Carbon Steel Cutlery

[caleb]

I've grown weary of my Wushtof stainless steel knives, and I'd like to give some carbon steel cutlery a shot. Particularly, I'm thinking of starting with a 6"-ish chef's knife and a 5" or so utility knife. I'd like a relatively thin blade that sharpens easily and doesn't crush food.

I like the look of the Sabatier offerings. Any other suggestions?

[hampco]

Bob Kramer designed a line of carbon steel knives for Henkels and they're lovely and expensive. If you have the means...

[Dmoeny]

My personal choice are the Japanese laminated knives- you get the stainless on the face of the blade with a carbon steel inner. The blades tend to be a bit thinner as well.

[spopepro]

If you're set on carbon (most will try and talk you out of it, including me) and are thinking sabatier, think vintage. Find someone who deals in them and you can get something spectacular for not much. Vintage chicago cutlery is also amazing (but is a touch harder to find).

Japanese knife imports has some really nice western pattern knives in carbon steel which I would feel comfortable recommending even having not used them myself.

But are you really sure you want carbon steel...?

[caleb]

If you're set on carbon (most will try and talk you out of it, including me) and are thinking sabatier, think vintage. Find someone who deals in them and you can get something spectacular for not much. Vintage chicago cutlery is also amazing (but is a touch harder to find).

Japanese knife imports has some really nice western pattern knives in carbon steel which I would feel comfortable recommending even having not used them myself.

But are you really sure you want carbon steel...?

I actually grew up with a Chicago Cutlery set from the early 70s, and I have one of their big chef's knives now. They're exactly what made me want carbon steel in the first place.

My interest in carbon steel was sparked again by a Test Kitchen podcast I heard last winter where they interviewed chefs about what knives they used. It turns out that lots were using cheap carbon steel knives they bought while they were in cooking school in France.

Aside from the fact that I can't put carbon steel in the dish washer and it needs to be dried, why would you try to talk me out of it?

[spopepro]

Aside from the fact that I can't put carbon steel in the dish washer and it needs to be dried, why would you try to talk me out of it?

Because stainless has become really, really good. I find I can get a keener edge that lasts longer. I'm not the only one, PKB (I haven't seen him around for a long while) makes knives and when The Tall One inquired, he was also talked out of a carbon blade. Really, there's not much in it, and if someone made me an offer on a nice carbon blade (especially a vintage one) I'd take it and use the hell out of it. I'm currently really digging my Kanetsugu Pro J gyoto:


Oh, and by the way--I meant to say Japanese chefs knife above. Japanese knife imports is also a very nice shop, but they do way more wa blades than western pattern stuff. But I'd definitely go Japanese if you want new and carbon steel. Maybe something like this:

[caleb]

Thanks for the info. Do you have links for the knives you posted above? Any any recommendation for a good carbon utility knife?

What are you using to sharpen your stainless knives?

[spopepro]

Both photos are from japanesechefsknife.com. They are very reliable and ship so fast the last knife I ordered arrived in 4 days.

I have a Kanetsugu Pro J, which I love. It has a very, very fine edge and narrow bevel. Anything Hattori (an internet forum darling), Misono, or Masamoto is reliably excellent in any material.

I have a set of large synthetic water stones. 400,800,2000,8000. I rarely need to go back to the 400 once I have the bevel set correctly. Use a ceramic hone regularly.

[caleb]

Thanks, spoprepro. I just eBayed my Wushtofs over the weekend (I didn't actually anticipate that they'd sell, but they did), needed to make a choice quick, and ended up trying the Japanese route.

I ordered a Hattori FH-3 150mm Petty with the Cocobolo handle to try as a utility knife. Like these, but with the light brown handle:



If I end up liking this one I may replace my current Chicago Cutlery chef's knife with a nice gyuto like the Hiromoto you posted earlier.

[Cookietruck]

if i were to get a gyuto i'd consider no smaller than 210mm
just sayin

[spopepro]

So... um... after saying "don't buy a non-stainless knife" guess what I just did.

I wasn't even shopping for one. Sigh. Josh is a really good salesman, and at least he spotted me a bro deal.



It's freaking amazing. Haven't sharpened it yet, so time will tell on that one. And the speed at which it's developing a patina is worrying me about how carefully I have to look after it (or maybe the lamination make it look more drastic than it really is).

Moral of the story: ignore what I say. I sure do...

[Zimmermanbicycle]

I've got three of Murray Carter's knives and I love them.
Carbon sandwiched between stainless,easy to put an edge on,holds an edge well,razors.
Stopped by his workshop on a trip to Oregon and spent the afternoon watching him make a knife,very cool stuff.
-Eric Knives | Carter Cutlery

[Dale Alan]

I have some inexpensive carbon cutlery I picked on line from The Wok Shop,takes and holds a wicked edge. The sky is the limit on good carbon,as said above,Murray Carter is quite a craftsman.

[HillDancer]

The main downside to high carbon content steel is its reaction to some foods. High carbon discolors cabbage, onions dull the edge, and cheese causes surface etching.

Be aware Japanese knives are often left or right handed with the bevel on one side; traditional western double side bevel is sometimes an option. For fine edge or ultra thin garde manger work, a carbon Masamoto blade with 70/30 edge is an appropriate tool. It's my go-to for paper thin cucumber slices, various fans, and some fish work. However, because its edge is soft, it's impractical for my daily use.

I have an ancient carbon 10 inch Sabatier that performed well enough, its main advantage was good fit for my hand, but the edge and blade surface required excessive maintenance.

[hampco]

The main downside to high carbon content steel is its reaction to some foods. High carbon discolors cabbage, onions dull the edge, and cheese causes surface etching.

Be aware Japanese knives are often left or right handed with the bevel on one side; traditional western double side bevel is sometimes an option. For fine edge or ultra thin garde manger work, a carbon Masamoto blade with 70/30 edge is an appropriate tool. It's my go-to for paper thin cucumber slices, various fans, and some fish work. However, because its edge is soft, it's impractical for my daily use.

I have an ancient carbon 10 inch Sabatier that performed well enough, its main advantage was good fit for my hand, but the edge and blade surface required excessive maintenance.

As a data point, in my last job as a chef we used the phrase "garage manager" for the salad station...

[HillDancer]

Garde Manger | The History