Inexpensive Japanese Kitchen Knives

Male Customer: ‘My kitchen knives at home aren’t cutting well. Could you sharpen them for me?’
Me: ‘Of course!’

I agreed casually, but when I unwrapped the package, I thought, ‘Ah, here we go again.’
Yes! The handle wasn’t made of buffalo horn but rather plastic. These kinds of knives are forcefully made to look like Japanese knives, with uneven edges and no proper urasuki (concave back). With such knives, fixing the edge is the best approach since touching up the edge reveals all sorts of flaws, making it easier for me at least. As I pondered, ‘What should I do? This might be tough,’ I decided to give it my all and started sharpening earnestly! As expected, there were more protruding parts than concave ones. ‘Why is that?’ I wondered, but I couldn’t find the answer. Anyway, I sharpened them all thoroughly, though it took quite a while! They were quite hard. If I sharpened them too thinly, the edge would chip off… it was quite a task. In the end, I settled for a flat grind plus an Itohiki (or rather, a two-step edge). People often write to me saying they practice sharpening with hardware store knives. They’d probably find Suisin’s white or blue steel knives much easier to sharpen! Unless you frequently use yanagiba or deba knives, inexpensive ones should suffice. But if you’re feeling adventurous, try a Suisin knife! Now, let’s see how this sharpening turns out. I’m curious about the customer’s reaction.

Hibishugyo

2007-07-13