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Post by ironhold on Dec 6, 2012 15:27:23 GMT
One of my cats never adjusted to Daylight Savings Time, and so he keeps waking me up at 4:30 AM for breakfast (he's just destructive enough to where I have to get up). Unable to get back to bed, I often wind up watching TV... what little of it is on at that hour.
Yesterday morning I saw an advertisement for what was supposed to be a super-duper knife sharpener.
How good was it?
The pitch man took what he claimed to be a credit card, ran it through the sharpener, and used it to slice up a tomato.
This got me to thinking.
Can mundane items - items that have *not* been specially sharpened or otherwise altered - be used to slice up fruit? IE, "Could that credit card have potentially done the job if it hadn't been run through the sharpener?"
The pitch man made it seem like the unaltered credit card couldn't do the job, but as an MBA with an emphasis in marketing I'm inherently wary of such claims since I know so much about the business.
I can already think of a few prime suspects right now, like paper, dental floss, CDs / DVDs, and the odd metal spatula.
(And before anyone asks, I can't test this one myself. Raw tomatoes are acidic to the point that they aggravate digestive conditions my dad and I both have; meanwhile, mom's so squeamish that she wouldn't eat the slices if she knew what I used to cut them up with.)
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Post by the light works on Dec 6, 2012 16:20:56 GMT
the key to slicing many fruits is to use something serrated. I think I may have seen the same ad. as long as you can develop enough roughness to saw through the skin, the slicing is easy.
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Post by silverdragon on Dec 7, 2012 8:35:01 GMT
In the world of Kitchens, there is a new *craze* for GLASS Knives......
(I have one... a present from someone...)
Plastic knife?... I see no reason why not.
Can you "sharpen" a credit card?...
Yes.
Will it cut fruit?...
Yes.
Will the blade last as long as a more conventional knife?...
No.
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Post by ironhold on Dec 7, 2012 19:07:14 GMT
My question is - did the guy even *need* to sharpen that credit card?
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Post by the light works on Dec 7, 2012 19:43:04 GMT
should be easy to test for someone who doesn't consider tomatoes to be toxic. that leaves you and me out.
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Post by Antigone68104 on Dec 14, 2012 19:52:01 GMT
I don't like raw tomatoes, but having worked in food service during my college days I've sliced/diced up my share.
I would think an unsharpened credit card would not give a clean cut on a tomato, simply because the edge is thick (in comparison with even a cheap plastic knife) and squared off. I always got a better result prepping for Taco Night with a sharper blade.
Now, an older credit card can get a bit worn on the edges. Would that produce enough of a tapered shape to use the card as a fruit/vegetable knife? I don't know.
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Post by the light works on Dec 15, 2012 2:22:33 GMT
keep in mind they ran it through a sharpener which would have shaped it.
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Post by Domovoi on Dec 15, 2012 5:46:26 GMT
Real quick. Just because you can't eat them doesn't mean you can't still test this yourself. I get that you're trying not to waste anything but still. You can pick up a tomato for thirty eight cents here. But anyway. Yes you can get a clean cut with just a credit card, you just have to be careful about it. You can also get a clean cut with a spoon handle.
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Post by kharnynb on Dec 18, 2012 8:51:32 GMT
The glass and ceramic knifes are just the latest craze in amateur kitchen land...
I've yet to see any of them in a pro kitchen, they'd break within the first service.
A good carbon steel chef's knife is really not that expensive, or hard to maintain that you should need some weird fancy one use item (forscher/victorinox makes the fibrox line that is both cheap as heck and pretty close to the real pro 100+ euro knifes.)
As to all those knife sharpener gatgets...they won't be any better, and generally are worse than a good diamond steel used every day combined with a basic sharpening stone once a month or so.
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Post by silverdragon on Dec 18, 2012 9:56:54 GMT
I have seen Glass and Ceramic knives in "Pro" kitchens, guarded by the owner with their lives....
They apparently are favoured by Sushi (raw fish) chefs?...
Your Knives are something you take with you.
I have my set, if I was to ever go back to working as a chef, it is expected that I would have my own set.....
In fact, part of the interview I had for my last (1980's that is) Chef job was what kind of Knives I preferred....
When it got to the fact my set was a custom collection of may different ones I hand picked to be part of the set, I got the job.... even though I knew them to be ready for work, fist job I did was a "Show" of sharpening them for use....
In my personal experience, as a junior chef, you wash your OWN knives, by hand, no machine, take personal responsibility for them, and at the end of the day, put them all back in your roll....
NO ONE is stupid enough to touch anyone else's knives without express permission to do so.
Head Chef hand picks the one or two persons he will allow to wash his knives for him....
And if you get to that stage, he Likes you, its an honour.....and promotion wont be that far away.
Its all "Traditional", and we all thrive on that?...
The Ceramic ones, I dont hold with, yet.... I think their time will come eventually, but mine?...
Important for me...
1) Minimum standard is they have "Sheffield steel" imprinted on them.... and are "Stainless" steel.... otherwise I must know already that they are better than that.
2) The are comfortable to hold.
3) they balance well.
4) they have some weight.
5) They MUST be flexible to a point.
After that, I can get a good edge on a slice of carrot of I need to, so sharpness is my own work, and I already know that Sheffield Stainless Steel will always hold that edge for long enough...
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Post by kharnynb on Dec 18, 2012 10:13:12 GMT
Yep, you tend to collect knives over years to fit what you need.
I've got my deboning knife and offset serrated knife from global, since they make good, reasonable ones.
My chef knife is the victorinox one, my old global was technically better, but the grip on the fibrox is just so much nicer.
Other than that, you really don't need much, and the problem with all the ceramics i've seen is that they will chip if you look at them wrong.
And you NEVER machinewash knives ofcourse ;D
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Post by silverdragon on Dec 18, 2012 10:26:28 GMT
The Ceramic knives, from what I hear, are well liked because of the ability to put them in a Fridge and cool them, thus when slicing cold objects, they STAY cool?.....
I know Metal knives transfer the heat of your hand rather quickly, and temp controlled stuff, you would have to keep dipping them in Cold water....
Say cutting soft Ice-Cream..... or again, Sushi....
At the other end, they also hold Heat... so icing a cake with Chocolate for instance, a Hot Knife would help?... (Ok, WARM knife...)
They KEEP the heat better than Metal.
Obviously, you only use them for soft items, and wouldnt even think of de-boning a rack of ribs with them?....
I DO machine wash my Sheffield Steel knives.. occasionally...I have a rack that puts the edge away from the water jet, and that part of the rack is a Low pressure anyway... you need the right machine....
However, if they are coated with sticky stiff, I do hand-scrub them.... and as I re-use the same knives over and over again in one meal prep, had wash is a majority by around 10-1......
Machine wash is usually at the end of the cook, and I am too knackered (and hungry) to wash ALL of them again...... but I wouldnt do that in a commercial kitchen....
The last Commercial Dishwasher I used was more powerful on its highest setting than my own garden jet-wash?...
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Post by the light works on Dec 18, 2012 14:52:07 GMT
My wife used a few ceramic clipper blades in grooming - it was the same issue, heating and hardness of the cutting edge - with the attendant risk of chipping.
you don't use ceramic for a blade that has to be flexible, you use it for one that has to be PERFECTLY sharp and stay that way for a long while.
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Post by silverdragon on Dec 20, 2012 9:40:11 GMT
[/i][/size][/quote] I just realise... I have a real life "Myth" in my own washing machine?.... Ok, anyone know...?...  Will a jet of water "Blunt" a blade?.... Will dish-washing knives "Ruin" them.... For consideration, knives rattling against each other, CONFIRMED they will damage the blade, I am looking at a knife in a knife rack designed to hold a knife away from harm in a dishwasher.... Is tradition that you hand-wash knives the only[/b] thing that stops us dish-washing knives or is there something about dishwashers.......... Suggestions, Measure the sharpness... I dunno how on this one, may different ideas but what will work?... I use the ball of my thumb in a practised stroke to "Feel" the edge?.... Then subject the blade to an jet of water... perhaps only aim at half the blade to make comparison easier..... do this for an extended time to replicate several washes... Re=Examine the blade for sharpness and damage..... What do you think?... am I just crazy, or is this a valid myth and would I be on the right tracks for testing this?.... I think I may have hijacked this thread with this, but can it be put down as a side-myth for the main question?.... |
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Post by silverdragon on Dec 20, 2012 9:45:59 GMT
SEPARATE question.....
Just HOW do you measure sharpness anyway?....
I use as stated the ball of my Thumb, its a good one.....(Rule of Thumb anyone?..)
But what does everyone else use?... and would that "Pass Muster" when measuring sharpness?....
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Post by freegan on Dec 20, 2012 10:04:25 GMT
The dishwasher problem might be exacerbated by the caustic chemicals, normally used in the powders and tablets, having a greater effect on fine edges. Sharpness testing is a searchable subject and your thumb test is validated here but if you need an instrument for quantifiable results, one can be found here. |
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Post by the light works on Dec 20, 2012 14:23:17 GMT
I would think microphotography would be the best ultimate tool - but I can see both a pressure cut test and a slice test being utilized. my standard spot check is to slide the knife laterally on my thumbnail. if it slips it's dull, if it resists, it is sharp. (details: knife perpendicular to the thumbnail, no downward pressure other than the weight of the knife)
for the record, I wash my long knives blade up in the top rack, and short knives point down in the silverware basket. they're certainly not chef quality or sharpness, but they still slice things.
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Post by kharnynb on Dec 25, 2012 14:22:13 GMT
Sharpness is generally the slice a ripe tomato test :-D
Machine washing if you have a special rack is only really a problem of having a wet, corroding edge for longer
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Post by silverdragon on Dec 26, 2012 8:14:56 GMT
Question, from above post.....Wet corroding edge.... Can I ask, Sheffield (it has to be) stainless steel.... isnt that idea of stainless that it doesnt stain and doesnt corrode?.... Seriously with a touch of humour question, does Stainless corrode?... and under what conditions, and are you really liable to find those in a Kitchen?... Heck my knives have been in places chefs dont want the customer to know about....  But they have never started to corrode?... |
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Post by the light works on Dec 26, 2012 16:23:33 GMT
Question, from above post.....Wet corroding edge.... Can I ask, Sheffield (it has to be) stainless steel.... isnt that idea of stainless that it doesnt stain and doesnt corrode?.... Seriously with a touch of humour question, does Stainless corrode?... and under what conditions, and are you really liable to find those in a Kitchen?... Heck my knives have been in places chefs dont want the customer to know about.... But they have never started to corrode?... Take it from me, yes. stainless steel can rust. it just rusts LAST. (except gold) |
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