Conflicted Culinary Student
Today, in the early afternoon, a foreign student studying at a cooking school came into the shop. He asked to see an Usuba knife. As I explained the options, he showed me his own KamaUsuba. It was quite a challenging structure to sharpen, but he had done an amazing job with it, and I found myself saying, “That’s good enough!” (As a knife shop owner, I probably should be telling him there are better options out there if I want to sell him a new knife, right?).
Then he explained why he found this knife difficult to use. We talked about the stones he uses, his sharpening process, and his frustrations with it. His KamaUsuba was made from V金10 steel, and he had been sharpening it with #1000, #2000, #5000 Arashiyama, #8000 Kitayama, and natural stones like Utigumori and Nakayama. He had gone to great lengths to flatten all these stones and align his knife’s geometry to match its slight twists. It was quite impressive! He even purchased the ultimate Awasedo from Nakayama, leaving no room for improvement. That’s when he decided to come to Suisin for a new knife.
Since he made the effort to visit SUISIN, I decided to explain the characteristics of his own Kamausuba knife, even though it was a product from another brand. I started with, “V金10 is a steel that…” and went on to talk about its properties. Then, I pointed out some of the issues he had experienced while using it, offering solutions and helping him find a balance between the performance he wanted and the practicality of his tools.
In the end, we concluded that for his specific use, natural stones weren’t necessary. Even #5000 Arashiyama wasn’t a good match, and Kitayama was already a bit too fine. When I told him this, he seemed a little surprised—“Really? Really…?”—and I felt a bit bad about it. But considering his profession as a chef, where speed, precision, and reliability are crucial, I explained it thoroughly to ensure he understood.
He asked if I could recommend a good stone, so I suggested the SUISIN #3000 finishing stone, which I was confident would give him the edge he was looking for. He decided to buy it. Then he asked, “So, after the #3000, do I use Arashiyama and then Kitayama?” (sweat). I replied, “Just finish with the #3000 and use it as-is. Once you try it, you’ll see the difference!”
Afterward, we continued chatting about Honyaki knives before he finally left. I wonder if he’s sharpening with the #3000 right now. I hope he’s managed to get a sharp edge and is enjoying using his knife comfortably!
- 2023-08-30
