The Kitchen

New semi-home for The Kitchen.

noreply@blogger.com (jonowee) — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 06:07:00 +0000

Dear non-existent blog followers,

I've started a tumblr micro-blog for my quick and dirty photos and posts. I'll still blog over here at Blogger in the future for more wordy and formatted posts.

jonowee's kitchen tumblr

http://jonoweeskitchen.tumblr.com/

-need to add new photos- San Han Nga stainless steel chopper cleaver

noreply@blogger.com (jonowee) — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 15:54:00 +0000

$15 beater No.1 210mm chopper cleaver from Kongs Trading, full stainless steel construction. I use it for beater jobs like chopping chocolate and splitting shellfish.

With ‘decorative’ Sun Tiger 220x stone scratch that I rebeveled the edge, which I’ll sharpen out over time to sharpen out the thinned shoulders to achieve a thick, robust edge.

-Windows Live Writer beta 1st TEST POST edited with new large photos-

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APR09- Might try a convex edge on the belt grinder. Updates soon.

Original post: 24SEP08 Updated: 25APR09

Wall of Fame and Shame

noreply@blogger.com (jonowee) — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 14:00:00 +0000

No form of ranking, just ten random ‘extra' things I love/hate in a kitchen. I'll updated, add and juggle things around.

Fame:

The Metric System; fuck you "How many ounces are there in a pound? Is that 1 cup of flour sifted?" Fuck it!
Fresh, real ingredients like butter, not margarine.
Good, ergonomic, easy to sharpen knives.
Stainless steel and wood work benches
deBuyer Carbone Plus.
Target top/ French top 'stove'

Shame:

Microwave (you don't cook in a microwave!)
Fake food, like factory filleted frozen fish cos it freaking taste like water.
Over seasoning food (salt, MSG, pepper, spice/herb overkill, etc..)
"Lite" foods... WTF is lite cream? Low fat bacon?, why don't you just go buy ham instead.

Original post: 12OCT08 Updated: 25APR09

Microplane fine grater

noreply@blogger.com (jonowee) — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 06:01:00 +0000

Another awesome Microplane product. Thorough citrus zesting and turns parmesan into ‘snow’… it’s a beautiful thing.

Except the rod Microplanes have a rather narrow work space, and that big fat handle which I prefer not to have since it takes a fair amount of space in a knife roll.

original post: 07DEC08

Hand American Borosilicate 6” honing rod

noreply@blogger.com (jonowee) — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 05:51:00 +0000

A special order item I ordered through Japanese Knife Sharpening in a 6” rocket pocket size instead of the standard 12” rod versions. I’ve cut in four flats on the handle with two sides grooved to indicate the microgroove sides on the honing rod to make it easier to sight. I ‘plaster’ on some epoxy on the edge of the ferrule to act a bumper for the honing rod.

Original post: 07DEC08

Wooden citrus reamer

noreply@blogger.com (jonowee) — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 05:40:00 +0000

My favourite non-powered method of juicing citrus fruits in SMALL quantities; simple, cheap and effective.

Works great… provided you do it over a sieve to keep out the pips

Original post: 07DEC08 Updated: 29APR09

Microplane Professional large shaver

noreply@blogger.com (jonowee) — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 13:48:00 +0000

I ♥ Microplanes.

So efficient, not that expensive if you know where to shop. Mine came with a plastic plate cover but I think I threw it out with the postal parcel by accident. It’s a great tool, except the gaps between the frame and the grater plate traps food and is only easy to clean with a brush. I wish Microplane made the wider plastic/pyrex? frame flat plate Microplanes with the slim Professional stainless steel handles because the buff plastic handles are not to my liking.

Original post: 06DEC08

Tomkin palette knives

noreply@blogger.com (jonowee) — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 13:21:00 +0000

Tomkin 25cm palette knife

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I’ve modified my more abused ones being the cranked handles, that have had too many trips through the dishwasher. Sealed the gaps between the handle and the blade with epoxy, reshape and sanded the handle and saturated it in mineral oil-beeswax to protect the wood. Another modification I have done is a lightly sharpened right edge of the blade that can be used for simple tasks like slicing baking paper or scraping up chocolate curls.

Original post 07JUL07, Updated: 29APR09

‘Super’ long veg peeler

noreply@blogger.com (jonowee) — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 13:10:00 +0000

I can’t remember how much I paid for them except I know their super cheap. Pluses… double edge swivel peeler super for long vegetables like carrots, freaking cheap; minuses… plastic pivot point prone to failure.

I have to seek out all metal, double edge peeler that isn’t too expensive.

Original post: 06DEC08

-need to add new photos- Pradel Oyster shuckers

noreply@blogger.com (jonowee) — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 13:10:00 +0000

Pradel Oyster knives one with and one without the hand guard. Dead cheap and good, nasty cheapo plastic handle but with the blade pattern of my choice.

And I mean cheap $3 a pop, you willn’t cry over snapping it.

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APR09- I’ve modified both oyster shuckers with convex edge for 2/3 of the blade to give the shucker better ease of wedge into the oysters.

Original post: 29JUN07, Updated: 29APR09

Fish pinbone tweezers

noreply@blogger.com (jonowee) — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 12:50:00 +0000

My fish bone tweezers, and Masamoto Sohonten square tweezers in the foreground and an Avanti generic. My first is the Avanti generic (below) which I modified by bending in the front two-fifths of the prongs and engraved a grippy ‘knurling’. Then I upgraded to a Masamoto which is a little pricy; but ‘spring tension?’ is lighter but rest of the tweezers are much stiffer than the Avanti, making it a very efficient and comfortable tool to use.

Original post: 06DEC08

Zippo MPL utility lighter

noreply@blogger.com (jonowee) — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 12:34:00 +0000

Nicely built; mostly plastic and some metal but strong. Except mine refused to light after a year of use recently, but there is a five year warranty on them I have to act on.

The gas flow adjuster knob can be shifted out and tweaked well way or down to find a nice range you’d like it to perform. From a 5mm flame to mini flamethrower (but lacking the efficient butane-air mixture for a proper jet flame).

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29APR09- My MPL did have a hiccup in its life, inside the ‘noozle’ parts shifted around and the gas refused to ignite. With the help of a tweezer, I seemly bent the internal noozle into the right spot to catch the spark.

Original post: 06DEC08 Updated: 29APR09

Victorinox Fibrox serrated sheepsfoot parer

noreply@blogger.com (jonowee) — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 11:20:00 +0000

Useful for peeling onions, opening boxes and hollowing choux puffs… Made a little saya out of card and tape so I can carry them around in my pockets if needed.

Original post: 06DEC08, updated: 29APR09

Kuhn Rikon Colouri parer

noreply@blogger.com (jonowee) — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 11:14:00 +0000

Wider blade than Victorinox Fibrox parer, might not work for some people but I’ve no problem with it. The steel is a surprisingly good especially for the price, takes a nicer edge than any of the cheap parers I’ve used; it comes with some kind of hard coating on the blade. Also comes a nice bigger handle than the Victorinox which is all good.

Original post:06DEC08

Zwilling JA Henckels TwinGrip bird’s beak

noreply@blogger.com (jonowee) — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 11:03:00 +0000

Nice larger handle than the Victorinox Fibrox bird’s beak but it’s costs double.

Original post: 06DEC08

F. Dick 6" Ergogrip boning knife

noreply@blogger.com (jonowee) — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 10:46:00 +0000

F. DICK 6" Boning knife reshaped handle butt.

Original post:29JUN07, Updated: 29APR09

Tojiro PS 210mm Gyuto F-520

noreply@blogger.com (jonowee) — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 11:48:00 +0000

Nice hard powdered steel cutting core clad with softer (‘easy to scratch’ ) stainless steel. It has signature Tojiro rather square shoulders on the handle which I don't mind and actually love the boxy handle shape.

The wavy boundary between the PS core and the stainless cladding. Cool...
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Here it is, the handle rescaled: Concinna Burl scales, reshaped bolster, 2x SS corby screws and epoxy, mineral oil-wax finish.

My first time working with burl wood.

KF post: http://www.knifeforums.com/forums/showtopic.php?tid/835120/

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~APR09~

xX Add in new tung oiled photos. Xx

Original post: 29JUN07, Updated: 25APR09

Fujiwara Kanefusa FKM 145mm Honesuki

noreply@blogger.com (jonowee) — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 11:33:00 +0000

Unlike the shitty deba from the same Fujiwara FKM series, this is actually a really nice knife. Intended for poultry butchery with its thicker blade and large handle, it can easily handle most birds and with the pointy tip it makes getting at the wishbone easier. I’ve used mine mainly for fish filleting, but have since upgraded to a deba.

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I’ve rescaled the handle with ‘Curly’ Jarrah, African Blackwood front spacer and Concinna Burl butt, mineral oil and beeswax finish. Dropped the tang down with help the shortish handle feel longer, re-riveted with 2x SS Corby screws and epoxy.

This is my first time attempt at a multiple wood scale handle.

Caring this knife off to a KF member, but not before making a pinless saya for this knife.

KF post related to this rescaling:

http://www.knifeforums.com/forums/showtopic.php?tid/835120/

Original post:18OCT08, Updated: 25OCT08

Fujiwara Kanefusa FKH 150mm petty

noreply@blogger.com (jonowee) — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 10:46:00 +0000

Didn't take photos of it new and unused. Here it is with light patina and on factory edges.

Bought this knife with the intention of converting into a narrow blade paring knife, but when I got it I decided to keep it as a petty. SK-4 HCS steel, easy as to sharpen to a very keen edge. It’s currently on heavily right biased sub-10º angles and is crazy sharp for a double bevel knife.

I have rescaled it with Lace Sheoak scales, a single SS corby screw and epoxy, ground the tang straight. When shaping the handle, I realised it would have been much easier to construct a hidden tang ‘wa’ handle and grind the bolster and tang to insert in.

This is my first time attempting a tapered octagonal handle on a kitchen knife, but I’ve experimented with plain octagonal handles on my hand saw and needle files.

KF post on the rescaling project: http://www.knifeforums.com/forums/showtopic.php?tid/835120/

Original Post: 18OCT08, Updated: 25OCT08

MAC Superior SB-105 10.5” scalloped slicer

noreply@blogger.com (jonowee) — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 17:27:00 +0000

This is one smooth slicing serrated (well scalloped) edged knife, it’s the shape of its serrations that interacts with food presenting a round face instead of a pointed teeth as with regular serrations that slices and the ‘valley’ in between to aid the scallops engage into crusty products instead of biting and ripping away.

So if you’re slicing something like a Cordon Bleu, a regular serrated knife will leave ripples in the metal; the scallops will give a much cleaner cut… but a regular, sharp chefs knife should be able to cut through breadcrumb crust without unsticking it. The scallops help a lot for tough crust items like roast pork with thin crackling, the heavily reduced ripping effect will also reduce crumbing when slicing real bread and cake sponge.

I paid USD$54 + USD$7 postage for this knife via JCK, Everten Online is trying to selling them for AUD$100.

This knife is my work serrated knife, I’ll get a second one for home use and add a leather washer handle to it.

Original post: 20OCT08

Yoshihiro 270mm yanagiba

noreply@blogger.com (jonowee) — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 15:39:00 +0000

Yoshihiro 270mm shiroko (White steel) yanagiba, with Magnolia wood D-shape handle and black water buffalo ferrule and it also came with a wooden saya. I bought off eBay for roughly the same price as a Masahiro Bessen (plastic ferrule) and I get a saya included as well.

Good to see they rounded and polished the choil which you don’t see much. It came with a very small micro bevel, thus making it very easy to fix and fully sharpen the edge to my personal preference.

Original post: 19OCT08

Suisin HC 270mm sujihiki

noreply@blogger.com (jonowee) — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 15:05:00 +0000

Suisin HC 270mm sujihiki, I suspect is a SK variant HCS, fitted with a stainless bolster and pakkawood scales.

I’ve gotten some patina onto it or else it might have taken forever to form a resilient patina. I’ve also thinned it a lot behind the edge, a lot.

I haven’t used this knife much, I figure I can slice most items with a long gyuto. And if it’s too delicate for a gyuto, it’s not going to hurt a yanagiba’s edge.

Before I sell it off, I think I find a nice piece of wood for this knife, have 2x SS corby screws and epoxy and add tang extensions to lengthen the handle.

Original post:19OCT08

Masahiro Saijo 240mm yanagiba

noreply@blogger.com (jonowee) — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 14:56:00 +0000

Left: New in the box. Right: After a light 50 hours service.

Masahiro Saijo series 240mm shiroko (White Paper steel) yanagiba, Magnolia wood handle and black water buffalo ferrule.

The knife didn’t come with a saya so I got my hands on a Mizuno Tanrenjo saya, ditched the saya pin which easily gets lost… say into food.

Original post:19OCT08

Masamoto KA2015 150mm hon-deba

noreply@blogger.com (jonowee) — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 14:26:00 +0000

Masamoto Sohonten 150mm Aoko (Blue Paper steel) honkasumi hon-deba, Magnolia wood handle with a white water buffalo ferrule and surprisingly beautiful saya.

I bought this knife for $200 shipped from a fellow KF member, and I’ll say they taken amazingly great care of the knife, looks new to me. It retails for about $269 from the likes of JCK.

Original post:19OCT08

Suisin HC 150mm Honesuki

noreply@blogger.com (jonowee) — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 14:08:00 +0000

Not exactly sure which high carbon steel is used in this knife, I suspect SK-series steel. I’ve dropped it once and chipped the heel of the blade and sharpened half of it out, which was easy enough.

Has a smaller handle compared to the Fujiwara FKM, and is better suited using a forward choke “accuser grip” due to it’s somewhat short handle.

I’m going to keep this knife for my honesuki, I’m probably rehandle it in a hidden tang style, Black Canvas Micarta block with some form of contrasting forward spacer and pommel similar to that on the Fujiwara FKM honesuki.

Original post: 18OCT08, Updated:25OCT08