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Questions tagged [knives]

189 questions
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Should I buy steel or ceramic knives?

I am soon to be moving to a house with a very nice kitchen, and so the time has come for me to buy myself a proper set of knives. I have been looking around at the various types available. There seem to be cheaper steel knives with plastic or wooden…
Mark Hatton
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What is the benefit of using a Mezzaluna Knife over a traditional knife

These seem popular in many modern knife sets, and I have seen them used (somewhat clumsily) in Europe. I have briefly tried some before, but couldn't see the benefit of it. But then again no one seemed to know how to use it correctly Does anyone…
TFD
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What is this freaky knife for?

It's long and skinny, like a bread knife. It doesn't show well in the photo, but there's a tiny fine serration on the edge of one of those pointy things…? I've asked the 2 chefs I know, and neither one of them even had a guess!
Very Amateur
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Why not air-dry knives?

I've read that one should hand-wash knives, and I mostly buy that. I've also seen advice that one should dry them immediately and put them away. Why shouldn't knives air-dry? Aside from the unsightly water stains, is there any downside to letting…
Goodbye Stack Exchange
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Do German or Japanese knives hold their edge longer?

I want to buy a chef's knife, but I can't sharpen, and I don't plan to learn it. I will have to send my knives for sharpening, so I obviously prefer this to happen as rarely as possible. I am leaning towards a Solingen style knife, probably a…
rumtscho
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Why does a whetstone create old paint like substance

I am new to using whetstones. As such, I purchased a cheap Whetstone (manufacturer is FULUDM) and used an old cheap knife to practice. What I've noticed is, the 1000g grit (which is a green stone) seems to generate a paint like substance. My…
MyDaftQuestions
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What kind of knife is this?

Found this knife in my Grandmother's collection. None of us can figure out what the semi-circle shape and slots are for (see attached picture). Anyone have any ideas?
D. Woods
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Stained Knife Blade

My wife recently bought a new Japanese knife. The first time she used it was to cut chinese preserved vegetable. She put the knife to one side while doing something else and forgot to wash it for about 10 minutes. The result was staining as on the…
David J Corby
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Difference between two cleavers - straight back vs curved

Hopefully this is a quick, simple question. What is the effective difference between a traditional cleaver (something like this) and a straight back cleaver (like this)? I can't tell if the curved blade near the front would be helpful or hurt the my…
Matthew
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Do you hone paring knives?

I have finally invested in a nice Wusthoff Santoku and a Mac paring knife and I want to keep them up and running well! The knife shop I bought from taught me how to hone my santoku, so that's fine, but I was wondering if a)do you hone a paring…
user20022
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What type of knife is this?

My brother found it in a box in his storage. It goes back years to a pack and move. It probably belonged to my father, who wasn't a professional chef, but he was a very knowledgeable hobbyist who knew a few professional chefs. I was told, growing…
userLTK
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Salmon slicer vs Brisket slicer? I can only afford one

At this time I can only afford to buy one slicer - a salmon slicer or a brisket slicer. I regularly cure and smoke fish (Salmon, tuna, etc) and love cutting it very thin. I also regularly cook large cuts of meat (roasts, brisket, etc), some of which…
Wolf
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Does anyone know the name of the knife this ice cream seller is using?

Here is an example of the knife being used. ASMR - Energy Ice Cream Rolls Oreo | How To Make An Energy Drink Out Of Ice Cream || Chinese Food Notice it is similar but like a cleaver. I have also been trying to find the name of this, but the closest…
Nova_Super
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How to clean a whetstone?

I prefer a whetstone to a "steel" for knife sharpening. Over the years my whetstone has become loaded with steel particles from the knives. As it is basically 13 % chrome stainless steel it is not easy to dissolve. It is immune to nitric acid and…
blacksmith37
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Whilst honing, if I already push the knife away from my hand, must I still push the knife towards my hand?

Doubtless, it's safer to push knives away from your hands. When I hone, I always do this like this GIF. Source for first image below. But I just saw these images where the knife is being pushed TOWARDS the handle and your hand! Source for image…
user91594
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