Kitchen samurai.... Please fall-in.


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I bought a G Sakai outdoor cooking knife, primarily to saw/cut fish in sizes 8 to 10 kg. This knofe cuts like a breeze when compared with other normal kitchen knife. Will the edge gets damaged if we intentionally try to cut Kevlar material for testing. Sorry to ask this question, as I wore the Kevlar gloves when I cut the fishes, preventing slip and cut. Could not agree more sharp knife are safer,predictable in controlling.Any more good knife to recommend to such use ?
 

Hi Photobum,
I got the Naniwa 1000/3000 whetstone for sharpening my knives....in order to restore the smooth and glossy finish of the original knife, what grade of whetstone should I get....wow, the Kai Shun Classic 165mm Santoku is super duper man....:thumbsup:
 

I bought a G Sakai outdoor cooking knife, primarily to saw/cut fish in sizes 8 to 10 kg. This knofe cuts like a breeze when compared with other normal kitchen knife. Will the edge gets damaged if we intentionally try to cut Kevlar material for testing. Sorry to ask this question, as I wore the Kevlar gloves when I cut the fishes, preventing slip and cut. Could not agree more sharp knife are safer,predictable in controlling.Any more good knife to recommend to such use ?

Kelvar, as most of us know, is a type of light but very strong synthetic fiber. It is said to be 5 times stronger than steel. However, very few of us know there are three grades of Kevlar. They are: Kevlar, Kevlar 29, and Kevlar 49. Typically, Kevlar is used as reinforcement in tires and rubber mechanical goods. Kevlar 29's industrial applications are as cables, in asbestos replacement, brake linings, and body armor. Kevlar 49 has the greatest tensile strength of all the aramids, and is used in plastic reinforcement for boat hulls, airplanes, and bicycles (source: Wikipedia.com). If just Kelvar and no other alloy (or hard metal) is added to the composite material, your knife will probably be fine. Since Kelvar by itself is supple and pliable, it probably will not pit your blade.

I own a pair of Kelvar gloves too as I used to go bass fishing along the Mississippi river. Mine was bought from an army surplus store many years ago while residing in the US. Unfortunately, I hardly use them now and they are curled inside the kitchen drawers.

By the way, G. Sakai makes wonderful blades, especially notable was their folding knives. From my understanding, G Sakai does OEM for several knife brands such as Gerber, Al Mar, Spyderco, Cold Steel, SOG and Koji Hara.

For filleting fish outdoors, try Glestain 021TSK 210mm flexible blade fillet knife. The hollow ground blade enhances cutting efficiency by reducing friction between the blade and the food. Your cuts will look cleaner and the fillet will cook evenly.

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[photos: japanesechefsknife.com]
 

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Hi Photobum,
I got the Naniwa 1000/3000 whetstone for sharpening my knives....in order to restore the smooth and glossy finish of the original knife, what grade of whetstone should I get....wow, the Kai Shun Classic 165mm Santoku is super duper man....:thumbsup:

Thanks! I tested a few santoku knives before deciding on the Kai Shun Classic. Since I already have a Kasumi 180mm santoku, I wanted to explore a slightly shorter blade.

To enhance and restore the finishing of your blade, you will need a grid #5,000 or grit #8,000 whetstone. The finer the whetstone, the better finishing on blade. However, do keep in mind that finer whetstone also takes longer time (thus, more strikes) to achieve that glossy finishing you want.
 

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Kitchen Samurai Theory 101 - Cutting Safety.

A safe knife is a sharp knife and demands the minimum of force if used correctly. The various cutting tasks require different grips so, once you have chosen the knife blade for a task, you need to hold the knife in the most appropriate way. When possible, cut away from your body. Hold the food with the other hand, so it feeds food into the cutting blade without nicking any fingers.

As a general rule, cut all ingredients on a sturdy wooden chopping board, with a damp cloth placed underneath to stop it slipping. Slice an end off round items, so that they sit on the board without rolling.

knife_hold.jpg

Hold the handle firmly in your palm with 4 fingers. The thumb resting on the bolster. The handle must fill your hand for comfort.

Slicing.jpg

[photos: photobum]

With the fingernails and top finger joints parallel to the blade, you can then safely guide the blade against your knuckles as they move backwards (knife featured is a Ryusen Blazen 210mm gyuto).
 

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Kitchen Samurai Theory 101 - Cutting Safety.

A safe knife is a sharp knife and demands the minimum of force if used correctly. The various cutting tasks require different grips so, once you have chosen the knife blade for a task, you need to hold the knife in the most appropriate way. When possible, cut away from your body. Hold the food with the other hand, so it feeds food into the cutting blade without nicking any fingers.

As a general rule, cut all ingredients on a sturdy wooden chopping board, with a damp cloth placed underneath to stop it slipping. Slice an end off round items, so that they sit on the board without rolling.

knife_hold.jpg

Hold the handle firmly in your palm with 4 fingers. The thumb resting on the bolster. The handle must fill your hand for comfort.

Slicing.jpg

With the fingernails and top finger joints parallel to the blade, you can then safely guide the blade against your knuckles as they move backwards (knife featured is a Ryusen Blazen 210mm gyuto).

Yeap that's the way to hold it perfectly! All professional chefs used this way to cut their product as the knives they use are super sharp.......it's so sharp that it will cut through your fingers if you are not careful.......SO those using it and sharpen it often.....PLEASE be extra careful......!
 

Yeap that's the way to hold it perfectly! All professional chefs used this way to cut their product as the knives they use are super sharp.......it's so sharp that it will cut through your fingers if you are not careful.......SO those using it and sharpen it often.....PLEASE be extra careful......!

Thanks for the reminder. Now that the economy is bad, we should eat our meals at home more often (at least have dinner). Preparing a meal is not difficult at all, and it can be fun when we get our family involved in the process.

Even with my busy schedule, I try cooking dinner at home at least 3 times a week. I pre-cut all the vegetables and meats in advance whenever I am free, pack them inside Zip-lock bags and then store in the fridge. Stir-frying the ingredients is fast and easy.

I save at least $150 to $250 a month just by having my dinner at home.
 

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Thanks for the reminder. Now that the economy is bad, we should eat our meals at home more often (at least have dinner). Preparing a meal is not difficult at all, and it can be fun when we get our family involved in the process.

Even with my busy schedule, I try cooking dinner at home at least 3 times a week. I pre-cut all the vegetables and meats in advance whenever I am free, pack them inside Zip-lock bags and then store in the fridge. Stir-frying the ingredients is fast and easy.

I save at least $150 to $250 a month just by having my dinner at home.

lol, your saving of one month can't even buy one piece of the knife. :bsmilie:

what a weird logic. Scrimp for necessity, and spend on luxury.
 

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lol, your saving of one month can't even buy one piece of the knife. :bsmilie:

what a weird logic. Scrimp for necessity, and spend on luxury.

Speaking of weird logic:

1. Does he need to throw knife away after a month?

2. photobum obviously derives much pleasure from cooking. Just as many of us do from photography.

3. Eating out is necessity??
 

lol, your saving of one month can't even buy one piece of the knife. :bsmilie:

what a weird logic. Scrimp for necessity, and spend on luxury.

A knife can last me for a long, long time; even longer than my present DSLR.

By the way, I do eating out with my family but not as often as we used to. Probably after church on Sundays or Saturday evenings.
 

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Does he need to throw knife away after a month?

No. I never throw my knives away even if they are rusted badly. I still have my grandmother's meat cleaver from the 1930s.

photobum obviously derives much pleasure from cooking. Just as many of us do from photography.

Thanks! You definitely must check out my hi-fi equipment here.

Eating out is necessity??

Only if I work in a restaurant, at a food court or hawker center. ;)
 

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To all:
Okay... Let's get back to the topic of knife and not OT too much about eating out.

I understand that I was the one who brought it out (it's my fault) but let's not go into details.
 

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I just bought one Sugimoto knife at the fish market in Tokyo as a gift for my mom.
Not sure if it's good. It's a CM2118, got it at 12600 Yen with some minor discount.
I know nothing abt knife, just blindly bought it :sweat: b4 I got back to Singapore.

And I don't quite understand what is Chrome Molybdenum steel.
 

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I just bought one Sugimoto knife at the fish market in Tokyo as a gift for my mom.
Not sure if it's good. It's a CM2118, got it at 12600 Yen with some minor discount.
I know nothing abt knife, just blindly bought it :sweat: b4 I got back to Singapore.

And I don't quite understand what is Chrome Molybdenum steel.
wah.. packed into luggage?
 

And I don't quite understand what is Chrome Molybdenum steel.

Chrome Molybdenum steel is a family of high-strength low-alloy steels. Alloying elements include chromium and molybdenum, and as a result these materials are often referred to as chromoly steel, or Cro-Mo, or CRMO. They have an excellent strength to weight ratio, are easily welded and are considerably stronger and more durable than standard 10-20 steel. Most high-strength steel alloys are 0.25% to 8% molybdenum.

However, do keep in mind that while these grades of steel do contain chromium, it is not in great enough quantities to provide the corrosion resistance found in stainless steel.
 

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wah.. packed into luggage?

Just say this if being stopped by a custom officer: "I am a professional chef."

Celebrity chef Martin Yan is known to travel with a set of knives and cleavers.
 

so is it good steel?
is Sugimoto a good brand? :think:
 

so is it good steel?
is Sugimoto a good brand? :think:

Sugimoto is a mainstream brand in Japan, just like Olympus or Pentax in camera. However, when it comes to knives, brand is not important (because there is no such thing as "the best brand"). All knives, regardless budget or expensive, will cut. Material, forging methods, craftsmanship and knife handling ergonomics are crucial when selecting a good knife.:)

To answer your question, yes, most better knives uses CrMo steel.
 

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For those of you who are unfamiliar with Sugimoto Cutlery, the company dates back to 1830s. It started out from a metal smith that specilaises in making swords and knives. After World War II, Sugimoto was first company in Japan to produce traditional Chinese cleavers, which formerly had to be imported from Hong Kong or Taiwan.

The Sugimoto model CM2118 knife 'htthach' bought is a 180mm gyuto. The name 'gyuto' means 'cow knife' in Japanese. Also known as Japanese chef knife, the gyuto is modeled after traditional French chef knife, but is forged out of lighter and better material, resulting an extremely sharp and hard edge. This Sugimoto CM2118 gyuto is made of high-carbon steel with chrome molybdenum, which utilizes hardness of high-carbon steel and rust resistance of chrome molybdenum. High-carbon steel by itself is hard, brittle and rust-prone, thus requires care and proper maintenance.

gyutou_l-01.jpg

[photo: sugimoto-hamono]
 

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Kitchen Samurai Theory 101 - Sharpening Knife across the whetstone.

I received quite a few PMs from fellow kitchen samurai on the correct and proper way to sharpen a knife. There aren't hard rules on how to sharpen knives. Maintaining consistent pressure and angle is important. Here is how I do it:

Soakingwhetstones.jpg

1. Soak the whetstones in a basin of water until bubbles stop rising. It usually takes about 5 to 10 minutes depending on the type of stone and grit.



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2. Wear an apron to prevent stains on clothes.


KnifeSharprening1.jpg

3. Place the whetstone at a right angle to your body. Hold the handle with your right hand, and place the tip of the blade at the end of the stone closest. Use your left hand to press the blade firmly and evenly on the stone.



KnifeSharprening2.jpg

4. Push the blade slowly over and across the whetstone, keeping the angle consistent.


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5. When the blade reaches the other end of the stone, only the heel of the blade should be in contact with the stone - draw it off the stone in one smooth motion.

[Continue]
 

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