This is a response to my post from Crayola. I found it very informative, so, with the author's permission, I'd like to share it with you. I hope his small "sales pitch" near the end is o.k., if not please feel free to edit, Mr. Moderator.
I just wanted to tell you a few more options for kitchen cutlery. I've been crazy busy these days, so i apologize if this e-mail sounds wacky!
I've been thinking about kitchen cutlery a lot, since I've made 5 kitchen knives now and I have another 5 on the go right now! I think that kitchen cutlery is awesome, 'cause you use it every day and really get to cut things. I carrya knife everyday in my pocket, but I don't get to use it a whole lot throughout the day. But kitchen knives you use a lot in a cooking session, so they are fun to use.
For commercial kitchen cutlery, I have used MAC brand as well as the 7" Cold Steel knife. The MAC brand are made in Japan and have thin AUS-9 blades. They are so easy to sharpen, because of the relatively simple steel and especially the thin blades. I have always found AUS-8 to take a super biting edge, and on the thin MAC knives they are awesome. The Cold Steel knife is really awesome. Super sharp, and because of the small teeth Cold Steel puts between the large serrations, this knife cuts real smooth. Lansky makes a
ceramic hone for sharpening Cold Steel's serrations and I think it costs about $7! I have only ran the back of the blade (the side the serrations aren't ground on) on a steel to realign the teeth myself. 3 years and it is still cutting away. The handle design I like alot. The textured rubber makes for a secure hold. The blade is thin too, so it make s a great veggie knife,and it will slice up a ham very well!
What I really wanted to suggest is that you shop around and pick out what calls to you. Start by figuring out what jobs you want your knives to do, and then get knives that will do those jobs. You could just get a set of henkels. But then again, maybe a cheap set of 3 paring knives from henkels, a cleaver and the Cold Steel knife will do the chores you want, and you have a unique set that appeals to you. I don't understand why henkels and other big brands have chef's knives with bolsters that run right down to the edge. After a few sharpenings the edge will recede above the level of the bolster,
and not sit flat on a cutting board at the heel! Every sharpening will just make the process worse. At least that is my theory. So that is why I designed a set of 3 knives, and tried to incorporate design features I liked. The chef's knife I've made (2 of them now) have 1" wide handles, 2" wide blade at the widest part and there is no thick bolster getting in the way! The whole edge will go on a cutting board, no problem. And sharpening is made easier. So I suggest you do the same. Like I said, start with a list of criteria, and look for pieces that speak to you, fit your criteria and fit your budget.
There are also a few ideas you can do in custom kitchen cutlery. Lots of the knife supply places have kitchen knife blanks, You could get a few and make your own knives! The blades come heat treated and polished and all, so you just have to fasten on a handle and shape it the way you want. That could be a lot of fun for you. Or, maybe you can get a couple of inexpensive henkels paring knives, and a custom chef's blade. Or whatever! Ask on Shop Talk or the Custom forum who makes kitchen cutlery. On Shop Talk, you can find newbies that may take on a custom order for a good price. Oh, lots of the factory knife guys are making kitchen knives tool. Cold Steel, Camillus,
Grohmann (makers of the D.H. Russell #1), Fallkniven, Spyderco, and lots others make kitchen knives. You could Get a Spyderco paring knife, A Fallkniven Santoku for veggies and slciing, and a Cold Steel 5" kitchen knife for tougher chores!
I do have a small sale spitch to make too. This is a picture of 2 of the 3 pieces I designed (the 3rd being the chef's knife.) My scanner made the blades look black, but they are a subdued satin) A 3" paring knife, and a 4.5"ish wharncliffe utility. Both edges drop below the handle/ricasso area for easy sharpening. The blades are thin: 1/16"! And the steel is 440-C. I've made 2 sets of these now and I have 2 more on the go. One set is spoken for, but I do have one set I'm hand sanding right now (320 grit satin) that is "available" so to speak. $90 US and $4 shipping would get you these 2, and you get to pick from handle material I have or can get from the House of Tools (where I get lots of my materials.) And I could probably get it to you
before Christmas.
However, PLEASE don't think of this post as a pitch. Sure, there is one in here, but I really just want to give you info to help you in your decision. I discovered a lot about kitchen knives while making the ones I have, so I am happy to share what I learned. Afterall, learning about knives was 1 of the 2 main reasons I started making knives a couple years ago for a hobby (the other reason is to fund knife purchases, but I've sold 3 knives so far, and all that $$ has always gone to christmas presents
If you do want to go the custom route, there are lots of guys that can help you. I just wanted
to include the pic to add my name to the hat of custom guys out there, and to show you what fun custom kitchen cutlery can be like. I wholeheartedly recommend the MAC brand for factory stuff, and if I were buying stuff from factories, I would be tempted to get blades from Fallkniven, Cold Steel and mabe Spyderco. Oh yeah, Boker makes kitchen stuff, and Benchmade does now too! See, lots of choices. I'm learning a lot about Japanese kitchen knives, and I want to go that route soon. I'll be making myself a veggie knife that is chisel ground on the right side to see what those blades are like!
Good luck picking out kitchen knives. If you want to chat more about kitchen knives, please feel free to e-mail me! And if you want to chat about my knives, I'm more than happy too, but no pressure man. See ya on the forums!
Crayola
