Kitchen Knives

[Firefly]

Blame it on the second glass of red wine

Only 2?

[Divemouse]

I was joking. Sibton Park calls itself a wilderness reserve.

Ah, the hen and stag party theme park.

[cazyoung]

Blame it on the second bottle of red wine

ftfy

[steelemonkey]

Ah, the hen and stag party theme park.

Probably deserves some shallow graves.

[bobdob]

Bought a set of these - https://www.procook.co.uk/shop/knive...ofessional-x50

Great knives that keep their edges pretty well.

Some things to think about with good knives:
1) what are you cutting on? Hard boards such as glass will dull knives in no time
2) Dishwashing is a definite no - the abrasive nature of dishwashing will take the edge off a knife
3) Sharpening - think about how you will sharpen it. Do you want a whetstone, diamond or ceramic sharpener? Whetstone is very satisfying but easy to get wrong whereas some of the more automatic sharpeners (where you simply draw the knife through) will sharpen it but not to the same razor edge as a well used whetstone/diamond.

I've recently bought a few ProCook x50 kitchen knives too. Very impressed by them and not too expensive.

[MarkP]

A while ago I sold a couple of microscopes and had a bit of Paypal balance which I turned into a lump of metal (lower picture), which metamorphosed into this little cleaver.

It arrived as sharp as anything else in the kitchen and is so hard that months of use later it's not even close to needing sharpening. I pad around my flat in bare or socked feet and live in fear of dropping it...

There was enough cannister left over to make a large kiridashi which is doing sterling service in my garage.

[F.P.]

A while ago I sold a couple of microscopes and had a bit of Paypal balance which I turned into a lump of metal (lower picture), which metamorphosed into this little cleaver.

It arrived as sharp as anything else in the kitchen and is so hard that months of use later it's not even close to needing sharpening. I pad around my flat in bare or socked feet and live in fear of dropping it...

There was enough cannister left over to make a large kiridashi which is doing sterling service in my garage.

I may be wrong (and probably am) but doesn't reading the story in the links emphasise just how cheap he majority of us brit's are - why buy home made quality, that lasts a lifetime, when buying cheap imports saves a few quid 'today'. And means a replacement has to be bought tomorrow.

It would seem from the links in Mark's posting that there is still a pride in Japan in making quality goods in small workshops - even when the materials have been phased out by large companies.

Recently had to help a mate clear out his late fathers workshop (rented from the local council), a unit - one of 15 to 20, No one wanted to take on the unit as it stood, a small specialist engineering works as it was low turn over making anything in metal not available over the shop counter, and usually better than from the manufacturer. Mates dad made enough to keep him funded and a small profit after paying all his business related expenses.

It really brought it home to me just how many skills this country is loosing with small workshops like that disappearing;

[steelemonkey]

As part of my job I test dust and fume extraction systems which means I visit lots of little places that turn out high quality, bespoke merchandise.
It is what we are good at.
You want 10,000 identical bits on the cheap? call China. You want a few custom made things that do the job well? Britain is the place, but don't expect it to be cheap.

[MadUKDiver]

We got given a Kasumi Titanium Knife and it is brilliant.

[Treerat]

I found the Wusthof Culinar series as well balanced as any knife I've ever used. Mine are over 20 years old now and as good as the day they were delivered.

https://www.knivesandtools.co.uk/en/...nar-knives.htm