I think most of you have heard that a hand made Japanese carbon knife is the be all and end all of kitchen knives, THE knife to own, the bucket list knife.
I used to think that way too, now I have a different mindset, they are no longer on my bucket list.
Now having said that, there is absolutely no getting over the fact that the edge on a good quality carbon knife that was hand made in Japan and hand sharpened is something you need to see to believe. I recently had one in my hand the edge was absolutely thrilling, but that is not enough to make me think about having one for the rest of eternity.
Now I am not talking about this Yanagiba, one of the holy trinity of Japanese Traditional knives, i..e the Yanagiba, the Deba and the Usuba. This wonderful, single bevel knives each have a special purpose and within that area of use, there is no equal. The knife pictured below is very beautiful and if you are a sushi chef, if you want the knife of raw fish slicers, the Yanagiba is the knife you want.
I am talking about the double bevel chef knives that are made from carbon steel, this is not to say there are other alloys used but there is a high carbon content or even all carbon and iron. No chromium so no stainless ability.
Again these knives are capable of fantastic edges but they have their drawbacks too.
The two knives above are perhaps the sharpest knives I have had in my hands, with the exception of the Yanagiba in the top picture.. These belong to a gifted chef and I have no doubt that in his hands they perform wonders, they're amazing cutters.
The point of this post is to try and relieve the pressure you may be feeling towards the urge to purchase one of these knives.
The BEST knife may be the one you already own, it just needs to be sharpened.
Whatever it is you own, just get it sharpened. If you want to splurge and see what the fuss is all about, sure, go get a Japanese had made knife and experience the thrill but remember, unless you have a sharpening plan that knife will get dull too. Yes, due to the hardness of the steel, once sharp it will theoretically retain its edge longer. I say theoretically because I guarantee, once you own one, it will be you GO TO KNIFE and will see much much more use than your other knives so with that, it will get duller quicker due to use.
Also, these knives being harder can be more brittle, they can chip more easily, so there is pay off, you need to be very careful.
Instead of agonising over which Japanese knife to buy and believe me the choices are overwhelming, why not just go to Paderno or Cucina Moderna and pick up a nice Grohmann, Wusthof or MAC or Henckels or Global. I can tell you one thing I have seen many 400 dollar Japanese knives with chips in the edges, I have never seen a Grohmann with a chip, or a Wusthof.
Stick with what you have, just have it sharpened, hand sharpened and learn to love your knives again.
One of the things about carbon knives that turn people off is the Patina that forms on the blade. You need to meticulous with these knives when it comes to cleaning them and drying them. Use them, clean them and then dry them immediately, don't air dry them.
I bet you have some great knives in your home, you don't need a new one you just need to get it sharp again. I get irritated by people who refuse to get their knives sharpened by me because they are afraid that I may not put a 15 deg angle on their Global so they just use them dull. As if anyone can tell the difference between a 15 deg angle and a 17 deg angle for example.
Get over it, they are just knives, whatever the brand, if they are dull they are useless and you have wasted money.
It isn't rock science folks :)
Thank you for reading this.
