Knives

Buy a knife

Buying a knife is a unique opportunity. We’ve found that a person can have quite a personal relationship with the right blade. This may sound odd at first however a great knife becomes an extension of you and plays a key role in preparing your nourishment. 

For this reason we never recommend ‘buy up’ in knives.  It’s quite common that you get what you pay for however this is not always the case when it comes to high quality knives. There are many slight details that can cost much more money, like for instance, a real wood handle vs a resin handle. A real wood handle usually costs more but can sometimes be problematic and definitely does not make your knife sharper. 

Our recommendation is to try many knives and go with the one that ‘feels’ right. When you get the right knife in your hand, and slice through something, you will know. Sometimes you will find 2 that feel just right. In this case we suggest being practical and choosing the knife that is the most versatile.  

How do I buy a knife online if I need to feel it? 

Get into store and when you know which model you like then you can order the balance online. Easy. 

Use a knife

Knowing how to properly use a knife is the most important kitchen skill you can learn. Eating more vegetables it critical to your wellbeing and not being able to prep veggies quickly and efficently will limit your intake.  Learning the basics is easy but sometime changing some bad habit is hard!

In this video we cover the absolut basics you need to be successful. We do not cover all the basic french cuts as these are less import and should not be an inhibitor. We believe that if you can safely and quickly cut a large volume of food into edible piece you will be more likey to cook more often.   

Types of knives

In general there are two types of knives made. Western and Asian. These knives are look similar, because they are knives, but fundamentally different. 

A wee-bit of history:

This is interesting because we have not, and have not, come that far since the first cutting tools where use by our ancestors 2.5 million years ago when sharp rock was the tool of choice. 

Being able to control fire (1.6 m years ago) was a game changer and the knife (and cooking in general) started to dramatically evolve. Once humans stated to work with metal the two most advanced cililzations developed metal battle tools, specifically the sword.

The kitchen knife is a direct decendant of the sword so it makes scense that a Japanese kitchen knife looks like a Samuri Sword and a European kitchen knife looks like a sword from the Crusaides. Even today, the process of making a high quailty knife is the same as it was 100 years ago and the workmanship is a passed on generational skill. Some handmade makers can charge up to $10,000 for a hand made knife! 

Samurai Swords are renowned for their incredible craftsmanship and sharpe blades. This is true for most handmade Japanese knives and for this reason we carry mostly Japanese knives. We find them to be, on average, sharper and lighter than European knives.