Asian style knifes

[Dogman]

About a month ago on a lark I ordered and got a Chinese/Japanese chopper/cleaver styled knife from Ontario knife that was made of 1095 carbon steel and loved it, have several knifes by them all carbon (will rust if not taken care of ) that I am very happy with, take a razor edge, easy to sharpen to that edge.

When I was stationed in Thailand the women there used a knife with round cutting blocks (part of a tree trunk made of Tamarind wood, I think) to do anything cooking and etc. They used a knife they called a long tailed knife that had a long tapered handle with a curved bade that maybe was 1/4 of the length or so that I think was made out of spring steel ( truck spring ? ) that at the time I thought of bringing a few back with me, but I did not, and kicked my ass ever since. Great working knifes for chopping vegs, meat and Thai stick up into a usable form, for a bong or whatever. But enough of reminiscing.

I have never found that style knife on the web, but that got me interested in Asian cooking knifes but never enough to do anything about it until now.

Should receive 3 knifes from japan that should round out my kitchen knifes, (I think)

8" Blade Sashimi Chef Knife overall 13"
6.5" Blade Nariki Chef Knife overall 11 7/8"
6.5" Blade Santoku Chef Knife overall 11 7/8"

I know there are longer ones, but I am intrigued by them and what they offer is good enough for me, I use my fish filet knife now for thin slicing but the blade is very flexible as it should be which is not a good thing all the time.

Question: Any of you use or have used Asian knifes or style in your day to day kitchen work?

[Blink]

http://www.warriorsandwonders.com/index.php?main_page=advanced_search_result&search_in_description=1&keyword=shun


I use these in my kitchen (home, not occupation). Just some of the basic ones that us westerner's would use (paring/cleaver/mid/large/roast). Killer sharp, light, ergonomic. Only issue I have is that they are rather expensive. But, I'm a blade guy so I always try to shoot for the best that I can afford.....

[Dogman]

http://www.warriorsandwonders.com/index.php?main_page=advanced_search_result&search_in_description=1&keyword=shun


I use these in my kitchen (home, not occupation). Just some of the basic ones that us westerner's would use (paring/cleaver/mid/large/roast). Killer sharp, light, ergonomic. Only issue I have is that they are rather expensive. But, I'm a blade guy so I always try to shoot for the best that I can afford..... Thanks, One usually gets what you pay for. My g parents used to say , buy cheap you buy again, buy quality you buy for a lifetime.

One thing that I am eager to try is one of these knifes has a left handed grind, that is it has only one bevel and the other side is flat, chisel ground, have never seen or used one before.

[Glass]

yes quality costs and is worth it. Sometimes you can't do it but when you can you should.

I'm enjoying my newly rediscovered cheap chinese cleaver. Great to handle and the weight being right there it makes for a fairly fast action. Can achieve a nice thin slice. Pretty good for $20. The handle will need some oiling or something I think. A bit raw and might suffer from water soakage.

Dogman if you can find an example of the blade you are looking for I might be able to help in a couple months. At least take a look about see what I can find. I've been talking to someone who spends a lot of time in BK and it sounds like there is a good knife district there. I hope I can get there and take a good look around. I had some thai tv shows on street and market cooking. Maybe someone in those were using what you mean. I'm trying to picture it but I never really paid much attention to what choppers they were using.

[Dogman]

yes quality costs and is worth it. Sometimes you can't do it but when you can you should.

I'm enjoying my newly rediscovered cheap chinese cleaver. Great to handle and the weight being right there it makes for a fairly fast action. Can achieve a nice thin slice. Pretty good for $20. The handle will need some oiling or something I think. A bit raw and might suffer from water soakage.

Dogman if you can find an example of the blade you are looking for I might be able to help in a couple months. At least take a look about see what I can find. I've been talking to someone who spends a lot of time in BK and it sounds like there is a good knife district there. I hope I can get there and take a good look around. I had some thai tv shows on street and market cooking. Maybe someone in those were using what you mean. I'm trying to picture it but I never really paid much attention to what choppers they were using. I have almost worn out the internet trying to find a example of one of those knifes that I swear they call them "Long tailed knifes" IIRC they were maybe at most 24 inches long and most of the length is handle, which was round in fact the whole knife was curved. The blade had a curve to it that ended in a sharp point that was perfect for rocking the blade on a round cutting block for mincing or slicing. They may have been a regional thing, Ubon was close to Cambodia and laos so the people there were mixed at the time because of the war. I do remember you could shave with them and also the local barbers had mini versions of the long tailed knifes that they used for trimming, in fact their hair clippers were hand powered.

[Glass]

ok. kind of getting an idea.

not like this though:
http://importfood.com/media/cwka1401-1m.jpg

[Dogman]

ok. kind of getting an idea.

not like this though:
http://importfood.com/media/cwka1401-1m.jpg

Blade shape is close to right, but a tad smaller and the handle is much longer with a tapered curve and the end is a point, sorta like if you use a deer antler as a handle

Edit.

Also the blades were black as sin, only the edges shined because of sharpening and honing. But they could take an ungodly edge and keep it! Seems like every bungalow or woman and man that cooked had one and was the primary knife for most everything!

[Glass]

Blade shape is close to right, but a tad smaller and the handle is much longer with a tapered curve and the end is a point, sorta like if you use a deer antler as a handle

Ok I do know the ones you mean. Trying to think where I have seen them. Maybe Korean? But like you said, maybe from further east than Thailand.

[Dogman]

Well I received my Japanese knifes and one word....Incredible !

Plan white untreated wood handle that I need to treat with oil or some kind of finish but the real deal are the blades, all three are barber razor hairsplitting sharp out of the box, literally ! Cutting meat and vegs with them is the same as using a cutthroat razor that is only bigger!

More later after some more use !

Happy,happy,happy!

;)

[Shami-Amourae]

When I was in the culinary industry people either worked with German or Japanese style knives.

I'm a big German fan since German knives are big, bulky, and strong.

Japanese knives are thin, flexible (sometimes), light, and precise. They can sometimes snap and break when cutting something thick and hard. One of my co-worker's knife snapped in half while cutting a large wheel of hard jack cheese. That would never happen with a German knife.

I prefer German since the added weight gives you more force.

Brand-wise if you want a good Asian style knife I'd recommend Globals. They were used by more cooks and chefs than any other Japanese knife, at least in the circles I kept.
http://www.foodgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/globalknife.jpg

For German-style I'd recommend Messermeister. Those were the hottest knives overall when I was cooking. This is what one of mine looks like. Buy it here. (http://www.amazon.com/Messermeister-Moritz-Elite-8-Inch-Chefs/dp/B00004XS09)
http://kitchenknifeguru.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/messer_meridian_messr3_ed8.png



Personally I can't comment much on Chinese knives (like cleavers.) I think they are more-or-less gimmicks like chop-sticks. That's my opinion though.

Stick to a tried and true Chef's knife that's 6 to 9" long, preferably 8". I'm speaking from professional experience by the way. I've cooked for years in the industry and many of my co-workers have become celebrities in the culinary world. I left to run my current business.


If you want the best of the best Asian-style I'd buy this:
http://www.amazon.com/Global-G-2-inch-Chefs-Knife/dp/B00005OL44

[Dogman]

When I was in the culinary industry people either worked with German or Japanese style knives.

I'm a big German fan since German knives are big, bulky, and strong.

Japanese knives are thin, flexible (sometimes), light, and precise. They can sometimes snap and break when cutting something thick and hard. One of my co-worker's knife snapped in half while cutting a large wheel of hard jack cheese. That would never happen with a German knife.

I prefer German since the added weight gives you more force.

Brand-wise if you want a good Asian style knife I'd recommend Globals. They were used by more cooks and chefs than any other Japanese knife, at least in the circles I kept.
http://www.foodgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/globalknife.jpg

For German-style I'd recommend Messermeister. Those were the hottest knives overall when I was cooking. This is what one of mine looks like. Buy it here. (http://www.amazon.com/Messermeister-Moritz-Elite-8-Inch-Chefs/dp/B00004XS09)
http://kitchenknifeguru.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/messer_meridian_messr3_ed8.png



Personally I can't comment much on Chinese knives (like cleavers.) I think they are more-or-less gimmicks like chop-sticks. That's my opinion though.

Stick to a tried and true Chef's knife that's 6 to 9" long, preferably 8". I'm speaking from professional experience by the way. I've cooked for years in the industry and many of my co-workers have become celebrities in the culinary world. I left to run my current business.


If you want the best of the best Asian-style I'd buy this:
http://www.amazon.com/Global-G-2-inch-Chefs-Knife/dp/B00005OL44

I have several examples of knifes made in solingen germany that makes me think they do make some great knifes, some are stainless and others are carbon steel, I like the carbon steel ones better.

Have several eye brand plus a few others that I like the hell out of.

But I do digress that different knifes and knife styles have been developed for different uses and styles of cooking in different parts of the world. I as all of us have used the wrong knife cutting the right things when cooking. There is no one knife design that will do it all well as one designed for the task at hand.

Heavy cutting requires a heaver knife and the weight of the knife becomes important along with toughness. But on the other end of the scale lighter, thinner knifes can easily do what a heavy knife may have trouble with.

These Japanese knifes round out my kitchen knifes for heavy cutting to paper thin slicing, depending on what I want for my meals, and give me much more versatility in my slicing and dicing, plus first impression is these jap knifes have some very good steel in them, but time will tell.

Your friend cutting cheese with a thin knife was a fool, only idiots try that the cheese wants to stick to the blade and creates mondo drag and stress on the blade if cutting into large chunks.

Besides I would rather spend my money on a good Timex rather than a Rolex watch when they do the same thing just as well. The same goes with my knifes, good steel is good steel depending on the mix and grade and I would rather pay for that steel without paying for the brand/name when it is the same steel alloy used.

[Dogman]

Been using the three knifes now for a tad and one word = WOW !

Wicked sharp, easy to keep sharp and slices and dices better than anything I have used in the past.

And I have the self inflicetd cuts to myself to prove it.. ;D

Sorta chezzy handles but easy fix..

[Half Sense]

I have used J.A. Henckel knives since the 1970s when I was a meat carver and cook. My wife managed to break the small paring knife blade by using it as a prybar, but other than that they have lasted forever and hold an edge well.

[Dogman]

I have used J.A. Henckel knives since the 1970s when I was a meat carver and cook. My wife managed to break the small paring knife blade by using it as a prybar, but other than that they have lasted forever and hold an edge well.


A bunch of very good knifes do meet their mortal doom, being used as a prybar... Or at least if not doom falling out of favor , sucks.

But we all are to blame for doing the same at one point or other in our lifes...

Sad but still a Truth !

;D