[punatic]

(note the street address):

You may have had to live in Orlando to get that bit of humor.

Nestled amongst the topless bars and the trolling streetwalkers is the Mecca of custom knifemaking... 

[maxieboy]

I decided to order the rapala, we'll see how that goes.  For $15 and as many people as recommend them, I figure it's worth it.  I might spring for another one some other time, but this should get me through that box of salmon.

Money well spent. Maintain the edge(check it often and touch it up when needed, especially when using one knife and going through rib bones. Rib bones will take their toll, unless you use the butterfly method.) and it will give many years of service. Let us know how it goes.

[MDixon]

Another knife pin up...
http://www.surlatable.com/product/PRO-893461/Bob-Kramer-Carbon-Damascus-Chefs-Knife

[euge]

Another knife pin up...
http://www.surlatable.com/product/PRO-893461/Bob-Kramer-Carbon-Damascus-Chefs-Knife

That is one gorgeous knife! Pricetag not so much. I love the watered steel knives.

[MDixon]

I meant to post this awhile back about the Guy Fieri knives. I got them for my wife and they are nice and sharp, but the Draggon Dagger is the cat's meow for cutting sandwiches in half. I am sure it has other uses, but that is my favorite knife for that task and I've never seen one work better for that task!

[MDixon]

Put my hand on the $300 Zwilling Kramer today. I like the feel of it with the exception of the fit between the handle and the front metal. It seemed sloppy on the one I handled and had a slightly rough edge. It was a display model at SLT, but just didn't have the feel I believe it should...it could be a fluke, but I'm not dropping 300 beans on a knife without some perfection.

[euge]

Put my hand on the $300 Zwilling Kramer today. I like the feel of it with the exception of the fit between the handle and the front metal. It seemed sloppy on the one I handled and had a slightly rough edge. It was a display model at SLT, but just didn't have the feel I believe it should...it could be a fluke, but I'm not dropping 300 beans on a knife without some perfection.

I agree! Didn't pull the trigger on a shorter version of a knife I already own due to a small defect. Funny thing is after checking the one I do have- it has the same small defect!

[bluefoxicy]

[euge]

Cool! You got a description?

[bluefoxicy]

Cool! You got a description?

Honing steel.  Santoku--sharp little bastard, too.  Deba bocho--I can sanmai oroshi a mackerel perfectly for some reason (took me two tries), and chicken seems to fear this blade.  Chisel grind Nakiri bocho--look up katsuramuki and jabara-giri, I need serious practice with this one.  Serrated knife--bread slicer, tomato slicer, that kind of thing, versatile tool... the teeth up front point forward, at the rear point back, the center three teeth are neutral, so when you push you get bite and when you draw you get bite and this matters very much.

For my chosen knives, technique is extremely important.

The Deba can cleave a fish spine with the rear of the blade, but it's nowhere near easy in the center and you can't do it with the tip.  The tip can transmit back the feel of tougher connective tissue and bone as they're cut and touched, so you can know what's happening inside and out of sight.  There is a reason that blade is that precise shape, thick, chisel cut, and yet the blade face makes a sizable chunk of the blade at the tip wane into a very thin blade.

The Nakiri I use as an Usuba, similar blades really--Nakiri is technically a non-professional Usuba, there is little difference except that the Nakiri usually doesn't carry a chisel grind.  Mine does.  It is specifically for making special kinds of cuts on vegetables.  I can chop a carrot into flowers with the damn thing--a pentagon first, then round the tips off and make cuts into the sides, and you have a floral shape.  Slice that up and you have decorative flowers.  It takes practice--practice I don't yet have.  Likewise, katsuramuki is usually learned by daily practice for three or more years.

The use of the santoku eludes me.  The bread knife I have some technical material on; the santoku, not so much.  I've used it successfully with a pulling technique and a pushing technique, to varying degrees of success--slicing the tops off strawberries (core and the unripened white part) works best with a pulling technique so far, but that may be abuse.  German chef's knife skills don't translate directly, but are adaptable.  Honestly, I question this knife's shape--see the Kai Wasabi Santoku for comparison.