New Chef’s Knife

6 years ago

Woo hoo, my final birthday present arrived, a few days late.

It is a Shun chefs knife, that DD helped SWMBO select.

I have used similar knives and bought them as gifts for others, but never owned one myself. I’ve been on a carbon steel Sabatier kick, getting a new (used) one from Cookin’ every year or so. The Sabs are all-rounders, a nice balance of slim and tough. This Shun is much sharper but also much more fragile. I think it will be a special occasion knife.

There’s nothing like a new special occasion knife to motivate me to cook dinner, so I did. Very simple: tilapia, gently cooked in browned butter; a quinoa/veg scramble; a refrigerator velcro salad.

I think the knife was underwhelmed.

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John Liu
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6 years ago

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Comments (23)

ediej1209 AL Zn 7
6 years ago
Congratulations! Getting a new knife is fun!!
Lars
6 years ago
I have a Shun chef's knife, and I love it for slicing cabbage for sauerkraut. I tend to use it only for bigger jobs - for smaller vegetables, I use a smaller Japanese knife that is equally sharp.
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Teresa, steels don't sharpen the blade they just realign any burs. You should use the steel often, every time if you remember, but to sharpen the knife you need to remove metal and because of that, it's done very infrequently. If you take proper care of your knives by using a steel, then true sharpening shouldn't be required more than once a year. And on a lighter note - everyone knows in my house - don't touch Mom's knife. We have my knife then we have a whole block of knives for everyone else. And NEVER put your knives in the dishwasher. Not only is that an invitation for nicking the blade it can also cause the handle to seperate from the tang.
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Johnliu, that was a great write-up, very educational. Count me as someone OCD about my knives. I also want to emphasize that one's "taste" in knives is very individual. So, for me, regarding ceramic knives - I know they are really sharp, and maintain their sharpness much longer than steel knives, and are easier to care for (as long as you don't drop them). Having said that, I cannot stand the hard sound they make when chopping - that sound and how they feel as they strike the cutting board gives me the shivers. Obviously, this is a very personal thing! One more thing that John briefly mentioned that I want to expand on a bit is the type of cutting board. If you care about your knives, or care about the investment of $$ you've made in your knives, you should not use a plastic cutting board. They will dull your knives in just a few uses. You should use wood cutting boards. No one knows where the idea came from that plastic boards are safer - researchers at the University of Wisconsin have studied this perception that plastic cutting boards are better, and were unable to ascertain why people think this. Their findings were that wooden boards are safer. "The [University of Wisconsin] researchers purposely contaminated wood and plastic boards with bacteria and then tried to recover those bacteria alive from the boards. They also tested boards made from seven different species of trees and four types if plastic. They incubated contaminated boards overnight at refrigerator and room temperatures and at high and typical humidity levels. They tested several bacteria, Q Salmonella, Listeria and enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli Q known to produce food poisoning. The results consistently favored the wooden boards, often by a large margin over plastic boards. The scientists found that three minutes after contaminating a board that 99.9 percent of the bacteria on wooden boards had died, while none of the bacteria died on plastic. Bacterial numbers actually increased on plastic cutting boards held overnight at room temperature, but the scientists could not recover any bacteria from wooden boards treated the same way. A major question is why wood is so inhospitable to bacteria. The researchers have tried unsuccessfully to recover the compound in wood that inhibits bacteria, and is continuing the research."
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Eek! S, that's bad. I was taught long ago, and by I know not whom, that if you drop a blade or anything sharp, jump back. I do it by instinct. I used to be worried about ricochets, but knives don't bounce. :) Nothing to be done, however, if the knife chases you. ;) M, I agree with you! That happened in not-my-kitchen, with not-my-dull-knife. I can't sharpen other people's knives. They're usually sharp there, so I never thought to bring my own. I was in another kitchen which had a knife block on the counter. I didn't know about knife blocks back then. It had a steel. The knife had a wonky edge. I didn't think it would be a problem if I used the steel, lightly. It's not like sharpening someone else's knife. The edge bent! I was able to straighten it out, but I could have made curlicues with the edge of that knife with the matching steel!! Interesting about the onions! I don't usually have big onion issues and thought it was because I keep them cold. Maybe it's the knife, too. :)
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lindac92
6 years ago
I want to know about the velcro salad.....
Islay Corbel
6 years ago
Lol
plllog
6 years ago
LOL! I think it's refrigerator velcro, not velcro salad. The former is that which sticks to the fridge and needs using.

Happy Birthday again, John. Most of my good knives were presents, too. Happiness is a sharp blade. :)
bragu_DSM 5
6 years ago
ewww .... wilted spinach

Popeye, where are you?
bbstx
6 years ago
Happy B’day, John! I bought DH a Shun Chef’s knife for Christmas several years ago hoping to entice him into cooking. Didn’t work, but I gained a very nice knife! I, too, tend to use mine as a special occasion knife. “Special occasion knife” sounds like I only use it when cooking in a ball gown. HA!
2ManyDiversions
6 years ago
Happy Birthday, and what a wonderful gift and knife!

BTW, it might be too late to change now... I didn't know what a velcro salad was either... googled it, of course.. I am quite sure that is not what you meant, John! Oh my... no, I am not posting it. I'd be banned for life! LMAO!
Lars
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
Thanks, 2MD 🤐 - of course I had to Google velcro salad and ended up in the Urban Dictionary😱. Won't be going there again!
WalnutCreek Zone 7b/8a
6 years ago
I was curious, too. Ended up on Urban Dictionary also. Absolutely not going there again. I was shocked to say the least.
WalnutCreek Zone 7b/8a
6 years ago
Happy Birthday, John.
John Liu
Original Author
6 years ago
Thank you. I too am curious about “velcro salad” but if I don’t act on it, the impulse will be gone soon - I seem to have trouble remembering stuff lately, too much going on in the world, I have to put every important task in my calendar. Like “Shower”.

We are steadily going through the dark corners of the refrigerator and eating whatever doesn’t eat us. The pantry is full and the freezer is stuffed, but somehow the feeling of privation is lurking. I hear stories that folks in some places are going out with their deer rifles to put food on the table, but around here the best you could do might be a dachshund.

I’m being silly. We are absolutely fine. There was a huge crisis in our house yesterday though. The WiFi stopped working. I had to rush home and fix it before social order broke down.
twoyur
6 years ago
I acquired my shuns from a co worker. She received them as shower presents. First time she used the nikiri she took off the skin on the front of her knuckles. It and two others , a santoku and paring , showed up on my desk the next day. When I ask what I owed he she said nothing . I ended up taking her and husband out to dinner. Not sure it came close to the price of the knives
bragu_DSM 5
6 years ago
john

pic?
annie1992
6 years ago
Yes, I'd love to see this particular birthday gift. Happy Birthday, John, I like it better than the pulse oximeter, LOL.

I don't have a Shun, but I do have a "special occasion" knife. Nancy (wizardnm) and her SO, Kim, gave it to Elery and I as a wedding gift, it's a Wusthof serrated utility knife, I use it for slicing tomatoes and for nothing else, it's perfect.

I also have a set of Gerber steak knives, sharp as scalpels, a gift from Peppi that I liked so well I bought a second set. They are no longer made, of course, so I had to search for them, but they're amazing.

So, yeah, I get the premise of a "special occasion knife".

Annie
bragu_DSM 5
6 years ago
oh yeah .........!!!!!
WalnutCreek Zone 7b/8a
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
A beautiful knife, John.
plllog
6 years ago
True. Beautiful knife. Really beautiful onion!
ediej1209 AL Zn 7
6 years ago
Wow!
2ManyDiversions
6 years ago
Color me impressed! Both the knife and the onion slicing! Fantastic shape on that knife!
jakkom
6 years ago
Happy birthday, John! Great choice for a present!
John Liu
Original Author
6 years ago
DD used a Shun at camp and says my Shun is not as sharp as it should be. So I have started resharpening all my knives and will work on the Shun too. A little bit of isolation mania perhaps. I use an 8000 grit waterstone.

New Chef’s Knife

John Liu
Original Author

Comments (23)

ediej1209 AL Zn 7

Lars

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