Welcome to the EGGhead Forum - a great place to visit and packed with tips and EGGspert advice! You can also join the conversation and get more information and amazing kamado recipes by following Big Green Egg to Experience our World of Flavor™ at:
Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Instagram  |  Pinterest  |  Youtube  |  Vimeo
Share your photos by tagging us and using the hashtag #BigGreenEgg.

Want to see how the EGG is made? Click to Watch

Got my 210mm Tojiro today

2»

Comments

  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    VI.
    the drag i was referring to is minimal.  having some 'tooth' is what i think it's referred to.  not at all like a saw. in fact, whether  it's true or not, it was related to me that rather than honing the edge to a mirror finish, the edge is left as is (not stropped) so that the less keen edge might actually cut a tomato easier, rather than briefly sliding on it. 

    true or not, who knows.  but it is in no way a dull knife.  slices paper and all. even the paring knivfe.  it's just that too fine an edge can roll too easy. especially when there's more than one person in the kitchen using them.  i have no problem slicing anything, and am not sure a sharper knife would do anything for me except get dull more quickly. as you said, it's personal preference.

    if you can slice mushrooms in five seconds into 20 slices, it starts to get into splitting hairs (lit and fig, i guess) whether a person wants it even sharper
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
  • triggs
    triggs Posts: 1

    Wustof's are awesome

     

  • travisstrick
    travisstrick Posts: 5,002
    I'm no expert on kitchen knives, although I do own a decent set of j.s henckles. I am, however, an extreme pocket/tactical/fixed blade knife geek. 

    The Spyderco Sharpmaker is an excellent value. I can put a razor edge on just about any quality blade steel. And its only about $60. If it helps qualify my experiences, I am an Eagle Scout and a long time Infantryman and this is the best knife sharpener for the money I've found. My advise is free. Take it for what its worth.
    Be careful, man! I've got a beverage here.
  • Village Idiot
    Village Idiot Posts: 6,959
    edited January 2012
    Stike,

    I know what drag is, and I won't tolerate it.  But that's just me.

    Whiz,

    I think Stike is trying to tell you that Lit andI have Obcessive Compulsive Disorder when it comes to knives.  You will do fine with his approach.  However, since I've noticed that most Eggheads are OCD about their Eggs, then you might find yourself stepping up in the future.


    __________________________________________

    Dripping Springs, Texas.
    Just west of Austintatious


  • Lit
    Lit Posts: 9,053
    VI.
    the drag i was referring to is minimal.  having some 'tooth' is what i think it's referred to.  not at all like a saw. in fact, whether  it's true or not, it was related to me that rather than honing the edge to a mirror finish, the edge is left as is (not stropped) so that the less keen edge might actually cut a tomato easier, rather than briefly sliding on it. 

    true or not, who knows.  but it is in no way a dull knife.  slices paper and all. even the paring knivfe.  it's just that too fine an edge can roll too easy. especially when there's more than one person in the kitchen using them.  i have no problem slicing anything, and am not sure a sharper knife would do anything for me except get dull more quickly. as you said, it's personal preference.

    if you can slice mushrooms in five seconds into 20 slices, it starts to get into splitting hairs (lit and fig, i guess) whether a person wants it even sharper
    I usually agree with you stike but stropping the blade actually keeps it sharper longer. You are correct about the teeth biting if I just sharpen with a 1000 grit and stop it will grab a tomato but if you sharpen to a 6000 and strop it on a 15 degree angle there's also no slip on a tomato or anything else. When it comes down to it a knife sharpened correctly to 1000 grit is probably sharper than any knife most people will ever use or need but for my liking dull. My takeda 240mm gyuto will make single pass cuts through a 5" thick 5 pound chuck roast.
  • If you know how to use a honing steel, you won't have to sharpen your knives but once or twice a year. Bob Kramer will tell you this. 

    I can shave with mine even though they haven't been sharpened since the great Kershaw knife sale of 2010. Honing straightens the blade; sharpening a knife removes steel.

    A muslim, a socialist and an illegal immigrant walk into a bar 

    Blogging: Never before have so many with so little to say said so much to so few.

  • @butwhymalemodels.  I believe Bob Kramer was referring to stainless steel knives, which hold an edge longer.  This thread is about the Tojiro 210mm, which is a carbon steel knife.  A CS knife will dull quicker than SS.  The good news is that it will sharpen much quicker too.
    __________________________________________

    Dripping Springs, Texas.
    Just west of Austintatious


  • Lit
    Lit Posts: 9,053
    I put mine on a 6000 grit stone which is truly honing not even close to sharpening it. It's funny cause a friend of mine was a trained chef when he was younger and swore by a steel until he let me hone up one of his shun chefs. It's really not even
    A fair comparison.
  • Lit
    Lit Posts: 9,053

    VI - The Tojiro is made from white 2 which actually has a 64-65 hardness which I believe is harder than any of the Shuns. There's just something about carbon that sharpens easier than other metals.

    http://zknives.com/knives/kitchen/misc/articles/kkchoser/kksteelp3.shtml

     

  • I am with you travisstrick, the Spyderco works very well.  
    I use my stones about once a year the rest of the time the Spyderco. http://www.thespydercostore.com/Sharpening-Tools-at-The-Spyderco-Store-s/230.htm
    I also have my knifes professionally sharpen every two years
    VI, there is nothing wrong with being OCD about a good sharp knife.  Will see you both in Salado in March
    Large, small and mini now Egging in Rowlett Tx
  • stike
    stike Posts: 15,597
    edited February 2012
    all i'm saying is that a japanese blade is different than a german, including bevel angles, etc.

    i'm fine with people not tolerating drag on 'their' knives, but that doesn't mean it is wrong.  more than a few knife gurus put some tooth on one knife and not another.  and they do so arguing that, depending on the knife, and how it is used (chopping, sliding, shearing, etc.), some tooth (micro-serations) would make it sharper than a highly polished knife.

    i'm no pro at sharpening, i just know there is a tremendous fetishism with knives, and a lot of advice sounds 'cool' and superior.  but mistakes can be made by anyone.

    i do not understand, for example, how someone can get on a high horse about how their edge is sharpened one way or another in some quest for perfection, while at the same time scratching the hell out of the blade itself.  sounds like the desire doesn't match the skill. 

    i only whack back when whacked, so don't take that as badgering.  and i don't begrudge someone being OCD about there knife.  just don't e OCD about mine, or presume yours is superior by virtue of the literal and figurative hair splitting

    i'm saying that not every edge needs (or even should be) polished and razor sharp.  that's a damn fragile edge on some steel.  high carbon, japanese single bevel? have a ball.  but try that edge on a number of other knives and it won't last long.  doesn't mean one knife is superior than another.  just means they have different purposes, uses, and were  manufactured differently. 

    i had bookmarked a great description of the knife edges and styles of various knives, and their pluses and minuses.  if i can find it, i'll post it if you want.  but then again, maybe everyone here already knows everything about knives.  i don't.  i'm obv in the wrong room
    ed egli avea del cul fatto trombetta -Dante
  • Stike,

    I haven't found anywhere in this thread where someone has gotten on a "high horse" to state that their sharpening acumen is better than anyone else's.  We all have different views of what is acceptable to us.  

    Lit and I probably share the same thoughts on what we like to see in an edge, but that doesn't mean that someone else's view is not just as valid.  I have learned things from Lit on sharpening, and hopefully, he has learned some from me.  I think that is the value of a forum, where people can share ideas.
    __________________________________________

    Dripping Springs, Texas.
    Just west of Austintatious