Sunday 23 December 2012

Peter Nowlan and Sharpening

Where and when did I learn to sharpen knives, another question I love to get asked:

I have memories of my father first teaching me on an oilstone about forty years ago, and while that instruction may not have been the best, it was the best at the time.  Those moments with my father were enough to ignite a flame inside of me, a passion for knife sharpening. So my journey began over 40 years ago.

Keep in mind that there were not You Tube videos, no computers, all I had were dull knives and some pretty crappy stones.  That flame never died and now I have had the pleasure of lessons from a Japanese gentleman, and I've met, on line, some exceptional people and knife sharpeners.

The leap to Japanese Water Stones changed my life and some amazing mentoring by a few folks in person and via Skype and just by emails.

However, there is one individual that has taught me more than anyone else, I consider his videos and on line mentoring through emails to be second to none.

Jon Broida of Japanese Knife Imports:
Jon Broida and Japanese Knife Imports

Jon has created what is undoubtedly the best knife sharpening videos on the Internet, they are very professionally made, they often include a theory and practical. So not only does he give us a demonstration of the many different facets of free hand sharpening but he explains everything first.  Very cool and extremely easy to follow. Although Jon sells Japanese Water Stones and exquisite Japanese hand made knives, there is never a sense of him "pushing" his products. In fact, you almost have to pull the information out of him regarding his line of stones.

One of things Jon taught me was about sharpness, I was able to get a kitchen knife extremely sharp a long time ago, that just came with practice and patience and passion. However, I have learned that it's not good enough for the knife to just be sharp, in fact,I  found out that in some cases, my knives were too sharp.

A chef needs to be able to feel the blade slicing through a tomato, it isn't good enough just to have it "run" through whatever he/she is cutting, there needs to be a sense, a tactile feel from the chef when using the knife. So I had to cut back a little and stop sharpening every single knife to such a high level that it left the chef not getting that certain touch that should accompany a well sharpened blade.

Having said that, I have not had any complaints but it is certainly a confidence booster to know that, through Jon, I now know that.

I hope to meet him some day in person, I need to thank him for what he has taught me.

I have already linked his videos, just go to is site, drool over the incredible knives he has and learn from him as I did.

Now do I look like a person who would lie to you?

I just put this picture of myself here because some folks probably are curious about the guy that sharpens their knives.

Take care friends.

The BEST knives

I am often asked "What is really good knife" or "What are the best knives you can buy?"

The best knife is a sharp knife and before I attempt to answer this,  keep in mind that even the best knives get dull, there are knives that cost thousands of dollars and even they need regular sharpening.

Believe it or not Cutco knives are not the best, I am sorry to dishearten the loyal Cutco owners that may be reading this.

Here in the Halifax area, the best knives we can buy, i.e. walk into a store like Paderno or Cucina Moderna the familiar brands like Wusthof, Henckels, Grohmann, and then there are the Global, Shun and MAC knives which are made in Japan.

Now out of those mentioned here, I would purchase one of the Japanese made knives but with care and maintenance, i.e. regular sharpening, any of the knives mentioned here will serve you well for many, many years. Grohmann knives, a favourite here in Nova Scotia are made in Pictou so for that reason alone, they are very popular. Easy to sharpen, priced well and a pretty good knife.

However, none of these are in the "best knives in the world" bracket. For these beauties, we need to venture online, unless living in Calgary or in the Toronto area.

I'm talking about hand made Japanese knives, the kind of very beautiful and exceptionally well crafted knives sold in places like TOSHO KNIFE ARTs and KNIFEWEAR and PAUL's FINEST. These are Canadian owned and operated and are very unique stores.

The difference when you purchase a knife from Tosho Knife Arts or Knifewear for example is that the owners, the folks you are buying from are very passionate and knowledgeable about their products. When you go in and ask questions about a knife at one of these places, it isn't like going into a hardware store and asking the sales person about the best barbecue to buy. You should know that the people showing you the knife that interests you have been to Japan, they have seen and talked to the artisans who made the knife. They are world class sharpeners as well, I can only dream of walking into one of these places and buying a knife.  On line purchasing however is the way to go if you can't visit in person.

So what knives am I talking about, what brands. Well the knives are named after the artisan who designed and made the knives, and that name alone could represent generations of knife makers.

Here are some of the brands of knives that would thrill you if you owned one:

Konosuke, Takeda, Tojiro, Masakage, Kikuichi, Moritaka, Misono.

Not all the best knives come from Japan, there is of course the fabulous knives made by Bob Kramer (have sold for $50,000), Murray Carter, Devin Thomas, Pierre Rodrique (from Canada).

You just to need do a little searching and I do recommend the Canadian based stores, these folks are very nice to deal with their knowledge of knifes and of knife sharpening will astound you.

What makes these knives so good you ask?

Well I think if you had one in your kitchen and took one for a test drive you would immediately realize that these knives are truly special. A blend of factors make that so, the artisan who hand made the knife, the steel is the critical component and reason they are what they are. Your average Wusthof or Henckels is sharpened about 20-22 degrees (sometimes more), these high carbon Japanese knives can take an edge at 11 degrees and hold it. Imagine the cutting power by a blade sharpened at such an acute angle.

The prices of the knives range anywhere from $135.00 to $7, 000 and more. You can get one of these very special knives for $200.00 though, the same you could pay for some of the knives here in our local stores.

Something to think about, but when you decide to jump in, think Canadian when buying Japanese hand made knives.





Now about sharpening these knives, you may think it is difficult.

Definitely not the case, in fact I find them quite easy to sharpen, just another benefit of owning one.

There is nothing wrong with the knives we buy here in Atlantic Canada, they are really quite fine and take a great edge. The purpose of this Blog entry is simply to talk about what I consider the "best knives" not to put down any other knives. I personally own Wusthof, Global, Shun and Grohmann knives and I've been happy with them for years.

However, having a passion for knives and of course sharpening them means I am going to always want one of the knives I have listed here.  I have sharpened many of them and I'm truly impressed by them.

I just need one and it is comforting to know that I don't have to go far.

Tosho Knife Arts

Knifewear


Saturday 22 December 2012

More on pricing

People may find it helpful if I posted some pictures of typical knife bundles that I get and the cost of sharpening. 

That would give folks a really quick cost estimate, the brand of knives makes no difference, it is the length of the blade that determines cost.


Chef - 9" - $11.25

Left to Right:
Ulu - $15.00 (unique),
Veggie-7"- $8.75,
Chef-8"- $10.00,
 Paring-4 - $5.00
Chef - 9" - $11.25
TOTAL: $50.00
Left to Right
4" Paring - $5.00
8" Chef - $10.00


Total - $15.00




Keep in mind that you are paying for a knife sharpening which is quite possibly going to result in the sharpest knives you have seen before. You will soon forget the cost of the knives once you get them home.

Heck....because it is Christmas, I'm going to give everyone a 25% discount on my Hidden Fees :)



Seasons Greetings.
(You know that there are no hidden fees right)


Friday 21 December 2012

Common Issues

I get asked all sorts of questions about knife sharpening, often by people with a block of dull knives who are not quite ready to hand them over to a stranger.
So they ask me questions, to test the waters, see what I know about knives and whether or not I'm going to ruin their knives. One wrong answer (wrong in their minds that is) will mean that they are faced with dull knives forever.

Most of time, the lingering doubts are from people who own nice knives, they have spent a good deal of money on them, in their mind they are the best knives around and they are worried about their knives.
I completely get that, no issues there for me.

HOWEVER...what people need to understand is that I'm not a big business with my priorities not in order. My priority is taking care of your knife, whether it is a $6.95 paring knife that is 8 years old or a new Global or MAC. (Believe me folks, there are better knives out there than this, you just can't pick them up in the stores here but I get them every now and then to sharpen)

I had a person with some dull Globals drill me on the sharpening angle. "What angle are you going to sharpen it at" I believe I said 16 degrees and the person walked away.  I wonder how many people in the area (CANADA) can actually sharpen a knife by hand at exactly 16 deg or 15 degrees?

So instead of letting me sharpen the knives at 16 deg or 15 if that was the preference, that person will continue the quest for the individual who can answer the riddle correctly.  In fact however, I can actually sharpen a knife at exactly 15 of 15.9 degrees if desired. I have the Edge Pro Professional, a precision guided system that enables very precise angles.  So that person missed out.

The issue is that people, I think, are so used to getting screwed over somewhere, they have been ripped off in the past that they don't understand that they are dealing with an individual who has an incredibly strong passion for knife sharpening.

I have a full time military career, so I'm not surviving off of this business, this is something that I love to do and I'm good at it, it has taken me many years to feel comfortable with other peoples knives but I am now.

Get over the fear, you are dealing with a person who has an obsession with sharpening and water stones. I have never ruined a knife in 35 years. (I wonder how many other people can say that who have used a gadget, electric grinder to sharpen their knives)?

It is not about exact angles, it is consistency, if I sharpen your Global at 17 degrees are you going to know that by looking at it? Certainly not, your just going to feel an edge that you didn't believe was possible. If you think that Global was sharp the day you bought it, you are in for a treat.

Get of the fence people, stop hindering yourselves by using dull knives. You are creating a negative impact on the taste of your food by using a dull knife, it is tearing at the cells of the food at a molecular level. Why do you think Japanese Chefs sharpen their knives daily?

Have a fantastic Holiday Season and thanks so much for being here.

Saturday 15 December 2012

Pricing


As is normal when having work done on something, you need to know what it will cost.
Pricing is something that I have given a lot of thought too, researched, asked folks who are knowledgeable about such things and so on. I just didn't pick numbers out of my head and think, "well this seems fair to me"

Finding a balance between what is fair to you and fair to me has not been as easy as I thought it would be.  Over time however I have to come to realize that I just can't please everyone.

90% of the time, there is no problem with the pricing, people just seem to appreciate the work that goes into making knives sharp. Sometimes however, people who have knives that they paid 8 dollars for and are only 3 inches long will hesitate at paying 7 dollars to have it sharpened.

In fact, it is these less expensive knives that are more of a challenge to sharpen and it is not my fault that some paid less than 10 dollars for a knife. Just throw it away and get a new one if that is the case.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I cannot charge less because it is a cheap knife, my time is important and you are paying for that. I can sharpen a $180.00 Shun in half that time it takes me to sharpen a $6.95 no name paring knife.  However, I will ensure that the knife is sharp, I don't care how inexpensive it is, if I get it in my  hands, I know it is important to you so I will do my best.

Many knives that I get looked like they have been dragged behind a car for a few miles, I don't have machine that I pop the knife into to repair the damage. I do it all by hand and  the products that I use to do this (Japanese Water Stones) wear out, they need to be replaced. So getting that knife back to a place where I can even begin to sharpen it, is very hard on the stones.  So I cannot charge less just because you don't think the knife is worth it.

If you think that $1.25 per inch of blade is too much to spend, you are entitled to your opinion.
Perhaps you can find someone else to sharpen for less.

Remember, you may know someone who says they know how to sharpen knives.
BUT, do they have dreams about knife sharpening, do they think about it every day, do they spend absurd amounts of time reading about knives, different brands of stones. Does Scratch Pattern or Nanocloth come up in  dinner conversation ?

I can say "yes" to all these questions :)

I'm here for you, don't blame me because your knives are dull and you have to pay someone to get them back in shape for you.  If it bothers you, don't bring to me.

I am extremely particular about my work, I am constantly learning new things and I can make your knives sharper, in most cases than you've ever seen. If that is important to you, than I think the cost issue (if there is an issue) will vanish once you have your hands on the knife and you are cutting food. You will realize how nice it is to have a sharp knife, you will save time too because it is so sharp.

Your stress level will decrease because you are no longer frustrated that the knife is dull and you were on the fence for so long about getting it sharpened. You took the plunge and now all you can think of is how sharp the knife is.......you can't even remember how much it cost you.

Happy Holidays friends.

Monday 3 December 2012

Testing my knives

I'm somewhat meticulous when it comes to testing my knives, I test each blade for sharpness as I sharpen and then when I am all done. Normally I use the softest paper I can find and that is the telephone book. I go through a lot of those and it is a good test for sharpness. I used to use photocopy paper but that is quite thick and not a great test in my opinion. So the thinner the better, Reader's Digest are good to cut up as well :)

This time I chose some food, peppers and as you can see, the knife could do a fine on those little red and orange slices of pepper. 















This knife was sharpened to 8,000 grit and has a nice mirror polish. Today I also tested a knife that I had done for Executive Chef,  Craig Flinn. I asked him to test his newly sharpened knife on a tomato, and it was nice and soft, very ripe. The knife was sharpened to 16,000 grit and stropped on Nanocloth with 1/8 Micron diamond spray. The knife went through the tomato beautifully, it did not slide over it, it dug in and he was able to slice extremely thin pieces off of the tomato. 
There is a reason I wanted to test this in this type of scenario and I will get into that a little later on.
The knife passed the test so I was happy.