The Different Grits of Sharpening Stones

A sharpening stone comes handy when your favorite kitchen knife becomes dull. If it is your first time to use a sharpening stone to sharpen your knife, you’d probably be confused when you look at one label and see a different number of grit from the one your other hand is holding.
 
Well, don’t be confused. Sharpening stones come in different number of grits depending on its usage. Here is a comparison of different sharpening stones’ grits for your guide:
 
#220 grit – Over time, your kitchen knife can break or get chipped, most especially if you are not taking good care of it, like cutting or chopping frozen products and bones. If that happens, a sharpening stone with #220 grit is best to use. However, use this kind of stone with caution as it is very abrasive and may shave off a lot of your blade’s material.
 
#1,000 grit – This kind of stone is considered to be the basic sharpening stone and is highly recommended to sharpen knives.
 
#1,200 grit – If you are using a traditional Japanese knife, which is more delicate than the Western knives, then this stone is for you.
 
#2,000 grit – This stone is still considered “medium”. Sharpening a knife using this stone might take you longer than if you are using a #1,000 or #1,200. However, if you often, like every other day, sharpen your knife, this is perfect for you. The #2,000 grit doesn’t shave off as much material as its lower counterparts.
 
#3,000 grit – In sharpening a knife, sometimes after using a #1,000 grit, there is a need to follow-up with a #3,000 grit, most especially if you are going to cut meat products. This will help the sharpness of your blade last longer. Please note that #3000 grit stones must never be soaked in water. Doing so may cause the stone to break.
 
#6,000 grit – This stone is considered to be the basic “finishing” stone. In using this stone, you only need to wet the surface. Just like with the #3000 grit, never soak this stone in water.
 
#8,000 grit – This is the top of the line among sharpening stones and if done correctly, this stone will give you the sharpest and most polished blade. Just like the #3,000 and #6,000 grit stones, never soak this in water.
Happy sharpening!

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General Safety in Knife Handling

 

Sakai Takayuki Knife

 General Safety in Knife Handling:

Your knives are very useful tools. You can consider them your best friends. Why? For some obvious reason, you cannot prepare and cook food without them. The way you take care and handle them is important to your safety as well as how long they are going to last you.

The price of knives varies depending on the manufacturer, place where the knife is made, type, and size. Japanese knives usually demand higher prices because of their unparalleled sharpness and edge retention. When you own a Japanese knife from a reputable knife maker, like Sakai Takayuki, Takeshi Saji, and Takayuki Iwai, there is a sense of pride within you.

So, if you own a Japanese knife (or any other knife), you need to take good care of it. Here are some points to remember:

In cutting meat or chopping vegetables, it is advisable to use boards that are made of wood or plastic. Avoid using boards that are from materials like ceramic, glass, steel, or marble. These may cause the edge of your knife to chip.

In washing dishes, do not drop your knife in the sink together with other dishes. You might forget there is actually a knife in there and you might cut yourself.

Don’t throw your knife in the dishwasher. The heat will not only cause damage to the wooden handle, but the edge will surely knock against other plates or whatever you have in the dishwasher.

Do not put your knife loose in a drawer together with other cutlery. When you are in a hurry and trying to reach for your knife, instead of touching the handle, you might accidentally touch the edge. Let your knife rest in a wooden edge guard or a slotted hanger instead.

After using your knife, keep it clean and dry.

Lastly, a can opener is for opening a can. Let that truth stay that way. Do not make the mistake many people do – using a knife to open a can. If you follow this golden rule, you will prevent accidents by foolishness!

The Philosophy in Making a Japanese Knife

Japan is made of more than 6,800 islands. The big four islands namely, Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, and Shikoku comprise about 97% of the entire country. Being the tenth largest country in the world, Japan has 127 million population. Japan plays a major role in the import and export industry.




For centuries, Japan had tribal groups in and out of her islands; the rise and fall of emperors, and experienced so many defeats and victories in wars. All these experiences formed Japan’s rich history and culture that extended to cutlery used in preparing food.
 

In cooking, Japanese people respect seasons and pattern their preparation of food on it. They will use of what are available ingredients during a particular season. Though dishes differ from place to place, but Japanese people take great concern when it comes to food preparation and presentation. How the food looks when it is served is a big deal to them. In this tradition stemmed out the outstanding Japanese way of manufacturing knives.
 

In Japan, knife making is not just a business, but a way of life. For Japanese people, their knives are as important as their food. After all, their knives are not only tools in preparing food, but represent them as a nation and as an individual.
 

There are several steps in making a Japanese knife but there is no one step that is more important than the rest. Each step is given full attention and care; this is why, it takes time to craft a beautiful Japanese knife. For a knife maker, speed cannot and will not replace quality.

History

As early as the fifth century, local craftsmen in the city of Sakai were required to make sharp tools to build the kofun. But only in the sixteenth century that Sakai began crafting knives. The demand was brought about by the introduction of tobacco in Japan by the Portuguese. They needed tools to cut the tobacco. Since then, Sakai became the capital for sword making.




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How To Sharpen A Knife

A sharp knife cuts easily, so it can reduce your preparation time in half. It is a lot safer to use too, since it is less likely to slip. Having a sharp knife is tantamount to giving you an enjoyable cooking experience. But if you do not know how to sharpen a knife, then read on.    

Things Needed in Sharpening a Knife:

·         Sharpening stone

·         A bowl of water

·         Kitchen towel

·         Knife

·         A honing steel or ceramic sharpening rod

Procedure:

Depending on the sharpening stone you are using, soak it in water for 5 minutes (sharpening stones with grit #3000 and above cannot be soaked or it will break!). After 5 minutes, remove the stone from the water and place it on a kitchen towel on a flat surface. If you are using a two-grit stone, ensure that the coarse side is facing up.

Holding the knife in semi-parallel position against the sharpening stone, your one hand should be on the handle and the other on the top part of the blade. Starting from the heel (base of the knife), slide the blade all the way to the tip  in a slanting direction against the stone toward you. To maintain the angle of the blade, keep your fingertips on the top edge. Use moderate pressure while working on the coarse side of the sharpening stone.

Go over this motion in the following guide: 10 times on each side, then 5, then 3. After which, do single strokes alternating between right and left for another 6 times. Once done with the sequence, by this time, you should feel a slight “burr” when you touch the blade, but be very careful in doing this. Turn over the sharpening stone to buff up the blade. To do this, repeat the sharpening motion over, using a slighter pressure. 

Rinse the Blade

To give your blade that extra polished edge, make some draws using a honing steel. Just like the motion you used in the sharpening stone, draw the blade at the same angle.

Often times, we do not give attention to the sharpness of our knives that we use at home. When it is still sharp, we use and keep it, but once it turned dull, we throw it away and buy a new one. And that practice is not practical. That’s why we need to know how to sharpen a knife.


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Takayuki Iwai knife Best for Cutting Sashimi

All About Sashimi

image via www.sashimi.se

Sashimi, which means “sliced food” is probably one, if not, the most famed dish among Japanese cuisine. Delicately and thinly sliced, Sashimi is the best way to serve uncooked fish. Most Japanese people, in a formal meal agree that before eating other foods, sashimi should be eaten first. This is observed especially in a formal meal. But it can be considered as main course when miso soup and rice in separate bowls are presented with it. 

This would probably be a surprise but if you think fish is the only food that can be eaten uncooked as sashimi, think again. There are also other kinds of red meats that can be served as sashimi like beef, deer, and horse. There are some people who think that sashimi and sushi are the same but they are not. Sushi has sweet rice-wine vinegar rice while sashimi does not. 

How to Eat Your Sashimi

 In eating your sashimi, soy sauce can add flavor to it. Usually, restaurants have a small dish that you can use to pour some soy sauce and dip a piece of sashimi before eating. Contrary to how many people eat their sashimi by mixing wasabi (ground ginger) with soy sauce, the proper way is to dab the wasabi on top a piece of sashimi. To get that minty taste, you can eat the daikon or shiso vegetables that are normally used as garnishing to your sashimi. 

Health Benefits of Sashimi

Our body needs protein for muscle development and fish is a healthy source of it. The kind of protein we can get from sashimi is low in fat which is ideal for weight watchers. 

Sashimi is rich in essential fatty acid, omega-3. This kind of fatty acid helps maintain good cardiovascular health by lowering down cholesterol levels. Sashimi also has vitamins B6 and B12, phosphorous, magnesium, and niacin.

In Japan, they have this saying, “Kasshu hoju” (cooking is second to cutting). Sashimi is prepared with knives.

At Japanny online store, we have a wide array of authentic Japanese knives for you to choose from. For sashimi preparation, we boast of our Takayuki Iwai Aogami Steel No. 2 Fumon Series Sashimi Knife. The Fumon Series is made by Takayuki Iwai. They do all the work by hands to ensure perfect control in making their knives. They care about quality that they do not mass produce. For Takayuki Iwai knife, it is quality over numbers! Japanny is the sole distributor of these impressive knives outside Japan.

Advice for buying Japanese Knives

When it comes to art of metalworking, Japan has an old and grand tradition on it. Like Solingen in Germany, centers for knife making are found all over the country. Knife makers differ in the technology they use and the quality of their knives. 

Knives that are functional and hand-made can be considered a form of art. The basic steps in producing a knife are prepared by the knife maker himself or they call smith. The quality of his knife is assured by his reputation and name. Usually, knives with the highest quality and costly ones come from smiths who have extensive years of training and sensible practice behind them. Materials used and the name of the smiths dictate the price of the knife.

He is a traditional forge-smith and craftsman. He was born in 1948 at Takefu City of Fukui prefecture. It is a place with 700 years history of Echizen Uchi-Hamono or better known as Hammer Forged Knives. 

Takeshi Saji got his training in basic forging process and technique for 3 years at a local blacksmith teaching school. At age 18, he got engaged in knife making under the direction of his father and master, Harukichi Saji, who was a second generation. At age 30, after perfecting the skills needed to craft beautiful knives, Takeshi Saji was finally allowed to make his own. He got the certification “Traditional Craftsmen” from M.I.T.I in 1992. 

Takeshi Saji has a vast wealth of experience in knife making and after 45 years of being in the industry, with his bright ideas and designs, his traditional forged custom knives are now popular in Japan thus giving him the title one of the most well-known forge-craftsmen from Takefu City.

Takeshi Saji’s selections are gradually growing and each custom knife has distinctive style and personality. 

Takeshi Saji

Advice for buying Japanese Knives 

When you look for a Japanese knife, you will notice a huge range of prices which can be hard to understand. But as a rule of thumb, Japanese knives are not more expensive than European knives considering the same quality.  A handmade knife usually costs quite a bit taking into consideration the many hours spent in doing it by a highly-skilled hand. At japanny.com, we believe our knives are fairly priced. 

Decorative touches, like Damascus steel blades on some Japanese knives do not affect the knife’s cutting ability but demand higher price. These knives are attractive and guarantee satisfaction. At the core of all Japanese knife blades is high-carbon steel which makes the knife a cut above the rest.

What is important is you do not pay for a sub-standard knife with a high price or fall for an ad campaign of a company and buy their knife that does not cut well.

Identify the type of knife you need. For every kind, japanny.com has an array of the finest knives that are fairly priced. If you are unsure what you need, get an all-purpose knife that has three-layer blade. With this kind, you will find out and learn the qualities of Japanese knives. Later on, you might want to try other types like deba-bocho (to fillet fish), nakiro-bocho (to cut vegetables), tako-biki hocho (to slice fish) or the perfect knife for the kind of food you want to prepare.