![IMG_20160609_130629[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/SHaMDSR.jpg "IMG_20160609_130629[1].jpg")
I am relatively new to nice kitchen knives.
I got this from family who came back from Japan and it is fantastic. Stainless 240mm Masamoto Gyuto. I recently got a basic stone to sharpen it and did an alright job but scratched it up a little.
What is your knife? Do you prefer Japanese or Western style? Anyone else have a Masamoto? How often do you sharpen your knife?
>>7773203
is patina a meme?
>>7773203
G l o b a l b o y s
I don't really like western style knives as I find them heavy and unwieldy but I keep a cheap victorinox on hand for lobster
>>7773365
I only now realise this since using a gyuto.
I love western knives too, but mine just feels so light and easy to use.
Finally became a cook in a restaurant and am thinking in investing in some knives because the ones provided to use can't cut through a fucking apple. What are some decent lower priced options for a decent set of knives?
>>7773365
>western ... heavy and unwieldy
My older Sabs are lighter than my FKMs/ Tojiro, so that's not universally true.
>>7773666
Depending on your budget, either a Victorinox or an FKM. Whatever you spend, budget at least as much money for sharpening stones and a steel. No sense buying a knife you can't maintain.
Buy one good chef knife and one small paring knife to start.
Kai, Yaxell, Global and Mac are all perfect lower end professional knife brands that make tools that will last you a life time.
Mac Mighty is the best all round cheaper chefs knife.
>>7773203
>did an alright job but scratched it up a little
This is very self contradicting.
A good knife is a tool, not a fetish. You can spend several fortunes on knifes, or you can get the cheapest thing that still passes as kitchen knife and use it until it fails. Chances are you'll spend less on knifes all your life than one hipster does on one purchase.
Get a blade 1-1.5 times the length of your hand. Full tang. The blade has to extend over the grip so you can chop and slice on a board without getting your fingers on the handle in the way. Just like your pic. Carbon steel holds an edge better but takes a lot more care because it will rust. Chromium steel is usually used and works fine.
I go to a knife store and get the cheapest they have that suits my criteria. I handle it before I buy, some are just wrong in your hand.
There are different edges available, but unless you do your own grinding, don't worry about that. Get your knifes sharpened every few decades (household) or months (restaurant) by an experienced professional. You can just mail them in. For daily maintenance all you need is a steel to correct the burr. Carbon steel also needs to be oiled.
I can vouch for the quality of Solingen steel (Güde, Nesmuk, Gehring, Burgvogel). They usually have budget options available.
>>7773901
Thanks heaps for the detailed reply anon.
I didnt really mind about scratching it up because I did a good job with sharpening it, even though it was my first time. Also i view it as my first knife and a tool that I can learn with.
Regarding sharpening, I have heard that it isn't wise to use a steel on japenese knives because of the thin edge or blade or something, so the 1000 grit waterstone should be good to sharpen whenever I feel that the knife isn't ideally sharp? I use it pretty much every day, and have been taking care of it well.
Thanks again anon, it's appreciated to get advice from someone with experience.
>>7773906
I haven't used a Japanese stone but I hear it's a different technique. The stones are used wet. The blade is drawn along the surface in the cutting direction. With a stone and a fine stone, plus a strop you can get a good knife to a scalpel edge. But it doesn't hold long because it's so fine. You basically have to reset the edge every night. And it takes much longer than a simple left-right-left-right with the steel.
>>7773906
Maybe watch a few videos about sharpening with stones. Scratches show a bad technique, over time that can destroy the blade. It definitely favors corrosion.
The stone should never touch the side, only the edge. And scratches on the edge can indicate skips or an uneven surface. Some people use spacers tacked to the blade to angle the blade correctly. And a smooth stroke along the full length is essential.
>>7773686
One of the grill guys where I work has a set of sabs and I will concede that they are quite nice. Love the global handles tho.
I talk shit about western knives but at the same time I don't really like santoku style at all. Curious what everyone else thinks of that.
>>7774832
>does not lubricate stones
>does not into cooling
>sharpens each side at 45 degrees for fucking 90(!) degree edge
This is the most retarded bullshit I've seen today and I pitty the fools who believe this. This will kill your knife.
>turning basic tool maintenance into a drawn-out autistic ritual
get a good pull-through sharpener and stop wasting your time
Best grits to get for a home cook? Right now I have 600 and 1200 small stones more for like pocketknives and am scared to take my victorinox to them without something finer...
>>7773365
ayy
>>7774901
I don't need a polishing stone?
>>7774832
what the fuck
>>7774912
>spends sseveral hundred dollars on a block of wood
faggot
>>7773203
I have a set of wusthoff that only need sharpening once every 3 years or so because of their superior german steel and edge honing.
i sharpen them with a set off 2000, 5000, and 10,000 grit japanese wetstones that i ensure are perfectly flat with a diamond lapping stone. the 10k stone takes the edge to a mirror polish that has a sexy glint to it when the light hits it just right.
even the ripest tomatoes never stood a chance in my kitchen.
IMO a mixture of german engineering and japanese sharpening techniques and tools produce the best, longest lasting, general use blades for home use.
there will be plenty of people that will disagree with me becausa yapanesa steel hasa harder rockeweel hardanees.
however, what they will leave off is that most japanese blades are ground at very narrow angles to achieve such sharpness and these narrow and sometimes single sided grinding angles don't last nearly as long as the wider angle (by comparison, though still quite narrow) softer (by comparison, though still quite hard) blades that germans make. The germans also add more anti rusting and staining agents, molybdenum, vanadium, chromium to their steels and generally they are just easier to maintain and use.. you shouldn't - but you can - throw them in the sink and let them sit for weeks... your idiot father in law can run them through the dishwasher.. now worries.
OP, you have a very nice knife... but hide it in the back of a drawer, use it for special occasions, and don't let the help or your in laws help clean your kitchen if you have left it out.
>>7773203
Oh.. also i just goggled your king k-45 stone. that's 1000 grit.. which is very gritty and will remove a lot of material. you really only want to use something like that for a first pass and to reset an edge.
do yourself a favor and get yourself at least a 4k to 6k stone for finishing. i have a 10k finishing stone, but that level is probably not necessary.
>>7775701
it's unnecessary, I explained why in an earlier post, but then a psycho mod went on a rampage and randomly deleted a bunch of posts for no apparent reason
>>7775703
it does give a super sexy glint to the edge of the blade though.. and if you get the stone and the knife face perfectly flat you can repolish the entire thing to a mirror finish.
>>7775667
What? You can get an end grain cutting board for like $40-50...
>>7775715
I love going overboard myself, as long as you're content wasting time, then it's not a waste of time
But it doesn't give any practical advantage if you're just going to cut up a bunch of onions afterwards. 10k is for razors, not for cooking.
>>7775720
Not him, but I'd like to know where. I wouldn't mind getting a big ass end grain board, but nothing I'm seeing is less than $80-90 for something decently large.
>>7775723
What do you consider decently large? There are several 14x14" and 15x15" end grain cutting boards on amazon in the $40-60 range.
>>7775732
Something in the neighborhood of 12x17
>>7775738
Just look on amazon,. they have a bunch of them on there for varying prices
I have an old homestead and a precision hollow ground for almost any kind of cutting. Both work great and need little to no sharpening.
>>7775698
yeah I keep it in the box it came in, in my room and i clean and dry it every time I use it.
>>7775701
I'm a bit worried about this now, Masamoto recommend one sharpens the knife as soon as it arrives, so is 1000grit ok for that??
I think I might have trouble keeping a 15 degree stroke (?) when I'm sharpening but when I finished it was performing really well so I guess I did a good job?
>>7775715
can I get stains off the blade this way as well? It is stainless molybenum or something but it has a couple of very faint stains.
Everyone, can I use a leather belt a strop? I know it sounds dumb, but what is the difference? should I even be stropping a japanese knife? Thanks for all the help, this board is the best.
OP here. Did I ruin my knife? :(
>>7775855
Another.
>>7775855
No, your knife isn't ruined. Some consider the scratches a sign of a well-used tool and appreciate the look. Some think it means you need to improve your technique and think it looks bad.
Practically speaking speaking, the scratches mean nothing. Worse case is you're using a japanese high carbon (the edge would patina quickly if you did) and the scratches would let partlicles enter the cutting steel through the softer steel. However, you'd need to do some pretty ridiculous scratching to get that far.
Use it as a sign that your hands might not be that steady and a way to improve your technique.
To the thread in general:
In general for home use I recommend 1k, 2k, 4k, Although the 4k isn't really necessary, it can give a mirror polish so you look cool for your friends. It's unlikely you'll need the stones very often though.
For professionals, there's 2 ways. If you're generally very rough or not super concerned with maximum performance super japanese million times folded steel, 1/2k combi, 4k and a ceramic rod. Once again the 4k not super necessary. The rod will keep you rolling for a long time, the combi to keep costs down and give back your edge when you need it.
If most of your work consists of slicing or you work at a high end place that requires delicate work(ie herbs are unacceptable to have blackened edges). 2k. 4k 8k+ finishing stone. Pass on the 8k every night after service, 5-10 times. When the edge degrades enough add the 4k in for 5-10 passes. Finally, if you do lose the edge, the 2k will bring it back. There is no reason for a stronger grit unless you're very rough with your knives or have some kind of accident.
>>7775855
I took a closer look and feel the need to point out that your edge hasn't been sharpened correctly. The tip needs more work, and their's a section near the right side of the photo where you can see a cloudy section of the edge with a polished section. It's likely that the edge didn't make proper contact, This problem won't properly inconvenience you for a couple more sharpening sessions, but when it does you might be at a loss as to why it happened.
Can you post a photo of the grind? Photo from the handle looking toward the tip down the cutting edge.
Has anyone heard of "David's castle" brand knives? The brand is Japanese, with David written in katakana and castle in kanji. Just saw one online, but when I tried to look it up was unable to find anything.
>>7775852
Usually the first time you get a knife you set your own primary bevel, that's going to be hard with 1000, you'll want something closer to 500
If it's the first time you've done this, enjoy fucking it up
>>7776425
I'd type more but the mods have taken to deleting stuff at random now so there's no point in stuff longer than one sentence. Sorry...
>>7775852
As long as you don't intend to load it with anything, any piece of leather will do.
Stropping and steeling are very similar, but also different. If you are using a very hard knife, than plain leather isn't terribly useful, better to use a loaded strop or ceramic rod. Anything under HRC 61 responds very well to unloaded strops. A loaded strop is suitable for pretty much anything, but does not behave in the same way.
Basically, unloaded is non-abrasive and is meant for straightening edges, removing burrs. Loaded strops have abrasive compounds and behave as a sharpening step, ie, removing metal.
This does not look like a new blade. It looks used heavily or on something too hard for the steel. If you made this by 'sharpening' then you really messed up.
A professional can fix this in a few minutes. But it will cost you a little blade. The hardened edge should extend much further, but you can't do this 20 times.
>>7776445
can we stop mixing up straight razor wisdom with kitchen knife advice? loaded is objectively better for kitchen knives, no qualifiers are needed. ok maybe if you are worried about someone using pumice as a strop compound but I assume we're talking just the normal stuff, diamonds and crox and whatnot
>>7775860
>>7775855
yeah that's kind of amateurish looking but not the end of the world. just your dignity as a knife sperg
there's no shame in using jigs, I posted this before but our brilliant mods deleted it for some resaon
>>7776488
We got it. You can stop mentioning it in every post. Honestly, you're being kind of childish. 4chan is community moderated. Mods are like you and me: idiots. And imagining your bitching to have any effect except underlining your personality then I have news for your ego. No one cares, least of all 4chan.
>>7776522
someone asked something that was covered by something that was already typed; retyping that is annoying.
but yes, you make a valid point. positive contributions are kind of pointless at this point, 4chan should be used for shitposting only, if at all
my kyocera ceramic knife stays sharp as fuck for 8 months. then I just send it back to them to be sharpened. it;s back within a week.
>>7776472
not op but this is why I'm afraid to buy a good knife
>>7776598
Buy a good knife. Don't buy an expensive knife.
It's a piece of steel that you use the edge of to mutilate other stuff. It wears some. You always have to correct that. Some people like to spend hundreds of moneys and the better part of an hour each time, other just use knives. I just refreshed my cheapest-available kitchen knife with the steel, took me 10 seconds, and the soft tomato I was cutting sliced nicely.
Isn't the most important question
>Does it cut?
>>7776682
that soft-tomato test is the best
>>7776685
It will kill.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEhghNAj1nA
>>7773666
If you want something CHEAP, I recommend Kiwi brand knives. Every chef in Thailand uses them, and they can be had for $2-5. Used to use them at work. Soft metal dulls somewhat quickly, but they can be sharpened in seconds
>>7776726
I didn't know these. Will try to get one in one of the asian markets later.
