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 Santoku!
My favorite kitchen tool is probably my Wusthof chef’s knife. I feel helpless without good knives in the kitchen!
My favorite kitchen tool is my locking tongs.
My favorite kitchen tool, though not one that gets used terribly often, is definitely my big rolling pin. It’s comfortable to grip, nice and hefty (perfect in case of zombie apocalypse), and dishwasher safe. AND the plastic chills well in the fridge or freezer, which is nice when you’re rolling out biscuits and or pie dough. AAAAND it came with has 3 pairs of slide-on rings in different thicknesses so you can control how thin you roll the dough out. Pretty rad little toy. 🙂
My favorite is probably my Bosch mixer.
My microplane zester – I use it for citrus zest, cheese, grating nutmeg….all those weird tasks that are hard to do otherwise or don’t seem worth getting out a grater for.
I also use spatulas (the stirring kind with a rubbery tip, not the flat pancake-flipping kind) all the time.
Makes me wish I lived back in NYC! My favorite knife was a French tomato slicer that someone helped themselves to. My now favorite knife is my Cutco carving knife that I’ve owned for over 20 years (and still keep it in its original cardboard sleeve). I would love to get a paring type knife that works!
Every kitchen should have a wok and at least one or two japanese knives! I would love to add one to my kitchen 🙂 These are a work of art!!
Favorite? That’s a hard decision… The item I use most is a little serated blade paring knife, but the thing I wished I owned (I’m living with my parents at the moment) is my mum’s old pyrex mixing bowls. I’ve always loved them…
my favorite kitchen tool is definitely my cast iron pan
Recently moved and was forced to rearrange all my kitchen tools. Amazed how often I use a micro planer. Of course, a sharp kitchen knife is always a plus.
I would have to say that my favorite kitchen tool is my kitchen scale (as opposed to the bathroom scale, which is not my favorite). I love it and use it nearly every day. My husband’s would be his Santuko knife, so I know he’d be very very excited about this. Thanks!
Oh…just one? I’d have to pick my chef’s knife. I could do without all the fun extras, but a good knife is an absolute neccessity.
I love my immersion blender. What a useful tool!
We got a new set of pots and pans for our wedding and now I don’t know how I got by with my old cheap stuff!!
Either my mom’s kitchen aid mixer (sadly I’ve moved away and no longer have access) or my little paring knife. I do everything with that it seems.
I can’t live without my benriner. It makes such quick and lovely work of a mountain of vegetables. so precise.
Favorite kitchen tool has to be my stone mortar and pestle. Toasted and then ground spices some how seem…better….when I hand grind them
My grandfather was a hotel chef in Seattle in the teens and 20’s last century. My grandma, who is 93, recently gave me his hotel recipe book (manually typed with many notes) and his tools. I received a 12 inch carver, an 8 inch chef’s knife and a large grill spatula. They are all carbon steel and have full tangs and my grandpa’s initials were hand carved into the wooden handles. I never knew how a good knife felt in my hand until these. The chef’s knife is my current favorite. I use it daily.
I go-to knife is a little serrated one that is great for cutting just about any smaller item. My other favorite tools would have to my bamboo utensils.
I would have to say my 4″ paring knife… love that one.
I was a bit intimidated by the Kitchen Aid food processor I got for Christmas this year. It has a whole separate kit to hold the many different accessories and pieces and parts. Once I dug in and figured it all out, though, I have come to wonder how I ever survived without it!
As much as I love all the gidgets (fillet knife), gadgets (3 stage electric knife sharpener), pots (stainless steel 10qt stockpot), and pans (15″ cast iron) in my kitchen picking one thing is hard. But my vote goes to my step stools for best kitchen tool. Without my step stools our two girls wouldn’t be able to participate in the kitchen safely. We actually had to buy different color step stools to prevent turf wars over kitchen jobs between our girls. Yup, step stools!
Hard choice, but I’d have to say my favorite kitchen tool is my KitchenAid mixer. I love it for breads and kneading!
hmmm, hard to choose – my cast iron skillet and my santoku chef’s knife are both total workhorses, but nothing compares to the wooden spoon that was once my grandmothers. Nothing feels as good in my hand and when making one of her famous Greek recipes, it’s nice to know that that spoon has been stirring the same pot of food for the last 30 years.
hmm, i’d have to say my current favorite is my microplane grater… but i’m willing to switch allegiances for that gorgeous petty knife!
My favorite kitchen tool is my paring knife- so handy, so lovely, so useful.
i think my favorite thing in the kitchen that helps our busy family life run a little more smoothly is my kitchenaid mixer. but also id have to say that i rely on my crock pot quite often as well. thank you very much for this opportunity. 🙂
Oooh pretty! Its like a jewelry store for knives? 😉 I’d love to win!
Favorite kitchen tool? My electric kettle. As a tea drinker, it’s the best for heating water in a hurry and works for all types of liquids. Thanks for the contest.
I would have to say my laptop. I bookmark recipes then follow along by checking the directions on my laptop.
My favourite kitchen tool is a spatula. So versatile!
Hands down my mom’s old dutch oven. It’s older than I am and the seasoning is the most perfect nonstick surface I have ever used. I love breaking it out when the weather turns cold for hearty stews and camping trips!
I like knives too. I was taught to use a Chinese butcher knife, but I tend to use a santuko these days. Never enough good knives.
My favorite kitchen tool is my Zojirishi rice cooker. Not only does it cook rice perfectly, but it plays a happy little song at the end of the cooking cycle. I like to think that my rice cooker is very pleased about a job well done. 🙂
I went to this store when I was a culinary student at the CIA. Amazing!
My favorite tool in the kitchen is my microplane!
I couldn’t live without my garlic press – we love garlic! But, my husband would say, hands down – good knives! In fact our first ever fight was about my mis-use of a good knife on some baking chocolate. Don’t worry – I’ve learned, haven’t dulled anymore knives chopping up chocolate, and have come around to see that value of a lovely kitchen knife.
My favorite knife? I am learning to use properly and love my chef’s knife. For baking, definitely my KitchenAid stand mixer – lets me make bread weekly without insanity. For putting dinner on the table, its currently a toss up between my shiny, pretty, new tagine and my enormous wok of happiness.
I love my crockpot. A lot.
My favorite, although not the most practical or used, is my apple machine. It peels, cores, and slices apples. I just love the feeling of accomplishment when the apple comes out perfectly sliced and cleaned.
My favorite kitchen tool is my “granny fork”, a long steel three-tined fork with a bone handle that my mother gave me from her grandmother’s kitchen stuff. With really sharp tines, the “granny fork” is the perfect bacon flipper and one of my greatest all-around kitchen tools. 🙂
My favorite is my handy steak knife I use to cut everything.
My favorite tool is my pressure cooker!
Does a dutch oven count as a kitchen tool? Because I love mine.
It’s funny that you mention slicing an apple with the petty knife because it brings back a childhood memory. My dad made friends with a coworker who was originally from Japan and his wife wanted to learn how to make an apple pie. My mom went to their house to teach her, and was very surprised when the lady brought out a giant knife to peel the apples. But she did it with ease! Maybe it was one of those petty knives?
Oh, and my favorite kitchen tool (besides a sharp knife) is my immersion blender.
I feel like this is a little akin to choosing the favorite of your children – but I guess if I have to choose one thing I’ll say it’s my Kitchenaid stand mixer.
My favorite kitchen tool is my big red le creuset sauce pot. I use it almost daily.
It would have to be the one knife I own that fits my small hands.
Beautiful knife!
Without a doubt my chef’s knife is my favorite kitchen tool. Always looking for a good knife.
My favorite kitchen tool is my Wusthof 10″ chefs knife. Luckily, other family members think it’s too long, so it doesn’t see some of the use/abuse of other knives. It will be with me for many years to come and through many meals to cook.