...ahh, it still doesn't look quite right...
- Thread starter The Tourist
- Start date
S.Shepherd
New member
Perfect Buzz!! I was just thinking of them...I think I even remember seeing them at William Sonoma for about $10, in their bins of kitchen goodies
The Tourist
Banned
Buzz, that looks like a winner, case and all!
Would you rate the quality about the JWW picnic knife, or is it about the same?
I used the JWW product--actually six of them--and even sent one to Locutus. The idea is sound, I grant you. I found the blade a tad thin.
I had to go over to JWW and refresh my memory. Nice looking knife and better looking wood. When I put the Suncraft up to the JWW picture it appears that the JWW is slightly wider for what it's worth. The flex on the Suncraft is not so much that it shouldn't make a good steak knife. At only $4 difference in price I'd think they would both work well down at Ruth's Chris.
Buzz
Here's an option, a Japanese Suncraft with saya. Made in Seiki city. It's of kasumi construction and although only guessing because of the way it sharpens I think the hagane might be Uddeholm or Sandvik Swedish steel. The jigane is SUS-410. Don't let the price fool you as the blade is good. The handle is sort of cheap with a single pin but what would one expect at this price? I googled "Suncraft knives" and lo and behold I dug up a post I wrote about a year ago on a small and rather obscure cooking site. Here's what I said:
I chopped a few vegetables on the rubber board but put some real pressure on the edge while slicing and dicing conch on a poly/plastic board. This stuff is much harder on edges than people have been led to believe. Today I retested the knife's sharpness. The forward half of the knife had lost most of its ability to push cut and slice paper, my personal gauge for sharpness. Cheap steel would crumble and not come back to original sharpness when realigning the edge with a smooth steel. Quality steel will until it eventually becomes fatigued and needs to be reworked on the stones. I used a borosilicate (glass) smooth honing rod and, when retested, the blade had come back to life and push cut paper on all sections of the blade. It was as good as when I had finished sharpening it.
For the money, this knife is an absolute steal!
The blade is 3 3/4", very thin but not overly flexible. Just about right I'd say.
Did I mention.... about $10?
I think it is a cute knife! But, cute may be the kiss of death coming from me. lol Sorry.
The Tourist
Banned
No, darling, I'm afraid I tried a very similar knife last year. I guess my chunky little knife is the best choice for right now.
I've been looking around the house for some kind of a "food preparation" project just to check out the practicality of my choice and to purposely dull the edge. I've found that subsequent sharpening/polishing help root out the minor imperfections in a new knife.
If I had a metric ton of celery to dice that would be perfect. I might have to settle for slicing a cardboard 24-pack of Mountain Dew into thin strips.
Ya' know, that's a frustrating condition for me. New knife, no cuttin' needed. I took my new Myerchin A377 and trimmed off the loose threads in a dryer full of towels tonight while watching CSI...
The Tourist
Banned
Here's the update based on the knife's first outing.
Saturday afternoon "the posse" and I went to Perkins just to have lunch and chat. I took the chunky knife with me for the test.
I decided to order a "typical American meal." Several slices of turkey white meat, baked potato, stuffing, peppered corn, and of course dark thick gravy--afagado.
I would call the outing a 99% success. Yes, considering the size of the blade it was a tad overkill. And of course I showed the thing no mercy. It got soaked in butter, gravy and salt and it was slid mercilessly across the plate. It might seem odd, but a pristine bevel across a china plate is an edge killer.
And that was part of the problem.
While the edge was (on my scale) between scary and spooky*, the edge was missing that final crispness to cleanly slice through the potato skin. Yes, it sliced through meat and the potato itself, but just slid right across the skin--several times.
I think the problem was with me and my usual standard. I have a bad habit of putting a perfect mirror edge on everything--and let's face it, that's not always needed or wanted. A slightly 'toothy' edge might have grabbed slippery, gravy soaked skin better.
It might have also dulled faster across the plate.
I'm up it the air here. It's 'just' 440C steel. It's not super hard, in fact with a basic Edge Pro 400 series waterstone I could actually shape the bevel. Seat of my pants puts that at Rc 57, certainly no more. In other words "better than a railroad track, but a line-drive away from a Graham Razel."
Perhaps it needed a bit more refinement. I mirror finished it again this afternoon.
If it slides more, I'll scale back the polishing to a somewhat matte' finish and try again. Tomorrow I'll dig around for some colby cheese and a stick of sausage.
I must say I'm disappointed.
*Biker scale--dull, utility, sharp, very sharp, scary, spooky, toasty.
Saturday afternoon "the posse" and I went to Perkins just to have lunch and chat. I took the chunky knife with me for the test.
I decided to order a "typical American meal." Several slices of turkey white meat, baked potato, stuffing, peppered corn, and of course dark thick gravy--afagado.
I would call the outing a 99% success. Yes, considering the size of the blade it was a tad overkill. And of course I showed the thing no mercy. It got soaked in butter, gravy and salt and it was slid mercilessly across the plate. It might seem odd, but a pristine bevel across a china plate is an edge killer.
And that was part of the problem.
While the edge was (on my scale) between scary and spooky*, the edge was missing that final crispness to cleanly slice through the potato skin. Yes, it sliced through meat and the potato itself, but just slid right across the skin--several times.
I think the problem was with me and my usual standard. I have a bad habit of putting a perfect mirror edge on everything--and let's face it, that's not always needed or wanted. A slightly 'toothy' edge might have grabbed slippery, gravy soaked skin better.
It might have also dulled faster across the plate.
I'm up it the air here. It's 'just' 440C steel. It's not super hard, in fact with a basic Edge Pro 400 series waterstone I could actually shape the bevel. Seat of my pants puts that at Rc 57, certainly no more. In other words "better than a railroad track, but a line-drive away from a Graham Razel."
Perhaps it needed a bit more refinement. I mirror finished it again this afternoon.
If it slides more, I'll scale back the polishing to a somewhat matte' finish and try again. Tomorrow I'll dig around for some colby cheese and a stick of sausage.
I must say I'm disappointed.
*Biker scale--dull, utility, sharp, very sharp, scary, spooky, toasty.
I understand, TT, I have had my own holy grails in the past and it can be damn frustrating to search in vain for the perfect "X" and not be able to achieve your goal but sometimes over time, one can get lucky and find it if you stick with it. That is how I found the copper insert bowl for the ka mixer. Different problem, same idea. I wanted this bowl because copper is the best when it comes to beating egg whites. Now, I need to buy a mixer for it.
Andy taught me to be a bit practical with knives. He loved his toys from his catering days and had those tucked away but for everyday use, he went to restaurant supply and when they dulled and couldn't be sharpened, he went and bought another. He also was afraid after "the bad cleaver incident" that I would cut myself badly. [I just missed the bone in one of my fingers when the cleaver slipped when I tried to half an acorn squash and should have had stitches but I got to the ER a bit late. At least the scar isn't very noticeable but there was a lot of blood everywhere]
Andy taught me to be a bit practical with knives. He loved his toys from his catering days and had those tucked away but for everyday use, he went to restaurant supply and when they dulled and couldn't be sharpened, he went and bought another. He also was afraid after "the bad cleaver incident" that I would cut myself badly. [I just missed the bone in one of my fingers when the cleaver slipped when I tried to half an acorn squash and should have had stitches but I got to the ER a bit late. At least the scar isn't very noticeable but there was a lot of blood everywhere]
The Tourist
Banned
That's why I write these tests up. It might seem like a critique in general, but just about all food hobbyists here probably have better-than-average tools and appliances, and that includes knives.
Me? I had to be shown how to use a Pampered Chef can-opener. (It didn't follow the rim in parallel. You engaged the edge perpendicularly.)
I carry a pocketknife that has been tested to be sharper than my doctor's scalpel.
I do not know which skillet, pot, pan or microwave dish is needed for scrambled eggs.
Well, whatever the tools of your trade or hobby, you are going to want the best you can afford or at least put it on your wish list.
I got this as a gift for Christmas:
http://www.foodnetworkstore.com/ProductDetail.aspx?R=513722&ccaid=FNFROOG513722
It came from a different store but it is absoeffing bee-you-t-full!!!
I got this as a gift for Christmas:
http://www.foodnetworkstore.com/ProductDetail.aspx?R=513722&ccaid=FNFROOG513722
It came from a different store but it is absoeffing bee-you-t-full!!!
The Tourist
Banned
Strange as it might seem...
For me, I'd rather drive my own truck than fly on the best airline going. I don't sleep as well in a hotel bed, I'm actually 'sleep deprived' at the end of a vacation. I like Harley jeans better than Armani suits. I like my jackknife. I like McDonalds cheeseburgers.
In short, I am a creature of comfort, but defining comfort in my own terms. As I've stated, I'll go through several restaurant forks until I find one with straight, uniform times.
Money or cost are not the issue. I can dress from head to foot in crap you'd throw away. My wife just commented that my heavy winter coat has to go. It's somewhere between 12 and 15 years old and the collar is corroding.
So a good knife for restaurant use is a valid quest. Not so much for an ego trip, but for an experience of "no worries."
I once told a friend that the joy of winning a lottery was not be the cash, but rather the freedom from money. I wouldn't be the kind that carried a big wad of Benjamins. I'd carry a debit card and care less. Coin of the realm would be invisible.
When I find the perfect restaurant knife, that too will be invisible. It will slice as demanded, require little to no care, wash with the rest of dishes, handle the abuse and take its chips without a care.