Kitchen samurai.... Please fall-in.


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ClubSnap kopitiam, where you never know what you might learn next :)

Thanks for lots of interesting information, Photobum. Is there some place I can read up on how to sharpen using the Japanese method?
 

photobum said:
I don't use very expensive knives when I step into a commercial kitchen. Whenever I go for my courses, I will bring along my JA Henckel Four-Star knife set which costs about $400 for 5 blades. A good kitchen knife can easily cost more than $400 each.

A bread knife is used only for slicing. Asian cooking, especially Chinese cooking, utilizes mainly chopping, dicing and mincing which are difficult to perform with such knife. Furthermore, due to its elongated blade, chopping and dicing with a bread knife requires more effort. Using an improper kitchen knife can cause serious injury.
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What you said is very true. I once bought a set of knives for my in law from US costing over usd2k. she cooks at high speed and can prepare a few dishes at a go (ie cuting, stewing, washing, boiling, frying). Due to the blade too sharp, she suffered a deep cut. Bandaged up, she carry on cooking.

Good blade cuts like a razor, but your flesh is the weakest point of contact.

As for commercial kitchen, the trend is to go towards using machines for dicing and slicing. Its more efficient, more safe, more clean (if equipment well maintained) and less skill based. I cant find a chef that can flip the knife like a swordsman without injuring himself, hence, machinery is the way to go. Well, thats my pov for a mass production facility.

I once came across a meat specialist from ritz. He is very skillful in preparing meat for a high dollar steak. He said that a good meat cutter is not about the blades. It's the knowledge that matches the tools. He was high salaried and guess what? he was replaced by PRC for a salary 1/5 of his.
 

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lennyl said:
ClubSnap kopitiam, where you never know what you might learn next :)

Thanks for lots of interesting information, Photobum. Is there some place I can read up on how to sharpen using the Japanese method?
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You are most welcome! ;)

I can teach you FOC. Just give me about two hours.
 

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contaxable said:
What you said is very true. I once bought a set of knives for my in law from US costing over usd2k. she cooks at high speed and can prepare a few dishes at a go (ie cuting, stewing, washing, boiling, frying). Due to the blade too sharp, she suffered a deep cut. Bandaged up, she carry on cooking.

Good blade cuts like a razor, but your flesh is the weakest point of contact.

As for commercial kitchen, the trend is to go towards using machines for dicing and slicing. Its more efficient, more safe, more clean (if equipment well maintained) and less skill based. I cant find a chef that can flip the knife like a swordsman without injuring himself, hence, machinery is the way to go. Well, thats my pov for a mass production facility.

I once came across a meat specialist from ritz. He is very skillful in preparing meat for a high dollar steak. He said that a good meat cutter is not about the blades. It's the knowledge that matches the tools. He was high salaried and guess what? he was replaced by PRC for a salary 1/5 of his.
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From my own experience, a cut wound from a sharp knife heals faster than one cuts with a dull knife. Trust me on this, I have cut myself more than enough to notice this.

That meat specialist was right. Many people just go for expensive things without understanding the knowledge behind (photography, unfortunately, is one of such practices). I must know my knives well enough to know how to cut certain meat, fish and vegetable. For example, one cannot use a sashimi knife (which is meant for filleting fish) to cut beef.

By the way, I am not surprised that PRC uses only a Chinese cleaver to get his job done. Chinese cleaver is probably the most versatile cutting tool ever invented by man. It is a 'do all' knife. Don't believe me.... Just look at any Martin Yan's cooking show.
 

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True enough...

and even with Sashimi, there are a few knives to be used.

Fillet,
bone
decorative,
etc

:sweat:

The chef of a Japanese restaurant once told us that his knive was about 2k and has to be sharpened every night... :sweat:
 

photobum said:
From my own experience, a cut wound from a sharp knife heals faster than one cuts with a dull knife. Trust me on this, I have cut myself more than enough to notice this.

That meat specialist was right. Many people just go for expensive things without understanding the knowledge behind (photography, unfortunately, is one of such practices). I must know my knives well enough to know how to cut certain meat, fish and vegetable. For example, one cannot use a sashimi knife (which is meant for filleting fish) to cut beef.

By the way, I am not surprised that PRC uses only a Chinese cleaver to get his job done. Chinese cleaver is probably the most versatile cutting tool ever invented by man. It is a 'do all' knife. Don't believe me.... Just look at any Martin Yan's cooking show.
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An Asian chef has many things up his sleeve. LOL Other than the cleaver (that he will use in the head chef absence) look under his table and you will find a bottle of sauce for an incredible unique taste. Fire him and you will lose that magic taste!

And, yes, different tool, different purposes. I have caught a staff using a nice blade for prying a metal tin! Damm!
 

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zac08 said:
True enough...

and even with Sashimi, there are a few knives to be used.

Fillet,
bone
decorative,
etc

:sweat:

The chef of a Japanese restaurant once told us that his knive was about 2k and has to be sharpened every night... :sweat:
Click to expand...

His $2K sashimi knife is considered a budget knife. Top-of-line ones can easily cost more than $10K each.
 

photobum said:
His $2K sashimi knife is considered a budget knife. Top-of-line ones can easily cost more than $10K each.
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:sweat:

Now, the Kill Bill comes to mind with Hattori Hanzo katanas.... wonder if there are any blades like tat on the market... :bsmilie:
 

contaxable said:
I have caught a staff using a nice blade for prying a metal tin! Damm!
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This is a serious violation of a kitchen Samurai's code of honour. That staff has to be behead immediately without pity.

Jokes aside. Use a knife as Milo tin opener is a big not not. :nono: Not only the knife is damaged, that person might even break the blade and hurt other people near him.
 

zac08 said:
:sweat:

Now, the Kill Bill comes to mind with Hattori Hanzo katanas.... wonder if there are any blades like tat on the market... :bsmilie:
Click to expand...

Yes, you can buy Hattori (not Hanzo's katanas) knives and they are available in Singapore. If you look through my knives collection, you will see that I have a Hattori HD 240mm western deba.

Each top-of-line Hattori KD knife can easily cost as much as a Canon EOS 1Ds MKIII.

OT: You can purchase an 'authentic' Hanzo sword from Ebay.
 

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the 2-stage knife sharpener has 2 flat pre-adjusted grinding surface (mini blocks?), not wheels. are these any better? i know that motorised wheel turning at high speed is bad. i dun have those, & unlikely the common folks here have such a fancy tool too... :sweat:

IMO, i think grinding them with some water is better den dry. rite or not?

the reason i bought (yes, me) the sharpener is that compared to the whetstone, the angle are prefixed. no worries grinding oni to blunt the knives! :bsmilie:
 

This is one dangerous place that i am threading on...:sweat:

*moves away*
 

photobum said:
Yes, you can buy Hattori (not Hanzo's katanas) knives and they are available in Singapore. If you look through my knives collection, you will see that I have a Hattori HD 240mm western deba.

Each top-of-line Hattori KD knife can easily cost as much as a Canon EOS 1Ds MKIII.

OT: You can purchase an 'authentic' Hanzo sword from Ebay.
Click to expand...

:bigeyes:

Mebbe in future.... now, I think I'll stick to the low end ones.... :sweat:
 

I think this is the only one I would be interested in :

SUJIHIKI KNIFE

HATHD12SSUJIHIKI.jpg
 

sORe-EyEz said:
the 2-stage knife sharpener has 2 flat pre-adjusted grinding surface (mini blocks?), not wheels. are these any better? i know that motorised wheel turning at high speed is bad. i dun have those, & unlikely the common folks here have such a fancy tool too... :sweat:

IMO, i think grinding them with some water is better den dry. rite or not?

the reason i bought (yes, me) the sharpener is that compared to the whetstone, the angle are prefixed. no worries grinding oni to blunt the knives! :bsmilie:
Click to expand...

A two-stage sharpener is a good choice for retouching the edges of your knives. Some people use it to replace a honing steel. If you really want to sharpen your knives, whetstone is the only way to go.

Yes, wet sharpening is ideal. Dry sharpening induces too much heat.

Before I learn how to sharpen my knives with whetstones, I have the same fear as yours.... getting the wrong angle. After I learn how to do it, it is actually quite easy. With whetstones, you can 'customise' your preferred blade angle even.
 

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zac08 said:
I think this is the only one I would be interested in :

SUJIHIKI KNIFE

HATHD12SSUJIHIKI.jpg
Click to expand...

This knife is known as a 240mm gyuto. I have a similar knife but it was forged by Ryusen Blazen.

This one is still quite affordable. It costs S$500 at most.
 

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photobum said:
You are most welcome! ;)

I can teach you FOC. Just give me about two hours.
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I'd love to take you up on the offer, but I won't be in Singapore till next year :(
 

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