The Kitchen

New semi-home for The Kitchen.

2009-12-26T14:07:00.003+08:00

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

2009-04-25T23:54:00.000+08:00

$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-

- - -

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

Original post: 24SEP08 Updated: 25APR09

Wall of Fame and Shame

2009-04-25T22:00:00.001+08:00

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

2008-12-07T15:01:00.001+09:00

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

2008-12-07T14:51:00.001+09:00

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

2008-12-07T14:40:00.000+09:00

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

2008-12-06T22:48:00.000+09:00

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

2008-12-06T22:21:00.000+09:00

Tomkin 25cm palette knife

- - -

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

2008-12-06T22:10:00.001+09:00

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

2008-12-06T22:10:00.000+09:00

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.

- - -

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

2008-12-06T21:50:00.000+09:00

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

2008-12-06T21:34:00.000+09:00

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).

- - -

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

2008-12-06T20:20:00.001+09:00

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

2008-12-06T20:14:00.000+09:00

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

2008-12-06T20:03:00.000+09:00

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

Original post: 06DEC08

F. Dick 6" Ergogrip boning knife

2008-12-06T19:46:00.000+09:00

F. DICK 6" Boning knife reshaped handle butt.

Original post:29JUN07, Updated: 29APR09

Tojiro PS 210mm Gyuto F-520

2008-10-25T19:48:00.000+08:00

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...
- - -
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/

- - -

~APR09~

xX Add in new tung oiled photos. Xx

Original post: 29JUN07, Updated: 25APR09

Fujiwara Kanefusa FKM 145mm Honesuki

2008-10-25T19:33:00.000+08:00

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.

- - -

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

2008-10-25T18:46:00.000+08:00

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

2008-10-20T01:27:00.001+08:00

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

2008-10-19T23:39:00.001+08:00

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

2008-10-19T23:05:00.001+08:00

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

2008-10-19T22:56:00.002+08:00

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

2008-10-19T22:26:00.001+08:00

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

2008-10-19T22:08:00.001+08:00

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

Fujiwara Kanefusa FKH 240mm gyuto

2008-10-19T21:39:00.001+08:00

Bought this knife to try out the 240mm gyuto size and I think I’ll stick to 270mm or 300mm. Made of one piece of SK-4 steel (same as the Hiromoto HCs), with a stainless steel bolster.

Because of its smoother satin finish on the blade, patina builds up quite slowly and very colourfully.

Slightly thicker than the Hiromoto HC very slightly, but then again Hiromoto did make the HC one of those cool thin knives. Fujiwara fit a very nice large handle with pakkawood scales, kinda like a Hiromoto HC with a rounded Tojiro DP handle.

I’m going to sell off this knife to get its 270mm cousin to replace my 270mm Hiromoto HC in the future or as my HCS backup knife. Before I sell it, it has got to get a makeover with probably Red Morell scales.

Original Post: 17OCT08, Updated:19OCT08

Victorinox 10" Fibrox Chef's knife

2008-10-19T20:57:00.000+08:00

Victorinox 25cm Fibrox Cook's knife

A great bang-for-buck knife that's easy to find to almost everyone, Joe Average probably goes for smaller sizes.

Here’s it with a little upgrade, I rehandle it with Grey Ironbark, laminated with Mangowood…

KF post on the rescaled knife

Original Post:07JUL07, Updated:19OCT08

Hiromoto AS 210mm Gyuto

2008-10-17T22:25:00.001+08:00

210mm gyuto from Hiromoto’s Tenmi-Jyuraku AS series is a super value priced, high performance kitchen knife; is Aogami Super core steel with soft stainless cladding blade with a stainless steel bolster and pakkawood scales.

Rescaled with Holly Banksia, secured with SS corby screws and epoxy. Hand rubbed blade to 1200x wet-dry sandpaper and 0000 steel wool and polishing paste.

I sold this knife to a KF member to take good care of it, I don’t have much use for 210mm gyutos nowadays.

The KF post

Tojiro DP 270mm Gyuto F-810

2008-10-17T21:41:00.001+08:00

High quality stainless steel chefs knife from Tojiro DP series, softer stainless cladding over a hard core steel. This is my backup stainless steel knife to my go to Hiromoto HC 270mm gyuto.

Nice big handle, with Tojiro’s signature blocky shoulders on the knife’s handle; scaled with “ecowood” staminawood which suppose to be resin impregnated wood but it’s looks and feels like plastic but even more brittle and susceptible to chipping. Still one of my favourite handle shapes though.

Went straight from the box in the vice for rescaling. Red-Black Linen Micarta, 3x SS corby screws, epoxy bonded and bolster reshaped.

KF posts:

Original Post:17OCT08

Tojiro 240mm DP Yo-Deba

2008-10-16T19:30:00.000+08:00

-New Old Photos- Tojiro DP Warikomi 240mm Western Deba (Yo-Deba)

Great for lazy mirepoix ; brilliant for chopping up chicken, cuts cleanly through bones, no tearing or splintering.

Has never been sharpened , not even stropped, still going strong on factory edges.

Current planned rehandling ideas: Holly Banksia scales, two rows of 4x 1/8” Mosaic pins and brazed on Nickel Silver Pommel for balance.

Original post: 29JUN07 Updated:17OCT08

Fresh pasta (Whole egg version)

2008-10-12T17:15:00.003+08:00

This is basic simple as, fresh pasta. 100g high gluten (bakers') flour to one whole egg and a little salt. There is the 'special' egg yolk version if you were in the mood for some biscotti, souffle or meringue to make use of the egg whites., it goes something like 7 1/2 Egg Yolks to 125g ”00” flour.

Ingredients: Yields 900g of pasta, 6x 150g mains serves)
600g High gluten Flour (I used bakers')
6x Eggs
Sea Salt
Extra flour or fine semolina(which hope to try), for dusting

Equipment:
Strong stand mixer
Dough hook
Sieve
Bowls
Cling film/plastic bag
Pasta rolling machine
Racks to dry the pasta on.

Method:
1. Sieve flour into mixing bowl
2. Crack one egg at a time in a small bowl; checking for spoilage, blood trace or shell fragments before adding to the collection of egg mix. (Especially important if you're doing a big batch, one bad egg and you'll have to throw the whole lot out or waste more time swimming for shell fragments.)

-Machine mixed-
3a. Add eggs to the machine bowl and swirl to coat the bowl so the machine doesn't just spin around dry flour with the wet mix.
4a. Add flour and some salt (~1 teaspoon per 300g flour) and start mixing at minimum speed with the dough hook, until a smooth dough. Don't add water to make it easier for the machine, you'll get limp/sticky dough that is crap to put through the pasta machine. When done skip to Step 6...

-Hand mixed-
3b. Create a 'well' in the bowl of flour.
4b. Add eggs and some salt (~1 teaspoon per 300g flour) in the well and work the flour into the eggs by running your hands through the edge of the well.
5b. Once there is some sort of dough formed, tip contents onto a steady bench and knead into a smooth dough. May take 10-30 minutes of hard work. Also don't cheat by adding water, limp/sticky dough is crap to run through the pasta machine.

6. Once a smooth, firm dough is achieved; wrap in cling film or a plastic bag and let it rest in the fridge for an hour. If done right, the dough will not stick to the plastic. And use fairly soon, no overnight business you'll get grey dough.
7. Prep rolling area, clamp machine down and dust down with copious amounts of flour.
8. Divide dough in small portions, say 100g.
9. Dust with flour, thin down and square up the dough and feed in through the thickest setting (#1 on this Marcato Atlas), crank away.
10. Crank it through at #2.
11. Set the rollers back to #1, feed the sheet through leaving a bit left of the tail.
12. Moisten with a spray or dap of water to 'glue' the head of the sheet back onto the tail. Crank through to join. This way allows you to get even sheets of pasta, no stretched heads or tails.
13. Work you way down to thickness settings, dusting to prevent sticking, one hand in the loop or someone to help to lift the dough away and apart to prevent sticking.
14. I stop at #6 for general noodle pasta, or #7 for lasagne sheets.
15. Slice off the dough at the input end and crank out the tail.
16. Hang on a rack to dry the sheets out while you proceed with the rest of the dough. Helps provide drier, less sticky sheets to cut into strands.
17. Proceed with Steps 9 to 16 with the rest of the dough.

Wide strips (Linguine I guess)
1. Fold the sheets of drier pasta over themselves to gauge a good length to divide the sheets into.
2. Crease on the divisions and slice off the right lengths, dust with flour and set aside.
3. Dust copiously with flour to prevent strands sticking together, crank the small sheets through the cutters and hang on rack to dry.

You can dust the pasta again with flour and portion it up, wrap, bag it and freeze. You can cook pasta noodles straight from the freezer into boiling water. And since it's your own handmade pasta, it only takes less that 5 minutes (depends of denseness of the pasta and your capability to keep the water boiling quickly) to cook, not 10-15 minutes for dry packet pasta.

For all you hand kneaders out there, I've been there before. Limp dough is crap to work it in a pasta machine, maybe (I mean if you're lucky and persistent) a limper dough with a sprinkle of water added may be used for lasagne sheets. It's painful but worth it IMO, but a stand mixer helps reduce fatigue.

Linguine with a simple creamy, tomato and pancetta sauce.

2008-10-12T16:05:00.001+08:00

Original recipe: Pappardelle, tomato, pancetta; River Cafe Two Easy by Ruth Rogers and Rose Gray, Page 72
Yields 4x portions (Entree/mains?)

320g Egg Pappardelle
6x Plum Tomatoes
150g Pancetta slices
2x Dried Chillies
100g Parmesan
150g Unsalted Butter
150ml Double Cream

Method:
1. Concasse tomatoes.
2. Cut pancetta into 2cm pieces.
3. Crumble chilli and grate parmesan.
4. Melt butter in heavy pan, add pancetta and chilli and cook gently and pancetta colours.
5. Add tomato, season and cook gently for 10 minutes.
6. Add cream and cook for another 10 minutes.
7. Cook pasta, drain and add to cooked cream sauce..
8. Stir through half the parmesan.
9. Plate then top with parmesan.

My variation: Yields one serve for my hungry self

Ingredients:

150g fresh Linguine
2x Roma Tomatoes (I tried with simple salad tomatoes, darn sour due to short cooking time in my recipe)
50g? Pancetta, pre-sliced or slice it yourself if you've got a powered slicer or you like your pancetta chunky
30g? Parmesan, shaved
EV Olive Oil
One heaped tablespoon dollop of Double Cream

Method:
1. Get a pot boiling with water.
2. Cook Pancetta slices- Oven if it's on, on top a rack to let the fat drip away OR in a heavy pan on low heat and some olive oil to get the frying action started. Once done, remove and set aside.
3. Tomato Concasse: Remove Tomato core and score a cross on the other end to aide peeling after blanching.
4. Once the water is boiling, plunge the Tomatoes for a few seconds to loosen the skin.
5. Refresh the Tomatoes when done, and add in the Pasta and cover with a lid if needed to get the water boiling again.
6. Peel the Tomatoes, halve, squeeze the inner pulp and seeds out and quarter each half again. Don't crush the tomatoes to death please.
7. Heat the pan (if it has been used to fry the pancetta) high/medium-high, sauté the Tomatoes, season it a little.
8. Cook on heat for about 2-3minutes.
9. Add in most of the Pancetta and Parmesan. Add Double Cream, taste and season. If the pasta is done al dente, drain and toss it through the sauce. If not take the pan with the sauce off the heat until the pasta is ready.
10. Plate, top with Parmesan Shavings and strips of Pancetta.

Note: Please wait for photos update.

Sanetu ZDP-189 165mm santoku

2008-09-24T15:43:00.001+08:00

165mm santoku made by Sanetu. Softer stainless steel cladding over a ZDP-189 core; it boasts some crazy numbers, 3% carbon and 20% chromium powdered steel hardened to HRC 64-66. ZDP-189 is more or less identical in composition to the Crowy-X used in Hattori KDs. Fitted with nice cocobolo scales and a solid stainless steel bolster.

It’s my first santoku, and I was hasten about using such a short knife. And I’m not wrong about my foresight, my personal preference is still to over-9” blades as a main go to knife.

But having said that I’ve only used it once, not tried to sharpen it the tough ZDP-189 core; I will say it I like the cocobolo scales which is so much nicer than the resin-impregnated staminawood and pakkawood scales usually installed on Japanese knives. This has become my first collector’s knife, may or may not use it in the future.

I paid USD$146.70 for it during JCK’s annual X’Mas sale, they sell at $163; a 180mm KD santoku while being a very different knife compared to the Sanetu, sells for $940 (as of 24SEP08).

Hiromoto HC 270mm gyuto

2008-09-24T15:34:00.003+08:00

My current go to chef’s knife, made of solid SK-4 high carbon (tool?) steel with a stainless steel bolster and riveted with pakkawood scales.

The HC series has been discontinued from production by Hiromoto, and I will miss this series’ ability to offer a great; easy to sharpen to a fine, clean edge; for a bargain price and acceptably high levels of fit and finish.

I paid USD$49.05 for it from JCK and is more or less that one would pay for in a Victorinox Fibrox locally, what an excellent deal. And they like to make them thin…. goooooood!

Photos of the knife new in the box and oiled up.

I had force patina on this knife by slicing lemons, then wrapping the blade in lemon juice soaked paper towel and cling film for an hour, which resulted in a ‘tiger stripe’ pattern patina development.

After 3/4 of a year’s use; patina set, spine and choil rounded, name and other markings engraved, rebeveled and sharpened to my liking.

Rehandling ideas: Exhibition Grade Desert Ironwood scales, 3x SS corby screws with Mosaic Pin inlaid over, Nickel Silver bolster brazed on, Black Canvas Micarta spacer and DIY pinless saya.

This grand old girl’s replacement will some distant day be a 270mm Fujiwara Kanefusa FKH gyuto also western pattern and a nice, bigger handle and the same SK-4 steel; itself to be rescaled with Lignum Vitae scales, Mosaic pins and brazed on tang extensions.

But superseded by a custom Moritaka Hamono Blue #2 300mm wa-gyuto next year, damascus cladding is a maybe since it will drive the price up from JYN13,500 to JYN26,000 from the kurouchi version… still a bargain for what you’re getting.

Original post:24SEP08, Updated:20OCT08

Hiromoto HC 120mm Petty

2008-09-22T17:01:00.000+08:00

Here's is my Hiromoto HC-1 120mm Petty; high carbon steel (SK-4) blade hardened to HRC60 with a stainless steel bolster and Pakka wood scales. Does all the crazy sharp things carbon steel can do and easy to sharpen as always. This becomes my standard paring knife with the Victorinox sheepfoot paring knife for those skin tingling manoeuvres.

I forced patina on these little baby overnight with some leftover cider vinegar, even after one hour it got some matte black patina. This knife is certainly more reactive than HC-5 Gyuto for some reason, could be the different forced patina methods. Update: Date of commissioning: 14DEC07 Date of death: 23APR08 In an attempt to reduce the blade height and straighten the edge profile, I bent the very thin blade just ahead of the bolster while bearing down on it on a DMT D8XX diamond plate. I had noticed the bend and tried to correct it by bending it the other direction... thus snapping my favourite petty. Lest we forget.

Sticky Date Pudding with Butterscotch Sauce

2008-07-02T00:28:00.007+08:00

Sticky Date Pudding with a not so good but acceptable Butterscotch Sauce (almost going to split if pushed), with a ring of contrasting Brown Sugar Sauce Ingredients: Sticky Date Pudding (Yield 6x Dariole moulds)

75g Dates, coarsely chopped
75ml Water
3g Bi Carbonate Soda (Proper accurate weighing scale needed)

1x Egg (55g standard)
100g Sugar, Caster

115g Flour, Cake and sifted
8g Baking Powder
Sensible pinch of Salt

30g Walnuts, coarsely chopped
75ml Milk, proper full-cream please
30g Butter, Unsalted and melted
3ml Vanilla Essence

Oil Spray

Butterscotch Sauce (3 ingredients- Fat, Sugar and more Fat... Yum. Yield 300ml, plenty)

60g Butter, Unsalted
120g Sugar, Soft Brown
225ml Cream, Whipping (35-40% fat content)

Optional Brown Sugar garnishing sauce

1 part Butter, Unsalted
3 parts Sugar, Soft Brown
Water (I used Cream but I think water will work better to emulsify the sugar with the butter)

Equipment:

Stove
Saucepan depending on yield
Cooking spoon
Steamer oven (Or a stove top steamer)
Roasting/baking tray (Can be substituted with a flat plate)
7x Dariole moulds
Cling Wrap
Sieve
Mixing Bowls
Knife (At least a paring, plus a proper chefs knife if the nuts and date aren't already chopped up)
Cutting board

Optional equipment:

Large piping bag (At least 340mm long)
Plain piping nozzle (wide enough to allow the chopped nuts and dates to pass easily, but can still be covered with your thumb/finger. I use a No.11 but still depends on how coarse you process you nuts and dates. You too small a nozzle without and quick interchange unit and the mixture jams in the nozzle, you lose yield cleaning out the bag)

Cooking: Sticky Date Pudding 1. Preheat your steamer. 2. Heat the 75g chopped Dates with the 75ml Water in a saucepan to soften and until almost all the sitting water is gone. 3. While the dates are heating up, Cream together the the Egg and the 100g Caster Sugar until smooth and light... creaming until white is optional. 4. Sift together the 115g Cake Flour with 8g Baking Powder and add the sensible pinch of salt. 5. When the Dates are dry enough, take the pan off the heat and add in the 3g BiCarb Soda and mix together. 6. Mix the Egg-Sugar mix into the Cake Flour Mix, add in the Milk and Melted Butter into help thin the mixture as you combine everything together including the Dates and Walnuts. (You don't have to be gentle with folding the mix together, the bicarb and baking powder are your rising agents) 7. Spray generously with Oil into your Dariole moulds. (Generously, not deep-frying) 8. You can spoon or pipe into the mould 1/2 way up. HALF WAY UP! Too much and you get a muffin base when you invert it for serving. 9. Place the mould onto a roasting dish/tray or a plate, and cling wrap the whole assembly with slack tension but fully covering the mould tops. 10. Make sure the mould tops are sealed and you can pierce holes in the cling wrap surrounding the moulds to give the cling wrap more chance to relief tension as it shrinks in the heat and not vacuum down onto the moulds. 11. Steam for 30 minutes or until it probe tested clean. Butterscotch Sauce 1. Place all sauce ingredients in a saucepan, heat up then simmer for 2-3 minutes. The more you cook it the richer it gets, then splits if pushed too far. Optional Brown Sugar garnishing sauce 1. Melt the Unsalted Butter in a saucepan. 2. Add the Brown Sugar. 3. Reconstitute the Sugar and Butter together with Water or Cream, and simmer together to melt the sugar completely(as the sugar will not melt naturally into the butter without burning.) 4. Use immediately as it's more or less just brown sugar liquid paste and will set if left to cool. Soft steamed pudding, chew of the dates, bite of the nuts, moist warm sauce. Add in praline snaps for added crunch. Plating: 1. Butterscotch Sauce base on a Warm Plate. 2. Optional Brown Sugar ring drizzled on. 3. Pop on the Pudding by inverting it from the mould, then placing it on the place. Another nice garnish is a nutty praline snaps or nut brittle, both sugar and nut snaps. Since it's a warm dessert, garnishes like chocolate motifs will not work since they will melt on the pudding. Over vibrant Technicolor jpeg picture.

Fujiwara Kanefusa 150mm Yo-Deba

2007-12-26T18:30:00.001+09:00

The performance just isn't there, the blade height is too short to use useful and the steel is still too soft to perform up to standard. Such it's a deba, being that it has a thick spine to provide some weight behind it.

Fat santoku with minimal belly, or faux deba with no substance.

Here I'd polished the back bevel to a mirror finish with a King 6K waterstone, but not completely flat.

Sold the knife off to someone else to make god use of it, not me.

Original post:26DEC07, Updated:16OCT08

Waterstone holder from Carba-tec

2007-12-26T17:54:00.000+09:00

Bought on special from Carba-tec for $30 but the design lacks a centre block to support a thin stone from possibly slitting under pressure.

I like this brand of rubber waterstone holder stocked by Carba-tec mainly because it has good rust resistance since oiling the stone holder can lead to stone contamination.

Original post: 26DEC07, Updated: 16OCT08

Dexter-Russell 6" Sani-Safe stiff curved boning knife

2007-12-26T17:49:00.000+09:00

Bought it for the shape of the blade and handle for a good price on eBay, but I don't like the roughness of the handle and the shiny smooth pinch grip area which gets slippery when coated with fat. Good for functionality but the blade is surprisingly flexible for "stiff boning knife". Replacement will be a Swibo with a straight handle.

F. Dick-Johnson and Wales Knife Case Set

2007-12-26T17:00:00.000+09:00

I bought this Johnson and Wales 'Light series' knife kit on eBay back in July this year, costs a fair $207 including shipping. It was sold without the 8" Chef's knife. Most of the knives are from the stamped Superior series made by F. Dick and specially marked for the Johnson & Wales University (J&W) and some other stuff that's I think is not really part of the original set, personally don't care about J&W but I do like the F. Dick because of the stamped blade without the bolster return and the riveted handles. The case is really quite gimmicky and horrible waste of space especially compared to for example a simple Victorinox case, I could use the case a really bulky knife block... The kit includes:

10" Superior Chef's knife

12"regular cut steel (Regular cut by F Dick standards, fine by say Mundial standards)

10" Superior Serrated Slicer

9" Palette knife

8" Superior Slicer

Boning knife

7" Carving fork

3" Superior Paring knife

2.5" Superior Bird's Beak

Zester

Channeller

Fixed peeler

Melon Baller

Out of the whole set, I've used the serrated slicer and chef's knife the most, as well as other nice items like the boning knife and bird's beak. Nice set, probably not worth the retail price especially

King S-45 4K 'Home' waterstone

2007-12-26T16:39:00.001+09:00

Not so good for value, $35 for this stone that's size is similar to the Masahiro stones.

Very irritatingly narrow stone to use especially with the bonded plastic base. Glazes over easily but provides a bright near mirror polish with some scratches especially with stainless steel knives. Very soft and dishes easily.

I’m about to use it up all the way down to the plastic base soon, and since the base is getting in the way of easy sharpening knives, I’ve reserved it to sharpen with woodwork chisels and plane blade.

Being replaced with the Shapton Japanese GlassStone 4K, big difference jumping to that high density, ceramic sharpening stone.

Original post:26DEC07, Updated:16OCT08

King 1200x medium Deluxe waterstone

2007-12-26T16:32:00.000+09:00

Another purchase during the Carba-tec sale, again $35.

Good size, decent cutting, ok finish, good price. The biggest positive point of this stone is the amount of feedback you get without the stone being too soft.

To be superseded from Japan Tool in the form of 1K Sigma Power stones to replace both the 800x and 1200x King stones.

Original post: 26DEC07, Updated: 16OCT08.

King 800x medium-size Deluxe waterstone

2007-12-26T15:53:00.001+09:00

Another King stone from Carba-tec at the special price of $35, this is a medium size Deluxe stone in 800 grit.
Good value compared to the smaller King Home stones sold at certain kitchenware stores that sells for more or the same money.

Similar to the King 1200x but with a little more bite.

Being superseded with a Sigma Power 1K from Japan Tool.

Original post: 26DEC07, Updated:16OCT08

King S-3 6K waterstone

2007-12-26T15:53:00.000+09:00

Neat price ($35 on special) for a 6000 grit waterstone of this size in Perth. Sure as hell beats the $116 for the larger S-1 stone sold at Wellington Surplus which you can get from Japan Tool for $46.

I hate bonded plastic bases for sharpening stones, they don’t easily fit most rubber stone holders and they flex under pressure.

I like this stone, very easy to use. It’s soft but it cuts even at its 6K level, and depending on how much you soak the stone you can achieve different cut-polish results.

On single bevel Japanese knives, it can achieve a foggy (kasumi) finish depending on the softness of the jigane.

This stone will be superseded by a medium finishing natural stone sourced from So at Japan Tool.

Original post:26OCT07, Updated:16OCT08

Carba-tec Economy Large Diamond stone set

2007-12-26T15:16:00.000+09:00

I think I got a little impulsive when I bought these diamond stones.

Sure they're neat long 300x and 800x equivalent diamond stones, but they're quite low quality compared to the DMT, Eze-lap brands. They are not accurately level, the yellow 300x is noticeably concave when used as a stone flattener; the hollow dimples in the diamond plate seemed like a good idea to speed up cutting and clear swarf but more or less just scratched knives or stones. I use the 800x orange stone since it's flatter than the yellow one and leaves less scratches as well.

This stones have been replaced with DMT D8XX and D8C for heavy stock removal and stone flattening (more of the latter). I killed the yellow bench stone flattening a Imanishi ‘Pink Brick’ 220x.

If you’re looking for good quality diamond stones in Australia, Everten Online stocks a lot of DMTs and Japan Tool carries the more expensive but very advanced design Atoma diamond plates.

Original post:26DEC07, Updated:16OCT08

Masahiro 600x waterstone

2007-12-26T15:07:00.000+09:00

Masahiro Arato 18cm L x 17mm T Coarse Grit 600 waterstone. My second sharpening stone, bought from JCK.

Same size as the 1500x Masahiro and this stone is very soft and creates alot of mud (swarf) when sharpening. Very soft and according to some more comfortable to use by beginners, creates a rather smooth finish for a 600 stone because it's so soft it creates a hack of mud.

I had issues with the rubber feet; not bad a stone but expensive for it size and sharpening qualities.

Used for less than 5 knives, sold to someone else in it’s fairly new state.

Original post: 26DEC07, Updated:16OCT08

F Dick 10" Superior Chef's knife

2007-12-26T14:49:00.000+09:00

Part of the Johnson & Wales tool kit.

A nice 10" Chef's knife from F Dick, part of the stamped Superior series. A nice large handle which I prefer to the Victorinox Fibrox and has a slightly lighter to my feel compared to the Victorinox.
A very nice knife to use.

Edit: In the process of being rehandled; African Blackwood with Mangowood spacers in the style reminiscent of the 1905 series done hidden tang.

Original post:26DEC07 , Updated:16OCT08

F Dick 12" Regular cut steel

2007-12-26T14:43:00.000+09:00

Part of the Johnson & Wales tool kit. Another very nice steel from F Dick. Regular cut according to F Dick, but compared to the evil Mundial Regular cut steel, this feels like a fine cut.

F Dick Superior Serrated Slicer

2007-12-26T14:35:00.000+09:00

Part of the Johnson & Wales toolkit. Currently the most used item in the set, a 10" F Dick Superior Serrated Sicer. Fairly gentle serrations more of a meat carver than crusty bread knife, but it's gentleness helps on super soft white bread outer sandwiches.

F Dick Superior Slicer

2007-12-26T14:18:00.001+09:00

Part of the Johnson & Wales tool kit. An 8" F Dick Superior Slicer, quite a nice slicer with a usable amount of flex when pressed sideways.

F Dick Palette knife

2007-12-26T14:11:00.001+09:00

Part of the F Dick-Johnson & Wales tool kit. A very nice 9" F Dick palette knife, highly flexible and has a nice thin edge. Should be great for spreading ganache

F Dick 4" Boning knife

2007-12-26T14:05:00.000+09:00

Part of the Johnson & Wales tool kit. A shorter 4" F Dick narrow boning knife with the ergogrip handle almost like short poultry boning knives, another nice boning knife from F Dick. It has a slightly more pronounced concave in the pinch grip area of the handle which I like.

F Dick Carving fork

2007-12-26T13:57:00.000+09:00

Part pf the Johnson & Wales toolkit. 7" F Dick forged carving fork, have actually used it at all. Feels great in hand and is a pain to transport since the prongs keep piercing the knife roll.

F Dick Superior Paring knife

2007-12-26T13:55:00.000+09:00

Part of the Johnson & Wales knife kit. Neat little short blade.

F Dick Channeller

2007-12-26T13:51:00.000+09:00

Part of the Johnson & Wales tool kit. Nice for long, long strips.

F Dick Bird's Beak

2007-12-26T13:48:00.001+09:00

A F Dick 2.5" Superior Bird's Beak Turning knife part of the Johnson & Wales case.

F Dick Melon Baller

2007-12-26T00:42:00.000+09:00

Part of the Johnson & Wales tool case. A single sided Parisian scoop (melon baller), also not as useful or comfy as the rubber handled Messermeister one in the TAFE kit.

F Dick Zester

2007-12-26T00:38:00.000+09:00

Part of the Johnson & Wales knife case Not as nice as the Messermeister zester/channeller in my TAFE kit.

F Dick fixed peeler

2007-12-26T00:36:00.001+09:00

F Dick fixed peeler part of my Johnson & Wales knife case. Nice handle, haven't tried it head to head the Victorinox.

TAFE Tool Kit Set

2007-07-08T00:19:00.000+08:00

Bunch of tools necessary for my Cert III in Hospitality (Commercial Cookery) chuck into a crappy tool box. Standard box of tools at a discounted price of $199; retail prices for the Cook's Knife $60, Filleting Knife $40, Boning Knife $30, Steel $40, Tool Box $30, etc... so price is worth it and easier for me to not have to look for little bitty detail items like the correct cookie cutter set. The TAFE toolkit contains:

250mm Victoinox Fibrox Chef's knife
180mm Victorinox Fibrox flexible filleting knife
150mm Victorinox Fibrox stiff narrow boning knife
100mm Victoinox Paring knife
12" Mundial "Regular cut" steel (ie coarse File for knives)
350mm Piano wire whisk
40mm natural bristle brush
Tomkin 250mm Palette knife
Tomkin Piping noozles plain and star patterns
460mm Tomkin Thermotex piping bag
Messermeister Zester/Channeller
Messermeister Melon Baller
Victorinox Rex peeler
Ateco 3-sided aluminium decorating comb
Double-sided plastic cookie cutters
Plastic bowl scraper
Tenton digital Thermometer
Nylex Tool Box

Trenton Dial Thermometer

2007-07-07T23:19:00.005+08:00

Trenton Pocket Thermometer -10-100*C

I killed it at TAFE a long time ago, the dial window melted from what I can’t remember then I threw it out in the bin.

Original post:07JUL07, Updated:16OCT08

Monopol 'Rex' Peeler

2007-07-07T23:19:00.003+08:00

Monopol U-Peeler My favourite peeler; sharp, versatile, cheap, ergonomic and easy to use, blade engages food easily at many angles (unlike the Victorinox peeler)

2007-07-07T23:19:00.001+08:00

No name zester/channeller

Victorinox Fixed Peeler

2007-07-07T23:18:00.005+08:00

Victorinox Fixed double edge-Peeler

Victorinox Serrated Utility knife

2007-07-07T23:18:00.003+08:00

Victorinox Tomato-Cheese knife Pretty hopeless serrations, lousy on crusty breads and tomatoes. Sharp knives work much better, my least used knife of them all.

Victorinox Turning knife

2007-07-07T23:18:00.001+08:00

Victorinox 'Bird's Beak' Turning knife Weird shape to sharpen, used my cheapo Jewelstick diamond steel to cut a new edge.

Victorinox 'Sheepsfoot' Paring knife

2007-07-07T23:17:00.002+08:00

Victorinox 'Flat' Paring knife My favourite shape for a paring knife as the dropped tip prevents my from stabbing myself as with spear tips.

Nylex Toolbox

2007-07-07T23:17:00.001+08:00

Nylex 'Rubbish' Tool Box

Ateco 3-sided aluminium decorating comb

2007-07-07T23:16:00.005+08:00

Crappy soft metal, get damaged easily knocking the teeth out of shape.

Upgraded to a simpler plastic two sided decorating comb.

Original post:07JUL07, Updated:16OCT08

2007-07-07T23:16:00.003+08:00

Tomkin 7-piece Star Piping nozzles

2007-07-07T23:16:00.001+08:00

Tomkin 7-piece Plain Piping nozzles

2007-07-07T23:15:00.005+08:00

Pastry brush, 40mm Natural Bristles

2007-07-07T23:15:00.003+08:00

35cm Balloon Whisk, Piano Wire

2007-07-07T23:15:00.001+08:00

Plastic Bowl Scraper

Double-ended Cookie Cutter set

2007-07-07T23:14:00.007+08:00

Double-ended Fluted and Plain Cookie Cutters, doubles as food stacking rings.

Trenton Digital Thermometer

2007-07-07T23:14:00.005+08:00

Trenton Digital Thermometer Broke my first one on its first day of use, POS.

Messermeister Zester-Channeler

2007-07-07T23:14:00.003+08:00

Messermeister Zester-Channeler, part of the TAFE toolkit. a proper zester and channeller that actually cuts smoothly unlike el-cheapo and has very nice fat rubberised handle.

2007-07-07T23:14:00.001+08:00

Victorinox 18cm Fibrox Filletting knife

2007-07-07T23:13:00.005+08:00

Victorinox "Rex" U-Peeler

Mundial 12" Regular Cut Steel

2007-07-07T23:13:00.003+08:00

Mundial 12" Regular Cut Steel Coarse as to me, feels absolute horrible to steel knives on this steel. Feeling that rough buzz.

2007-07-07T23:13:00.001+08:00

Victorinox 10cm 'Plain' Paring knife

2007-07-07T23:12:00.004+08:00

Messermeister Parisienne and Noisette Scoop 25/22mm

2007-07-07T23:12:00.001+08:00

Victorinox 15cm Fibrox Boning knife

Masahiro 1500x waterstone

2007-06-29T23:06:00.001+08:00

Masahiro Shiageto 18cm L x 17mm T Fine Grit 1500 waterstone My first sharpening stone, bought from JCK (Japanese Chef's Knife), market as a Shiageto but 1500x grit is more of fine cutting stone instead of a finishing stone. Actually quite small compared to my current fleet of sharpening stones and is quite soft, comes with nice tall rubber feet.

Messermeister ganishing knife roll

2007-06-29T23:05:00.001+08:00

Messermeister 10-slot garnishing knife roll Last one on the shelf from Cut It Out ($$$), about $35 for a 10 -slot garnishing roll. Its successor might be an Archer 15-piece woodworking chisel roll for $23.

F Dick 12" Dickoron Combi

2007-06-29T23:03:00.001+08:00

F. Dick 12" Dickoron Combi 2-sides Sapphire Cut/ 2-sides Polished honing steel $193 from Cut It Out after trade discount and having to special order it in, available from MBL at $165 listed price. The most beautiful item in my collection...

2007-06-29T22:58:00.000+08:00

8" Silicone Basting Brush

Zwilling JA Henkels Four Star 8" Cook's knife- Old Faithful

2007-06-29T22:54:00.000+08:00

Zwilling JA Henkels Four Star 8" Cook's knife Not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but still my favourite in terms of weight, balance and feel. But off par in so many ways. Haven't used it since my sharp gyutos arrived on the scene, get a rebirth this X'mas.

2007-06-29T22:49:00.000+08:00

Zwilling JA Henkels TWIN Cuisine 6" slicing knife