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mrstoked
04-16-2010, 10:18 AM
Just wanted to introduce myself to the forum a bit, I've been browsing over the last few days and have been inspired to give Japanese Iron a try. I do not work in the culinary industry, but I have really found cooking to be one my passions over the past year or two and found that I'm actually pretty good.

I made my first purchase of a Japanese knife yesterday and timely found out that my girlfriend had ordered me a new knife last week. I've posted both below, but do have a few questions I'm hoping some of you can clarify. My plan is to assemble a nice collection, but that surely will take a while. I ordered a Masamoto KK-3716W Nakiri165mm with a marble bolster. After a bit of research it looked to be a solid entry knife for a beginner looking for a vegetable knife with no experience handling or caring for Japanese iron. I chose the Nikiri because of the "more user friendly" descriptions I've found on this board and other reviews on the net and am really looking forward to getting that box in the mail next week.

The thing I'm most curious about is what kind of maintanance is required for a Japanese knife. I have a few Wustof's and Henckel's but as most of you probably know maintaining and sharpening them is pretty easy. I've never sharpened a Japanese knife, but have done a bit of research and I think I should be able to handle it, albeit with a bit of work. Will my knife come sharpened from Masamoto, or will the first thing I have to do to a brand new knife is hack it up on a wetstone?

Also, I live in the NY area. Any fellow NY'ers with suggestions on where to buy supplies? And, lastly back to the topic of sharpening--what type of wetstone will I need and will I infact need multiple stones for a good edge?

Thanks in advance.

-Matt

Here are the two knives OTW right now. Obviously pale in comparison to what everyone has around here, but like I said I'm just getting started. First one was a surprise gift from my girlfriend, a Tojiro 8.25inch Hammered Black Chef's Knife, and the second is the Masamoto. What do you guys think of the two?

http://www.cutleryandmore.com/large/15462.jpg

http://www.japanesechefsknife.com/images/Img142.jpg

pressure cooker
04-16-2010, 12:17 PM
goto Korin. 57 warren street. they have all you need and more. you can also arrange for a sharpening demo.http://korin.com/site/home.html

mrstoked
04-16-2010, 04:50 PM
Nice. That's actually near one of the offices I spend a bit of time at. I'll definitely be making a stop there before happy hour next week. It looks like a pretty unbelieveable place.

Once I get the knack of the whole sharpening and using the knives I want to make some serious purchases. I figure I'll probably pick up a relatively cheap Gyoto in the near future (if anyone has one for sale) and work from there. Once I have a good handle on how to properly use and take care of the various knives I'll spring for some of the upper echelon models.

I'm looking forward to getting these two. Like I said, I'm just now seriously getting into cooking and the various pieces of the puzzle that make it that more enjoyable.

Thanks for the advice.

pressure cooker
04-17-2010, 03:30 PM
you're welcome. korin has cheap knives too http://korin.com/Shop/Togiharu-Molybdenum