Knives

[aris]

I have some German knives - WMF - but to be honest, some of the cheapie knives I bought from sainsburys work very well too when well sharpened.

[keith157]

For use on the BBQ I bought what I thought was a reasonable but cheap set of Khun Rikon knives 4 for around £20. When I played with them, sorry tested them they were incredibly sharp. Further research (watching the TV promo) indicates they are carbon steel with a baked on silicon coating, allegedly hand sharpened to 15deg. All I can say is the only thing I have as sharp is my Japenese vegetable cleaver (make N/K)

[KamadoSimon]

I have a Global set - but have been less than impressed with them for the reasons others have said above and in the referenced thread. But some of that is down to me - i do not know how to sharpen them properly. I've just dropped one of them into the butchers to see how he gets on with sharpening them. Anyone have a good tutorial link to sharpening? I've got the recommended numptys tool - two ceramic stones set in a plastic base which you fill with water. Meant to do the job - but they dont seem to make much difference.

[keith157]

To be honest most people don't know how to sharpen Japenese knives. I'd invest in a manual (Chefs Choice. Global IO Shen) or electric sharpener that will bring them back to 15 deg. Or send them away to a sepcialist.

[aris]

I have a whetstone which I have used for years. I'm no expert by any means, but I seem to get the knives reasonably sharp. You should always finish with a steel to keep the edge sharp.

I have considered getting those diamond whetstone sets which are blue/yellow/red depending on the coarseness. I have eard they are good.

If you want a knife which needs minimal sharpening, try a ceramic. They are wicked sharp and keep their edge for a longn time.

[thelawnet]

To be honest most people don't know how to sharpen Japenese knives. I'd invest in a manual (Chefs Choice. Global IO Shen) or electric sharpener that will bring them back to 15 deg. Or send them away to a sepcialist.

I bought an electric Japanese knife sharpener (Chefs Choice) in the US. Plus a transformer. It's idiot proof and keeps the knifes razor sharp.

[keith157]

I have the Chef's Choice manual sharpener which works a treat. Didn't go electric as at the time I only had the one 15 deg knife.
As to using a steel if you can then they are a great asset for "tuning" a knife blade between uses, by that I mean basically straightening or trueing the edge

[KamadoSimon]

Ok - so I currently have one of these: http://www.millyskitchenstore.co.uk/Glo ... -9940.html

It kinda sharpens, but nothing like what I would expect it to do.

With the Chef's Choice stuff, are you saying something like this would do the trick? http://www.chefschoice.com/page2b_m463.html

Kinda frustrating as the £13 flexible blade catering knife I bought the other week for filleting fish is razor sharp! (http://www.nisbets.co.uk/Boning-Knife-C ... il.raction) Ok, I accept that it may not last as long or look as pretty, but damn it is sharp!

Will pick up my main knife from the butcher tomorrow - be interesting to see how sharp he manages to get it.

Cheers,

Simon

[keith157]

Hi Simon, yes that's the Chef's Choice sharpener I have. I admit to being confused by it though, the left hand slots sharpens to 15 deg and produced a razor sharp+ edge back of my Japanese blade, I also spent a while as an experiment and got a couple of my usual knives to a 15 deg edge i.e. a heck of a lot sharper & I thought they were sharp to start with. I haven't used the right slot as it puts a secondary 30 deg edge. Although the advertisng blurb states you can sharpen serrated knives the picture on the instructions show their idea of a serrated knife is a santoku with the gratonised (?) edge

As to the Nisbets knives they are made for trade use and designed not necessarily to look as good as some others, but to get the job done. Granted they may not last a lifetime, depending on how often they are abused, but they love the dishwasher and if you're really fussy you can even autoclave them (apparantly haven't got one so can't vouch for that). The most expensive knife I own is my Japanese vegetable cleaver which I bought at the good food show in Brum some 8 years ago @ £45. I'm not a chef and my knives don't get the use that some of the members here put theirs to so I haven't forked out for top notch quality. My main concern was how my knives feel in my hand, and whether there is any danger of them slipping.

[thelawnet]

I have this sharpener

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0016N ... 00_s00_i00

I have used it reprofile my European-style blades to a 15 degree edge.