jeffma@teklabs.UUCP (Jeff Mayhew) (10/21/83)
I've gotten several requests for sources on Japanese chefs' knives. Unfortunately, the only sure source I know of is---you guessed it--- Japan. I've been told they are available in San Fransisco, and also in Seattle; but I don't know the names of specific outlets. Because of the number of responses, though, I'll check it out, and post my findings here within the next week or so. One thing to bear in mind is that, as with all commercially available products, there are ones of good quality and ones of bad quality (with the associated trends in cost). The quantities of these knives that are imported is probably quite low, as the proper usage is rather specialized (next time you go to a teppan-yaki style restaurant--where they chop, slice, and juggle your food on a large griddle at the table--check out the knives used by the cook; chances are they're the kind of knife I'm referring to). In terms of shape/function, I think there's about four of them, ranging from a long, thin sashimi knife (for slicing raw fish) to a short, cleaver-like vegetable slicer. All are fairly heavy, up to a quarter of an inch thick at the back of the blade. They're basically built by laminating a piece of very high carbon steel to a milder, lower carbon slab. One edge of this sandwich is then bevelled down, exposing the higher carbon steel near the edge. The milder piece of steel on the other side tends to contribute some toughness to the otherwise brittle edge material. The really fine blades are then hardened using a technique passed down from sword-making days: the blade is covered with a ceramic clay which is made somewhat thinner over the edge region. The blade is then heated to a specific temperature and thrust into water. The edge regions cool quicker, a process which results in a coarser crystalline structure and hence harder steel. Japanese chefs often keep two complete sets of knives, leaving a freshly-sharpened set to sit for a day to reduce the "steely" flavor they believe it imparts to the food (with all knives it's a good idea to wipe a freshly-sharpened blade thoroughly). A note for those who still think their stainless kitchen knives are "harder" than high carbon steel: First of all, the term "stainless" only refers to the rust and corrosion-resistant properties of the metal, and hence doesn't absolutely dictate the hardness of the steel (although it does affect this property). Stainless tends to be an iron/chromium/nickel alloy, and stainless kitchen knives are generally softer than many high-carbon, non-stainless ones. There are variations, however; Henckels knives, for example, are slightly harder than the average. In general, though, kitchen-knife stainless is fairly soft stuff. Also, a simple case of high-carbon steel triumphing over the stainless kitchen knife is the common sharpening steel--essentially a round file used to remove small amounts of metal from the edge region of the blade. Try sharpening a really hard steel knife with a steel: you'll find it's fairly ineffective. Add to all this the complication associated with the fact that the hardness properties exhibited by a steel are also a function of how the metal is treated during the making of the knife--in other words, "high carbon" steel can be made soft by annealing, hard by "quenching." And, just to put things in perspective: the construction techniques used to make fine Japanese chef knives are descendents of the ancient sword- making technology. I've seen film footage of a sword-wielding Japanese soldier chopping a machine-gun barrel off like it was butter. Kids, don't try this at home with your mom's kitchen knives. The issue gets more complicated when you start talking about exotic alloys, but fortunately the kitchenware market has had little motivation to get into these. If you bought your chopping knife from NASA's Research Center you may be able to discount the general properties I've described above. There are some definite advantages to stainless; obviously it has less of a tendency to rust away when you leave it in a puddle by the sink, and it tends to be tough enough to resist breaking, even when used to pry, etc. (although no one in their right mind would abuse a good knife in this way). It's also generally easier to sharpen effectively, but, of course, you have to do it more often. Still, if you do cooking in which a razor edge is needed (admittedly a rare requirement for most dishes), or just an edge that'll hold up longer, you can't beat a high-quality hard steel knife. Jeff Mayhew Tektronix teklabs!jeffma
bill@crystal.ARPA (Bill Cox) (11/04/83)
Japanese knives are listed in catalog for Woodline: The Japan Woodworker, 1731 Clement Avenue, Alameda California 94501; phone (415)521-1810. I have used (and own some of) the Japanese saws and chisels they import, and I think they're of very good to excellent quality. The catalog is $1.50; kitchen knives are priced at $100+ for "Tools as art" knives, $7 for a paring knife, $12.75 for a stainless/high carbon, up to $34.25 for a "heavy kitchen knife" (right handed; lefty version is $50 ! ) Another tool source that I believe sells knives mailorder is Tashiro's Hardware, 707 South Jackson st, Seattle Washington 98104, phone (206) 622-8452. catalog is free, but don't hold your breath waiting for it. (I have a catalog somewhere; I've never bought from them, but have heard some favorable comments) Hardware-type stores in any area with significant Japanese population (L.A.? other California?) would be likely to have kitchen knives. There's a fairly heavily Japanese area in Chicago, around Lincoln avenue and (?)Clark. Maybe some BTL-ers at Indian Hill would know... bill cox bill@uwisc ...seismo!uwvax!bill