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!
My favorite tool right now in my paring knife (my first real knife) which is bright turquoise. I love it!
My OXO vegetable peeler. Everytime we go somewhere and I cook in someone else’s kitchen I realize how much I love it.
My favorite kitchen tool is my santoku knife. It cuts through anything.
My fave tool would have to be my olive wood cutting board. I get a hard time from all my family that I have NEVER owned ANY decent kitchen knives so winning this would be amazing!
I would have to say my favorite tool is my slant edge, wooden “spatula” or saute tool – I use it for almost everything I cook. Thank you for this great opportunity! These knives look wondeful!
My favorite is my okay-ish 8″ chef’s knife – I use it allll the time. Close runners-up have to be my microplane, anodized saucepan, and Cuisinart food processor.
What a cool trip!
So I figured this should be the tool that I use the most and lately that is m mandolin. I’ve been loving how fast it works to cut up veggies.
Until I lived on my own and bought new knives, I had no idea how easy cutting food was supposed to be 🙂
I have an awesome knife that I got from NYC by mail order a few years ago and it is a good one too!! It was a very inexpensive knife, but definitely one of the best I have had. It was a recommendation from a blogger…i love the way you guys can teach us things we wouldn’t otherwise know. I have a deep desire to have another good knife and can only hope that I might be the random winner!!
My son has nice knives, I only have cheap ones…would love a good knife!
Oh wonderful, thank you for this offering!!!
My favorite kitchen gadget is my lemon squeezer…use it daily 🙂
The one gadget I use every day is my ceramic drip coffee maker. Bought second hand and I love it!
I just bought my first really good chef’s knife, and I’ve been cooking so much more. It’s such a pleasure to use. The honing steel really helps as well
My most useful tool would have to be my trusty 8″ chefs knife, but sadly it’s seen better days and needs a sharpening. A friend sharpened it up a bit the other day using the raw surface at the bottom of a ceramic mug! Fun trick! But I still wish I could take it to a place like Korin for a proper sharpening.
My favorite tool is probably my electric kettle. I use it constantly, and honestly don’t know what I would do without it now that I am so accustomed to using it in my kitchen!
So many to choose from… I think the thin microplane/rasp. Very useful, very versatile.
My husband got me a knife a bit larger than that from Blind Horse Knives for Christmas and it’s turned into the go-to knife… I’d love to have a good quality paring knife to go with it! Thanks for the opportunity!
Mt two fav things in the kitchen are my granite mortal and pestal that i found at an asian store for cheap and my potato peeler that has lasted me 9 years with no sharping
My favorite kitchen tool is my 8″ chef’s knife. It was my grandmother’s, and one of her only stainless knives. I can keep it sharp enough to shave with, while sharpening it maybe 2 times a month and taking it to the stone maybe twice a year. I think I have 30 other knives around my kitchen, but that’s my go-to.
I use my silicon spatulas and spoons almost every day. Thanks for the giveaway!
My old fashioned egg beater 🙂 I rarely use it, but it’s much more fun, for me at least, to pull out than anything I plug in the wall. Certainly doesn’t stand up to a kitchen aid, but it meets my need for eclecticism.
I’ve a set of Henkel knives, so my chef’s knife would be my favourite…..and my most used implement, I think.
Thanks for opening this up to Canadians!
I love, love, love my global knife, but I couldn’t live without my rubber spatulas. in a fight to the death, I think the knife would win, but not without some…, well, unscathed probably.
I love my KitchenAid sooo much. Although it’s not the most used thing in my kitchen (My Chef’s knife takes that prize), my KitchenAid is by far my favorite!
Right now, my favorite kitchen tool would have to be a little red knife that I was given as a gift. I have no idea who made it, but it slices through anything and I love it!
My kitchen is missing something, a good knife set. I guess that is why I have to use my processor so often.
I love my high-heat spatulas. I use them for everything.
My favorite tool is my cast iron skillets.
I love my food mill because it’s made canning tomatoes SO much easier. It’s great for making applesauce, too.
My favorite tool is my KitchenAid mixer. We’ve gotten to know each other pretty well the past few years!
My favourite kitchen tool is likely my immersion blender–it sees a lot of action.
My favorite kitchen tool is my mothers Wustof Chef knife. It was one of the few items I was able to bring home after cleaning out her house after she passed away. My mother always kept her knives in great condition: extra sharp and covered with a knife protector. I hide it in the cabinet where I keep my baking pans so my husband won’t use it.
ok….I’m sensing a theme here! LOL Anyhoo, my chef knives (one from my great grandpa and one that was given to me from a restaurant that they had removed the edge from and were going to throw out!)
I could probably do without everything except my knives. I’d love to see that place!!
My favorite kitchen tool is hands down my Vitamix. It makes processing tomatoes (by the five gallon bucket per day in late summer) a breeze. I wash them, core them, and run them in batches through the Vitamix with peppers, onions, and herbs. Then cook them down and can them. No peeling, no seeding, just nice smooth sauce, the way we love it.
If I ever make it to NYC I want to go to this place!
My favorite kitchen gadget is my le creuset saucier. I love that pan.
We love SHARP knives at our house too. my favorite tool is the Kitchen aid mixer. great article
My favorite kitchen tool is my mandolin. Hubby bought me a very nice new one for Christmas, but I still have my old one in the garage as a backup…lol. Thank you for a marvelous giveaway!
I’d have to say that my favorite kitchen tool is my Chef’s knife with my stand mixer being a close second. Love being able to quickly cut up ingredients to go in the mixer or other tools and be used for fresh bread, soups and quiches.
I’m going to have to say my pressure canner is my favorite of everything in the kitchen. It gets used year round. Not only in harvest season. I do jars of turkey, venison, and beans in the off season. But of course, I love any great paring knife, yet I’ve used the same one for 18 years or so!
I like my knives and my gadgets…but honestly I think my favorite is my 99 cent cake tester 🙂
A good sharp knife and my hand made wooden spoons (made by my brother). I would really enjoy a good paring knife, as there is not a worthy one in my current arsenal.
Of the several tools that I love first would be the 8qt stock pot, then my 6 inch chef knife (because I just didn’t know any better before reading your entry today) then my kitchen aid mixer. With those 3 tools I can do anything.
My favorite kitchen tool would have to be my food mill. How would I ever make cranberry jelly and seedless berry jams without it? Oh, yes, and that really hard, plastic spatula that gets every bit of everything out of the bowl. Can I pick 3? Love my cherry pitter, too. Stop me, I love everything in my kitchen; they are all like my children.
A good knife is indispensable , but my personal favorite is the slow cooker. Nothing like coming home to a hot meal that’s already been prepared for you!
The store looks amazing! My favorite tool is my microplane!
Currently, my fave kitchen tool might be the salad spinner. But a good knife could easily top that.
My favorite kitchen gadget is my apple peeler. It peels, slices, and cores so quickly. My son just received a beautiful chef’s knife for his birthday, I know that is his favorite. This store looks amazing, we would probably go crazy.
I am horrible with knives so my favorite gadget is the chopper/dicer. LOL!!
My most valuable kitchen tool is my knife sharpener. It can’t compete with the folks at Korin but it’s sure made a huge difference for me.
My favorite tool is a Global chef’s knife that I received as a wedding gift. It love it because it it light, well balanced, and sharp and using any high quality tool is a delight.