thoughts on kitchen knives

scott.livesey

scott.livesey

Dealer - Purveyor
some rambling by an old sailor.
thinner is better, most of the time. most blades in my kitchen are 1.5mm or 1/16" at thickest part of spine. back to basics, geometry cuts and it is easier to get good geometry with thin steel.
for old folks like me, size and weight makes a difference. my everyday knives are about 4" edge and 2 oz., larger slicer is 8"edge and about 3 oz.
my knives are for cutting boneless protein, fruit, and vegetables. shaving sharp edge stays than way for 6 or 7 months between touch ups. I have a hacksaw for frozen foods and bones.
make handles comfortable for old folks with achy joints.
stainless is ok, but if you wash after each use and double dry. carbon steel works good
more as i think about it
 
Yep, my favourite is a utility I made. 1/16" 15N20, 6" long flat grind Kitchen utility 2.jpgand still sharp after MUCH use. Cuts through everything you just listed :)
 
nice job
my style for a small knife is similar to an ajikiri, blade about 35mm to 45 mm high at handle with blade angle so you can cut on a board and not hit your fingers.
more rambling:
do you need a full flat grind when thickest part of blade is 0.06"/ 1mm or less?
 
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scott.livesey said:
nice job
my style for a small knife is similar to an ajikiri, blade about 35mm to 45 mm high at handle with blade angle so you can cut on a board and not hit your fingers.
more rambling:
do you need a full flat grind when thickest part of blade is 0.06"/ 1mm or less?
Click to expand...
Honestly, no you do not need a full flat grind, but this was my first one, and I felt like challenging myself to see if I could pull it off. Happy to say that I did!
 
my only concern with full flats are food release... not that i have seen many truly fullflats. you are always balancing food re lease and ease of cutting... i like to err on the side of food release for professional chefs and ease of cutting for enthusiasts... but i generally have larger knives, so there is room for food to stick... i like convex and assymetrical grinds most for food rrelease but will use an "s-grind" from time to time... thin is always best, hard too...
 
symmetrical and slight convex on 2mm O1... 210mm santoku for a local chef. and an assymetrical grind for my own k-tip that is in progress...
 

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Andre Grobler said:
my only concern with full flats are food release... not that i have seen many truly fullflats. you are always balancing food re lease and ease of cutting... i like to err on the side of food release for professional chefs and ease of cutting for enthusiasts... but i generally have larger knives, so there is room for food to stick... i like convex and assymetrical grinds most for food rrelease but will use an "s-grind" from time to time... thin is always best, hard too...
Click to expand...
have found food sticking is often the food not the knife. slice 2 potatoes with no stick, go to new bag of potatoes and they all stick.
yes i like thin, 3/64" seems to be the best for a smaller kitchen blade. most of my knives are Rc62-63. my 1.2519 test mule is Rc 65 and has yet to chip or dull.
when you get older, ease of cutting is the key. also, i am usually cooking for only 1 or 2 people, so breaking out the 8" slicer to chop 1/2 an onion does not make sense.
 
I use a lot of Japanese knives with convex or S grinds and really enjoy them. I have been playing with felt on a platen and different firmness of the felt to see what gives a nice convex grind with good food release. S2-32 Hard Felt gives a little convex, but I seem to be able to get better convex and thinner behind the edge with F3 felt. I usually flat grind, then go to the S2-32 to start the convexing and then down to the F3 for the final convex. Going to try some softer stuff next to see how that does. I don't think grinding it fully on the felt will work as well, but I need to try it out. It's much harder to control plunge cuts on the felt since it compresses.
 
scott.livesey said:
have found food sticking is often the food not the knife. slice 2 potatoes with no stick, go to new bag of potatoes and they all stick.
yes i like thin, 3/64" seems to be the best for a smaller kitchen blade. most of my knives are Rc62-63. my 1.2519 test mule is Rc 65 and has yet to chip or dull.
when you get older, ease of cutting is the key. also, i am usually cooking for only 1 or 2 people, so breaking out the 8" slicer to chop 1/2 an onion does not make sense.
Click to expand...
different starches and amounts of starch... i also aim there for o1, sometimes a little harder... need 1.2519 and 1.2562 in my life though... am a steel nut... i am however always amazed at lowly 1085 and how nice an edge that can give you... first thing i do when knives start sticking is wipe the blade with a moist cloth, i think as the juices start drying you always get quite a bit of sticking.
 
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