Ginsu type Knives

R

rickf

Joined
Jun 15, 2001
Messages
64
Hea Mates,

Now my newbie colors are really gonna show on this one but my wife asked me this question today and I don't know how to answer it. While I was sitting at the kitchen table shapening our Chicago Cutlery kitchen knives she asks me "how come you never sharpen our ginsu knives and they stay sharp?" Now I'm not trolling for trouble or anything but I really don't know the answer to that question. The ginsus' we have were a wedding gift from about 10 years ago and they all still cut fine. I know it has something to do with the serrations but I'm still unclear to why they still cut good after 10 years without ever touching them with a sharpener. TIA for any light ya'll can shed on this matter. Regards. -Rick
 
At the risk of re-hashing a well covered topic, my understanding is as follows. . . but there may be more to it than this:

Most kitchen knives are not dulled significantly by the actual slicing of the tomatoes or meat or whatever. They are dulled more by the blade hitting the cutting board.
With a serrated knife, only the *peaks* of the serrations ever touches the cutting board. The *valleys* are not touched and therefore remain sharp much longer.
The other benefit of the serrations are that, even when they are dull, they cause a tearing action (instead of actually slicing).

With a serrated blade, it helps to think of it less as cutting and more as sawing. :) Of course, personally I prefer to cut my tomatoes into sections than to rip, saw, or tear my tomatoes into sections. :)

-Latebound
 
Ginsu knives are made of a special, high quality, SURGICAL stainless steel manufactured in mainland China that is especially designed to NEVER need sharpening. The serrations are also of a special type that make it possible for genuine GINSU knives to cut through food, paper, plastic and even metal without ever getting dull. But be sure the knives are genuine GINSU and not some imitation or expensive substitute like a Busse or a Simonich.

"Ginsu" knives are cheap POS. The serrations don't cut - they rip. These knives are almost certainly duller than hell, but if they do the jobs you ask them to do to your satisfaction, that's fine. But try this test. Get a really sharp, quality knife. Then cut a couple of tomatoes, and a steak, with each. If you don't notice a difference, then you don't need a good knife, and you certainly don't need to waste your time on the obsessive compulsive discussions we have here.
 
Serrations also tear and rip and saw effectively, so even a dull serration can attack a cuccumber with vengeance.
 
Lighten up a little, HJK. He asked a perfectly legitimate question, and carefully explained his reasons for asking. Nothing deserving of an attitude.
 
Bugs,
maybe I was a little harsh. Didn't mean to be. Sorry. It's been a rough day.
 
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