Last Wednesday, I hopped on a double decker Megabus and rode to New York in order to learn about knives. Many months ago, I’d gotten an email inviting me to visit Korin, a specialty shop that sells Japanese knives and tableware and finally the day had arrived for my trip. As a fan of good kitchen knives, I was incredibly excited to learn a little more about the breadth of knives available out there.
Located downtown near City Hall, Korin has been in the business of knives and tableware for 30 years. A family operation, the store was initially open only by appointment to the restaurant trade (they currently work with the likes of Nobu, Grammercy Tavern and Per Se) but in recent years, the shop has been open daily to the public as well.
In addition to selling an incredibly vast array of knives and tableware, they also offer sharpening services using a variety of Japanese water stones. They can sharpen and repair nearly any type or style of knife, save those with a serrated edge.
Having seen what they were able to do with some of my more beat-up knives, I am a true believer as to what a good sharpening can do. There is no one that I know of in Philadelphia producing this level of edge quality. Happily, you can mail your knives to Korin should you not live near enough to drop in for sharpening.
Korin sells Western-style knives, traditional Japanese knives and a Japanese-Western hybrid. The difference between these knives is in the edge. Western edges are sharpened so that they have a symmetrical edge. This offers a blade that is fairly durable and relatively easy to maintain. Japanese knives are traditionally sharpened on just one side of the knife. This makes for an incredibly sharp edge, but not as easy for the home cook to maintain.
Then there’s the hybrid knife. Made of thin, high-grade steel, the edge is sharpened to an asymmetrical edge that leads to a sharper, more durable blade. The only issue with selecting a knife with an asymmetrical edge is if you have multiple cooks in your household who have different dominant hands. These knives are sharpened differently for righties and lefties. Just something to keep in mind.
One of the things that my hosts stressed when showing me through the knives was the fact that in Japanese culinary culture, there are different knives for different tasks. The giant knife with the extended blade in this picture? It is designed for cutting soba noodles. Thicker blades are designated for butchering, while thinner ones are for making more precision cut. Blade shapes also vary depending on region and maker.
One blade that I fell particularly in love with while visiting Korin was the Petty knife. It’s seen as an analog to the paring knife, as it’s both light and highly maneuverable. However, as you can see (it’s pictured below), it’s got a longer blade that you typically find on a Western paring knife. Since introducing it to my kitchen a week ago, it’s rapidly become my favorite knife for quick tasks like slicing up an apple.
If you’re a knife nerd like me, make sure to visit Korin the next time you’re in New York!
As much as I love my KitchenAid mixer, I’d have to say may absolute favorite is my immersion blender. It’s lightweight, easily-cleaned, and can make soups, sauces, etc in seconds flat.
Tough call, but I think my big enameled cast iron pan is at the top of the list right now. It gets a lot of use in the winter!
What a lovely knife! My favorite kitchen tool… though it’s hard to choose one, would be my Kitchen Aid stand mixer.
Just like everyone else here, I love my kitchenaid mixer. Best Xmas gift ever! What a sexy knife! Very excited for the giveaway!
I looove my pampered chef garlic press.
My Vitamix! I was in love as soon as I saw that not only could it whip up smoothies, and super creamy sauces, but that you can make hot soup or beverages in it as well!
A cross between my Kitchen aid and my new, very, very quiet dishwasher! I would start the older one as I was leaving, to avoid the feeling I was on the ramp of an airport runway. Amazing that it didn’t flood. This knife looks to be the perfect size. Thanks for opening to Canadians.
Wow, sounds like a facinating day. My father used to sharpen everyones knives. He loved doing it. It’s just one of the things I miss about him. Who couldn’t use a sharp knife? I hide my favorite knife so my husband or children don’t use it for say prying open a lid, or packages.
This would certianly be a treat. Thank you and Korin for this chance.
Great giveaway! My favorite tool? My little handy dandy serrated peeling knife.
I would have to say that my favorite tool is my Ken Onion Shun Knife…
It would be a tie between my Kitchen Aid mixer and my Blendtec blender. Have used both for years.
My favorite kitchen tool is absolutely my cast iron pans. I use them for everything, even to bake some kinds of cookies in.
My kitchenaid 5 qt mixer!!!
This place looks so interesting! I’m definitely going to have to spend some time checking out their site. I’ve long been in the market to upgrade my kitchen knives. But I would have to say that my favorite kitchen tool is probably my mini scraper. Thank goodness I have a drawer full of them because it seems any time I’m working in the kitchen I go through them like crazy!
My favorite kitchen tool is my Shun knife. I think it’s the best, but my sushi chef husband, of course, never thinks it’s sharp enough.
I really enjoy my measuring shot glass. Its got ounces, ml, teaspoon and tablespoon measurements which are useful for me since I often switch between my mother in laws recipes (North American) to my mother and grandmothers recipes (British) and it saves time and frustration wondering how to convert things.
My favorite are my very colorful Pure Komachi knives. They are so fun.
How cool & what a great field trip! 🙂
My favorite kitchen tool is my food processor.. Dont know how I’d live without it and I wouldnt want to. 😉
Probably my Kitchen Mixer is the tool I use more than any other too.
My new Vitamix blender is my favorite right now!
I love my immersion blender!
Hard to pick just one – you know, the one I need right now is my favorite! So I’ll pick my newest, also because I hadn’t known these existed, but the cherry pitter that does 6 cherries at a time and quite easily!
I love my vitamix blender
Hmmm…my dishwasher
I was going to say zester, but after reading the comments it has to be the garlic press for me too. It gets nearly daily use; so much that I forget it’s a gadget and not just one of my fingers!
My favorite is my VitaMix blender. It’s great and so versatile!
I would have to say it’s my chef’s knife. Would love to have a Korin knife though!
I use my cast iron skillets and (new!) stoneware bread pan much more than my favorite kitchen tool, my food processor. No more mincing onion after onion and the quickest, easiest pie crusts ever!
I do hope I get the knife … I cut my apples up with steak knives because the paring knife really just isn’t long enough for me either.
I love the garlic press.
Thanks for the contest!
Great looking tool. One of my favorites (so hard to decide) is probably my silicone heat-resistant spatula. Made life for lazy cooks like me, SO much easier. Always ugly when I’d try to use the old rubber ones on food and melt the suckers.
My favorite kitchen piece is a saute pan (unbranded) I got from a kitchen warehouse – it’s been so worn in that it’s non-stick and it cooks like a dream.
Very informative info on the knife edges! One of my favorite tools is the vegetable peeler from Pampered Chef. I also love the Kuhn Rikon can opener that removes the lid with no sharp edges and has other opener functions (available from QVC) and last but not least I can’t live without my Greenpan cookware (HSN).
My kitchenaid mixer is my favorite thing in my kitchen!
I have a lot of favorites, but if I had to pick just one, I guess my vintage citrus juicer would be it. I’ve never seen a similar design in stores, and honestly didn’t know what it was for the longest – a friend who was clearing out her grandmother’s kitchen gifted me a bunch of items, and I held onto this and what turned out to be a cookie dough slicer despite not knowing what they were – but it’s become an indispensable part of my kitchen since. It quickly juices and keeps the seeds and such inside of it.
Thank you for hosting this giveaway – I can’t live with my handy (2 cup size) food processor
Louis
pumuckler {at} gmail {dot} com
I’d say that my 8″ chef’s knife, 10″ cast iron skillet, and quick wit all contribute equally to my success in the kitchen. 🙂
It may sound a bit silly, but my favorite kitchen tool is my garlic chopper. Saves my fingers from cramping and smelling of garlic!
I love my Bosch mixer. I would love to win this knife, I always think paring knives are way too short for what I need to cut with them.
What a lovely knife!
My favorite kitchen tool is my iron skillet. It’s very old–my uncle bought it [very] used, cleaned it, and started the process of seasoning it for me. It’s fairly well seasoned, now, but the surface keeps getting blacker and shinier over time, which is a good sign. I cook almost everything in it. (Not so much canning stuff, I suppose, but everyday cooking.)
Chef knife, no doubt. Where would I be without it?
Weird (ditto what the first commenter said) — my Global chef knife. But I am VERY willing to bring new knives into the fold.
my benriner mandoline, a million uses and so useful!
Hmm, this might sound like pandering since it’s a knife giveaway, but definitely my knives! I keep my knife block close at hand, as no matter what I’m making– whether it’s a quick snack or a more complex, time-intensive dish– there’s sure to be some chopping, slicing or dicing involved! I have a few paring knives as they are a common go-to, but nothing nearly as nice as this!
My ceramic chef’s knife, I think. Though it’s a close race!
My old diehard Kitchen Aid stand mixer – the kind with the handle that lifts the bowl up into place. After 25 years it may finally need a tune up.
I have decided to start yet another journey of journeys into canning. Just googled canning blogs and here I am! Plus I love that this giveaway is about knives because I need one that can actually cut through a sweet potato with ease to make my sweet potato fries and to cut through other hard root vegetables. So glad I found this site. My favorite kitchen tool right now is the apple corer. I am so into apples right now and this tool helps me get the job done in a jiffy! Thanks for the great info!
Do appliances count? If so, then definitely my KitchenAid mixer. If not, then I’d have to say my vegetable peeler. I had to do without one recently and – trying to pare a carrot with a knife? Much more difficult without the peeler!
My favorite is definitely the ice cream scoop. Its sole purpose is yumminess. But cool knives are cool!
I am rumored to have a kitchen implement obsession, but I think one needs to have a birds beak fruit knife, don’t you? I have a recently acquired a Lamson Sharp with a rosewood handle. It is quite exquisite.
my favorite kitchen tool? hmmmmm, i would have to say my global chef’s knife.
great contest.