Pro Chef Tips.. What Are Japanese Knives & Are They Worth It?

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  • Опубликовано: 18 май 2024
  • We are talking about Japanese knives today and will discuss many things in this video: types of knives, types of steel, makers, and more!
    I will leave a few links below for you to see them and for a few dealers in the US, UK and EU.
    My Cooking Course: james-makinson-s-school.teach...
    🛒KNIVES & SETS TO BUY:🛒
    ▶MASAMOTO KS Gyuto Chef Knife 24cm:
    amzn.to/3Ye2SMz
    ▶MASAMOTO VG Gyuto Chef Knife 21cm:
    amzn.to/3rUQrJu
    ▶MASAMOTO SW Gyuto Chef Knife 24cm:
    amzn.to/3DFUR9H
    ▶MASAMOTO SW Petty Knife 16cm:
    amzn.to/3Ye3mST
    ▶MASAMOTO KS Yanagiba 24cm:
    amzn.to/44OTT6Y
    ▶MASAMOTO VG Sujihiki 24cm:
    amzn.to/3DARKj4
    ▶MIYABI 5000MCD 2-Piece set Chef Knife / Petty Knife: amzn.to/43vPCE6
    ▶MIYABI 5000MCD 8-Inch Chef Knife:
    amzn.to/3K1aA6I
    ▶MIYABI 5000MCD67 8-inch Chef's Knife:
    amzn.to/3KpaSo5
    ▶MIYABI 5000MCD 9 Inch Slicer:
    amzn.to/3Okc0L7
    ▶Global 2-Piece Set Chef Knife / Petty Knife:
    amzn.to/3Dk6YJj
    ▶Shun Classic 3 Piece Set 8" Chef, 3.5" Paring, 6" Utility Knife: amzn.to/3OiaNFc
    🛒SHARPENERS:🛒
    ▶KING 4 Whetstones Set with base 220/1000/4000/6000 Grits:
    amzn.to/3rH4IsQ
    ▶KING Whetstone Starter Set 1000/6000 Grit:
    amzn.to/3rscw1A
    🛒DEALERS:🛒
    Meesterslijpers:
    I have bought from them a lot, they are located in Amsterdam,
    excellent customer service!
    www.meesterslijpers.nl/en
    Cutting Edge Knives:
    They are located in the UK, a family-run business
    and they have excellent customer service!
    cuttingedgeknives.co.uk/
    Chef Knives To Go:
    @SteveGPhotography
    They have a lot of knife reviews on YT and are very friendly.
    Be sure to check them out if you are in the US!
    www.chefknivestogo.com/
    If you are in the EU you will have to pay for VAT when buying from outside.
    The standard rate of VAT is 21% Not cheap!
    -------------------------------------------
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    📱FOLLOW US ON:📱
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    🛒MY KITCHEN EQUIPMENT:🛒
    ▶Le Repertoire De La Cuisine in English: amzn.to/44fh7Tv
    ▶Paella Pan!: amzn.to/2UQWT3s
    ▶BlackBoard Plate: (Pizarra): amzn.to/3dAi3JS
    ▶My Chef Knife: (that I use every day!) amzn.to/34PSf7D
    ▶Paring Knives: (can never have too many!) amzn.to/2S5y6Ia
    ▶Cutting Boards: amzn.to/3vXizIV
    ▶STAUB Cast Iron Dutch Pan: (It's a workhorse!) amzn.to/34MbzTo
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    ▶T-fal Nonstick Pan set: amzn.to/3njzYvZ
    ▶Flim for wrapping food: amzn.to/42ztQjv
    Timeline:
    Gyuto - 00:15
    The Petty Knife - 00:59
    The Santoku - 01:23
    Sujihiki - 01:54
    Nakiri - 02:30
    Yanagiba - 03:07
    Buying Recommendation - 04:13
    Bladesmithing - 04:26
    Steel Hardness - 05:30
    Stainless vs Carbon - 06:17
    Handle Types - 08:19
    Balance Point - 09:28
    Knife Finishes - 09:49
    Care and Maintenance - 11:09
    Stropping - 11:58
    Which knife maker - 12:35
    Short Story - 15:29
    Where to buy - 16:12
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    DISCLAIMER: This description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on a product link, I will receive a small commission. This helps to support my channel and allows us to continue making awesome videos like this. Thank you for your support!
  • РазвлеченияРазвлечения

Комментарии • 487

  • @ChefJamesMakinson
    @ChefJamesMakinson  9 месяцев назад +25

    Don't forget to Subscribe and Check Out my Other Knife Video! ruclips.net/video/LgqoN2Duo5U/видео.html

    • @ayashimizuki5198
      @ayashimizuki5198 9 месяцев назад

      subscribed 😁, just started following your videos this week and what I like the most is that your videos have pointers, guidelines and valuable knowledge shared from your experience, the way you describe and explain things clearly, makes viewers feel like you are talking to us directly, I will recommend your channel to my family and friends 👨‍👩‍👦 oh kindly share links if you already have videos on how to cook mashed potatoes with gravy and if I am not asking too much, kindly please, how to cook medium rare steak (including marinade please but the not so expensive version for Asian wanna-be home cooks), thank you, if my requests are not available, it is ok, thank you Chef

    • @gclowne174
      @gclowne174 9 месяцев назад

      make one for chinese knives please especially about the cleaver.

    • @CBDeep
      @CBDeep 9 месяцев назад +1

      Teacher, Chinese cuisine has been around for over 3000 years, and there are various cooking methods available. The Western world has almost the same cooking methods, don't you understand? The Japanese people can only use raw food as a selling point because they do not know other cooking methods. China has all cooking methods and has continued for thousands of years.

    • @CBDeep
      @CBDeep 9 месяцев назад +1

      I hope you can come to China and eat whatever you like. Just take a look and you'll understand

    • @johanneszhengdu4625
      @johanneszhengdu4625 9 месяцев назад

      I Got to snatch the same 240mm Anryu Kuroichi Gyuto, it's so beautiful and definitely my favorite in my collection! :D

  • @PerfectBite
    @PerfectBite 9 месяцев назад +58

    Gyuto - 0:15
    The Petty Knife - 0:59
    The Santoku - 1:23
    Sujihiki - 1:54
    Nakiri - 2:30
    Yanagiba - 3:07
    Buying Recomendation - 4:13
    Bladesmithing - 4:26
    Steel Hardness - 5:30
    Stainless vs Carbon - 6:17
    Handle Types - 8:19
    Balance Point - 9:28
    Knife Finishes - 9:49
    Care and Maintenance - 11:09
    Stropping - 11:58
    Which knife maker - 12:35
    Short Story - 15:29
    Where to buy - 16:12

  • @daiooji
    @daiooji 9 месяцев назад +2

    FYI from Japanese audience:
    1. Gyuto(牛刀) means Cow(牛) Blade/Sword(刀) in literal translation. I don't know why it's called that way.
    2. The Santoku(三徳) means three(三) characteristic(徳). The knife was made to use it on 3 different ingredients, meat, fish, and vegi.
    3. Sujihiki(筋引) means String/Muscle(筋) Pull(引), and yes, it's named for the purpose of pulling/cutting the string of the meat.
    4. Nakiri(菜切) means Vegi(菜) Cutter(切) and it is used to cut vegi like Chef James mentioned.
    5. Yanagiba(柳刃) means Willow(柳) Blade/Sword(刃). it is called Yanagiba because it is as thin as the willow leaves.

  • @atthelord
    @atthelord 9 месяцев назад +3

    I know the video is meant to look at knives, but I urge viewers to look at chef's technique- especially the way he's cutting when using different knives. Also look at how and where the knife is held from. The weight of the knife will also determine how you use it. Heavy knife? let the knife do the cutting. Very light knife? Each stroke will be purposeful. But the best tip given here in this video is to hold one and try it in store. Buy what you're comfortable with!
    Great video as always! Looking forward to more content.

    • @ChefJamesMakinson
      @ChefJamesMakinson  9 месяцев назад +1

      thank you! the counter that I was cutting on is a bit to high for a cutting board and with the Japanese knives it is not easy to use them as I have to hold them higher up to cut haha

  • @FAstLEvelaCTION
    @FAstLEvelaCTION 8 месяцев назад +1

    I am food enjoyer and definitely not chief at any level, but watching someones collection of knives was oddly satisfying 👍

  • @robertmarsalis9296
    @robertmarsalis9296 9 месяцев назад +31

    You make some very good points I haven’t seen in other videos on Japanese knives, like making sure the blade is tall enough for your hand, I have a Shigeki Tanaka gyuto with a tall blade, much taller than my Wustof, and I absolutely love it.

  • @anusheelkhalkho951
    @anusheelkhalkho951 9 месяцев назад +41

    Can you please review on guga foods

    • @HyperHorse
      @HyperHorse 9 месяцев назад

      FUCKING NO!!!!!! Can you please grow a brain and grow out of these faddish content creators like Guga. I hope James will continue to make content about food people will actually want to cook and eat and any other detail orientated videos because he's a really intelligent and knowledgeable guy.

    • @seedling345
      @seedling345 9 месяцев назад +2

      He has

  • @biscuitkitchentreviews
    @biscuitkitchentreviews 3 месяца назад +1

    One thing to point out, stainless is not the same as stain proof. Some stainless steels still rust when in contact with more acidic foods.

  • @qyark
    @qyark 8 месяцев назад +1

    A comment I see in a lot of videos about Japanese vs Western knives is about the higher hardness; I think it's worth pointing out that the lower/higher hardness is a deliberate choice by the manufacturer. You can get Western knives with RH in the 60s, and you can Japanese knives with RH in the 50s. There isn't anything unique about the steels from either area, it's just market preference. So if you want an extremely hard Western style knife and are able to find an artisan bladesmith who will work with you, you can get a blade as hard as you like.

  • @CHEF2077
    @CHEF2077 9 месяцев назад +5

    As someone who worked & studied for years in steel industry (with CNC machines that is) I can tell you, higher Rockwell means also more briddle, which results in higher chances of cracks/chips.
    The perfect steel would be as hard as possible while being flexible enough to withstand torturing. But even if you mix materials together, which they do (Chromium, Molybdan, Vanadium and so on) they'll still fall short on being flexible or hard enough.
    Interesting would be to do knifes with CBN (Cubic Boron Nitrid) especially cause they're thermically and chemically resistant. That's commonly used in the makes of lathe and milling tools.
    But the processing of making it is difficult, because it's mainly made through sintering.
    Thanks for the video James, was really interesting to see!

  • @bluewingedchaoscat
    @bluewingedchaoscat 9 месяцев назад +4

    "A knife made by Myabi can actually go through more than a hundred hands of artisans" at that second a horror scene played in my mind untill I caght up with the rest of the sentence 😂

  • @fiona4450
    @fiona4450 9 месяцев назад +5

    I have the privilege of owning a small set of 4 knives made of Japanese stainless steel. I have a gyuto, santoku and a nakiri, plus a paring knife that is the same metal. They were a gift from one of my daughters and they are fantastic. They sharpen so well and hold a nice edge. I really enjoyed your explanation of the various knifes and the steels they can be made from. It gives me a better appreciation for what I was gifted.

  • @TerraHv1
    @TerraHv1 7 месяцев назад +1

    I absolutely love my Nakiri and Santoku. I use them for probably 90% of all my cooking.

  • @asparagoosagus5954
    @asparagoosagus5954 9 месяцев назад +10

    My favorite two knives are my shun Gyuto and my aogami Nakiri. I grew up using my parents' Wustoff knives, and while they are amazing and so much tougher, I just love how much more comfortable and precise my japanese knives feel with a pinch grip and how much sharper they are. I also love how they look - and while that might seem pretty trivial, I always feel that when I like looking at the tools in my hands, I end up using them more often. However, I think if I was a pro instead of a home cook I might prefer knives I wouldnt have to worry about as much

  • @jonathont7866
    @jonathont7866 9 месяцев назад +1

    I'd love a japanese knife sharpening video - strops and whetstones and the like.

    • @ChefJamesMakinson
      @ChefJamesMakinson  9 месяцев назад

      😉

    • @WSDFirm
      @WSDFirm 9 месяцев назад

      Can you cover the retail Wüsthof sharpeners please. (Good or bad) for us home chiefs 🔪
      I have the sharpener that does regular, standard, or “Asian” knives.

  • @MegaFortinbras
    @MegaFortinbras 9 месяцев назад +1

    I have three Shun knives, a chef's knife, a nakiri, and a paring knife. Those along with a Mercer bread knife are all I need.

  • @mbwahaha
    @mbwahaha 9 месяцев назад +5

    You won't convince my mum that there is a better knife than Ikea's chef knife. She gifted a pair of those to every person she even knew. I got 3 for my birthday...

    • @jks3190
      @jks3190 4 месяца назад +1

      Her mind will be blown if she uses a Tojiro DP or a Takamura 😆

    • @QueenyCrowley
      @QueenyCrowley 11 дней назад +1

      That is kinda cute though, your mum sounds like a really lovely person.
      All the best to you and yours

  • @HeartOfAWizard
    @HeartOfAWizard 9 месяцев назад

    Very excited for this video!!
    Glad you did it.

  • @michael_the_chef
    @michael_the_chef 9 месяцев назад +1

    Knives of some good makers i own/ tried and like: yu Kurosaki, shiro kamo, hideo Kitaoka, yoshikane, fujiwara, anryu, shigeki tanaka, takamura, zakuri, masamoto, moritaka, sakai kikomuri, sakai takayuki, shibata koutetsu, yoshimi kato, yoshikazu Tanaka, ogata, yamamoto, masashi just to name a few

  • @sntxrrr
    @sntxrrr 9 месяцев назад +1

    One thing to note about single bevel Japanese knives is that they are meant for righthanded use. As a lefty that can be a bit of an issue. I only have one Shun steak knife for the pretty which I do use righthanded.

    • @ChefJamesMakinson
      @ChefJamesMakinson  9 месяцев назад

      I said to hold the knife before but yes I should had said that

  • @divad2309
    @divad2309 8 месяцев назад

    Loved this video!!! Great info!!!

  • @pg-rl4oc
    @pg-rl4oc 9 месяцев назад +1

    I am a home cook. I love good knives. They make working in the kitchen so much easier. I am now up to about 8 Japanese knives, all hand made. I highly recommend them. I also recommend stainless. My carbon steel knives just take too much effort preventing them from rusting even though they do get wickedly sharp. The most used knife in my kitchen is a nikiri. I prefer wa handles. Japanese knives are worth the price.

  • @Philipk65
    @Philipk65 9 месяцев назад

    That was very interesting James.

  • @dennisboulais7905
    @dennisboulais7905 9 месяцев назад +1

    Very educational, thank you!

  • @fauxtaux
    @fauxtaux 9 месяцев назад

    Very informative, James. Thanks!

  • @Quoodle1
    @Quoodle1 9 месяцев назад

    I liked this video, especially the practical insight. Thank you

  • @YBCEsko
    @YBCEsko 9 месяцев назад

    You’re videos are phenomenal the way you convey and break down everything is beyond helpful, would love to see you cook some of your favorite dishes 🙏

  • @dbisht
    @dbisht 9 месяцев назад

    Really enjoyed the video ❤❤

  • @ryann8806
    @ryann8806 9 месяцев назад

    about time :) happy to see this vid!!

  • @liamobrien292
    @liamobrien292 9 месяцев назад +1

    I would love you to talk about good knife blocks/storage 😂 I have a knife block and it’s a bit of a pain to store them!

    • @ChefJamesMakinson
      @ChefJamesMakinson  9 месяцев назад +1

      I don't have one at home but That could be for another knife video

    • @liamobrien292
      @liamobrien292 9 месяцев назад +1

      @@ChefJamesMakinson or even the best way to store your knives in the kitchen. Living in close quarters sucks to try and do that.

  • @zex69
    @zex69 9 месяцев назад

    Great video chef!

  • @mykelevangelista6492
    @mykelevangelista6492 9 месяцев назад

    This has been very interesting and enlightening. Thank you for this.

  • @ThomasRonnberg
    @ThomasRonnberg 9 месяцев назад

    A lot of custom knifemakers and small time makers can make you a kydex cover or sheath for relatively cheap if you ask them nicely.

  • @tom3829
    @tom3829 9 месяцев назад +2

    Great video chef! it is very helpful for a beginner

  • @VGJunky
    @VGJunky 8 месяцев назад

    Loved how comprehensive this video was! Been looking into getting a Japanese knife for a while and getting into finishes, manufacturers, steel types, and practical tips/care was really helpful

  • @ChefknivestogoVideos
    @ChefknivestogoVideos 9 месяцев назад

    Thanks for the mention! :)

  • @MilatovichFamily
    @MilatovichFamily 9 месяцев назад +1

    In my bag are gyuto, petty, bunka and left yanagiba. I use them in pro european italian/slovenian/french cusine kitchens.

  • @chocolatehd6306
    @chocolatehd6306 9 месяцев назад

    It is so fascinating what you can learn from knives! Thank you for sharing ^^

  • @jimmycodmw2
    @jimmycodmw2 9 месяцев назад

    FINALLY THANK YOU JAMES

  • @HeronCoyote1234
    @HeronCoyote1234 9 месяцев назад

    This was excellent! I’m going to share the video with my best friend. He’ll really appreciate the in-depth info you’ve included.
    Thank you, Chef James.

  • @precisionknifesharpening3102
    @precisionknifesharpening3102 9 месяцев назад

    My favorite knives are made by Tojiro. VG-10 steel, 61 Rockwell

  • @-EchoesIntoEternity-
    @-EchoesIntoEternity- 9 месяцев назад

    santoku is my goto knife of choice, use one daily in my kitchen

  • @ilovemangobingsu
    @ilovemangobingsu 9 месяцев назад

    Thank you for this educational video. I'm glad that you made a follow-up video on this topic.

  • @gavriushka
    @gavriushka 9 месяцев назад +1

    I don’t have a very big hand, but it’s pretty wide and thick. So I found that Bob Kramer is easier for me to use, specifically the Carbon 8” Chefs knife. It’s not for everyone, requires lots of maintenance, since it’s high carbon and rusts almost immediately. That said, I have the exactly the same Santoku, birch wood one. Love it as well, especially for veggie cutting.

  • @NovelKitchen
    @NovelKitchen 9 месяцев назад

    Useful share TFS

  • @philipmarchand9018
    @philipmarchand9018 9 месяцев назад

    Love your class type video, nice voice to do this, relaxing, well articulated and the knowlage of the subject is felt.

  • @SliceydiceyCookingNicey
    @SliceydiceyCookingNicey 4 месяца назад

    Great video !!! Lots of information with out being dry and over informative, and you hit a lot of key points in Japanese knives that get missed often.

  • @DrFrankLondon
    @DrFrankLondon 9 месяцев назад

    Really great video, James! 🗡️👌😁

  • @atsushiikeda6730
    @atsushiikeda6730 9 месяцев назад +4

    Have the same gyuto that you were holding up in the beginning! Got it for round 300 CAD with the blade guard, and still get compliments on it wherever I go.

  • @xllvr
    @xllvr 9 месяцев назад +1

    I always love how thorough and yet nuanced you explain things. It's something I find sometimes lacking in the more bombastic regular types of content especially in the food content space (not dissing that just different) and is really enjoyable to hear someone knowledgeable talk about things in an informative yet easy to understand way

    • @ChefJamesMakinson
      @ChefJamesMakinson  9 месяцев назад +1

      thank you so much for the nice comment! I try but I still forget to mention things

  • @therock5422
    @therock5422 9 месяцев назад

    Amazingly informative video, Chef James!!!
    A sharpening video?
    YES PLEASE!!!!

  • @Ofenlicht
    @Ofenlicht 9 месяцев назад

    I love my Takamura Migaki 8" gyuto. Beautiful grind on it that glides through everything I've thrown at it. I recommend Tojiro for people with a smaller budget.

  • @richardgardner601
    @richardgardner601 9 месяцев назад

    Thank you for your information of years chefing and knowledge it is really helping me in teaching my family who now are chefing.

  • @wesleyalejandre2964
    @wesleyalejandre2964 9 месяцев назад

    Very informative video James! I didn't know certain Japanese knives had a particular edge and way of cutting!

  • @michaeleber4752
    @michaeleber4752 9 месяцев назад

    I got just a hanesuki for skinning chicken and cutting fillets, to go with a boning knife for deboning the chicken. However I have two young boys and at least one is interested in cooking. So that will be my only Japanese knife. The rest will be Messermeister Oliva Elite knives.

  • @ipatates
    @ipatates 9 месяцев назад

    Thank you for the video, I love watching your videos and making me curious about cooking. I'm planning to get chef knives soon and your videos did help very much.

  • @peetsnort
    @peetsnort 9 месяцев назад

    For my carbon steel knife I have a dedicated camelia oil swab that after washing and drying the knife I give it a wipe on swab.
    It looks like an ink stamp pad from the olden days.
    It just requires a few drops of camelia oil.
    Its so nice to use carbon and I treat it with the respect it deserves for cutting so nicely.

  • @britinmadrid
    @britinmadrid 9 месяцев назад

    Really interesting video. thank you. I'm looking forward to the knife-sharpening episode.

  • @lizbensaemah2702
    @lizbensaemah2702 9 месяцев назад

    I have a mukimono knife because I love the shape and it feels very good in my hand. I use it for (almost) everything even tho it's supposed to be used to make art with food.

  • @ThomasRonnberg
    @ThomasRonnberg 9 месяцев назад

    Stainless generally prefers to be sharpened on diamond stones with plenty of lubrication. stainless steels are inherently very abrasion resistant (which doesn't necessarily mean higher edge retention), so the diamonds can shear through those chromium carbides nice and easily.

  • @bear-inferno
    @bear-inferno 9 месяцев назад

    I've been watching your videos almost everyday for a week now, love how informative the knife videos are! Been researching myself on what Japanese Brands do I actually want to purchase from that still make them traditionally.

    • @ChefJamesMakinson
      @ChefJamesMakinson  9 месяцев назад

      I hope you have learned something! :) I left a few links in the description. For different places to buy some of the knives from.

  • @redvsblueftw
    @redvsblueftw 9 месяцев назад +1

    Great options for first Japanese knives that you didn't have to show are also the bunka and kiritsuke. I have one of each and they've become my favorites in my kit!

  • @pandap0i
    @pandap0i 9 месяцев назад +1

    Thanks chef for the info! That Miyabi and Shun with the patterns looks very pretty! Also thanks for the entry level recommendation! Will look for a Makoto Kurosaki!

  • @rofalmatt
    @rofalmatt 9 месяцев назад

    very interesting

  • @jackem8922
    @jackem8922 9 месяцев назад

    Great video from the owner of a pretty impressive Japanese knife collection. About 15 years ago I impulse bought Anthony Bourdain's 'Kitchen Confidential', having zero interest in the commercial cooking world. But I loved the book and learned a lot. In it, he stated that US chefs were dumping their heavy German knives, and buying Japanese ones, and mentioned the Global brand by name. So I bought (impulsively again!) a whole set of Global knives for a very fair price - I'm just a home cook BTW. Some of the best advice I've ever received. 15 years later, I still have the same set and I very rarely use my German ones, much as I appreciate the craftsmanship of my bulletproof Henckels Zwilling chef's knife. The Global knives are tough, don't chip when I drop them, hold an edge much better than the German knives, can be touched up regularly with a steel, and being light are easier to use. And those weird looking tapered steel handles? They're surprisingly comfortable - who'd have thought it?

  • @Incoming1983
    @Incoming1983 9 месяцев назад +4

    I love your videos!
    I'm a very amateur home chef. I own a 24cm Gyuto and that's what I use around 98% in my kitchen. Other than that, I have 28cm serrated knife and a small pairing knife. That's really all I ever use and I learned how during some introductory cooking classes travelling in Indochina as well as youtube.
    Among my peers in Southern Germany / Switzerland it is very common to use tiny supermarket pairing knives as chef knives. Those are already dull when you buy them and deteriorate quickly, leading to the "typical" squirting tomatoes as well as people crying from chopping onions. People also tend to cut their fingers quite often and I find it difficult to explain that using a bigger and sharper knife will prevent accidents.
    Sometimes it's also hard to explain why someone should pay a lot of money (my Gyuto was around 170 USD) for "just a knife" when you can get cheaper knives and invest the remainder in fancy (and also cheap) kitchen appliances that do stuff automagically.
    In my very humble experience, a good knife, a big cutting board and a good frying pan go a long way for everyday cooking in a single's kitchen.

    • @SansBalance
      @SansBalance 9 месяцев назад +2

      A good, sharp paring knife isn’t even all that expensive. My Victorinox was only USD$8 when I bought it (now $12).
      It’s lasted for years (and still going) for something priced as nearly disposable.

    • @Incoming1983
      @Incoming1983 9 месяцев назад

      @@SansBalance yeah, the decent ones are not expensive. Mine was a bit more pricier, but way less than 100 USD, if I remember right. And they indeed last forever.
      Once you pay for the basics, the rest is often just a bit of fancy decoration and brand name.
      What happens here is that people buy those off the supermarket shelf that cost maybe 1 to 3 USD - in that price range. It also says "kitchen knife" on the label.
      It isn't even proper knife steel - just punched out metal sheet, sharpened at the edge and attached to a plastic handle.
      When I was a student and moved out, living on a shoestring budget, I fell into the same trap. Having a proper chef's knife was a game changer for me later in life.

    • @ChefJamesMakinson
      @ChefJamesMakinson  9 месяцев назад +1

      Thank you so much!

  • @whoknows6002
    @whoknows6002 9 месяцев назад

    the main reason is definetley the steel hardness. also the handles can be very fancy.

  • @marekhusar6162
    @marekhusar6162 9 месяцев назад

    Another great video... And how i like how you explain things is just great and Simple to remember... I learn a lot i dont know as cheff... Top💪💪💪

  • @mhicaoidh1
    @mhicaoidh1 9 месяцев назад

    Great video!
    I have a set of Shun knives, and I find I use the Santoku and the Nakiri far more than the chef's knife. The Nakiri was my work horse, but I now have a few "waves" or "bends" in the edge in two places, so I have switched to the Santoku until I get the Nakiri taken care of.
    13:11 - I am going to guess the blade on the left is chipped from someone twisting out an avocado pit. I saw a couple of knife repair videos where that was the confirmed cause, and it looked very similar. I stopped doing that as a result.
    Also, for Japanese knives, I have learned you should not cut on hard surfaces (granite, etc) as this can also cause chipping and warping.

  • @1998TDM
    @1998TDM 5 месяцев назад

    Another excellent video, you're the real deal, thank you.
    As a chef the first time I used a nakiri it blew my mind. If you have to do a mountain of julienne, brunoise or chiffonade they absolutely motor through it.

  • @WSDFirm
    @WSDFirm 9 месяцев назад

    Thank you, I loved this video! Only recently have I been working with proper Japanese knives. This explanation helped. Thank you :-)

  • @shura0107
    @shura0107 9 месяцев назад

    I have a Victorinox santoku. It's my main knife when cooking. It's not "Japanese" but more "Japanese-inspired" still, it's great to use.

  • @ayashimizuki5198
    @ayashimizuki5198 9 месяцев назад +1

    Chef, this is truly informative and helpful, thank you, i downloaded this video so that I can use your guidelines as my future reference, when I have saved enough to be able to buy a decent cooking knife 🔪😊

    • @ChefJamesMakinson
      @ChefJamesMakinson  9 месяцев назад

      you are welcome!

    • @ayashimizuki5198
      @ayashimizuki5198 9 месяцев назад

      @@ChefJamesMakinson thank you, looking forward to more of your videos 💖

  • @ThomasRonnberg
    @ThomasRonnberg 9 месяцев назад

    nice collection

  • @kweassa6204
    @kweassa6204 9 месяцев назад

    oooh beautiful yanagiba. Excellent sushi knife

  • @patrickf.4966
    @patrickf.4966 6 месяцев назад

    Wow you have quiet the collection. That KS is truly a thing of beauty

  • @christopherdonald9001
    @christopherdonald9001 9 месяцев назад

    My Sakon petty has a Rockwell hardness of 64! It's amazing! Thanks for the great video!

  • @oninada
    @oninada 9 месяцев назад

    Thanks for these informational videos! They are very fun and educational to listen to. Excited about similar upcoming videos. Also, what is the outro song?

    • @ChefJamesMakinson
      @ChefJamesMakinson  9 месяцев назад +1

      Glad you like them! ES_Gozo La Vida - Louie Wuatton on epidemic

    • @oninada
      @oninada 9 месяцев назад

      @@ChefJamesMakinson Thank you! :>

  • @deaconmikepray9793
    @deaconmikepray9793 8 месяцев назад

    This was very informative. There are so many knife styles out there and it can be hard to choose a set that suits your needs.
    Chef's knives are my go to. I have a Henckels Santoku which I "like" but it is very uncomfortable to use with a pinch grip. The spine is quite sharp and causes abrasions on my fingers. I would love to try a nakiri. They look pretty handy for the vegetables. Expensive knives intimidate me a bit. I would hate to damage one beyond repair.
    My "go-to's" are a 17 year old Victorinox 8" Chef which I have sharpened every couple of years. For my home cooking needs, it suits what I do.

  • @JhonnyEiji
    @JhonnyEiji 9 месяцев назад

    Amazing video. Could you please make a video about pots and pans. Must have utensils.

  • @NoxiousRob
    @NoxiousRob 9 месяцев назад

    A really informative video. I've been considering buying a Japanese knife for a while as I Have never owned one. After watching your video I decided to take the plunge and as per your recommendation for an entry level knife, I've ordered a Gyuto from Cutting Edge Knives, which you included a link for in your list of dealers.
    The good news is they are currently running a promotion so I got a 15% discount. I went for a Harayuki Zanpa 240mm, as it's a little bit longer than my current Wusthof chef's knife, and it looks beautiful. The not so good news is that the family who run the business are currently on holiday so I'll have to wait a bit longer to get my lovely new Japanese knife.

  • @mrbigberd
    @mrbigberd 9 месяцев назад

    Carbon steels will leave a slight metallic taste when used on acidic foods.
    I'd note that Rh63 knives are a LOT more brittle than ones that are Rh58 and few people would be willing to pay for a powdered steel chef's knife.

  • @gedog77
    @gedog77 9 месяцев назад

    Great content and research, really impressed that you covered the shapes, the materials and the black smiths at an introductory level. I have previously used Cutting Edge Knives, I bought an Anryu petty 75mm Shirogami in the last year Katsushige Anryu was still forging. I got it alongside a more modest SAKAI TAKAYUKI AUS10 Santoku, which would be my 'daily driver'. The Santoku is MY daily driver but my precious Anryu is the preferred knife of choice of my wife and my 7yr old! I regularly rescue it but I'm also glad it's being used, Anryu san didn't make it as an ornament.

  • @christophe3358
    @christophe3358 9 месяцев назад

    i love my miyabi chefs knife, so balanced.

  • @antoinedoinell
    @antoinedoinell 4 месяца назад

    Carbon steels are usually tougher (less prone to chipping) than stainless steels. Another important trade off between the steel types.

  • @rolandlannier9492
    @rolandlannier9492 8 месяцев назад +1

    Hey James, Pro knife maker here.
    Nice and pretty accurate video! but I would like to add a few things.
    First, Japanese knives have made quite the reputation and now everybody believes they are the best there is. That might be true when they are made by true dedicated artisans. The problem is it has became such a big business that a lot of industrial companies now want their piece of the pie and make Japanese-looking knives without respecting the rules of what make a Japanese knife.
    For starters, even though there is nowadays a huge diversity among stainless steels, and some will have all of the upsides of carbon steel, but most stainless steels are the cheap ones and not always well heat treated. This is what gave stainless steel the poorer reputation in the first place, in the West. There is an incentive with Japanese knives to stick to a higher standard regarding sharpness and edge retention, so there's that, but you'll still have to go way down the rabbit hole to find the really good ones.
    Besides, it's very difficult to hand-forge stainless steel let alone to make damascus out of it, without ruining the metallurgical balance inside. Stainless has to be heat treated very accurately, within a few degrees window and there's no room for error, so even for the most skilled blacksmith, to be this accurate with a forge fire is virtually impossible. What I mean is, when you see "blacksmith finish" on a stainless steel, 95% of the time, it just has been put there to let you believe it has been hand-forged while it most certainly has not. What's funny is many very skilled blacksmith will leave a very smooth surface even after they're done forging (not the rough random hammer marks) and will also polish the blade completely, because that's the real traditional way. Again, the "blacksmith finish" is a pretty recent trend, mostly developed by industrial companies to make their knives look more hand-made.
    Then, as you briefly mentioned it, true damascus is not showy. in the old days, there was only tamahagane. The folding and welding process was used to make the steel more homogeneous, not more layered, like in the West. When you seen a large damascus pattern on a knife, it's most probably stainless damascus, which it 100% industrial, made from carbide powder metallurgy. And even if it looks pretty, it's basically more similar to a standard stainless steel in its structure and behavior. You're just buying the looks. Stainless doesn't weld easily, so in order to do this, steel powder must be put into a closed can, then heated and pressed. A blacksmith can't do that.
    Finally, sharpening steel is indeed not supposed to work on a Japanese knife, since the typical Japanese knife is quenched and tempered with a higher Rockwell point. it's a historical and cultural thing. The steel won't have enough hardness compared to the knife to be able to grind it. The edge will just slide on it and polish it. So you will have to go for the whetstones to sharpen your knives every now and then.
    To summarize, 90% of the so called Japanese knives are in fact industrially (often not even in Japan) and made with more western processes. It's just fake and opportunistically made because of the high demand. It can still work not so badly as a knife, just like you can still cook with an Ikea knife, but it has very little to do with Japanese tradition. The remaining 10% are not easily found and you will have to do a lot of research to find the genuine kind, and the price point will most probably be around x5.
    Take care.

    • @ChefJamesMakinson
      @ChefJamesMakinson  8 месяцев назад +2

      Hey! Thank you very much for the explanations! There is so much to know about Bladesmithing!

    • @user-ps1ft1hy4j
      @user-ps1ft1hy4j 24 дня назад

      Very interesting! Thanks for the education!

  • @blueeyedsnake
    @blueeyedsnake 9 месяцев назад

    Very nice video! I love knives and I have a small collection of my own. Among them, one Deba (Shun). It's the main knife for when I have a chicken to debone. I'll remember the brands you mentioned for my next Japanese knife :D

  • @timivers8823
    @timivers8823 9 месяцев назад

    I have 4 Aryu knives. Glad I got em before he retired. Nice blades!

  • @f1jones544
    @f1jones544 9 месяцев назад

    I have a Shun, but I don't know what style it is. It has what I'd call a low frequency serrated blade and a rounded end. It is incredibly razer sharp.

  • @LikeBOOMCA
    @LikeBOOMCA 9 месяцев назад

    I recognize a Makoto Kurosaki gyuto when I see one! Very beautiful and high performing blade! Very cool collection!

  • @user-ii7nf6dz6x
    @user-ii7nf6dz6x Месяц назад

    Great video! Just a few additional points: A significant distinction between the Gyuto (chef's knife) and the Santoku lies in their cutting techniques. The Gyuto excels in chop-cutting methods, making it ideal for tasks requiring a more vertical motion. In contrast, the Santoku is better suited for push-cutting, which involves a more straightforward slicing action. If you're working in a smaller kitchen space, you might find the Santoku to be more convenient due to its versatility and ease of handling.

  • @simonwood1260
    @simonwood1260 9 месяцев назад +4

    Great video and like a great knife, well balanced too. For any viewers in the US, Liberia and Myanmar, 240mm is 9 and 448819 millionths of an inch, but I guess 9.5" works 🙂

    • @ChefJamesMakinson
      @ChefJamesMakinson  9 месяцев назад +1

      Thank you! It took me about five days to put this together haha

  • @manong4328
    @manong4328 9 месяцев назад

    Great video! So interesting. I thought a knife was just a knife 🤦🏻‍♀️. Still learning ❤️

  • @CowboyFate
    @CowboyFate 3 месяца назад

    I absolutely love Bob Kramer knives. Traditional Japanese trained knives for maker with more of a western flair. I've had my Bob Kramer Damascus chefs knife for 7 years and never sharpened it. It probably needs a sharpening, but I use it almost every day and the fact it's lasted this long before needing a sharpening is insane

  • @Jida_TheRainGirl
    @Jida_TheRainGirl 9 месяцев назад

    Ok I gotta say this, I love your vids even though I don’t even cook 😂, but your vibe really relaxing! Keep going

  • @nicolasolsen6869
    @nicolasolsen6869 9 месяцев назад

    Have a kai shu chef knife 20,5 cm and it was my first knife 🔪 have had it for 6 years now and it’s still amazing, really good quality and brand, also a good balance

  • @kingquesoIV
    @kingquesoIV 9 месяцев назад

    i recommend tojiro knives. perfect price point.

  • @baconatorrodriguez4651
    @baconatorrodriguez4651 9 месяцев назад

    Little mid-week treat!

  • @HADESPAYLOAD
    @HADESPAYLOAD 9 месяцев назад

    Spot on on the knuckle clearance. The Kramer style I like bet have not found in an artisan other than Kramer which is way outside my price range. I don’t want a mass production Kramer. I have found all sorts of cool oddities. I have a Jikko Nakiri with a sg2 Tanto tip but round tip. My Takeda are laser thin one is large Gyuto which is tall like a cleaver the sasanoha is more or all height bit has flex in its thinness. Finding styles you like and sticking with them is my recommendation. I have many Gyuto and Nakiri but few of other styles. You should also mention workhorse or beater for those items that can damage blades. Also an video on where to spend vs save on a blade. Granted what your doing changes that selection but home cook, line chef and specialty restaurants might be fun videos to watch. Guest chefs of these with a what’s in their bag and why. I own 2 Kurosaki knives early blades of his and have been seeking an Anryu your picks are great for sure.

  • @Buckwheat0
    @Buckwheat0 9 месяцев назад

    I think most peoples preference in knives lean toward what compliments their muscle memory they developed cooking in a fast and efficient kitchen, sometimes learned and got good at using a a walmart chef knife, some people learned with the Excalibur