimples come closest to working than any other brand.

[slkinsey]

Again, we could give more meaningful advice if we knew your intended purpose for this knife.

[Ariel Schor]

Thank you all very much for the clarifications and explanations. I will be more inclined to use the search button next time. I also spend a lot of time in the kitchen, so i don't really have the time to log on a few times a day to check on new posts.

My applications for such knife would be for cleaning and slicing seafood (smaller items like panfish, lobster, terrines) as well as cutting brunoise of vegetables and vegetable garnishes. I desire something small (5 inch blade would be ideal), and more manageable in these situations than my vegetable knife, paring knife or one of my gyutos.

[Octaveman]

Okay, thanks for clarificaiton. I still think any of the Japanese petty's 150mm size would work perfectly fine for you. Here's a picture of the petty I use and I have used it to make slices of smallish foods.

[Ariel Schor]

I finally made a decision and purchased my second Hiromoto AS, a 5 inch petty knife. Can't wait for it to get here!

[Edward J]

A hollow ground edge doesn't really have much purpose in a kitchen knife.

If you imagine looking at the blade of any knife in profile, it would have a slender "V". A hollow ground is when a slight impression or dip is ground along the entire length of the blade, so that the "V" now has a slight "hollow" on either side.

This type of profile is commonly used in woodworking hand tools (i.e plane irons/blades) . As these tools recieve quite a bit of abuse they need frequent sharpening, and the "hollow grind" allows only the very last little bit of the tool edge to be sharpened--not the entire blade. This is seen mostly as a time saving feature, but has no direct advantage or influence on edge sharpness or durability.

Hope this helps