I just bought a... (non clothing item)

Originally Posted by SField

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The blade is stunning. The mother of pearl is great too but I don't know how practical it is?

That's abalone, actually.

Originally Posted by kwilkinson

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Freaking beautiful.
You'll get there, K.

Originally Posted by SField

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The blade is stunning. The mother of pearl is great too but I don't know how practical it is?
Nantucket is right -- it is abalone. Practicality? I don't know if I'm really worried. A $400 chef's knife is not really practical, and at that price it's going to be babied. As abalone is pretty thin, so it is laminated to grey/white Corian scales, (with red liners!), which you can just make out in the reflection (it's clearer in some of the other abalone knives). Also, it is stabilized with a coating of epoxy to keep it from being chipped, and while that comes at some cost to the finish, I think it's worth it. I like all of his handle materials except those multiple-material affairs, which are too busy for me. I have a water buffalo slicer; I'd love a stag, an ironwood, and that grey camel is stunning, but there's nothing like the abalone -- in it's own way it mirrors the patterns of the blade, too.

Originally Posted by kronik

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Goddamnit Huntsman - post this stuff earlier. I would have been all over the grey camel bone Santoku or Gyuto.
I would have if I knew -- he usually gets allotments every four to six months, and there was one in November! I usually start checking the website two months after an allotment, and I check it daily. Today I clicked on it by accident, (happy accident, but at Christmas!!), and the camels were gone. At least the grey, and they were the awesome ones. All I can say is check early and often. ~ H

Gorgeous knife and neat knife website, H. What knife would you recommend for maximum practicality?
I'm thinking something w/ a 5-6 inch blade for general use -- like the Hattori HD-3 or the GEKKO GE-1M. Are any brands on that site better than others? Is that site's pricing good in general?

Oops, double post.

Originally Posted by emptym

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Gorgeous knife and neat knife website, H. What knife would you recommend for maximum practicality?
I'm thinking something w/ a 5-6 inch blade for general use -- like the Hattori HD-3 or the GEKKO GE-1M. Are any brands on that site better than others? Is that site's pricing good in general?

The Washington Post ran an interesting article in the summer about local chefs and their home kitchens. One recommendation was that you don't actually need many knives. If memory serves, the list was like this:

A chef's knife (~9 inches);
A paring knife;
A serated knife (a small one, not a bread knife).


And that's it. The only thing I would add is a flexible fish boning knife if you eat a lot of fish, as I do.

b

Thanks R. I miss the Wash Post. I have those three knives, but when cooking for one, which I usually do, I find the chef's knife (my grandfather's old 10" carbon Wustof) is too large and the paring knife (a Henkels I bought in college) is too small. So I've been thinking of getting a good in-between knife and thought a Japanese one might be good to try.

I think we have a 7" that I use pretty often too. It is handy.

b

Originally Posted by emptym

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Gorgeous knife and neat knife website, H. What knife would you recommend for maximum practicality? I'm thinking something w/ a 5-6 inch blade for general use -- like the Hattori HD-3 or the GEKKO GE-1M. Are any brands on that site better than others? Is that site's pricing good in general?
I don't have a wide enough experience to tell you, though I do know that the Hattoris are very well regarded, though I've never even seen one. I've never heard complaint about Koki's prices; I know I couldn't afford an Itou if I saw it at a knife show here in the States, though. And the service is incredibly good. For general use, my favorite size is my Henckles 8" Chef, (which has an actual blade length of 7.625")

Originally Posted by rdawson808

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The Washington Post ran an interesting article in the summer about local chefs and their home kitchens. One recommendation was that you don't actually need many knives. If memory serves, the list was like this: A chef's knife (~9 inches); A paring knife; A serated knife (a small one, not a bread knife). And that's it. The only thing I would add is a flexible fish boning knife if you eat a lot of fish, as I do. b
Meh. A small serrated knife? Why? I would, at a minimum, require:

• 8" Chef -- the Workhorse
• 5-6" Utility knife -- for fine slicing and other work that the V of the chef's knife makes annoying
• Boner
• Paring knife
• Fillet knife
• Bread knife
• Large knife -- for cutting things like melons, squash, etc.

~ H

Originally Posted by Huntsman

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I don't have a wide enough experience to tell you, though I do know that the Hattoris are very well regarded, though I've never even seen one. I've never heard complaint about Koki's prices; I know I couldn't afford an Itou if I saw it at a knife show here in the States, though. And the service is incredibly good.

For general use, my favorite size is my Henckles 8" Chef, (which has an actual blade length of 7.625")


Meh. A small serrated knife? Why? I would, at a minimum, require:

• 8" Chef -- the Workhorse
  
• 5-6" Utility knife -- for fine slicing and other work that the V of the chef's knife makes annoying
  
• Boner
  
• Paring knife
  
• Fillet knife
  
• Bread knife
  
• Large knife -- for cutting things like melons, squash, etc.

~ H

I mean this in the nicest way possible, but if you need all those knives you should consider someone who is knowledgeable to teach you how to use a knife, because if you can't get by with a chef's and pairing for 99% of tasks, then you aren't any good with knives in general. Then again, I know you're a knife man so half of it is probably all about taking them out and sharpening/honing them, but there can be something said for proper technique.

...

Originally Posted by rdawson808

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A serated knife (a small one, not a bread knife).


b

what do you use the small serated one for?

and no cleaver? I like my cleaver.

I was just citing what this chef said--and I think it holds pretty true from my daily cooking experience. That said, we own two santokus, 9" and 7" chef's knives, two small paring knives, a 5" serated, and a bread knife.

The chef's point was that all of these knives are repetitive since you really only need a few. For instance, in our collection, we do not need a 9" chef's knife and two santokus. The one chef's knife is fine. Look at Huntsman's list: that 8" workhorse should do the same work as the "big knife" he requires. And it seems the utility knife and the paring knife would be interchangeable.

And I have found the small serated knife to be very useful for many tasks (don't ask now, I'll try to think to write stuff down when I do it). Frankly, I never thought it would be as useful as it is.

Finally, like I said, I'd add a filleting knife for fish. Fish is simply too delicate to take a big knife. At least with my skills. I'll need to take a class to really know how to use it.


b

Originally Posted by SField

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I mean this in the nicest way possible, but if you need all those knives you should consider someone who is knowledgeable to teach you how to use a knife, because if you can't get by with a chef's and pairing for 99% of tasks, then you aren't any good with knives in general. Then again, I know you're a knife man so half of it is probably all about taking them out and sharpening/honing them, but there can be something said for proper technique.
No offense even considered. And yes, I enjoy the knives, so it's a little more than 'need.' All the same, I was aiming for a pretty inclusive list for 99.99% of tasks an advanced avocational cook would need, my personal interest aside. Not merely to 'get by' I could get by with my chef's knife alone, easily I imagine, but for efficiency, ease, and joy. But what really should be dropped? Ok, maybe the large knife is a bit much, but it's the knife I turn to for carving roasts and turkeys and other such large things, and wouldn't want to sacrifice elegance for the interrupted cut you could do on a melon. I also split cakes with it (the string thing never works well for me). I'd put the Chef's knife and the paring knife at 80% of the work that I do. The utility knife sees a lot of use trimming meat on the meat prep side, while the chef usually stays with veg -- saves washing the knives constantly while trying to get a meal on. I also use it for cutting block cheeses (only to medium hard though) as its narrower spine tends to break the cheese less, but of course I could manage to so so with the chef's. I also carve smaller meats with it, chickens, pork loins, etc -- especially cold. The boner's purpose, of course, is obvious, as is the fillet; I couldn't see working without either. So while I understand your point (I believe) and do have decent knife skills, I don't really see which should really be dropped from the list? If it's just in the difference between 'getting by' and aplomb, well I'm right with you there though. ~H

Thanks H. An online review of the Hattori HD line said they often chip... I'm in no hurry, so I'll read and look some more.

I think what you said about the two basic knives being good for most work. Seems to me that it's similar to how a charcoal suit and a navy blazer would serve most people for most needs.

Originally Posted by Huntsman

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I'd put the Chef's knife and the paring knife at 80% of the work that I do. -- saves washing the knives constantly while trying to get a meal on.
~H

I have a chef's knife, a good paring knife, bread nkife, clever and then about 8 other little paring knives that I bassically use to that I don't have to keep washing kives when I am working.