Some of my most quality based items were crafted in Japan

[Torn Mind]

It's the knock on my 1997 Mazda 626LX 2.0L. They actually came with a Ford transmission that's way too weak for the vehicle:

Transmission: Ford 4-Speed Automatic Transaxle CD4E

Many an owner has had to replace the transmission after, say, 60K. I'm under 34K right now! The tranny had acted crazy weird a few times, I'm knocking on wood. It's been behaving lately. Strangely, the owner's manual does not specify when to change the tranny fluid. I had that done maybe 8000 miles ago, in 2012. Shortly after this I personally installed a Hayden 403 transmission fluid external cooler in the engine compartment, a recommended knock-on-wood workaround for the car's under engineered tranny issue.

Damn Mazda dealership didn't change the transmission fluid filter when they did the service. They claimed it didn't have one! A damned lie.

Ah, the Ford litany of repairs is ever inevitable and more rapid compared to their Toyota counterparts. Something has to break, and it's something vital. '99 Rangers are good trucks...except the tranny valve body gasket will eventually blow. Then those in the know(mechanics and Ford nerds like all rednecks and Mexicans Spanish-speakers who buy their trucks) can grab the junker and fix it up for good with a drill and a kit.

 

[DigDog]

By pure coincidence i found later today that @Muse 's "shank" is actually a thing, they are called Honesuki: https://store.burrfection.com/collections/honesuki

 

[Muse]

By pure coincidence i found later today that @Muse 's "shank" is actually a thing, they are called Honesuki: https://store.burrfection.com/collections/honesuki

Yes, please forgive a newbie to Japanese cutlery. Apparently the names of these blades include a generic term that spans various manufacturers, and I gather that honesuki is one such term. Yes, my blade looks similar to those honesuki's I'm seeing online. Not identical. If you look closely you can't see the Molybdenum Japan in the photo but you can see a graphic insignia on the blade. I don't see the manufacturer name. I just used this to prepare my evening salad.


Hunting around for honesuki I chanced on this ebay listing. The handle looks very like mine. The insignia on the blade is different, certainly. Check the alternate view.

vintage DIONE LuCAS Chef Knife 11" w/6.5" blade hardwood handle molybdenum Japan | eBay

Molybdenum Japan. hardwood handles.

www.ebay.com

That knife, it says, is 11.25" long, exactly the same as mine. It says the blade is 6.5", mine is 5.875" or 149.25mm. Here's what you see on mine:

 

[DigDog]

well, i hope we can agree that your knife has seen a lot of honest work.

I would advise you to consider buying .. more knives. See, the reason why you like that knife is, probably, that it's made of a good steel. However the shape is not great for most kitchen work.

Obviously i'm speculating now, but i think you are comparing your good-steel-bad-shape knife to bad-steel-good-shape knives, instead you should get yourself a good-steel-good-shape knife.

There's a clear distinction between european knifemakers and japanese knifemakers. EU knives tend to be more practical, we have far fewer purpose-specific designs, and the metal tends to favour easy sharpening, long life and ease of maintenance.
Japanese knives are the opposite; they have very unusual shapes that are often for just one specific purpose, and use extreme metals that are really bad for anything outside of their one purpose. To elaborate on that, you can buy knives that are really brittle and will chip or break if hitting a bone, and that will rust within a day if left uncleaned after cutting a tomato. On the other hand, they will come with a edge hardness that is in another world compared to a german knife.

Even in a - modern - sushi bar, there's always a hygiplast:

because those things are a workhorse. They sharpen with one pull of the sharpening tool and you can yeet them in the sink or in the dishwasher without thinking twice.
And they cost $10 - ten bux.

They also suck if you are trying to make sashimi. We have no such concept in europe, food is for eating, not for art, who cares cut is cut, need more cut not less cut.

There absolutely are european knifemakers who make high HRC knives, but yeah, Japanese knives are all about that sharpness. The japanese are happy to have to own a set of whetstones are spending time maintaining their knives, so obviously their product range is aimed more towards that kind of tool use.

There's really nothing that compares to a HRC 64 knife. A typical HRC value for a EU knife will be between 52 and 56 which is butter when compared. HRC 64 is like a laser, it will cut your finger before you can get a feeling "if the blade is sharp" and it will glide through meat like through air. Those things are not easy to maintain, they are delicate, they will rust with water and oxidate with anything acidic, they are brittle and need to be oiled because even oxygen and moisture will ruin them. There must be a specific need for you as a chef to own such a tool, to justify having to deal with the maintenance.

As i imagine you are not making sushi, consider investing into a Aogami n2 or Shirogami n2 Gyuto knife, or even a Aogami Super, they are super-modern steel types, far easier to own (although maintenance is still required), such as this: https://store.burrfection.com/colle...ue-super-steel/products/kg-aogami-super-gyuto


$350 Shirogami n2 semi-stainless (chromium based alloy) gyuto with esthetic decoration + polish:

just a final, important note: a $200+ knife is for life. Im not telling you to spend a grand, but in the end if it's 200 or 400 it's irrelevant, 30 years from now you will still be using it.

 

[Muse]

I would advise you to consider buying .. more knives. See, the reason why you like that knife is, probably, that it's made of a good steel. However the shape is not great for most kitchen work.

Obviously i'm speculating now, but i think you are comparing your good-steel-bad-shape knife to bad-steel-good-shape knives, instead you should get yourself a good-steel-good-shape knife.

Noted!

I've never bought a quality knife in my life. In fact, what I have is almost all stuff left here by former roommates. I shared this house with some 70+ people, possibly as many as 100 over many years until I finally bought the place and kicked out the remaining two.

Indeed, I'm not making sushi. In fact I'm one of the apparently rare people who isn't obsessed with sushi. I'm not thrilled with Japanese cuisine, in fact. I love a good tempura, have made a fair amount, had it in restaurants. I always have teriyaki sauce in the fridge (DIY!), but sushi? Sashimi? Nah, not a fan. Maybe I've never had the good stuff, I don't know. A neighbor called me during the pandemic and asked me if I'd like some sushi, they had extra, and I demurred.

 

[lxskllr]

I find Japanese food bland in my limited experience. I like decent sushi a good bit, but it's more of a diversion. I wouldn't want my diet to be primarily sushi, or sushi type food.

 

[Fritzo]

Oh, OK. I did look up "shank" yesterday and a lot of different stuff came up. No, it doesn't look like something that would be worked up in a prison. I suppose it was a flippant remark, but I don't have a fix on what he meant. Maybe he's suggesting it was not made in Japan.
No, I don't think so.

Breathe dude- it was a joke It looks like a knife that was ground down to make it pointy to easily stab people, and the fact you found it in the bushes makes me think that was the intent.

 

[Torn Mind]

Noted!

I've never bought a quality knife in my life. In fact, what I have is almost all stuff left here by former roommates. I shared this house with some 70+ people, possibly as many as 100 over many years until I finally bought the place and kicked out the remaining two.

Indeed, I'm not making sushi. In fact I'm one of the apparently rare people who isn't obsessed with sushi. I'm not thrilled with Japanese cuisine, in fact. I love a good tempura, have made a fair amount, had it in restaurants. I always have teriyaki sauce in the fridge (DIY!), but sushi? Sashimi? Nah, not a fan. Maybe I've never had the good stuff, I don't know. A neighbor called me during the pandemic and asked me if I'd like some sushi, they had extra, and I demurred.

Never too late to get good, finger slicing steel. The Swedes have Mora as the Craftsman/Toyota of knives.

 

[repoman0]

Recent Mazdas, right? They were closet Fords for the longest time.

Yep, couple of ‘21s. We compared the CX-5 to cars that cost twice as much from BMW and Audi and liked it better even ignoring price, and got a free Miata with the difference.

I never see the closet Fords around here anymore because the chassis are all reminiscent of Swiss cheese by now with all their rust holes.

 

[MrSquished]

well, i hope we can agree that your knife has seen a lot of honest work.

I would advise you to consider buying .. more knives. See, the reason why you like that knife is, probably, that it's made of a good steel. However the shape is not great for most kitchen work.

Obviously i'm speculating now, but i think you are comparing your good-steel-bad-shape knife to bad-steel-good-shape knives, instead you should get yourself a good-steel-good-shape knife.

There's a clear distinction between european knifemakers and japanese knifemakers. EU knives tend to be more practical, we have far fewer purpose-specific designs, and the metal tends to favour easy sharpening, long life and ease of maintenance.
Japanese knives are the opposite; they have very unusual shapes that are often for just one specific purpose, and use extreme metals that are really bad for anything outside of their one purpose. To elaborate on that, you can buy knives that are really brittle and will chip or break if hitting a bone, and that will rust within a day if left uncleaned after cutting a tomato. On the other hand, they will come with a edge hardness that is in another world compared to a german knife.

Even in a - modern - sushi bar, there's always a hygiplast:

because those things are a workhorse. They sharpen with one pull of the sharpening tool and you can yeet them in the sink or in the dishwasher without thinking twice.
And they cost $10 - ten bux.

They also suck if you are trying to make sashimi. We have no such concept in europe, food is for eating, not for art, who cares cut is cut, need more cut not less cut.

There absolutely are european knifemakers who make high HRC knives, but yeah, Japanese knives are all about that sharpness. The japanese are happy to have to own a set of whetstones are spending time maintaining their knives, so obviously their product range is aimed more towards that kind of tool use.

There's really nothing that compares to a HRC 64 knife. A typical HRC value for a EU knife will be between 52 and 56 which is butter when compared. HRC 64 is like a laser, it will cut your finger before you can get a feeling "if the blade is sharp" and it will glide through meat like through air. Those things are not easy to maintain, they are delicate, they will rust with water and oxidate with anything acidic, they are brittle and need to be oiled because even oxygen and moisture will ruin them. There must be a specific need for you as a chef to own such a tool, to justify having to deal with the maintenance.

As i imagine you are not making sushi, consider investing into a Aogami n2 or Shirogami n2 Gyuto knife, or even a Aogami Super, they are super-modern steel types, far easier to own (although maintenance is still required), such as this: https://store.burrfection.com/colle...ue-super-steel/products/kg-aogami-super-gyuto


$350 Shirogami n2 semi-stainless (chromium based alloy) gyuto with esthetic decoration + polish:

just a final, important note: a $200+ knife is for life. Im not telling you to spend a grand, but in the end if it's 200 or 400 it's irrelevant, 30 years from now you will still be using it.

That's a beautiful knife, will not only do 90% of an average person's kitchen duties, but is also a piece of art.

It is true the Japanese have a knife shape/style for everything, but they do also have your general do it all knife shape as well - the gyuto and the santoku - and the kiritsuke is basically a gyuto but with a slightly different tip while the bunka is kind of like a santoku but with a different tip. I can even argue a Nakiri can be most people's do it all knife. Sure they say it's a knife for vegetables, but it would dice up a chicken breast or slice a pork tenderloin just fine. It looks like a small cleaver, and the Chinese use that for everything. It all depends how much and what type of meat cuts you break down on the regular.

There are steels that do not rust that the Japanese make high HRC knives from. SG2 and R2 are some of of the higher end steels that are stainless, or to be specific a powdered stainless steel, but there is also VG10 and Molybdenum for the general knives. And as you said there are stainless clad carbon steel knives that make the maintenance less. The maintenance is, don't let the knives stay wet long after usage, and you can occasionally treat the blade with an oil, just to keep it nice. A lot of knife aficionados appreciate the patina a carbon blade will acquire. In fact they say different foods impart different colored patinas on to the knives. I think onions make it blue, but I'm not sure. I didn't get too that into that part.

My two favorite knives that I use for pretty much everything in the kitchen are SG2 steel and they will last me for life, just as you say. I have zero interest in getting another knife at this point.

To Muse, if you get a high end Japanese knife, most are a 50/50 bevel, but some do use the 70/30 grind - this means the knife is only suitable for a right handed user and will cut 'better' than a 50/50 bevel, all other things being equal. But it will mean sharpening it is more challenging. So I would think to stick with a 50/50 bevel. Nakiri knives are pretty much all 50/50, but the Usuba, which looks just like a Nakiri and is in fact a Nakiri but with a 70/30 grind and even harder steels, but it is used for very fine vegetable work.

If you want a Japanese food with flavor, get a Tonkotsu ramen. I don't think you can pack more flavor into a bowl if you tried.

 

[Muse]

Breathe dude- it was a joke It looks like a knife that was ground down to make it pointy to easily stab people, and the fact you found it in the bushes makes me think that was the intent.

I'll counter this... doesn't look ground down, and it's 149mm, a standard length. Besides, no blood encrusting observed. No prisons nearby. I have permission to breathe now?

If you want a Japanese food with flavor, get a Tonkotsu ramen. I don't think you can pack more flavor into a bowl if you tried.

Thanks for the Japanese knife buying info, I have homework to do. I WILL buy at least one, and try to make it a do-everything-pretty-much choice that I will be happy with.

Now, that ramen... something I can pick up off a store shelf or is that a menu item? Where I live, both would be accessible, this area is cosmopolitan and people from all corners of the planet team about.

Edit: A quick search reveals it's evidently something I'd order in a quality Japanese restaurant, right? Or, perhaps, prepare in my kitchen if I follow procedures...

In Fukuoka, the dish is often referred to as Hakata ramen

 

[BoomerD]

I'll counter this... doesn't look ground down, and it's 149mm, a standard length. Besides, no blood encrusting observed. No prisons nearby. I have permission to breathe now?

No...Covid is still around. Refrain from breathing until further notice.

 

[Muse]

No...Covid is still around. Refrain from breathing until further notice.

I'm going for my 10 mile daily skate now. I will wear an N95... and breathe! It's the wildfire smoke, dude.

 

[BoomerD]

I'm going for my 10 mile daily skate now. I will wear an N95... and breathe! It's the wildfire smoke, dude.

Yeah, I see CA is still burning end to end. We were going to come down in Sept. to visit our grandkids, but the oldest one (fully vaccinated with Pfizer) has the covid, so we're cancelling for now.

 

[digiram]

Technics 1200. Nuff said

 

[sdifox]

I'll counter this... doesn't look ground down, and it's 149mm, a standard length. Besides, no blood encrusting observed. No prisons nearby. I have permission to breathe now?
Thanks for the Japanese knife buying info, I have homework to do. I WILL buy at least one, and try to make it a do-everything-pretty-much choice that I will be happy with.

Now, that ramen... something I can pick up off a store shelf or is that a menu item? Where I live, both would be accessible, this area is cosmopolitan and people from all corners of the planet team about.

Edit: A quick search reveals it's evidently something I'd order in a quality Japanese restaurant, right? Or, perhaps, prepare in my kitchen if I follow procedures...

In Fukuoka, the dish is often referred to as Hakata ramen

Tonkotsu Ramen from a reputable ramen reataurant. It's a heavy pork bone stock.

 

[Muse]

Technics 1200. Nuff said

I have one, an Audio Technica TT too.

Audio-Technica U.S. is a subsidiary of Japan's Audio-Technica Corporation. However, evidently today's AT stuff is made in China, at least some...

 

[Muse]

Has anyone mentioned Eneloop batteries? An all time favorite Japanese product of mine. I have probably close to 100 AA + AAA Eneloops, recently got ahold of some Ladda's, which are the higher capacity Eneloops branded by Ikea, also made in Japan, probably in the same factory.

So great to have rechargeables with super low self-discharge rates!