Julia Child's advice on kitchen tools

[jd_1138]

She calls her chef's knife "an old one I picked up in France". It looks beefy and looks like it was pounded out by a blacksmith in a small rural French town, but it was probably made in a knife factory probably in the 1940's or 1950's. A great knife is a must.

She's a treasure. It's relaxing to watch her cook.

 

[jumbojak]

As someone who deals with chefs and cooks on a daily basis it amazes me how few actually know how to sharpen a knife. Even in that video Julia seemed to think that running her knife across the steel would sharpen it. It won't do anything more than straighten the burr and extend the useful time between sharpening.

Cooks have a habit of complaining loudly when a less expensive knife can't be steeled indefinitely. They usually claim that they have worn through the hardened portion of the knife (that's an urban legend that needs to die!) and want a new one but, when an expensive knife can no longer be steeled effectively they send them out to be sharpened by a "professional."

Even the cooks who know, in theory, how to sharpen use such cheap and possibly even damaged stones that they can't achieve good results. Just last week I saw a stone that was so worn you could've set a basketball on it and not have to worry about the ball rolling. My suggestion that they flatten it on the concrete sidewalk fell on deaf ears.

 

[K-Dog]

My wife has a few carbon steel kitchen knives. Two of which are custom made to her specifications.
I am responsible for sharpening them. I use a three step wet stone and finish with a leather pad.

 

[bushmechanic]

Here's my main kitchen knife:

https://shun.kaiusaltd.com/knives/knife/classic-hollow-ground-santoku

San-Mai construction, which admittedly isn't overly important in a kitchen, but it's nice to have anyway. It's supporting a wonderfully treated 16 degree secondary bevel in the hardened core.

16 degrees...

That's slight, and it shows in the performance; and inevitable accident. This is one you genuinely don't feel when it bites you.

They're pretty tough, as well. Obviously more easily damaged than a European grind, and I wouldn't try to flex one in a vice without a face shield, but they don't accumulate large chips as you might expect.

They hold that edge well, too.

 

[southalabama]

At the American History museum in Washington DC they had a replica of her kitchen and had all her utensils. She liked knives. Had a magnet strip on the wall and was full of knives.

 

[7th Kahuna]

At the American History museum in Washington DC they had a replica of her kitchen and had all her utensils. She liked knives. Had a magnet strip on the wall and was full of knives.

I seem to remember reading that was her kitchen. They just stripped it from the studs and moved it in (minus the wall board I suppose). Of course, it's 12:30 in the morning and my brain may be on the fritz.

I have enjoyed watching her especially when she appeared with Jacques Pépin. Have never tried French cooking though.

 

[CR888]

As a general rule their are two COO's that produce top knives, Germany & Japan. I worked previously as a chef and own these brands; Henkel, Trident, Fdick, <these are German. I have several Global knives (Japan) & several from Brazil. Cheap knives are easy to sharpen but dull fast, the best high end knives are very hard steel and stay sharp longer. Every knives need an 'edge' put on it by a stone, grinder etc then you maintain the edge with your 'steel' like you see butchers do. You don't use the steel to make the edge but do use it to keep the edge sharp. I'd stone my knives about every month or so using them daily but would use the steel 10-20 times a day.

 

[ovrrdrive]

Cooks have a habit of complaining loudly when a less expensive knife can't be steeled indefinitely. They usually claim that they have worn through the hardened portion of the knife (that's an urban legend that needs to die!) and want a new one but, when an expensive knife can no longer be steeled effectively they send them out to be sharpened by a "professional."

Even the cooks who know, in theory, how to sharpen use such cheap and possibly even damaged stones that they can't achieve good results. Just last week I saw a stone that was so worn you could've set a basketball on it and not have to worry about the ball rolling. My suggestion that they flatten it on the concrete sidewalk fell on deaf ears.

1. Edge quenching is common practice in high end knives. It's actually possible to sharpen past the heat treated edge but you'd have to hate your knife to do it.

2. A better way to flatten your stones involves a piece of glass and some silicon carbide. Edge Pro sells it pretty cheap.

 

[guy48065]

My suggestion that they flatten it on the concrete sidewalk fell on deaf ears.

2. A better way to flatten your stones involves a piece of glass and some silicon carbide. Edge Pro sells it pretty cheap.

Sure--but the sidewalk suggestion works quite well (for coarse stones) and the usual reaction by know-it-alls is priceless

 

[jumbojak]

1. Edge quenching is common practice in high end knives. It's actually possible to sharpen past the heat treated edge but you'd have to hate your knife to do it.

2. A better way to flatten your stones involves a piece of glass and some silicon carbide. Edge Pro sells it pretty cheap.

Sure, there are differentially hardened knives, but they're much more expensive than what you typically find in a commercial kitchen, even the nicer knives you're likely to encounter. Either way, you won't wear through the hardened edge with a knife steel. It would take a lot of sharpening in a stone too.

And green carbide would be great but they often don't have sense enough to realize that a hollowed stone isn't going to work well. Heck, I recently watched a prep cook try to sharpen a knife on a meat slice. WhiLe. It. Was. Running!

He was perfectly willing to damage a very expensive slicer blade do he could chop onions and cucumbers. All because he didn't know how to sharpen.

 

[Gmonkee]

Having kitchen experience seen some odd chef stuff.

Never reach for HIS knife. No matter what a POS or fancy name it is, it is HIS and you will ruin it.

There are ones who only use bamboo/wood tools and the brand name stainless only crowd.

One had me wash his by hand on demand several times a night and only hand them directly to him. The other dishwasher never allowed to touch them. He packed them home at night so the other cooks could not use them.

Quirky folks with culinary skills.

I cooked some too but not enough to warrant a kit of my own. I never ate at home those years and had very little more than my fave cast iron fry pan. Lost that in a divorce, lol.

 

[ovrrdrive]

Heck, I recently watched a prep cook try to sharpen a knife on a meat slice. WhiLe. It. Was. Running!

He was perfectly willing to damage a very expensive slicer blade do he could chop onions and cucumbers. All because he didn't know how to sharpen.

You should have shot video of that... lol

Unbelievable.

 

[ar2stp48]

"....Never reach for HIS knife. No matter what a POS or fancy name it is, it is HIS .....

.... wash his by hand o..... He packed them home at night so the other cooks could not use them.

Quirky folks with culinary skills...."

How true. My older son in law is a chef, and all the above are true. But with the price of quality knives, I can't blame him or other chefs. Shopping for knives can make shopping on the Snap On truck seem a bargain. The learning curve has been interesting. I restocked the kitchen with Wusthof classic. Great knives and I have enjoyed using them

 

[Infinia]

Yeah ive have all the fancy knives. including Wustoff Classic 8" Chef, its pretty nice and feels good.
but when it comes to cutting/carving even butchering with a sharp blade I'm gonna agree with Julia ( RIP) more time than not I 'll reach for the high carbon cheapy.

JC was truly a gem for she speaks the truth. It takes time to cook well and the other guys recipes are often wrong, most all recipes claim it takes 10 minutes to caramelize onions, nope not a chance. You can tell she was classically trained but uses the accessible Americanized version on TV and leaves the French terms off.

 

[earlthegoat2]

IME, chefs can be pretty prima donna. Especially Executive Chefs at fancy resorts/clubs.

 

[itsvegas]

Having kitchen experience seen some odd chef stuff.

Never reach for HIS knife. No matter what a POS or fancy name it is, it is HIS and you will ruin it.

There are ones who only use bamboo/wood tools and the brand name stainless only crowd.

One had me wash his by hand on demand several times a night and only hand them directly to him. The other dishwasher never allowed to touch them. He packed them home at night so the other cooks could not use them.

Quirky folks with culinary skills.

I cooked some too but not enough to warrant a kit of my own. I never ate at home those years and had very little more than my fave cast iron fry pan. Lost that in a divorce, lol.

you dont wanna run a knife thru a dishwasher for multiple reasons. id do the same but id usually just wash em myself unless i was super busy!

 

[jumbojak]

You should have shot video of that... lol

Unbelievable.

If I had my phone with me I would have. The next time I'm back there I'll be ready though.