10.15.2007
knife.class.
Yesterday, et#1 and I went to another complimentary williams-sonoma class. This one was called knife skills. It was interesting, but could have been better if she'd wrapped it up a lot faster. We didn't get to cut anything (probably because there were 30ish people, and they didn't want a law suit on their hands) but she did pass a bunch around so we could feel the differences in balance, weight and material. Even knowing what I already knew about knives, I learned some new stuff. They focused on two kinds and four brands; european (wusthof and henckles) and asian (shun and global). My favorite knife is a wusthof, and I've used shun and henckles before, but had never held a global. I wasn't a big fan. The handle didn't fit right in my hand and the balance felt off. They do look nice though! One thing I found the most interesting was the differences in asian vs european. The asian knives have an 18 degree angled blade, and the european have a 22 degree blade. That's why you can't use the same sharpener for different kinds. The only downside to the whole thing is that now I want a whole nice set of knives!
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6 comments:
I have four good knives: a Wusthof Classic 7" hollow-ground santoku (german steel), a Global 7" hollow-ground santoku (japanese steel), a Henckels cleaver (spanish steel), and a Kyocera paring knife (japanese ceramic.)
I got all of them as gifts. I was preferring the Global to the Wusthof just because the back of the blade doesn't have a sharp square cut to it, it's a little rounded so it doesn't cut into my index finger as much. But I filed down the back of my Wusthof so now they're about equal.
I like the Global knives. They are very light, lighter than any other major brand except Kyocera which doesn't count because it's not metal. The lightness makes them good for chopping lots of stuff very quickly. The curvature of the blade is also different from the Wusthof -- the tip curves up a bit more, halfway between the Wusthof santoku (which has a very straight blade) and a chef's knife which curves all the way back to a point.
I'll probably put a Shun serrated knife on my Christmas list, because I don't have a good serrated knife and Shun knives are the most beautiful, I think, with the Damascus-style steel and the beautiful wooden handles.
But as far as use goes, I'd be hard-pressed to say I have a favorite brand.
It's super-lame that you went to a knife skills class where you didn't get to actually use any knives. That's the whole point! Because really knife skills are 1% information, 99% perspiration, i.e. learn the proper technique for chopping onions, have razor-sharp knives, and then just chop a thousand onions. Or shallots, or apples, or whatever. Same technique no matter what. Dice some brunoise, and have it be totally a mess, then do it again a billion times. That's the one downside of being a home chef and not a pro, you don't get the opportunity to do things a million times and get your technique perfect.
It's funny, even though I haven't bought any of my good knives myself, I would have if I hadn't gotten them as gifts... I have crummy cookware in general, pans from Target or Marshall's, but my knives are my prized possessions.
i knew you would like the wusthof over the henckles. i have a theory that girls tend to prefer wusthof because their handles are slighly smaller than henckles. because you ladies have tiny little hands.
btw- i'm glad evil twin #1 is learning how to use a knife and cook. she's been promising to cook me dinner, but it hasnt happened yet!!!
Ya. Et#1 really needed a knife class- now she can cut her own apples!
I actually didn't notice the difference in handle size (except with the global), but I do like the fit of the wusthof. My hands are weird too- I have large square palms, and short fingers. Gloves that aren't stretchy are a problem. If the palm fits, the fingers are an inch too long. If the fingers fit, my palm won't fit. It's amusing that I play piano. I definitely don't have piano fingers!
Brian- you're right about not being able to cut stuff. That was a little ridiculous. I did try out her onion cutting method last night though, and it was more effective than my usual chopping. Shun knives are beautiful. I learned about the wave pattern of their blades. I think they're probably the most expensive too, though I could be wrong.
they should teach the "OJ Technique" at knife class.
Yeah, I think Shun are the most expensive steel knives you can get in normal stores. Kyocera and other ceramic is much more, but it's because you never need to sharpen them and they are insanely sharp (but I also would never buy a ceramic knife bigger than a paring knife or MAYBE a utility knife because the ceramic is so brittle it'll break if you torque it at all and it's easier to torque longer blades if you get them caught on anything.)
If you really want something unique, you could just spring for one of these.
Yes thanks! I'll take the last one please! It can be my Christmas present from you!
I've never used ceramic knives, but your point makes sense. I'll stick to the ones that are less breakable, thank you.
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