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The Knife Rack MINI PREP KNIFE PLUS BAR BOARD SETS The new Kyocera Mini-Prep Knife + Bar Board Set was created for the home bar, tailgating or camp kitchen. Beautifully packaged, it can also be used for gift giving or as a set of "city-sized" compact kitchen tools for small space kitchens. The size and perfectly balanced shape of the Mini Prep Knife — combined with the benefits of Kyocera's lightweight ceramic blade and ergonomic handle — give it special practical advantages. This is the go-to knife for slicing fruits such as lemons, limes and strawberries, or for mincing and cutting herbs or small veggies. Set Includes a 3-inch Mini Prep Knife, cutting board and safety sheath. It also features a 9.5-inch plastic cutting board with a decorative juice groove, which is reversible to prevent cross-contamination and is dishwasher safe, and stain resistant. Suggested retail price is $29.95. Kyocera cpd@kyocera.com www.kyoceraadvancedceramics.com CUTTING BOARDS FROM PLANCHES LABELL BOARDS Labell Boards are made from premium Canadian recovered and recycled hardwoods and are made with the highest production standards. With the new abilities in wood manufacturing, the company has the capacity to take the raw material, otherwise disposed of, and turn it into culinary works of art. Labell boards are produced in Eastern Canada, and offer customized sizes as well as personalization options. Planches Labell Boards 514.497.6256 www.plancheslabell.com Okami Knives has unveiled its new 8 Inch Chef Knife, built with Japanese and American tradition in mind. This is an all-in-one multipurpose knife, saving chefs the hassle of having to buy, use and clean so many different knives. The new Chef Knife's durable stainless steel blade stays sharp longer than almost any other knife blade at its price range. And its combination of comfort, durability and performance make it an investment that a serious cook can invest in. Okami Knives understands that chefs want the best knives. They want knives that are comfortable and easy to use. They also understand that they don't have to sacrifice aesthetics for quality. That's why the 8 Inch Chef Knife is creatively designed to address both quality and aesthetics. Okami Knives has worked closely with the leading players in the hospitality industry to create one of the best user experiences within that industry. The 8 Inch Chef Knife is designed to enhance the cooking experience. It is designed to perform at the very highest level and for a lifetime of enjoyment and service. This western style gyuto knife is made of Japanese VG10 stainless steel. The knife comes with a comprehensive angle of 300 max, 12-15 degrees per side and a double bevel, 50:50 ratio. This makes the edge ver y sharp, meaning that less force will be needed to cut through hard foodstuff, making prep and the cooking process to be much faster and enjoyable. The 8 Inch Chef 's Knife comes with a premium packaging, a protective plastic cover, a cleaning cloth and the Ōkami kanji is stamped on the knife's butt. For more information, visit www.okamiknives.com. KN Okami Releases All-In-One Knife THE KNIFE RACK www.kitchenwarenews.com n FEBRUARY 2018 n KITCHENWARE NEWS & HOUSEWARES REVIEW 2 1 Keeping Knives Sharp at Home Requires True Grit culinary industry thought, This will be a miracle steel because it won't tarnish or rust… The alloys they use are not developed for knives. They lend themselves to tool manufacturing because they are wear resistant, but that makes it incredibly difficult to sharpen." For chefs and experts, knives are sharpened according to their function. A Japanese Nakiri, for instance, is made of very hard steel and sharpened to a very fine edge to make quick work of soft vegetables, but has no place getting close to anything tougher to chop than squash. Other highly specialized knives will be crafted with different levels of flexibility, and require different sharpening regimens. But that level of expertise isn't typical for home cooks, who generally want a dependable, all-purpose tool. Sharpening stones are the tool of choice, and come in a variety of coarse to fine grits. Consumers can even choose how to sharpen based on what they plan to cut. "I go f rom 600 to 1000 grit, 4000-5000 grit on the finish – that will be my last pass. Stones leave a tiny microscopic tooth on the edge. You want the teeth to grab a tomato skin and go through it," says Watkins. "The only reason that I would hone higher would be if I had a specialty chef. If you were only going to cut meat or sashimi, I would take that even finer and finish it on a leather strop. It basically becomes a scalpel. Meat is sticky and will grab the edge, so you don't need that tooth." "A lot of people will buy one knife that's special to them that they will take really good care of. I will sharpen that so it will breast a turkey, dice, filet, whatever you need to do. So I'll leave just a little bit of tooth on there," Watkins adds. The key to refining a cutting edge is simply practice. "Most people are going to struggle because they don't know where to start. Go to a junk store and find any (cont. from Page 1) knife that has rust on it (carbon steel), and sharpen it," says Watkins. "What you want to do is take strokes away f rom you, and you're going to push against that stone. And you're going to feel f riction with that. If you've got the spine of the blade too close to the stone it will scratch, so you just lift the spine up enough that you're not doing that anymore." While there are a range of prices for sharpening sets, Watkins recommends focusing on the grit. "My stones just need to work, man. Simple, cheap stones are DMT Stones. They're diamond-coated stainless steel. I have sharpened thousands of knives on mine," Watkins adds. "You can use something like a Norton stone, which is 1000 on one side and 5000 on the other side. For my final cut, I've got a Norton and a Chinese 8000 grit stone." But one thing that should never be used on a blade is a belt sander or grinder. Over time, electric sharpeners will start to reshape the blade itself. "From the heel of the knife towards the f ront of the blade, if you stick that flat on your cutting board, you don't want to see daylight. That happens a lot when you sharpen with a belt," says Watkins. "Here's the thing: Never let someone sharpen your knives with a belt. You'll take away too much steel." After sharpening, the edge can be checked in a couple different ways. "Take that knife and push it down your thumbnail. If it grabs at your thumbnail a little, it's getting sharp. Once I know it's sharp, I'll take a piece of thin magazine paper and make a diagonal slice on it," says Watkins. Simply using the succession of stones can get a knife sharp enough to shave with. "In my house, my knives are still shaving after about eight weeks," says Watkins. "I will touch them up every eight weeks. I'll put them on a fine stone for a few minutes. Typically I'll fully sharpen a set once or twice a year." KN

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