SC - Starter Knife Set

[Steve Geppert]

Yes, Adamantius, it does help much.  I am much of a neophyte in the
kitchen.  (My mother took me aside 15 years ago, a week before my
marriage and said "I'm worried, how are you going to take care of your
husband when you don't cook?"  My reply was, "Why, he's lived on his own
for years, he knows how!")  

As for the winter, spring is only 6 months away.  The darkness will only
last a short while before the glorious midnight sun appears and we
bardic in the wee hours (3 a.m. at last coronet) under its gracious
rays.

Lady Clare

Philip & Susan Troy wrote:
> 
> Mike C. Baker wrote:
> 
> > My proposed starter set is not based upon a manufacturer, but upon
> > materials and willingness to learn the tools. For this starter set,
> > I suggest stainless steel blades, low-maintenance plastic or cast
> > metal handles, and the best set of sharpening stones you can afford.
> > (You specified "starter", so I hope the purists don't slam me too
> > hard for specifiying stainless...)
> 
> Stainless is fine, in my opinion, as long as it's high-carbon stainless.
> Cheap stainless steel doesn't hold an edge well, and doesn't even really
> remain stainless for long, either. The main advantage of it being
> stainless is that it saves a little time on the maintenance.
> 
> > First digression: yes, I said stones. More control than a "steel",
> > yet more demanding and far more flexible than a set of crock sticks.
> > Requires some of that "will to learn" in order to use stones
> > properly. I guarantee that learning to do proper sharpening with
> > stones (including carborundums, Arkansas, and what-have-ya) will be
> > time well-spent in the long term.
> 
> Agreed, a good stone is a necessity. However, stones and steels don't do
> the same thing, and having both is a good idea. A stone actually
> sharpens by removing some of the outer surface of your knife edge,
> producing a new edge that is sharper, or safer, or smoother, or what
> have you, than the previously existing edge. A steel is a device for
> honing or deburring. Under a microscope, the edge you just made with
> your stone looks rather like a comb. That jagged edge is called a burr.
> If left to its own devices, the burr will become deformed with use,
> producing a blunt edge. A steel removes the smallest and most delicate
> "teeth", and bends back the rest so that they are aligned and supported
> by the main bulk of the blade. The edge therefore becomes sharper, and
> remains that way for a longer time. If you find it necessary to use your
> stone every time you feel your knife is dull, you will soon have no
> knife left.
> 
> One compromise solution to the stone-versus-steel question is to use a
> dimaond steel. I have had excellent results with these. A diamond steel
> is essentially a steel coated with a gazillion little diamond chunks;
> they remove some steel from your blade, like a stone, but they are as
> easy to use as a steel, and do less damage to the blade than any but the
> finest-grade stones. Their main drawback is that you still need to use a
> steel after sharpening your knife on one, and it is a good idea to keep
> a real stone at home in reserve for serious repair work. It's just that
> it is easier to stick a diamond steel in your knife roll and carry it to
> a cooking gig, than stone, oil, rags, etc. Some do consider this to be
> pretty sacreligious, but I'm only speaking from experience.
> 
> > Whatever you do, do NOT use an electric grinding wheel or that
> > stupid slot in the back of an electric can opener. The dinky
> > hand-held device with the interlaced metal wheels is also a big
> > no-no in my book.
> 
> Just about anything with a preset "default setting" for the bevelled
> angle at which the two surfaces of a blade edge meet, even if it is
> right for some blades, will be emphatically wronf for others. Fer
> Heaven's sake, you'd think people would smell a rat when they see
> advertisements for a device that sharpens kitchen knives, garden shears,
> and ice skates with the same settings. Just about any powered device is
> going to be designed to put a certain tension on your knife blade, the
> idea being to pull it into the works to maintain an even angle of
> attack, and to keep the machine from spitting it out into somebody's
> face. A side effect is that it will eat more of your knife edge that
> way, eventually turning your hundred-dollar knife into a stainless-steel
> toothpick.
> >
> > Knives in the starter set:
> 
> < a whole lot of stuff about specific knives, I snipped in spite of
> agreeing with most of it)
> 
> > The entry for "Chef" knife may be misleading. Something a little
> > fuller bodied than the shape I grew up calling a "French chef", but
> > less than a pointy-ended cleaver or "Chinese cleaver", is my
> > personal preference. The distinction here is to try some differing
> > blade shapes when you get a chance, and include at least one knife
> > in your final set with a "deep" enough blade to allow carrying
> > chopped incredients on it with some ease. I happen to prefer this
> > shape to a square-ended cleaver blade style.
> 
> The whole point (and no pun intended) of  French chef's knife is that
> various portions of the blade can be used in such a way that the knife
> is pretty much all-purpose. The heel section of the blade can chop
> through small bones easily, or even open cans. But can it core a apple,
> O Chef of the Future? The middle section is designed for long strokes,
> which are good for things like slicing meats: short strokes generally
> make for jagged, ugly cuts. The point should be fine enough to do some
> pretty detailed work, like a fine julienne cut or a chiffonade.
> 
> > Second digression: never consider a double-edge blade for regular
> > kitchen use without *damn* good reason to do so. Too many safety
> > problems, too little advantage beyond only one (double-length)
> > sharpening session.
> 
> There will always be times when you will need to hold your knife either
> in one hand, or perhaps both, in such a way that you'll end up cutting
> yourself on the back of the blade, if it has an edge. Also, most
> double-edged knives aren't designed with an acute enough bevel for fine
> sharpening. They may be great for punching through armor, but the they
> are designed for a durable edge, rather than a really sharp one.
> >
> > Materials Choice
> > ----------------
> > I choose stainless and plastic or cast metal for this "starter" set
> > due to ease of maintenance. Unlike many other reports I have heard,
> > I've very seldom been unable to place a good edge on any decent
> > stainless steel, and in the few cases where I could not there were
> > typically other factors in play (very thick blade spine, less than
> > my full set of tools on hand, blade already badly damaged by
> > mistreatment of some type).
> 
> I guess it all depends on what you consider decent. If it holds a good
> edge for a decent length of time, then it is, by definition, decent.
> 
> > If you have an experienced cook or knife vendor whom you trust and
> > who is willing to go blade shopping with you, a properly maintained
> > high-carbon steel blade with a well-made, well-fitted wooden handle
> > is still going to be the better buy in the long run. *IF* you are
> > willing to invest time in maintaining it. *IF* you are willing to
> > sharpen the edge by hand and clean it properly after use. And *IF*
> > you always remember that it is NOT stainless steel.
> 
> Fewer and fewer of the old-fashioned, high-carbon steel (what my mom
> used to call "stainful steel") knives are being manufactured and sold,
> probably since once upon a time, it WAS next to impossible to make a
> high-quality stainless-steel knife. This is no longer the case. Just be
> sure to look for the words "High Carbon" somewhere on the blade or on
> the box.
> 
> Additional rules I would add, for the intrepid knife-hunter: I like
> wooden handles, myself. Make sure the tang (the part of the blade that
> extends into the handle) goes well into the handle, preferable being the
> same size and shape as the handle itself, which in the case of a wooden
> knife, will have a wooden plate riveted to either side of it. Make sure
> the handle has three or more rivets going through it, if it is of that
> type of design. If the handle is tubular, with the tang going through
> the length of it, make sure it is securely peened over.
> 
> Personal opinion and semi-rant: knives purporting to stay sharp forever,
> due to amazing laser technology, will invariably grow dangerously dull
> in what seems like seconds. I suppose they make OK bread knives, but
> just remember that if the primary design criterion is zero maintenance,
> then it will invariably be at the expense of performance. I mean, look
> at the automatic transmission... . And when the amazing Trizor knife set
> gets dull, you will have to push harder on those thin, flexible blades
> to use them, increasing the chances you will flex your way to the
> emergency room. They get sharp again when they come in contact with
> human skin, did I mention that?
> 
> Hope all this helps half as much as the first response should have...
> 
> Adamantius
> ______________________________________
> Phil & Susan Troy
> troy at asan.com
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