The Tourist
Banned
To the average citizen, I am a sharpener. That's not an accurate term, but it opens dialog for the most part.
In a very general sense, there are sharpeners, tinkers and polishers. I am a tinker.
A sharpener could be anyone with a wet rock and a touch of skill. A tinker offers a wider slate of services, including minor repairs to knives, pots and jewelry (usually the clasps). A polisher is a guild craft in repairing and refurbishing samurai swords, requiring many years with a togi master.
However, there is no reason why a tinker cannot use polishers' tools, and that is where I am on the togi totem.
I'm sure that many of you just scratched your heads and said, "Yikes, that must be a narrow, fractal craft."
In many ways, it is. But as the utilization of Japanese kitchen knives increases, the need for tinkers also rises. You don't grind a 2,000 dollar Hattori gyuto on Jed Clampett's scythe grindstone.
Most traditional kitchen knives are sharpened at 20 degrees. Many of the nakiris and gyutos I sharpen are at 6 to 8 degrees. The blade blank is made from numerous layers of varying metal alloys, tempered to harder HRC standards than is usually seen in this country.
So why did this happen? I believe it centered around 'plating' or in clear terms "presentation." Many chefs and sous-chefs are known by signature dishes. They want a pleasing entree for the diner, and more precise knives are required.
For a fugu chef, a sashimi with a rough edge might poison a client.
I polish bevels and edges to a mirror finish, and that's not an idle boast. I believe that this is needed for quality Japanese knives. And I throw the "kitchen sink" at the issue.
I use Edge Pro devices (many fittings Ben and I worked on together), plus 12,000 grit freehand stones, leather, pastes, glass, strops, brass--whatever the knife needs. Here is an edge on a very cheap knife...
In a very general sense, there are sharpeners, tinkers and polishers. I am a tinker.
A sharpener could be anyone with a wet rock and a touch of skill. A tinker offers a wider slate of services, including minor repairs to knives, pots and jewelry (usually the clasps). A polisher is a guild craft in repairing and refurbishing samurai swords, requiring many years with a togi master.
However, there is no reason why a tinker cannot use polishers' tools, and that is where I am on the togi totem.
I'm sure that many of you just scratched your heads and said, "Yikes, that must be a narrow, fractal craft."
In many ways, it is. But as the utilization of Japanese kitchen knives increases, the need for tinkers also rises. You don't grind a 2,000 dollar Hattori gyuto on Jed Clampett's scythe grindstone.
Most traditional kitchen knives are sharpened at 20 degrees. Many of the nakiris and gyutos I sharpen are at 6 to 8 degrees. The blade blank is made from numerous layers of varying metal alloys, tempered to harder HRC standards than is usually seen in this country.
So why did this happen? I believe it centered around 'plating' or in clear terms "presentation." Many chefs and sous-chefs are known by signature dishes. They want a pleasing entree for the diner, and more precise knives are required.
For a fugu chef, a sashimi with a rough edge might poison a client.
I polish bevels and edges to a mirror finish, and that's not an idle boast. I believe that this is needed for quality Japanese knives. And I throw the "kitchen sink" at the issue.
I use Edge Pro devices (many fittings Ben and I worked on together), plus 12,000 grit freehand stones, leather, pastes, glass, strops, brass--whatever the knife needs. Here is an edge on a very cheap knife...
