Thread: Zhen Knives and knife block

For those of you who don't want to be troubled reading the review, the lighter timber is Corymbia maculata or spotted gum to you and me with matching material in the block and the red wood is Casuarina something or other: Whatever Bull Oak is. However I am not a hundred percent certain on the species.

Regards
Paul

As a chef, note the hours of my posts, knife blocks do more damage than good. It doesn't matter how well you try and remove one you inevitably catch the blade on the wood. A much better option is to use a wall mounted magnetic strip. You could spruce it up buy using a wooden edge. Hardwood cutting boards are not all that great on the knife edges either.

They look like a nice set of knives why hide that beautiful damascus folded steel.

Try cutting a few veggies on a wooden board and then another set on a plastic board, you will notice there is no click as your blade slides sideways across the wood dulling it.

A dull blade is alot more dangerous than a sharp one.

I use a set of damascus daily and they are a beautiful knife. The 10" shun is pretty special.

I used to know a woman who had a knife block like yours (vertical slots).
If her kids put them in blade down instead of up, she beat them...

I use a block (and I have 2 on the bench) they both have horizontal slots.

But then we know how to sharpen then properly so its no real issue.

But if you make for a gift go with horizontal slots...

I more than happy to be wrong...

Pitchard, I certainly agree with you on the magnetic strips, which also get rid of space wasters on the counter; but I disagree completely on the plastic cutting board, mainly because I'd like to not die of salmonella or other nasty bacteria. Fact is that the wood end grain, as in butcher block arrangements, naturally kills these bacteria, and only need small help now and then. Plastic, OTOH, absorbs those bacteria and save them for you on a later date. I understand it may be different in a professional kitchen where all things are sanitized several times a day.

Originally Posted by Pilchard

A much better option is to use a wall mounted magnetic strip. You could spruce it up buy using a wooden edge. Hardwood cutting boards are not all that great on the knife edges either.

I use a magnetic strip myself, but have made knife blocks for other people. Better they use that than throwing a good knife into a drawer.

I prefer endgrain wooden cutting boards; and kinder on the edge.

Originally Posted by Pilchard

As a chef, note the hours of my posts, knife blocks do more damage than good. It doesn't matter how well you try and remove one you inevitably catch the blade on the wood. A much better option is to use a wall mounted magnetic strip. You could spruce it up buy using a wooden edge. Hardwood cutting boards are not all that great on the knife edges either.

They look like a nice set of knives why hide that beautiful damascus folded steel.

Try cutting a few veggies on a wooden board and then another set on a plastic board, you will notice there is no click as your blade slides sideways across the wood dulling it.

A dull blade is alot more dangerous than a sharp one.

I use a set of damascus daily and they are a beautiful knife. The 10" shun is pretty special.

Pilchard

I understand the timing of your post. When I am on shift that is slap in the middle. Six hours down: Six to go!

I understand where you are coming from, but I will explain my thinking. Firstly the block was designed to be a piece of furniture as well as a means of keeping the knives out of the cutlery drawer. As such it is a compromise. If I was being pedantic I would say that the magnetic strip "tends" to cause the minute filings to adhere to the knife. Also remember that most stainless steels are not magnetic. Knives normally are, but it is a reduced level of magnetism and I did find that it wasn't too hard to accidentally knock them off the strip. (Even in a set of cutlery the knives will be magnetic but the forks not so.)

We used to have one of those magnetic strips. It was a smart one set on a wooden board (Actually I will have to look into where that has gone), but we don't use it any more. I also tired of SWMBO complaining that the magnetic strip was a dust collector and difficult to clean without taking everything off, but she is hard to please .

As a concession to dulling the blade edge the block requires the knives to be inserted with the thick edge down and it is set at an angle to partly comply with fly's requirements, although I didn't realise it at the design stage . This doesn't eliminate contact of the cutting edge with the timber, but minimises it.

In our situation the knives are touched up about every other useage on a butcher's steel. That in itself will have the purists chomping at the bit , but there is no way SWMBO is going to have a water stone hanging around in the kitchen. Luckily she comes from a butchering family and is no stranger to sharpening techniques. I think that may be why her tongue is so sharp .

On the subject of cutting boards I am fully in agreement with Pam and NeilS. You may remember that a while back timber blocks were banned in the catering and food industries. You had a variety of different coloured plastic boards to suit different foods: Meat, vegs, fish etc..

Then they did more tests and found that timber had natural anti-bacteria properties. Superior to plastic/nylon. So it was come back; all is forgiven. Some timbers are naturally abrasive and others not so. The end grain was used for the butchers blocks. One of the preferred timers was Rough barked apple (Angophora floribunda) as it did not blunt the knives. Umm.. I have access to that. I might have to consider a small freestanding one. Hopefully SWMBO will say the kitchen is too small to justify it .

As a knife is only truly sharp as it comes off the sharpening device it is all downhill from there. hence the constant need to retouch the edge.

Regards
Paul