Food

[meijlinder]

It seems to me the Japanese steel of the Global is harder steel than traditional German steel. I guess I just don't know what I am doing with the whetstone.

If I remember correctly (there's a monster thread on chef's knives on a Swedish forum) the steel in the global are indeed a bit harder than the average French chef's knifes. Most of the German steel is harder. But the hardest is the proper Japanese knifes.

You can however get all sharp. It's just a matter of how long they keep the edge and the angles they allow for.

[gnuyork]

Meh, not the prettiest presentation, but garlic marinated grilled Cod and potatoes:

[Henry Krinkle]

A bit of an experiment. I'd seen a few recipes for this but none really grabbed me.



Green tomato pasta sauce.



Garnished with fresh basil, crushed dried chillies and cheese. I opted for Beemster here instead of parmesan, rightly guessing the nutty flavour of the Beemster would temper the odd tang of green tomatoes.

[CanadianStraps]

I wasn't casting aspersions at all! I was asking questions. Can you successfully sharpen German steel on a whetstone?

Before I ponied up for these custom japanese knives, which are both very hard and layers of softer steel, I had a mismatched collection of varios nice knives, including a really hard steel old Henckels slicing knife. I've only ever used a whetstone and it worked fine on it.

Again, once you truly get your blade sharp, you should just be able to polish it with each used to keep it honed. There may be measurable difference between European and Asian steels, but in practicality the differences are negligible in knives of equal stature that are cared for. Cheap steel it a different story. It looks, sounds, and feels different, and won't hold a good edge of any type. For good steel, the biggest difference for me has nothing to do with nationality, but grain. Deping on how the steel grain is oriented, a perfectly sharp and polished blade can have more or less 'teeth'.

Do your knives have heavy blades? If they are designed with a heavier gauge blade, they will likely have some version of a sabre grind, which is very effective but tougher to learn to keep sharp, in my opinion. I prefer using, and sharpening blade with long, slight convex grinds. These blades are no more than average in weight. You can change the profile of your blade, but it is tedious, patient work.

[geoffbot]

Not sure - I have a 5 inch all purpose and an 8 inch cleaver/chopper - are all globals similar?

[CanadianStraps]

No idea. I've never used or owned one.

[happyscrappyheropup]

Before I ponied up for these custom japanese knives, which are both very hard and layers of softer steel, I had a mismatched collection of varios nice knives, including a really hard steel old Henckels slicing knife. I've only ever used a whetstone and it worked fine on it.

Again, once you truly get your blade sharp, you should just be able to polish it with each used to keep it honed. There may be measurable difference between European and Asian steels, but in practicality the differences are negligible in knives of equal stature that are cared for. Cheap steel it a different story. It looks, sounds, and feels different, and won't hold a good edge of any type. For good steel, the biggest difference for me has nothing to do with nationality, but grain. Deping on how the steel grain is oriented, a perfectly sharp and polished blade can have more or less 'teeth'.

Do your knives have heavy blades? If they are designed with a heavier gauge blade, they will likely have some version of a sabre grind, which is very effective but tougher to learn to keep sharp, in my opinion. I prefer using, and sharpening blade with long, slight convex grinds. These blades are no more than average in weight. You can change the profile of your blade, but it is tedious, patient work.

After some unsuccessful attempts at learning how to use stones, I'm finally getting the hang of them. I have been using them on some of my daily carry blades with good results.

The sharpening solution I love is the Worksharp Ken Onion. The belts put a great convex edge on my knives and the edge guide is easy for newbies to use. I've even used it to recut an edge on a damaged blade for a friend.

[geoffbot]

Dinner last night - scallops with croquettes (?!) then chateaubriande. Not the best I've had but still very tasty.

[Henry Krinkle]

Guacamole, garden tomatoes and arugula with hot smoked turkey breast (mesquite smoke and the rub was just store bought tajin).

[meijlinder]

Mushroom ragout with creamy polenta. (River cottage recipe)

Not the prettiest dish but very tasty.