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!
I love my boning knife.
My favorite kitchen tool is absolutely the 6″ Wusthof Classic Chef’s knife my brother and sister in law sent me for my birthday a few years ago. It gets used nearly daily, and it’s the perfect size and weight for my tiny hands to put to work. Thanks for inspiring me to take it in and get it sharpened – great post!
I love my whisks and spatulas. I prefer spatulas that are more like the “spoonulas” where it has a slightly concave surface. I collect them in all colors and it killed me to throw away a few of them a month ago when I discovered that all of my wooden handled spatulas were molding where the plastic meets the wood…
My favorite kitchen tools are my knives!
Thank you for opening your giveaway to Canadians. I like my knives, but I don’t have really good ones (Henkels). I also use an immersion blender often as I make all our own soups now.
A canning funnel – not just for canning but for filling jars up with all sorts of leftovers and soups, sauces, etc.
My favorite tool (at the moment!) is my food processor!
My fav tool would have to be my chef knife.
Incredible getting an invitation to the store and getting some knives. My favorite utensil is our bamboo wooden spoon.
What a beauty! I enjoy a good rubber spatula, and my eclectic assortment of knives, mostly rescued cast-offs. Thanks for the opportunity, that knife is amazing looking!
I use a hand juicer daily. After I slice a lemon with my chef’s knife (wink) I pick up the juicer and squeeze out every last drop.
My favorite kitchen tool is currently my Kuhn Rikon 4th burner multipot. It makes whipping up a quick batch of pickles a snap, and it can process one jar at a time for those small batch preserving projects. Love it.
Right now my favorite is a wooden cutting board made by my daughter in wood shop. We use it to slice and serve bread.
My current favorite kitchen tool is th’ humble egg yolk separator, as I have been making a LOT of curds lately.
My favorite tool is my juicer. Fresh fruit and veggie juices are what gets this girl up in the cold WI mornings!
My favorite tool in the kitchen… my stoneware! bar pans, muffin tins and the newest addition- a lovely glazed lasagna pan. All brand new when found for a few dollars at goodwill!
My favorite kitchen tool is my chefs knife. I use it everyday.
My chef’s knife. Couldn’t live without it.
What a great field trip! And favorite tool is a hard question… I’ll go with my pastry brushes: I use them almost daily it seems, and like both silicone and natural bristle ones for different things. Thanks for the knife-sharpening info as well, I’ll look into that!
My favorite kitchen tool is my chefs knife – I can do just about everything with it. But it wouldn’t hurt to have a new one!
My favorite tool is the electric tea kettle. I could not believe how fast it is. It even saves me time cooking pasta. I boil it first in the kettle and then pour the already boiling water into my pot, adding the pasta to cook. It is so much faster, and more energy efficiant that way.
I’m currently on a Cream of … (insert whatever veggie I got obscene amounts of in my Gleaners share each week) soup kick so it’s a tossup between my immersion blender to make the soups nice and smooth, and the Foodsaver my friends got me for Christmas so I can vacuum seal up soup in 2 serving batches and freeze. I’ve built up quite the collection of soups over the last few weeks between all the broccoli and carrot juice I’ve been getting. Oh, I can’t forget my go-to pot to cook in – my enameled dutch oven. It sees nearly daily use and I’m starting to wonder how in the world I ever survived without it! I’ll put all three to good use tomorrow for a batch of cream of potato soup.
My favorite kitchen tool is my dishwasher. I’m in the process of replacing the portable one with a built in. Then I get to eliminate the double sink that’s too small to hold a big pot or scrub out a crusty pan with a single.
Of course, I love and use my immersion blender a lot too. ;>
Loved your post–beautiful store, great info. So many different kinds of knives!! (I make do with 2 kinds–oh what the Japanese would think of me 😉
Other than my chef’s knife (it gets used for *everything*!)–has to be all my little (and big) glass bowls. Great for everything mis en place, which really does make my life easier (when i’m not too lazy). And being able to see my bread doughs rise makes me happy 🙂
This week, with the weather being warm and sunny, I’d have to say my smoothy maker is my favorite tool.
latest favorite is a bench knife/bench scrape. can be used to scoop things, smash things, slice (softer) things, and scrape things.
My favorite kitchen tool has got to be my new 6″ diameter Chinese strainer/spider. This has become my “go to” utensil since receiving it as a gift for Christmas. It’s fantastic for blanching vegetables, cooking pasta, and lowering eggs safely into boiling water without risk of cracking or burning.
Holy jeeze. This is the most amazing blog giveaway I’ve ever seen because my favorite tool is my gorgeous santoku accompanied by it’s partner in crime, a 4″ Josh Boos cutting block. Everything else in my kitchen is up for debate as long as I have my knife and my cutting block. I would hug them if they weren’t so sharp/heavy.
one of my favorite kitchen tools santuku knife I use it for everything.
I love my fine grater. I use it for everything–including when i don’t feel like chopping! But I think a good, high-quality knife would probably get the job done better. Thanks for the cool giveaway!
I love my cast iron skillets!
My favorite kitchen tool is my Shun Kaji Fusion Santoku. It’s in my hand many times a day – and good knives are the most important thing in your kitchen.
My favorite kitchen tool is my Shun chef knife. which was a gift. I really understand now how important the knife is.
My Kitchen Aid mixer!!!! I recently upgraded to the professional one and love it!!!!
No Contest…..Spring Loaded Tongs!
Most-used are my ceramic paring knife and my long microplane, I use a lot of zest!
I love my citrus squeezer! I think because it is a cheery yellow color.
My cast iron skillet is my current kitchen obsession. Since deciding to “shape-up” my diet it’s been getting a lot of use. Almost every day there’s sausage or bacon frying, with eggs and spinach not far behind.
My immersion blender. Love that thing!
I am devoted to my Microplane, it’s in use almost daily.
favorite kitchen tool: my immersion blender. love it love it! i use it all the time for soups in the winter, for applesauce, for fruit butters and tomato sauce, smoothies, and milkshakes. best christmas present ever.
🙂
At the moment my favorite kitchen tool is a vintage metal juicer.
I just discovered your blog today and I love it! My favorite kitchen tool is my Myobi chef’s knife. It is lightweight and well-balanced and fits my small hands just right. It also allows me to choke up on the blade for maximum control and practically glides through veggies and meat. Next is my Le Crueset left-handed rubber spatula. It really lets this leftie get in all the nooks and crannies.
My favorite kitchen tool is my knife! It’s all I need!
We eat salad every night so I can’t live without a salad spinner and colendar to rinse the vegies in. A good cutting board and sharp knife definately helps in the salad prep! Really enjoy your blog…thanks for the education…always…
I have a Joyce Chen stainless-steel kitchen a friend gifted me as a house-warming present a few years ago, and it has been the best knife I’ve owned. I use it for everything, and it holds an edge quite well.
My dad brought me a fantastic knife back from Japan. He’d purchased a larger one for himself – and realized when he got home that it wouldn’t work for him as he’s left-handed! Those two knives, sharpened on only one side, are my all-time faves for processing produce. My grandma’s wooden spoon is a close second – lets me stir soups, reminisce about her, and occasionally swipe at a kid snitching from the cookie jar.
Candy-making is a hobby (read: obsession) of mine, so I have to say the candy thermometer is my favorite kitchen tool. I started keeping two on hand in case I break one…. A pot of boiling sugar has so much potential!
I love my knives!
My favorite kitchen tool are plastic spatulas. When I make sauces, I hate leaving food behind on the blender or bowls.