IMPORTANT - Read this before using a Japanese knife
From time to time, we receive knives back with damage to the tip or edge. The problem is rarely significant and can usually be fixed. However, it is common enough that we want to bring attention to it.
A Japanese knife has a thin blade, and the edge should always be in motion when you cut. Never push the blade through an ingredient without the edge being in motion, and never twist or wiggle the blade to pry the ingredient apart.
If you cut straight down, with the blade moving forwards or backwards, the edge can withstand quite a lot – the entire blade then backs up and distributes the load. However, with sideways force, only the razor-thin edge is unsupported. It flexes as much as the steel allows, but if the load becomes too great, a chip will come off the edge or tip. We often see this when attempting to cut bones, frozen ingredients, hard cheeses, and aged cured meats.
Such damages are not covered by the warranty and require a major repair. We sometimes receive questions about improper hardening, but this is much rarer than the problems mentioned above – therefore, we always first refer to a sharpening service that sharpens by hand on Japanese whetstones. If the problem persists after resharpening, we will of course look more closely at a complaint.
We stand by our products, but the knives' delicate edges – which are part of their charm – mean that expectations may differ from what one is used to. The Japanese knife tradition differs significantly from the European one: European knives are soft, thick, and durable, while Japanese knives are thin, hard, and delicate.
The images to the left show typical examples of what a damaged edge can look like when the resistance has exceeded the edge's flexibility.
Buying a chef's knife - What should I consider?
Are you one of those who are buying a really good knife for the first time? The market offers a wide selection, and it can be difficult to know which attributes a knife should have to suit your specific needs. However, these questions can help you along the way when deciding what's right for you.
1. Carbon steel or stainless?
Further down in the knife guide, there is a more detailed explanation of the differences between carbon steel and stainless steel. The overall differences, however, are that carbon steel is easier to sharpen and becomes incredibly sharp, but at the same time loses its sharpness a little earlier than a stainless steel of the same hardness. Carbon steel will also oxidize and develop a patina, while stainless steel remains shiny and beautiful. The wise choice is therefore stainless, even though many users seek the feel and rustic appearance that carbon steel brings.
2. Which steel type should I choose?
This extensive topic is also described in more detail further down. The rule is that exclusive Japanese steels can be hardened to high HRC (hardness) and can therefore be forged with thin edges at steep angles. This gives the knife unsurpassed cutting properties, but at the same time makes the edge more delicate. If you are looking for a knife that should be absolutely razor-sharp and retain its sharpness well, you also need to be careful with how you handle the knife so that you do not chip the edge. The lower you go on the hardness scale, the more durable the blades become, but they will not hold their sharpness as well. What is right for you? A good middle ground is usually a stainless steel with a relatively high hardness of around 59-62 HRC. A hardness of 62-65 HRC is extremely hard, and if you go down to 56-58 HRC, you are talking about medium-hard blades. Classic European knives often have soft steels of about 54-56 HRC, which makes it difficult to maintain sharpness over time, but the advantage is that they can withstand really tough use.
3. Which handle?
The Western handle is usually seen on European knives, although it is also common on Japanese knives. It gives the knife good weight thanks to its full tang and stainless rivets. The balance point is often in the middle of the bolster and is suitable for those who hold the knife in the middle of the handle. For this type of handle, it is usually appropriate to hold the thumb and index finger in the middle of the bolster or perhaps slightly in front of the bolster.
The Oriental handle has no metal in it and is therefore lighter than European handles. The balance point is always in front of the handle and often a few centimeters onto the blade. This gives the knife perfect balance if you pinch it with your thumb and index finger a bit onto the blade. If you want to hold a more classic grip in the middle of the handle, the knife may feel a bit front-heavy.
Hybrid handles are what we call handles that are a fusion between Western and Oriental. The design resembles the Japanese handle, but here a metal bolster and often a metal plate at the back of the handle are chosen. This is done to move the balance point backward and to give the knife a little more weight.
4. Blade finish.
Damascus steel, polished, black kurouchi, or perhaps hammered? These choices are mostly of cosmetic interest and have relatively little impact on the knife's cutting performance. Choosing a beautiful Damascus steel blade naturally enhances the feeling of exclusivity, but at the same time, the price will increase. Therefore, consider how important appearance is to you.
Choosing a Knife Model
As you may have already noticed, there is a wide variety of chef's knives on the market. Perhaps you've already browsed our selection and are unsure which knife model best suits your needs? Based on our experience, we will therefore give you some concrete tips on how to choose a well-balanced knife set. The guidance we present consists of our personal advice, and you would therefore be wise to consider these suggestions based on your own culinary traditions, preferences, and taste.
1. If you are going to buy a single knife.
With a single knife, you'll easily be limited in the kitchen. A chef's knife with a 21-24 cm long blade solves most tasks, but some feel that the long blade can be a bit unwieldy. However, you quickly get used to it, and for many, the chef's knife is the best choice.
Many choose to use a model called a santoku. This knife model is found among most manufacturers and is a very popular Japanese chef's knife. Traditionally, the blade length is 16-18 cm. The high blade and semi-circular tip make this knife very versatile. It is ideal for chopping and slicing vegetables, poultry, and meat, but can feel a bit short when slicing larger cuts of meat. The santoku quickly becomes a favorite in the kitchen.
2. If you have decided to purchase two knives.
Here we recommend a traditional chef's knife with a slightly larger blade, complemented by the santoku knife discussed above. Some choose to replace the santoku knife with a dedicated vegetable knife. The vegetable knife is characterized by a completely blunt tip and is almost rectangular in shape. The blade length varies between 14 and 18 cm depending on the size one feels most comfortable with. The advantage of a vegetable knife is primarily its high blade. There is plenty of room for your knuckles, so you can maintain a high pace without worrying about accidents. The rectangular shape also allows you to chop larger volumes of fruits and vegetables at once. As a complement to the vegetable knife or santoku knife, we recommend a traditional chef's knife with a blade length between 21 and 25 cm. This is the best-selling knife model in Sweden and is well suited for butchering and cutting thin slices of meat.
3. If you want to complement with a third knife.
Our choice definitely falls on a small and handy paring knife. It is very difficult to "do the fine work" with a larger knife, and a paring or tourné knife comes in handy almost every time you cook. The length of a paring knife varies between 8-12 cm. A short little paring knife is practically only used for peeling and picking off blemishes from vegetables, etc. If you go up in length to 12 cm, you get a knife that is good for trimming pork tenderloin, chopping garlic, but of course also for peeling things. Here you have to consider how you want to use your paring knife.
4. The fourth choice in your new knife set can look a little different.
If you enjoy cooking from scratch, we highly recommend a flexible filleting knife, which is superior when filleting fish. If you don't feel that unprepared fish is your area, then a handy bread knife might be more useful.
Ultimately, you, the user of your knives, are the best judge of which knife or knives work best. However, we hope that we have been able to help you a bit with your tricky choices. Contact us and we will gladly help you put together a good set according to your budget and needs.
Stainless Steel or Carbon Steel?
We sell several knife series that are not stainless. Why would one want a knife that can rust?
For a knife to have a sharp and fine edge, the steel needs to have a high carbon content. Carbon is very prone to corrosion, which makes it difficult to use in humid environments. So-called 'stainless' steels therefore contain various additives such as chromium. Chromium contributes to rust protection and provides a high shine, which makes it an excellent additive in, for example, cutlery. The disadvantage is that chromium makes it very difficult to maintain the sharpness of the knife. When steel is developed, it is therefore a trade-off between performance and corrosion resistance. Really cheap knives have a very low carbon content and become almost 100% stainless. Other steels with a higher carbon content can also be 'stainless', but here rust can be forced if they are left with moisture. The term 'stainless' should instead be called 'corrosion-resistant'. One could also divide steels into different degrees of corrosion resistance.
Carbon steel is different. Here, there is often a total absence of chromium or other substances that counteract corrosion. Quality carbon steels have a carbon content of about 1%, which makes it possible to sharpen an incredibly fine edge. Carbon steels often lack vanadium, cobalt, and other hard substances that help carbon steel retain its sharpness. One can therefore say that carbon steel becomes sharper than most stainless types but loses its sharpness significantly faster. Then we have the 'problem' with corrosion. A fine Japanese carbon steel like Shirogami and Aogami has low corrosion resistance. It may be enough to leave the blade with moisture for 5-10 minutes for rust formation to occur. The user must therefore ensure that the blade is wiped dry after use. When carbon steel is new and 'naked', it is extra sensitive and will react with most things. If one cuts proteins, a blue or greenish patina will appear, while other ingredients can give shades of gray or brown. This layer, or patina, gives the blade some protection against corrosion. Of course, it is not adequate rust protection, but it is significantly better than when the knife is new. Some manufacturers choose to laminate the sides of the blade with stainless steel to completely avoid corrosion and patina on the sides of the blade. The edge is, of course, exposed in the same way as pure carbon steel blades.
To summarize, carbon steel is a fantastic material with a great personality. The knives can be sharpened really sharp and are easy to keep sharp through regular honing or stropping. The price for this performance is that you need to wipe the blade dry when the knife has been used, and you must be comfortable with the fact that the steel will oxidize and develop a patina. 'Stainless' steels are significantly easier to care for and are a more practical choice for many.
Blade Hardness
The hardness of a blade is measured with a durometer, and the result is given in HRC (Rockwell) units. Quality chef's knives have between 54 and 64 HRC, so even small differences in HRC can mean a big difference in hardness. However, this does not mean that a knife with a soft blade is necessarily worse than a knife with high HRC. It all depends on the properties you are looking for in a knife. A soft blade with 54 HRC is easy to sharpen. The sharpening angle is usually around 25 degrees, and it is not so critical to get it exactly right. Since the edge is soft, it is easy to reshape the sharpening angle until the knife is sharp. The final sharpness of a knife with low HRC rarely becomes as sharp as that of a knife with high HRC, and the edge does not retain its sharpness for as long. To compensate for this, manufacturers usually make soft blades thicker and give the edge a blunter sharpening angle. The increased steel mass provides support and durability to the edge, but contributes to significantly worse cutting properties compared to thin Japanese blades.
Knives with very hard blades can be sharpened at a much steeper angle and still maintain their sharpness during use (down to about a 10-degree angle). For this reason, Japanese chef's knives have become immensely popular in recent years. The disadvantage, however, is that hard blades are more difficult to sharpen once they have lost their sharpness.
A hard blade is expensive to manufacture, heat-treat, and process into a finished blade. The advantage is that they are sharpened at a very narrow angle and have very thin and fine blades (usually 10-15 degree angle). They therefore become razor-sharp and can maintain this sharpness for a long time, as long as they are used for their intended purpose. If you start cutting materials other than food, the sharpness will quickly dull because there is not much material in the edge (compare to a razor blade, same idea). Another disadvantage of hard blades is that they are more brittle. If you hit a soft blade against a stone, plastic deformation will occur, which means the steel has to go somewhere and chooses to buckle. A hard steel does not have the same ability to deform and will instead break (popularly called 'chipping'). This can result in anything from a small nick in the blade to a small splinter breaking off. This can happen, for example, if a grain of sand has gotten into the iceberg lettuce or if the edge gets stuck in a bone (damages of this nature are not covered by the warranty but are a matter for a professional sharpening service).
So, what can be learned from this? One conclusion is that knives excel in different areas. If you are very careless and don't care much about sharpness, then a European knife with a soft blade might be preferable. If, on the other hand, you want a razor-sharp knife that retains its sharpness but requires a bit of care and caution, then a Japanese knife is preferable.
Cleaning your knives
Make it a habit to always rinse knives under running lukewarm water when changing ingredients. Once cooking is complete, you should wash and dry the knife with a towel. This applies particularly if you have cut citrus fruits or if your knife is made of carbon steel. Acid and moisture can cause discolouration and sometimes even rust spots on even the most expensive blades.
Here's why you should never wash knives in a dishwasher:
1. Dishwasher detergent contains abrasives that affect sharpness.
2. Dishwasher detergent contains salt to prevent clumping. The salt can create unsightly stains on the blade.
3. If a knife is in the cutlery basket, it will knock against other cutlery during the wash cycle, and the edge can be damaged.
4. If the knife is lying on the rack, the strong water jet can cause the sharp edge to scratch the dishwasher rack, which will then start to rust.
5. The heat during the drying cycle can affect the steel's properties.
6. It is easy to injure yourself on a knife in a dishwasher.