Let’s talk about knives. Again.
As I said in my review of Chad Ward’s An Edge in the Kitchen:
> First, I’m going to chuck my medium-gauge honing steel, which Chad says is junk, and get a ceramic steel.
> Second, I’m going to change the way I grip the handle of my knife. I’ve been using this Henckels 4-Star 8-inch chef’s knife for twelve years, and I’ve always held it the same way: gripping the handle with a fist. Even though I knew chefs didn’t hold their knives this way, I justified it by saying that I have small hands. It’s true, I do have small hands, but I know five-foot-zero female chefs who certainly don’t use the baby-silverware hold like I do.
Done and done, and I’m delighted with the results in both cases. Along with the ceramic steel I got a little eraser to take knife marks off the steel. This is Iris’s job, and she loves it.
The rest of my knife adventures have led me down a much murkier road. I haven’t severed anything yet, but I have had to rethink everything I knew about knives, and now you are going to come down this lonely, philosophical road with me.
(Can a road be philosophical?)
My Henckels 4-Star is currently sitting in the closet, replaced by a pair of sleek newcomers. First, I purchased the Ryusen Damascus santoku, impossibly beautiful and sharp, at [Epicurean Edge](http://www.epicedge.com/). Then I ordered a Togiharu Molybdenum gyuto from Korin.com, because I’m writing an article about knives and wanted to see what the cheapest ($62 shipped) mail-order Japanese knife would be like. (My article about buying knives is starting to feel a lot like Lynne Spears’ parenting book.)
Buying these knives has totally messed up my brain. And it’s not like I wasn’t warned, by commenter Thom:
> If you can, hold off on buying a gyutou; especially one with an ubersteel (Tojiro uses Sandvik 19C27 hardened to RC59-61 – clearly a gateway drug as that’s an ubersteel). Addiction to gyutou is very expensive. Very, very expensive and only gets worse.
Tell me about it, Thom. Until a few weeks ago, I had never thought about buying a new knife. I figured the Henckels and I would be kitchen buddies forever. Now I have two sharp new friends. Each, in its own way, is definitely better than the Henckels. They’re both sharper and will stay sharp longer. The Togiharu is amazingly light (about an ounce lighter than the Henckels, despite having a slightly longer blade). They’re better-looking. And overall, I’d have to say I’m much less happy with my knives than I was before.
Coincidentally, I’m rereading Daniel Gilbert’s book Stumbling on Happiness. He’s got my number:
> When we start shopping for a new pair of sunglasses, we naturally contrast the hip, stylish ones in the store with the old, outdated ones that are sitting on our noses. So we buy the new ones and stick the old ones in a drawer. But after just a few days of wearing our new sunglasses we stop comparing them with the old pair, and–well, what do you know? The delight that the comparison produced evaporates.
Learning about a better version of something you already own is often bad news. So now I have these two new knives. The shorter one is sharper, prettier, and more comfortable. But the longer one is lighter and, well, longer. Coming from an 8-inch knife, the santoku often feels too short. Now instead of reaching for my one do-all knife, I face a decision every time I reach into the drawer. Decisions are no fun. Couldn’t I solve everything by buying a new knife that would really bring it all together? Brains, beauty, long walks on the cutting board?
Maybe, but which one? How much do I want to spend? If I like an 8-inch knife, should I try a 9.5-inch one? Maybe something with a traditional wooden handle, like this? *Does it really matter what knife you use, at all?*
Of course it does. Right? You can’t use a big cleaver to do all your chopping…unless you’re one of the hundreds of millions of Chinese cooks who do exactly that. How about a dull 5-inch utility knife? I’ve seen plenty of people use such a thing to prepare a delicious meal.
What about no knife at all? Pepperoni pizza and farro salad with seared shrimp come to mind.
See what I mean about my brain? Basically, I started out thinking I’d tell the world about how to choose the best knife, and now I’m wondering whether any knife is better than any other, and where and when my own knife quest should end.
So I want to turn it over to you. Tell me about your knife. How long have you had it and what do you like about it? I’m not here to judge; I want to hear about real cutlery diversity, and I especially want to know if you use something other than a chef’s knife as your main tool.
Oh, it would be a shame to end this post without a link to the knife Iris said I should get. Luckily, only one was made and it’s already sold.
Mr. Itou Custom Santoku, $400.
I feel your pain. I am addicted to Japanese knives. I have a cheap Yanagiba that I use for slicing fish. I have a Tojiro DP Nakiri that is great for small vegetable prep work. I have Shun and Global paring knives that I almost never use (but my wife does). My wife has a really cool santoku:
http://japanwoodworker.com/product.asp?pf_id=05.100.16
Cheap, sharp, and cool to look at.
But the best knife I’ve ever used is my 240mm Hiromoto Tenmi-Jyuraku Aogami Super Series Gyuto:
http://www.japanesechefsknife.com/TenmiJyurakuSeries.html
Once you have a knife this long, everything else feels like a toy. I can do everything from dicing garlic, to filleting fish, to carving a roast with the thing. It combines the ease of stainless steel with the superior hardness of high carbon steel. And the patina just looks awesome.
Andrew, I am totally laughing at the term “staminawood handle.” But your point is taken. And that nakiri is gorgeous, too.
After everybody weighs in, I’m going to buy all the knives they recommend and compare them for myself. Just kidding. I think.
I chuckled at stamina wood too… and then I looked it up on wikipedia. Turns out it’s not a bad translation. Now I just need to figure out who gave it that silly name.
Your addiction became mine. After your post I got the Ward book from the library. Yesterday I celebrated my 48th birthday by getting two Shun knives. Man, they’re pretty. I can’t actually cook until later this week, and I can’t wait.
But the lust after additional knives started soon after I got out of the store. Hopefully, financial concerns will keep me in check. And I did recall that I was able to stop buying good pots and pans after not too long, and be happy with what I had. That augers well for the knife situation, at least I hope it does. Since knives are easier to store, though, it may not be the same.
Sharpness. Lightness. What wonderful concets in cutlery.
I second the mention of Japan Woodworker. They’re primarily what the name says, but the kitchen & household sections have been getting a little fuller over the years. Kitchen knives category link:
http://www.japanwoodworker.com/dept.asp?dept_id=13160
Leave your wallet at home.
Happy birthday, Rosemary. Please check in after you try your new knives; I’d love to hear how you like them.
Lucky for me, I have an in-drawer knife rack with five spaces. Unlucky for me, I have a long history of selling stuff on line and using the proceeds to buy new stuff.
Mam says she’s going to get us new knives for Christmas, and I’m sure you’ll be consulted.
I have two knives I use most of the time; any other knife I use is just because the two favorites are dirty.
One is a big chef’s knife. It was not expensive, but as a mid-range Target knife, it cost more than any knife I’d used in the past (all thrift store or ancient). It came in a set of five, but none of the others are great. This one rocks well for chopping garlic and is fine for everything else.
The other is a flimsy thrift store knife with a very slim blade. I call it “the tomato knife” because I have never had anything so good to slice tomatoes with. It slips right through the skin with crushing or bruising anything, which is delightful.
I don’t have trouble believing that my new Christmas chef’s knife will be better than my current chef’s knife, but I have doubts that anything will replace the tomato knife. Maybe, though.
I did use a mezzaluna in Italy, because, you know, when in Rome. (Actually, I liked it a lot.)
At the end of a knife-skills class at a cooking store a year or so ago, I noticed the assistant teacher standing in front of the store’s enormous glass-covered display case of knives. “You know that scene in ‘Wayne’s World’ where Wayne is admiring a guitar that he really, really wants?” the teacher asked. “The scene where he says, ‘It will be mine. Oh, yes. It will be mine?’ Well, that’s how I feel when I look at these knives.”
A five slot knife rack? You can never be a knife addict then. I have two magnetic strips! And I still haven’t bought a cleaver.
Wendy, how (if at all) do you sharpen your knives? Another thing I’ve noticed is that I’m sort of fanatical about sharpness, but people who don’t know their knives are dull don’t care. Not that I’m accusing you of dullness.
I love my Global G-2 (CROMOVA 18 Stainless Steel). I suspect this isn’t anyone else’s favorite knife, but I bought it while enamored with Anthony Bourdain’s “Kitchen Confidential.” He recommends Global knives in the book.
I’m always really happy when I’m using a sharp knife, but I often go for awhile with a dull knife until I reach some kind of breaking point and finally realize “Hey, this knife is DULL!” Then Nicole sharpens it on some kind of little plastic tool with a metal thing in the middle, because Paps scared me with a knife sharpener when I was a kid and now I am afraid to sharpen knives. I mean, he didn’t do it on purpose, but the sight of my dad standing in the kitchen swinging around knives against a long steel shaft was pretty scary.
And now I’m curious, do you think I’m the kind of person that wouldn’t sharpen knives? Or do you ask because my knives are cheap? (Neither would offend me; true on both counts.)
But much like you with that book you didn’t want to finish because you were afraid it would change your mind, I don’t WANT to become fanatical about knife sharpness. I mean, sure, it would make cooking a lot more pleasurable. Sure, it would give me the gourmet cred I so desperately desire. But then I’d have to SHARPEN KNIVES ALL THE TIME. And I’ve got books to read, yo.
Wendy, I hardly know anybody who sharpens knives, including myself. I take mine to a professional about once a year. But many people, I realize, use knives for many years and don’t consider sharpening them, ever. Again, I’m not sure these people get any less out of cooking than I do.
I agree completely with your point about becoming fanatical about sharpness. Well, sort of completely. Like, sometimes I have this dialogue with myself about Parmesan cheese, where I wonder if I should feel bad if someone learns about the existence of Parmigiano-Reggiano from me, because once you try it, you can never go back to domestic Parmesan or cheese in a can, but having Parmigiano in your life will only actually make you happier for a limited time, whereas it will make you poorer forever. And that goes for all kinds of things.
I should add that a lot of people find knife sharpening to be a slow, relaxing experience for the hands and mind, kind of like knitting. I would like to try it, but I worry about the learning curve.
mamster,
Epicurean Edge in Kirkland (a great place to sharpen asian kinves btw) gives knife sharpening classes. I’d love to take one if I could find the time.
Thanks, Andrew. I bought one of my knives at EE and had another sharpened there. Having them so close by is a strong incentive not to sharpen myself. I mean learn to sharpen.
I’ve been using a Henckels four-star 8″ chef’s knife and 6″ utility knife for about seven years. In all that time, I’ve had them sharpened only once, and not very well at that (it was a rush job). So, by now, they’re pretty dull, and I turn to the sharpening steel fairly often. In the beginning, they were a real pleasure to use. But lately, I find myself wishing the blades were thinner and lighter and the handles more ergonomic. Granted, these drawbacks are probably exacerbated by the dullness, but still, I’m not sure I’d recommend these knives wholeheartedly. It’s time for either a good sharpening or an upgrade. [Is staminawood available without a prescription?]
On the other hand, I got my parents a set of five-star Henckels knives a few years back, and there really is a noticeable difference. The handles are more comfortable and balanced, so even though the blades are much sharper, they also feel less dangerous than the four-star. Getting to use these knives is one thing I look forward to whenever I visit them.
Finally, new expensive knives may enhance our quality of life (and I’m certainly all for that), but I think there’s something to be said for the cheap reliable old standby for routine tasks. Some days, I’d rather go to the greasy diner down the street than the fancy fusion restaurant across town, you know?
Werner, no knife is physically capable of staying sharp that long with regular use. Before buying a new knife, try getting your Henckels professionally sharpened (ask your local chef or hairstylist who sharpens their blades).
If you do decide on a new one, and sharper and lighter is what you have in mind, there’s no question: go Japanese. Those are the main features offered by Japanese knives, and they’re available with a wide variety of handles.
I think there’s probably some general rule of thumb one can invent here about the usefulness of quality tools in general. Better tools make work easier, but I think there’s some kind of law of diminishing return as the tools go from kind-of-expensive to my-spouse-will-kill-me-later expensive.
I’m still using a Henkels, so I guess I can’t confirm that from experience. (But on the plus side, my wife hasn’t had to kill me.)
Also, sharp is good, and sharpening isn’t that hard. (Although I guess sharpening to recreate the perfection found in a $300 Japanese blade would be worth going to a professional for.)
Since your earlier article, I decided to start being picky about how I hold my knives as well. I’ve found the finger-pinch type grip to work pretty well – I think I’m doing it right – but one annoyance I had was that after extended use, my palm would get sore right at the knuckle of my pointer finger from pushing against the back of the blade (which has a flat edge, not rounded). Later on I seemed to have some cutting sessions where it wasn’t an issue; I may have been using the rest of my hand to hold firmer and provide more support? Either way, I was wondering if I was likely doing something wrong, or if this is just how things are and if more expensive professional knives tended to round off the back of the blade near the handle to make it more ergonomic.
(Oh, and for what it’s worth, the original “extended use” day was when I was cutting up a huge chunk o’ beef into steak-sized pieces, so there was likely to be some aches and pains eventually. Good old catering prep; I brought my own knife that day.)
Hey, josh. The funny thing is, some of the expensive knives don’t come with a great edge because it’s assumed that you’ll sharpen it yourself.
You definitely need to round the spine of your Henckels. You can do it yourself if you or a friend has a vise; just put the knife in the vise and sand the spine with sandpaper. I had my sharpener do it.
Well, based on initial trials my Shun’s elite chef’s knife is just terrific. It feels good, cuts amazingly, etc. The handle is a good fit for me, and there’s no denying it’s awfully pretty. So as of now I’m really happy with my birthday presents.
Whatever your price range, if you enjoy cooking, get a good knife. I love to cook, but I’m in the category of “family cook,” not “chef.” If I have to figure out meals for 4 pretty much every night, it’s nice to have a little fun in the preparation.
That’s awesome, Rosemary. May I suggest that you absolutely need a ceramic or smooth steel honing rod to keep that knife in shape? A standard medium-grooved honing rod would not be kind to it.
Uhm, i have 4 knives, only one of which i use regularly. That is a Japanese Santoku that i picked up in Japan at a department store. It was like $30, so i’m going to go ahead and assume it wasn’t one of these fancy “Japanese knives”. It is dull. I abuse it by “sharpening” it in one of those plastic handheld sharpeners that i bought at IKEA. My roommate left the knife in the sink and then dropped dishes on it, forever bending the tip… when the knife was still about a week old. Still, i love my knife. Sometimes i think about getting it sharpened, and then i think about how i took off a chunk of my ring finger on a mandoline recently, and that i really don’t WANT a super sharp knife.
I also have an IKEA bread knife (recently started making bread, and the santoku wasn’t cutting it), an IKEA utility knife that i never use, and a Henckels utility knife that i use when the santoku is impractical (cutting the seeds out of an apple, for example).
Can’t say that i like my brand new Henkels better than my $30 used and abused Santoku tho…
A bit late to this thread but I wanted to proselytize about learning to sharpen knifes yourself using a Japanese water-stone. It is so easy, and once you realize you aren’t going to ruin your knife (anything you could do to it on a stone a professional could fix), it’s easy to keep your knives blazing-sharp.
I had to learn because I’m a culinary-school student, but I recommend everybody do it – you’ll keep your knives sharper because it’s much more convenient. Steel every time you use it, and sharpen anytime you need to.
I have an 8″ Global that I love and keep extremely sharp at all times.
Thanks, produce. I’ve now tried sharpening freehand with waterstones and using the Edge Pro, and I’m leaning toward the Edge Pro. It’s compact and foolproof; the results are great; and the price is not much more than a set of stones. On the downside, it’s pretty slow.
I am also a fan of Global knives. I have 4, including a paring knife. I use the Sentoku the most. I keep them scary sharp with the Global ceramic sharpening stick. German knives are too heavy!