[2024] Timing for resharpening
I am Okudaira, the owner of "Japanese Kitchen Knife TOKU''.
We want to sell knives made in our hometown of Sakai, Osaka, so we purchase and sell knives made in Sakai from a knife manufacturer in Sakai.
We don't just sell knives, we visit a number of blacksmiths and bladesmiths in Sakai to help our customers understand knives, experience the actual work, and hear from the craftsmen. I'm here. In addition to Sakai, we also visit Seki in Gifu, Tsubame-Sanjo in Niigata, Tanegashima in Kagoshima and Katsushika in Tokyo, in an effort to deepen our understanding of the characteristics and commitment of each.
Time to resharpen
If you use a knife, it will lose its sharpness.
The reason why the blade loses its sharpness is that in addition to cutting food, the blade also wears down by hitting the cutting board when cutting or touching other dishes when washing. Therefore, professional chefs frequently resharpen their knives. I once heard that the chef at a sushi restaurant sharpens his knives every day.
I don't think it's realistic to sharpen knives every day at home. Since we don't actually cut large quantities of ingredients like we do at shops, I don't think the sharpness will deteriorate as quickly.
Do you sharpen knives for someone who is not a chef? I've heard that.
The answer I get is that most people have never sharpened a knife, or haven't sharpened it in years.
I think it's such a waste. What is a waste?
I can't feel the true taste of the ingredients. This means that they are not experiencing the joy of cooking.
If you cut food with a dull knife, the cells of the food will be destroyed.
When the cells of the food are destroyed, fruit juice and meat juice overflow. If you do this, you will not be able to experience the original taste of the ingredients when you eat them.
In terms of the enjoyment of cooking, using a sharp knife allows you to cut the ingredients neatly, making the process stress-free. It also makes it look pretty, so you can arrange it beautifully.
When you think about it this way, you can see that there are great benefits to using a sharp knife.
So, how often should you sharpen your knife to maintain and restore its sharpness?
Under what conditions should I sharpen it?
If you cook relatively often, you should sharpen your knife when you feel that it has lost its sharpness. However, this is just a matter of intuition, so why not try checking like this?
After sharpening a knife, we check whether it is properly sharpened by cutting a piece of newspaper or copy paper to check its sharpness. A sharp knife cuts newspaper without getting caught. If there are any areas where the paper has lost its sharpness, the newspaper will get caught when you cut it, and the paper may tear from that area. Sometimes the blade won't fit in the first place.
By the way, if you try to cut newspaper with a knife sold at a 100 yen shop, the knife won't fit even if it's new. What do you think of the knives you have?
I have uploaded a video of paper cutting, so please use it as a reference.
https://youtu.be/mdMlbP6a1dQ
For home-use Santoku knives, I think it's best to resharpen them about once a year.
Sakaitoku Knife also offers a resharpening service. We also accept correspondence by mail, so you can use it even if you live far away. We also provide sharpening services at Kappabashi in Tokyo, Dougu Street in Osaka, and Denshokan in Sakai. The cost for one resharpening for a Santoku knife is around 1,000 to 2,000 yen, depending on the condition.
Why not take advantage of our resharpening service and enjoy cooking with your own knife that has regained its sharpness?
Let's go to a knife store!
If you don't understand it until you see it, go to a knife store and try holding a knife. However, most stores do not allow you to try cutting the knife, so you cannot check the sharpness before purchasing.
If you don't have a store that sells knives near you, it's best to purchase from a knife specialty store's mail order site.
"Japanese Kitchen Knife TOKU" has a video showing the actual cutting process, so please use it as a reference.