Wow, what a great site! Tnx Ronnie! ....but I can see it's going to be a time-spending black hole for me. Ouf. Just what I needed. Still and all, tnx Ronnie!

Geo

Geo wrote:Wow, what a great site! Tnx Ronnie! ....but I can see it's going to be a time-spending black hole for me. Ouf. Just what I needed. Still and all, tnx Ronnie!

Geo

Don't thank me. Thank gastro gnome. And yes, it's a major rabbit hole. But at least now, I know how little I actually know!

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Korin is offering 15% off on knives until 12/31/19
https://www.korin.com/

Misen is offering a 25% off sale, site wide. Use coupon code
HOLIDAY25. It has been extended through the weekend, so 11/30 & 12/1/2019. They seem to be automagically applying the discount without the need to enter the code. YMMV.

This thread has convinced me to order from them, as well as a Misono from Korin.

edited to update the sale dates and to say, I ordered the knives. The Korin sale, mentioned by G Wiv, includes free shipping on knives over $100, but you have to put in a code and be sure to select the UPS lower 48 state shipping.

I'm not a professional chef, cook, whatever the PC term is, I cook for me and occasionally for friends/neighbours. I'd like to improve my knife skills, but the classes I've seen around here, in Portland Oregon mostly, seem to be taught by a clerk at the kitchen store. Maybe they know their stuff, but I have no way to judge.

So, does anyone here know of classes around here that I can trust, or Youtube videos that are trustworthy?

Thanks for any guidance you can provide.

Xexo wrote:I'm not a professional chef, cook, whatever the PC term is, I cook for me and occasionally for friends/neighbours. I'd like to improve my knife skills, but the classes I've seen around here, in Portland Oregon mostly, seem to be taught by a clerk at the kitchen store. Maybe they know their stuff, but I have no way to judge.

So, does anyone here know of classes around here that I can trust, or Youtube videos that are trustworthy?

Thanks for any guidance you can provide.

Poke around youtube. I'm confident you'll find many helpful videos. They won't all be great, though. That's for sure.

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So I got my 3 Misen knives yesterday - paring/utility/chef's - really nice weight and feel. Only issue was the chef's had a small patch of pitting out towards the end on one side. Not horrible, but bad enough that it was easily visible to the naked eye. I've contacted them via email, response was quick - that they've had a large number of emails and would respond in 24-72 hours. Not sure how they will handle it, but I'll let you all know once I hear back....

I've been very happy with the same Misen Knives three pack, the bread knife is a favorite!

Been jonesing for an old school carbon steel wood handled knife for a while, and I recently found some at an unlikely source: Townsends reenactment company out of Indiana sells a really nice set of hand forged carbon steel kitchen knives for reasonable prices (https://www.townsends.us/products/cooks ... 173-p-1325):


In a previous life I was pretty heavily involved in the reenactment scene, and I know from experience that a lot of the stuff sold in that scene is costume quality only or just plain crap. But these knives are the real deal. The edges are sharp out of the box, the handles are solid (and beautiful with the tiger stripe wood), and the blades taper up to a pretty stout spine that makes them ideal for kitchen butchery tasks like taking apart a chicken.


Despite the robust blades, the edges are more than fine enough for delicate cutting too. Scallions fell apart cleanly with with a rock chop, with no ragged edges or pieces sticking together:

I'm very happy with these Townsends knives, which upon further digging I find out are made by an Indiana guy named Jeff White. The only caveats are that the blades must be hand dried like any carbon steel blade, and that the handles seem to be untreated wood and should probably be sealed so they don't soak up too much moisture. I strongly recommend these to anyone looking for a highly functional but old fashioned kitchen knife.

eating while walking wrote:Been jonesing for an old school carbon steel wood handled knife for a while, and I recently found some at an unlikely source: Townsends reenactment company out of Indiana sells a really nice set of hand forged carbon steel kitchen knives for reasonable prices:


In a previous life I was pretty heavily involved in the reenactment scene, and I know from experience that a lot of the stuff sold in that scene is costume quality only or just plain crap. But these knives are the real deal. The edges are sharp out of the box, the handles are solid (and beautiful with the tiger stripe wood), and the blades taper up to a pretty stout spine that makes them ideal for kitchen butchery tasks like taking apart a chicken.


The edges are fine enough for delicate cutting too. Scallions fell apart cleanly with with a rock chop, with no ragged edges or pieces sticking together:

I'm very happy with these Townsends knives, which upon further digging I find out are made by an Indiana guy named Jeff White. The only caveats are that the blades must be hand dried like any carbon steel blade, and that the handles seem to be untreated wood and should probably be sealed so they don't soak up too much moisture. I strongly recommend these to anyone looking for a highly functional but old fashioned kitchen knife.

Very cool. Do you know what kind of steel they're made from?

I would suggest Tru-Oil for those handles. Its main use is gun stocks but it does a great job on unfinished knife handles, too, and it won't alter their color very much at all.

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ronnie_suburban wrote:Very cool. Do you know what kind of steel they're made from?
I would suggest Tru-Oil for those handles. Its main use is gun stocks but it does a great job on unfinished knife handles, too, and it won't alter their color very much at all.

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Thanks for the Tru Oil tip Ronnie, I’ll check it out. These are made from 1095 steel I believe.

Mineral oil ( You can get it at any drug store ) will also do a good job, but I imagine that the gun oil would do a better job.

eating while walking wrote:Been jonesing for an old school carbon steel wood handled knife for a while, and I recently found some at an unlikely source: Townsends reenactment company out of Indiana sells a really nice set of hand forged carbon steel kitchen knives for reasonable prices (https://www.townsends.us/products/cooks ... 173-p-1325):


In a previous life I was pretty heavily involved in the reenactment scene, and I know from experience that a lot of the stuff sold in that scene is costume quality only or just plain crap. But these knives are the real deal. The edges are sharp out of the box, the handles are solid (and beautiful with the tiger stripe wood), and the blades taper up to a pretty stout spine that makes them ideal for kitchen butchery tasks like taking apart a chicken.


Despite the robust blades, the edges are more than fine enough for delicate cutting too. Scallions fell apart cleanly with with a rock chop, with no ragged edges or pieces sticking together:

I'm very happy with these Townsends knives, which upon further digging I find out are made by an Indiana guy named Jeff White. The only caveats are that the blades must be hand dried like any carbon steel blade, and that the handles seem to be untreated wood and should probably be sealed so they don't soak up too much moisture. I strongly recommend these to anyone looking for a highly functional but old fashioned kitchen knife.

Very cool. Thanks for the tip. For that price and free shipping, I'll be adding to my collection!

Korin is currently offering all in-stock items, including knives, at 20% discount. This brings my favorite Misono carbon steel 8.2-inch chef knife to $95.00.

So I got a set of Opinel steak knives for Christmas and just got to use them today. I'm a huge fan of Opinel's classic simplicity and have carried a No. 7 Carbone for years, but unfortunately these steak knives are a step down in quality from the rest of the Opinel lineup. They have the classic look, but the blades are overly flexible and the edges are somewhat soft. They cut OK, but once again suffer in comparison to my No. 7 which just glides through meat.

So my review of these knives is kinda so-so. Not terrible but there must be better choices out there.

A bit late, but then as Robin Williams once said at a show in San Francisco, "better latent than never."

Bottom up:
First two are Misen 6" utility and 8" chef's.
Third is Sakai Takayuki 33-Layer VG10 Damascus Hammered Japanese Chef's Gyuto Knife 210mm, from Hocho Knife.
Forth is Misono Swedish Carbon Steel Gyutou 8.2" (21cm) - Right handed, from Korin.
Finally at the top is Takamura Chromax Gyuto 210mm, from Chef Knives to Go.

The Misen recommended by several people here, he Misono by Gary, and the other two by ronnie suburban. So far, I've only used the Misen. I'm a bit scared to use the others, thinking they are too good for me.

My older knives.

Bottom up:
First, I have no idea what this knife is, not even sure where I got it, must likely an estate sale for a couple of bucks. I used it at work to cut up Costco 1/2 sheet cakes. Worked great for that.
Second, a bread knife which I grew up with. Have no idea where my mom got it. Still cuts fine. Yes, that is electrician's tape holding the handle together.
Third, a Stainless Steel fishing knife. Bought by my mom or brother back in the early 1970s. Mom had two, and gave me this one when I got my own apartment in the late 70s. Used it to shut a door to door knife salesman down cold. His knives weren't as good, or as sharp.
Fourth, a Stainless Steel, Robinson's chef knife made in Solingen Germany. About 8.75" long. Can't find out much about this knife. Again, I don't remember buying it, but an estate sale buy, not more than 3 bucks.
Fifth and Sixth, carbon steel, I think, no id what so ever on them, about 10". Again, estate sale finds, no more than 3 bucks each. The knife sharpner at the Saturday Market told me they were good knives. Recently started using these and must say, I like the 10" knife, I didn't think I would.

Misen has added the "Short Chef" knife, for those who need a shorter chef knife. A 6.8 inch knife for $55, in case anyone here needs one.