Show and Tell: Knives

[helenjp]

This is embarrassing - my knives need some serious TLC!

These knives were bought in Sakai, Osaka, over 27 years ago. They were stored lovingly in oiled paper while I was out of the country, until my mother tossed them into a cardboard box and put it directly onto the dirt in the crawlspace under their house. My current home is also very damp - mold on cupboard doors etc - and old-fashioned knives hate it. The "classic" knives with white-wood handles rust the worst, and now need professional attention. I also ineptly over-sharpened my nakiri when I first got it, so it has a few nicks along the blade.

The lower knife I think was called a "bannou" (all-rounder) and is obviously related to a santoku, it'smy workhorse knife, and fairly rust-resistant.

A special knife for filleting small aji (yellowtail), my little-used sashimi knife, and the nakiri again. The aji knife is again a classic knife, and although not old, rusts very easily.

Boring old Kaicut knife from Daimaru Peacock Supermarket's store in Senri, Osaka. Used every day for 27 years...

Not pictured - My deba, which is similar in construction to the all-rounder, and which I use regularly. There's also a heavily-used ceramic petty knife with a broken tip and a knicked blade. Also a serrated bread knife, and two pairs of Henckel kitchen shears.

Also a very thin serrated knife for slicing tomatoes - does the job well enough to make it worth digging out of the drawer. My other single-purpose knives - the sashimi knife, the aji-gutter - rarely see the light of day.

I don't think a home-based cook needs dozens of knives - a knife is only as good as my ability to manipulate it. The knives I use daily are the all-rounder and the Kaicut, the ceramic petty knife, and the kitchen shears. I may have better knives for certain purposes, but then I know exactly how my all-rounder knife will respond to pressure.

[Octaveman]

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

[AmbrosiaFood]

I like vintage carbon steel Sabatier knives.

[Special K]

My favorite is my 14 inch chef's knife, Chrissie (from "Bring me the big knife, Chrissie!" - the movie Moonstruck). Chrissie always means business!

[sygyzy]

lots more here

[UnConundrum]

I waited a year for them, but here's my Carter custom Damascus knives

Nakiri:

Funayuki:

Honesuki:

Gyuto:

Large Funayuki:

[Peter the eater]

I have two drawers for knives, one is for everyday and the other needs to be cleaned and sharpened and purged of woodworking and drywall tools one of these days.

[Dave Weinstein]

Vertical left:

MAC Fruit Knife

Horizontal Top to Bottom:

MAC Bread Knife

Ikeda Gyuto

Blazen Honesuki

Kansui Nakiri

I just got the Gyuto and the Honesuki, and they are both extraordinary knives. It is both a joy and a great danger that Epicurean Edge is just a quick lunchtime jaunt away.

The knives in their usual location, with the addition of a MAC Chef's Knife (now relegated to "guest knife/knife-to-take-when-visiting-family-who-only-have-knife-shaped-objects"), the Wusthof Bird's Beak that my wife prefers, and the Martin Yan designed/branded knife, which has a lovely design, and steel that just will not hold an edge worth a damn.

Edited December 8, 2007 by Dave Weinstein (log)

[D & R Sharpening]

I have many knives but these three are my treasures/favorites....

Top - Watanabe 270mm WaGyuto w/ custom "Fish made" California Buckeye Burl handle w/buffalo horn bolster

Middle - Takeda Western Deba (210mm?)

Bottom - Suien VC Cleaver w/custom "Fish made" Rosewood handle

--Dave--

[Fugu]

Such beautiful knives! No Ginzu, K-Tel or Chef Tony ? Hmm, that would be a nice thread, Show and Tell: Hall of shame knives.

Edited to add: Sista' RaRay and Cutco too.

Edited December 9, 2007 by Fugu (log)

[Prawncrackers]

Aha, posted this photo in the UK forum not long ago!

From Top to Bottom:

Masamoto 270mm Yanagi

Korin 180mm Ginsan-Ko Deba (thanks Bob Octaveman for the recommendation)

Itou 240mm Gyuto with Stag Handle

Takeda 210mm Gyuto

Carter 180mm Funayuki

Global 180mm Flexible Boning/Filleting

Itou 120mm Petty

Left:

Leung Tim Heavy Chopper

Right:

Shun Cleaver

That's it, i'm pretty satisfied with my lot. The most used is the Shun Cleaver, my fave is the Itou Gyuto and the sharpest is the Takeda.

...and er, balls to you Fugu

[pizzajoe62]

my humble workhorse...

top to bottom:

-henckels 4 star 10" slicer

-mac pro 9.5" chef

-wustthof classic 4" boning

-pamesoh rostfrei 3" parin

-henckels twin master 9.5" serrated

joe

Edited December 17, 2007 by pizzajoe62 (log)

[AmbrosiaFood]

I use my collection of vintage carbon steel Sabatier knives, which I store in a retail store display Sabatier case I found on Ebay.

Sorry for the horrible photo, but I can't take a good photo to save my life

[WiscoNole]

Sorry, no camera access til I visit my parents for Xmas, but...

Currently in my kit:

Ryusen Blazen 210mm gyuto

Ryusen Blazen 270mm sujihiki

Hiromoto AS 180mm gyuto

Shun Elite 7" santoku

Shun Elite 3.5" paring

Shun Ken Onion 5" utility

MAC 6" boning knife

CIA 9" serrated slicer

CIA 8" chef's for hackjobs and the like

No longer in use:

Global 8" chef's

Global 5" utility

Global 7" fluted vegetable

CIA 6" boning

CIA 7" fillet

CIA 3.5" paring

CIA 10" slicer

[pizzajoe62]

can you tell me a little bit about the cia knives...thanks.

joe

[WiscoNole]

They're overpriced pieces of junk. They hold an edge for about 15 minutes. I use the chef's for cutting dough on stainless steel counters and the serrated slicer just because I don't use a serrated enough to justify spending money on a nicer one, although I will probably replace it soon anyways.

[Joisey]

They're overpriced pieces of junk.  They hold an edge for about 15 minutes.  I use the chef's for cutting dough on stainless steel counters and the serrated slicer just because I don't use a serrated enough to justify spending money on a nicer one, although I will probably replace it soon anyways.

←

The knives I got at CIA were awful F Dicks. Luckily they were lost/replaced soon after I got out into the industry.

I'm partial to the Wusthof Grand Prix knives (original handles). However, my absolute workhorse knife is my Henckel offset handle serrated ("z" knife).

My boss just bought myself and the other managers these knives made by Chroma which are kind of cool. Very sleek and they actually feel good in your hand. Anyone else use these or know about them?

[Saltydog]

I've got a bunch of knives, Euro and Japanese. The 8 inch Chroma chef's is my main knife. I love it. The blade, weight and handle are perfect for me.

[qrn]

Here is Part of the day to day collection. Favorite for serious dicing stuff is the second one from the right, a 9"Messermiester, fits just right.

Bud (hope I finally figured out how to imbed a pic....)

[WiscoNole]

Looks like it might be time for a second mag strip.

[pyrguy]

I just got these yesterday. clikety thing

They will go great with my other knives.

[Peter the eater]

I've got a new knife storage system - on the wall with strip magnets from Lee Valley, four feet for $40. There is also a new addition to the collection (top right): a Grohmann 10" chef's knife. It feels as good as any German or Japanese knife that I have held, but then again there are a lot I haven't held. It's a beauty though, forged with a full tang and large bolster, rosewood handle, lovely weight and balance for me. FYI here's the Grohmann site.

[MattJohnson]

That thing looks humongous!

[andiesenji]

I'm bumping up this thread because I came across this item on eBay:

aluminum knife

and wondered if anyone has heard of this maker.

As I have noted in the past, I sort of "collect" knives and since it has been a while since I added anything, and since it is Spring, I have been doing a bit of looking for oddities and etc.

I don't think I have ever heard of a solid aluminum knife and can't imagine how it could possible keep an edge for more than a few cuts. However, I am not going to say that it can't be done...

Last week I watched a Modern Marvels program on The History Channel titled "World's Sharpest" (swords, knives, various cutters, etc.)

I was surprised to see that the knife manufacturer they rated as producing the sharpest blade was Cutco, not a name that I would associate with top quality knives, however I do have a Cutco cheese knife and a paring knife that I have had for several years and they are both still very sharp.

[Zeemanb]

I'm showing a few of my knives for entertainment purposes only.....

I was hoping to find SOMEONE who would like to revive the Sesame Street classic "Which One Of These Things Is Not Like The Other".