# Need knives for home use



## Qwertyuiop (Oct 9, 2017)

I'm moving out of my parents place and moving in my condo like end of the year or spring.

So I need my own knives for the kitchen. I'm a pastry chef at restaurant but I don't want to ask my coworkers or head chef because I dont think they aren't that knowledgeable.

Im not knowledgeable on knives and pastry chefs obviously don't use knives as much as cooks/chefs do but I cook pretty much every day at home. I usually use santoku over chef knife.

What knives do you guys recommend? I currently have Mercer brand from school and I live in Canada.


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## sgsvirgil (Mar 1, 2017)

Why wouldn't your head chef or co-workers be knowledgeable about knives? 

Choosing a set of knives is a very personal endeavor. Not everyone is the same and what is good for one person is not necessarily good for another. 

Having said that, you should first examine your own knife skills and be brutally honest about it. A knife sharpened to the point where it can slice atoms can very easily send a novice user to the hospital. The same is equally true for a dull blade. 

After that, determine what the knives will be used for. What sort of cooking style and what sort of ingredients? This will determine the content of your knife set more than anything else.

Do you want a pre-made knife set or do you want to piece together your own hybrid set? While pre-made sets can be cheaper, you tend to give up a measure of choice in terms of what knives are included in the set. Piecing together a set can be more expensive, but, you have complete control over what knives make up the set. 

Figure out what style of knives suit you the best. Western? Japanese? 

What sort of handle do you want. Professional chefs will place high value on the comfort of the knife because they spend a lot of time using it. 

Lastly, there are some excellent threads about knives in this forum that can answer many of your questions. Take a moment or two and look through them. 

Good luck.


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## Qwertyuiop (Oct 9, 2017)

One of the cooks suggest knives at Ikea and head chef use henckels and they are his home use as well so he take them back home and come to work with it. So I don't trust their judgement on knife brands.

They look like those typical henckels set you see at Canadian tire when they are on sale.

Mainly need a better santoku and probably a paring knife. I have a chef knife that is ok and I just don't use it alot. The same situation for fillet and boning knife, they do the job fine.

I think I got decent knife skills, I chop fast and accurate and can do it with my eye closed (which I should not do lol). I have no fear of getting cut as it never happen to me yet except a dumb little cut from a bread knife that was irrelevant 

I will check around the forum for the threads on knives


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## rick alan (Nov 15, 2012)

I'm guessing it's a good bet you know what type of knife you want. Home cook needn't be concerned with too many details, cut performance is what most matters.

Laser or something with good food release?

You want to stick with stainless or consider carbon of stainless clad carbon?

Any preference in trade offs between sharpening ease and edge retention?

What's your budget?


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## Qwertyuiop (Oct 9, 2017)

rick alan said:


> I'm guessing it's a good bet you know what type of knife you want. Home cook needn't be concerned with too many details, cut performance is what most matters.
> 
> Laser or something with good food release?
> 
> ...


Yeah I like cut performance

No idea on laser vs something with good food release

Never experienced carbon steel ...maybe both stainless for guests/family when they come over and help with prep or whatever so that way they won't use the carbon knife lol

I'm somewhat flexible on budget ...I don't want the cheapest obviously .. it more like I'm willingly to pay a little more for alot more quality or best valued knives .. you know what I mean?


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## millionsknives (Apr 25, 2014)

It's gone up a bit in price the last year but Tojiro DP is still a great performance/value


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## rick alan (Nov 15, 2012)

Hmmmm, my thoughts on the DP is that it's a nice step up, but still a subdued wow factor. It's almost 3 times the cost of a Tojiro Santoku (lowest price) but the Takamura Migaki is a very exciting knife (laser), and a good bit for the money though prices have gone up like everywhere else in Japanese knives. You'll want a 6K grit stone for this one, and preferably an 8K. Is this within the budget?
https://www.finejapanesekitchenknives.com/takamura.php


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## galley swiller (May 29, 2013)

What's really going to make the difference is in how you maintain the sharpness of your edges. And that means learning how to hand-sharpen your own knives. Until you learn to sharpen, then you are just going to need new knives on a regular basis. It's not rocket science.

Taking your knives to a "professional" sharpening service is fraught with risk to your knives' edges, especially if the "service" uses a high-speed motorized dry grinding wheel. The resulting heat from the grinding is often hot enough to destroy cutting crystals along the edge. Under those conditions, the steel temper of the edges of the blades can be damaged significantly. The same thing often occurs if you use an electric motorized knife sharpener. That's why hand sharpening is always recommended.

You are going to need to put together a sharpening kit with at least 3 stones. All 3 stones will need to be at least 2 inches (5cm) wide by 8 inches (20cm) long. Those are minimum widths and lengths. Smaller won't work, but bigger is better (and easier to use), though more expensive. Japanese waterstones have generally been the usual recommended types.

One stone will be for general sharpening. It needs to be in the 800 to 1200 grit range. This will be used to re-establish an edge once the edge becomes just too dull for your use.

The second stone will be for putting a finer edge on the blade by "polishing" the edge. On a microscopic level, this will smooth out the line of your edge and will (1) reduce your cutting friction; (2) allow for a finer cut; and (3) reduce the pressure along the individual points of the edge, so as to extend the service of your sharpening. Assuming you have a good Japanese blade that can accept such polishing, the grit here starts in the 3000 to 5000 grit range.

The third stone is your repair stone. This is to grind away steel to re-establish a new edge line, if the old edge develops a "chip" (where a chunk of steel breaks away along the old edge). Not only do you need to re-establish a new edge line, but you will also need to significantly grind away at both faces of the blade to thin the blade enough so that the blade won't be so thick as to wedge during cutting. That's going to be a lot of steel and a lot of work, so you need a stone which will grind away as needed. That means a stone in the 400 grit level (or less).

I'm sorry if I seem to be harping about sharpening, when you want to hear about buying a bright, shiny new knife (or several), but my feeling is that you need to think about cutting as a system, not just as a one-time-and-item purchase. That means also dealing with keeping the blade(s) sharp, and reducing the dulling process (through the proper choice of a good cutting board).

Galley Swiller


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## Qwertyuiop (Oct 9, 2017)

millionsknives said:


> It's gone up a bit in price the last year but Tojiro DP is still a great performance/value





rick alan said:


> Hmmmm, my thoughts on the DP is that it's a nice step up, but still a subdued wow factor. It's almost 3 times the cost of a Tojiro Santoku (lowest price) but the Takamura Migaki is a very exciting knife (laser), and a good bit for the money though prices have gone up like everywhere else in Japanese knives. You'll want a 6K grit stone for this one, and preferably an 8K. Is this within the budget?
> https://www.finejapanesekitchenknives.com/takamura.php


it a nice looking knife... why takamura migaki over tojiro santoku?

it not pricey for someone who is new to japanese knives?



galley swiller said:


> What's really going to make the difference is in how you maintain the sharpness of your edges. And that means learning how to hand-sharpen your own knives. Until you learn to sharpen, then you are just going to need new knives on a regular basis. It's not rocket science.
> 
> Taking your knives to a "professional" sharpening service is fraught with risk to your knives' edges, especially if the "service" uses a high-speed motorized dry grinding wheel. The resulting heat from the grinding is often hot enough to destroy cutting crystals along the edge. Under those conditions, the steel temper of the edges of the blades can be damaged significantly. The same thing often occurs if you use an electric motorized knife sharpener. That's why hand sharpening is always recommended.
> 
> ...


lol it cool... knowledge is power, I never thought sharpening a knife is this deep with multiple types of stone


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## Qwertyuiop (Oct 9, 2017)

If I don't want to get carbon steel ... And go the stainless steel route

What do you guys recommend?


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## rick alan (Nov 15, 2012)

Well again it comes down to what you want to budget.

The Takamura is worth the price in cutting ability, easier sharpening and edge retention. You'll zip through onions and be capable of extremely thin slicing. I take it you have good technique, no twisting motion on the board or excessive use of force, as lasers can't take that abuse well. You will also need to micro bevel the edge. Well, possibly it's too much for you to handle, but you you're a professional, you've got manual dexterity, good chance you'll enjoy it all.

Is a brittle laser like the Takamura is more than you want to handle right now? Is a 165 too small? Will a 210 gyuto do? The latter is certainly more versatile.


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## Jason Drückenmiller (Oct 3, 2018)

Qwertyuiop said:


> If I don't want to get carbon steel ... And go the stainless steel route
> 
> What do you guys recommend?


Someone that is new to sharpening and japanese knives both I would personally go with MV Steel, sharpens very easy, keeps a good edge and is a great gateway to Japanese steel.

VG10 is also one of the standard steels in a lot of Japanese knives and is also decently easy to sharpen but can be more chippy than MV steel (gotta get the right knife for the product you are prepping)

If it were me I would stay away from carbon steel for as it requires a lot more maintenance (my only carbon knives are a yangiba and a 6 in petty knife.

As Galley Swiller said though you really need to build a sharpening kit with your new knives.

One of my cheapest and favorite knives for veg prep is the Tojiro MV Nakiri, well priced for the value and a really thin blade.

But as said above choosing your knives is a very personal thing.

If you like the Santoku (Three Virtues in english) go with that, seems you use it the most and is great for slicing, dicing and mincing. (hence three virtues)

A good utility or petty knife is always good to have in your arsenal as well imo (CKTG has some great options at pretty darn good prices)

I would be happy to help if you PM me, I have been sharpening for 30 years and love love love knives


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## Qwertyuiop (Oct 9, 2017)

rick alan said:


> Well again it comes down to what you want to budget.
> 
> The Takamura is worth the price in cutting ability, easier sharpening and edge retention. You'll zip through onions and be capable of extremely thin slicing. I take it you have good technique, no twisting motion on the board or excessive use of force, as lasers can't take that abuse well. You will also need to micro bevel the edge. Well, possibly it's too much for you to handle, but you you're a professional, you've got manual dexterity, good chance you'll enjoy it all.
> 
> Is a brittle laser like the Takamura is more than you want to handle right now? Is a 165 too small? Will a 210 gyuto do? The latter is certainly more versatile.


Yeah no twisting motion ... Can rock it or go up and down chopping

No idea on 165 or 210 ... Don't know

Will check out takamura



Jason Drückenmiller said:


> Someone that is new to sharpening and japanese knives both I would personally go with MV Steel, sharpens very easy, keeps a good edge and is a great gateway to Japanese steel.
> 
> VG10 is also one of the standard steels in a lot of Japanese knives and is also decently easy to sharpen but can be more chippy than MV steel (gotta get the right knife for the product you are prepping)
> 
> ...


Not a fan of more maintenance from carbon lol

Intriguing to know about mv steel

How much does those sharpening kit cost?

Tojiro MV Nakiri look cool... Never dealt a knife blade that look like that.... Wow 30 years, impressive

Where can I get these knvies you mentioned? In Canada?


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## Jason Drückenmiller (Oct 3, 2018)

Qwertyuiop said:


> Yeah no twisting motion ... Can rock it or go up and down chopping
> 
> No idea on 165 or 210 ... Don't know
> 
> ...


Tojiro MV Santoku - https://www.chefknivestogo.com/tostwa.html

The Tojiro MV Nakiri is onhttps://www.chefknivestogo.com/toshsa16.html for $75 the Saya (Sheath) is $30 if you want that too.

Maybe check out the Santoku, there are reviews all over the net.

Hope this helps and speak soon!

Jason


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## Jason Drückenmiller (Oct 3, 2018)

Also MAC has been using MV steel for years.

MAC Santoku - https://www.chefknivestogo.com/macsu65insak.html

I personally like them both but have the Tojiro (fujitora in Japan) and it is totally personal preference because I like Japanese style handles over western handles.

So if you like a Western style handle better the Mac may be a better fit....both are excellent bang for your buck knives imo.


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## Jason Drückenmiller (Oct 3, 2018)

Qwertyuiop said:


> Yeah no twisting motion ... Can rock it or go up and down chopping
> 
> No idea on 165 or 210 ... Don't know
> 
> ...





Qwertyuiop said:


> Yeah no twisting motion ... Can rock it or go up and down chopping
> 
> No idea on 165 or 210 ... Don't know
> 
> ...


Ahh and sorry I left out, sharpening stones can be personal choice really too but the most important thing is getting the right grits and decent stones....for a starter stone the Naniwa Super Stone is great....get the thinner version if ya wanna save a few bucks.

My repair stones are 220 but the main three stones I personally use the most are the 400, 1000 and 5000 as I sharpen knives for our Restaurant/ Bar down here in Miami. Or You could do 800, 2000 and 5000 there are quite a few combinations you could put together that will work fine and there is a lot of help on this forum to get you there.

Look here for the stones and they are splash and go, so you keep them wet by splashing water on them in between passes (so no soaking time needed)

This one is last years model as they changed the name and some of the bonding agents but a great stone this is the 400 but the other grits are there....and Mark of CKTG ships almost everywhere that I know of around the Globe.

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/nasustbaexth.html

My two favorite sharpeners are Bob Kramer and Murry Carter check out youtube there are some good vids....I have vids I can share and there also also vids on https://www.chefknivestogo.com/


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## chrislehrer (Oct 9, 2008)

I always make the same recommendation for first-time serious sharpeners: King Combi. There are two versions, which I think are 600/1000 and 800/2000. In my opinion, the latter is much more useful, as 800 is aggressive enough to reset an edge and 2000 is perfectly sufficient polishing for most knives. The stones are consistent, cheap, easy to use, and give lots of feedback. They wear a little bit quickly, but by the time you actually wear through one side of one, you'll have a good idea what you like in stones and can pick up replacements that will suit you ideally.


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## rick alan (Nov 15, 2012)

MV merely stands for molybdenum/vanadium, and almost all stainless knife steels contain it, this generic term is just for marketing purposes, so is actually rather meaningless. MAC's steel is decent, but some MV is not so decent. VG-10 steel, unless coming from a few well known small makers, can be a real bitch to sharpen for a beginner, and/or also rather chippy as JD suggested.

Just google "Japanese knives in Canada" and you will find your local sources. CKTG, Bernal and JKI I believe can still ship to Canada without excess cost. Knives and Stones along with JNS manage reasonable internetional shipping also.

Jon at JKI is a great pleasure to do business with, tell him what you want and he will steer you to some of the best choices.

165 and 210 merely refer to the length of the knife in millimeters. 165 might be OK for a nakiri, santoku you might want more like a 180, and gyuto really wants to be 210+.


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## Qwertyuiop (Oct 9, 2017)

I never experienced japanese handle but looking for a place in canada that carry tojiro, called https://knifewear.com/collections/tojiro?offset=48

they only western handle... I don't want to take a chance to order something from the US on possible custom cost and shipping cost that will be way higher overall cost comparing to buying something within my country.

I'm surprised how pricey the stones are ... a few stones cost more than the knife

I will check out those other places


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## MnMarc (Apr 24, 2018)

I was in the same boat. After dropping $150 on my 1st good knife I realized I would need to buy whetstones and a decent cutting board. I had never sharpened on a whetstone so I went the cheapest route and bought the King KW-65 1000/6000 combo stone for $30. It was good enough to learn on but dished quickly and provided little feedback. I have since upgraded to a Naniwa Chosera 1000 and 3000 stone ($70 ea) which have made sharpening faster, easier and more fun. Huge difference. In retrospect, I wish I had just bought the Choseras to begin with. Would have made learning to sharpen so much easier. They just cut much faster and provide better feedback. You can easily start out with just the 1000 and decide later if you want a finer grit stone to add to your collection.


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## Qwertyuiop (Oct 9, 2017)

I think you guys aren't gonna like my asnwer but I think I'm just gonna do the victorinox knives.

I rather use the money toward equipments since I'm moving out on my own next year springtime. I don't really have anything and I rather build a nice amount of equipments to cook different food at home and cookbooks as well


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## brianshaw (Dec 18, 2010)

I find that choice quite acceptable considering your needs and future plans. Keep it sharp and cook to your heart’s delight. You can always buy a different knife later.


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## Jason Drückenmiller (Oct 3, 2018)

Qwertyuiop said:


> I think you guys aren't gonna like my asnwer but I think I'm just gonna do the victorinox knives.
> 
> I rather use the money toward equipments since I'm moving out on my own next year springtime. I don't really have anything and I rather build a nice amount of equipments to cook different food at home and cookbooks as well


Agreed with @brianshaw, this is kind of where we were leading you is to choose the equipment to sharpen the knives and go for cheaper knives to practice and really discover what you want to move with next.....nothing wrong with Victorinox at all....good knives, especially at the "bang for your buck" category. They sharpen easily and keep a decent edge.....Now go get some stones and a sink bridge, and some new cooking equipment


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## Qwertyuiop (Oct 9, 2017)

brianshaw said:


> I find that choice quite acceptable considering your needs and future plans. Keep it sharp and cook to your heart's delight. You can always buy a different knife later.





Jason Drückenmiller said:


> Agreed with @brianshaw, this is kind of where we were leading you is to choose the equipment to sharpen the knives and go for cheaper knives to practice and really discover what you want to move with next.....nothing wrong with Victorinox at all....good knives, especially at the "bang for your buck" category. They sharpen easily and keep a decent edge.....Now go get some stones and a sink bridge, and some new cooking equipment


thanks guys

Definitely going to be a spending budget on kitchen alone lol... I only got one of those cooking pots/pans set from my mom that she bought some years ago that she never use.. some brand I never heard of called heritage, hopefully they hold up well enough

pretty much need everything else but I'm not sure what are the best brand for certain items for an advanced home cook kitchen

same goes for cookbooks ... too many books to know which ones are good


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## brianshaw (Dec 18, 2010)

You are starting the way many of us started. Focus on survival cooking first - the basics - and you’ll soon figure out what gear you need to buy or replace. Enjoy the process and pay attention to your evolution!


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## Qwertyuiop (Oct 9, 2017)

brianshaw said:


> You are starting the way many of us started. Focus on survival cooking first - the basics - and you'll soon figure out what gear you need to buy or replace. Enjoy the process and pay attention to your evolution!


i have easily enough money to trick out my kitchen but I'm not the type the buy the most expensive items if it does the same job from a cheaper version item... I don't buy the cheapest or most expensive unless it absolutely necessary and no comparsion then I will buy the expensive... I'm geared toward best valued items


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## brianshaw (Dec 18, 2010)

I’m likeminded for most things! You’ll do well with that kind of attitude!!


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## Qwertyuiop (Oct 9, 2017)

brianshaw said:


> I'm likeminded for most things! You'll do well with that kind of attitude!!


thanks 

i just hope i don't get ripped off on items that I could have gotten something cheaper or something that got better performance lol

you guys got any recommendation on cookbooks?


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## rick alan (Nov 15, 2012)

We have a forum for cook books.


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## Qwertyuiop (Oct 9, 2017)

rick alan said:


> We have a forum for cook books.


Will post a thread there soon


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## Qwertyuiop (Oct 9, 2017)

should I buy the victorinox knife now at amazon canada it on sale for $42 from regular price of $70 
or wait until black friday? because I forgot about black friday and thought maybe a canadian online knives store do black friday as well and get a deal on a knife.... is it possible?


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## Knifeman (Dec 16, 2018)

Depends upon your budget? I have an assortment of knives from a range of brands. Mercer isn't bad for a more economical brand. I would use them over Victorinox. MAC is awesome, but more spendy. Zelite is another brand I am liking. I like the Japanese style knives and hybrids more than the more European brands. Knives are very user specific. I even have a Cutco knife I use at times, simply because I like it for a specific cutting task. Nobody can criticise a person's choice of knives if that's what that person likes. I never buy sets cause I find that I prefer different brands for specific knives. I have for example a MAC MTH-80 Chef Knife, a Zelite Infinity Chef Knife, a Zwilling paring knife, a Cutco hardy slicer, a Shun santoku knife. All of these see rotation depending upon what I am doing. The MAC probably sees the most regular use, then the Zelite and Shun.


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## rick alan (Nov 15, 2012)

Well I hope you got your Vic, it is arguably the best-in-class out there. All you need for stones is a 1K to begin with, and a King 300 when it comes to doing some thinning.


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## Ruppert Green (Mar 14, 2019)

In my opinion, first of all, you need to think about ergonomics.
Ergonomics is all about comfort. Special features of a knife with proper ergonomics:

1) The handle is comfortable in the hand and pleasant to the touch. Do not hesitate to look through the entire range of the store. "Your" knife will be a continuation of the hand, will merge into one;
2) The knife is properly balanced. Ideally, the center of gravity is at the junction of the handle and the blade. A small margin in the direction of the blade is possible, but not vice versa;
3) butt edges smoothed to avoid rubbing corns.

I think this article can be useful: https://www.ergochef.com/ErgoEngineering.php


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## galley swiller (May 29, 2013)

re: Post #34:

That "article" is a pretty vivid example of self-serving justification for selling the product.

I'm not too much of a fan of so-called "ergo" handles. I feel that a user needs to work at using a pinch grip (thumb and forefinger on the faces of the blade forward of any bolster and the other 3 fingers loosely wrapped around the handle) as the primary grip used when cutting. You get significantly more control, there's less stress put on the fingers and it's a grip which is much less stressful to hold in long prep sessions.

Depending on the size and shape of the bolster area, ergo handles can be much harder to hold in a pinch grip. For any chef's knife, give me a handle which is a straight in-line-continuation-with-the-spine and I can get an easy and secure pinch grip almost every time.

I also took a look at that line of knives being offered. "X50CrMoV15" steel? That's just plain old 4116 steel from Thuyssen-Krupp. Fairly pedestrian. And an 18 degree edge? Ugh! Kullenschiff "hollow-grind"? What that really means is that the blade needs to be thickened so that there's enough metal to allow for the grinding of the kullens. And that means wedging. Heat treated to hRc 56 to 58? That's a yawner. Most blades with good Japanese steel are heat treated to at LEAST hRc 58 and usually to hRc 60 or better.

Balance? A pinch grip solves that problem immediately.

As for sharp edges of the spine or the heel of the blade, it's pretty standard practice to take the "edge" off by a light sanding of the edge. Using a manicurist's emery file board (available in dollar stores) can do that in about a minute or 2 (of course, there's the amount of time spent in the store looking through the cosmetics section just to find the @#%& sticks). Otherwise, that's a non-issue. 

GS


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## rick alan (Nov 15, 2012)

I'll second GS's assessment of the article. So-called ergo handles tend to favor hammers more than kitchen knives, a product designed solely to create a market out of the unwary

Where a knife balances is not terribly important, unless it serves an auxiliary function, like outdoor knives being handle-heavy to reduce the tendency of slipping out of hand while moving around and about. I personally like the feel of a handle-heavy knife but only for the relatively light weight slicer.

A thin light knife with a lot of flat to the edge, a thin edge at that, and exceptional steel that can take a very sharp edge and hold it, this is what performance knives are really about. Virtually any coffin-shaped handle works really well with them, except Vic handles which are poorly done, don't understand why they fell so short there.


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## chrislehrer (Oct 9, 2008)

Another agreement. Everything in that piece of ad copy mislabeled an "article" is mediocre, dubious, or deceptive.


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## snapshot2020 (Jan 31, 2019)

I would advise getting a cheap 8 inch Chef knife to use to learn to sharpen it.


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## chrislehrer (Oct 9, 2008)

snapshot2020 said:


> I would advise getting a cheap 8 inch Chef knife to use to learn to sharpen it.


Actually I don't agree with this. Cheap knives are very difficult to sharpen, as a rule, so you end up learning a lot of bad habits.


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## snapshot2020 (Jan 31, 2019)

chrislehrer said:


> Actually I don't agree with this. Cheap knives are very difficult to sharpen, as a rule, so you end up learning a lot of bad habits.


You will have to explain to me why you think the cheap knives are hard to sharpen, is it because they have hard stainless steel used in their blades? if one has the correct stones to use hard steel is no more a problem then softer steel.
And how would one get any bad habits sharping these cheaper type knives?


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## rick alan (Nov 15, 2012)

Most cheap stainless is soft and gummy making them easy to draw a big wire on and difficult to beburr, and they don't hold an edge worth S..t. I wouldn't say you'ld develop bad habits with their use, but it will be a discouraging struggle for you to sharpen, and you don't need that starting out.

Vic/fibrox, though not the easiest, are not difficult to sharpen so no worries there, and you can fix the handles to your liking with a Dremel. On Amazon you can also find the iHomeer, which makes a nice and smallish 8" chefs that's good as a utility knife also, much better steel than the Vic and better grind even, though the Vic is decent there, and the Vic has a better shape for a chefs.

Look at some recent posts and you'll find mention of some very inexpensive carbon knives made in Spain. If you don't mind the little extra maintenance of carbon these will sharpen the easiest and cut the best by far, a dream in comparison to most stainless.

What's the total dollar you want to spend on knives and stones?


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## snapshot2020 (Jan 31, 2019)

Here is three inexpensive knives i have used in learning to sharpen kitchen type knives, along with some of my sharping stones used.

The small Farberware knife has a very hard stainless steel blade, i found my Coor's stone was the best stone to getting this knife sharp enough to slice paper.

I am posting picture of two Chef style knives that have softer stainless steel blades, and i was able to use my standard Japanese water stones to get them really sharp.

So as you see i am unworried about the dollar amount needed for sharping stones, i just want to be able to sharpen kitchen and Chef Knives, by learning on less costly knives i will keep from mistakes when sharping much higher costing knives i plan on buying.


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## Transglutaminase (Jan 9, 2019)

Mercer renaissance 7" granton Santoku arrived today.. It's damn sharp! 
A bit heavier than expected, but.. for a commercial work knife.. 
Went (merely pushed?) thru soaked shiitakes like butter! Happy so far! 
I'll use it a bit before perhaps graduating to a Mac or...


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## rick alan (Nov 15, 2012)

Factory edges mean nothing, you will of course have to learn to sharpen.


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