re: Please help with knives and knife maintenance

Get a Harbor Freight 1"x30" belt sander and an assortment of belts, 120, grit, 400, 800 and a leather belt. You'll have them razor sharp. They have plenty good YouTube tutorials on how to do it. You can buy/build annedge guide for it.

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jibbajabba

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Your response seemed to touch on aspects of my question.
Do you gain that much more with stones over KO work sharp? I am looking at getting into sharpening my knives, but want to keep costs in $100-200 range. I am willing to go through learning curve of stones if it provides a noticable difference over work sharp.

Also what changed your mind for a service over diy. I have tried local sharpening service but never really thought I was getting the best edge. (At least like new). Also I don't have many knives so I would not want to send them off.

Most people over sharpen their knives. They do NOT need to be sharpened often if they are used properly. Japanese knives for slicing, German knives for chopping.

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For regular home use, a chef’s knife does not need to be sharpened more than a few times a year. However, you should hone the edge with a steel once or twice a week. However, the quality of the knife, the amount of use it gets and the type of food you are cutting all factor into how often you may need to sharpen yours.

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Fair enough. The point remains that the differences in the steel between German and Japanese knives typically leads them to different uses in the kitchen.

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A Japanese blade is slim, razor-sharp, and lightweight. It’s ideal for precise work, which makes sense, Erkkinen says: “Japanese cooking is more particular and careful.” Josh Moses, co-founder of Misen adds, “The harder steel means you can get a very sharp edge that can go longer between sharpenings.” But there’s a tradeoff: The delicacy of the blade and the hardness of the steel make it more more prone to chipping and cracking, notes Bryan Mayer, director of butchery education for Fleishers Craft Butchery.

The heavier, thicker, and all-around more robust German knife is ideal for, well, more robust chores. “The weight and softer steel translate to making the knife meatier and more durable, and good for cracking through bones,” explains Moses.

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No worries. It's a good discussion.

I've had Japanese knives (expensive ones) chip on me so I'm careful with what I use them on. Could just be paranoia.

Kiwi

Kiwi

thanks! I have a sharpener on my can opener. Once a year?

Go with the 8" Kiwi chef knife. The small is nice but I prefer the large.

run that Kiwi along a steel before each use and it will stay sharp for a long time.

Also, if you have a local Asian market try there for the Kiwis. I can get the large chef for about $8 locally.

That's all dependent on intended use. While technique has a lot to do with how a knife holds up to use, metal composition also contributes to blade hardness.

Certain knifes are designed to be used in very specific ways. You don't "chop" In the traditional sense with a deba, it's used more in a rocking motion to compete the cut.

Knives like a yanagi or kiritsuke are designed for precision slicing & cutting. They benefit from softer white carbon steel because it can be sharpened to a finer edge. Use the pull-drag method for slicing.

Gyuto & deba are intended for bulkier chopping and cutting so harder blue carbon steel is preferred.

That's not to say you couldn't buy a white carbon steel deba or a blue carbon steel yanagi.

& yes, I paid close to $400 for a takohiki that some careless server decided to play fight with & chipped it all to hell. Took me months to sharpen the chips out. I still get ill just thinking about it. Carbon steel blades require a bit more care & attention than stainless blades.

There are days I want to purchase really nice knives but, I always think of better things to spend my money on.

My favorite. It's so pretty I'm afraid to use it half the time.