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 KitchenAid stand mixer. It takes up too much room, so I don’t have it in my current apartment, but I miss using it all the time!
My favorite kitchen tool is my grandmothers marble rolling pin. It’s what makes the pie crust perfect.
My favorite kitchen tools are knives! I don’t have very good ones, though, so I have my fingers crossed about this giveaway!
So many… but I must say, my 8″ chef knife, my largest mixing bowl and my kitchen tongs are up there with the most used tools in the house.
Wow — that’s quite the store! Thanks for sharing!
I know common sense should tell me my favourite tool is my knife (it’s an un-fancy santoku) but… in my heart of hearts, I think my real favourite is my mortar (with wooden pestle). It’s handmade earthenware with a spout, and is just the right size for two people worth of pesto, or for crushing spices for chai, or for whipping salad dressing into smashed garlic, or…
My bamboo cutting board, before I had it I used a small old plastic cutting board. Now I have a very pretty board that is big enough to handle lots of chopping.
I’m not sure if it’s MY favorite tool per se, but my partners favorite tool for me to use is my mesh screen when something is bubbling away on the stove.
Second to my chef’s knife, my fave kitchen tool is my immersion blender. Makes for easy blending/pureeing/etc. without the clean-up of a blender. It also makes the best creamy crockpot refritos I’ve ever had.
Well, it’s not a knife, but it does have some sharp bits: my favorite kitchen tool is my immersion blender, mostly because it has saved my ass on more than a few occasions (misbehaving jams, sauces, and soups that need a little more body).
For every day use, my Victorinox Fibrox knife. It was cheap, but it does the job and I like the slightly grippy handle for when my hands are larded-up.
What I need is an appropriate place in our newly remodeled kitchen to store knives. Right now I use the little clamshell plastic knife blade protectors so they don’t ding their blades in a drawer.
I can’t narrow it down to one so my new favorite kitchen tool will have to be my Galaxy Tablet that lets me look at recipes from blogs and recipe sites while cooking without having to print them out.
My vitamix!
Hope I win. (-:
My Mac paring knife – I think it’s 3 1/2 inches long and as stupid as this sounds my silicone spatula/spoon. Both of those are used multiple times a day.
Tough one, it would be between my mandolin and iron skillet. Love your blog, thanks for entering me into your contest!
Favorite kitchen tool…hmm Pampered Chef Garlic Press.
I love my rice cooker. Perfect rice every time without having to adjust for the various stoves I’ve cooked on through the years. Recevied it as a wedding present more than 11 years ago and it’s still going strong.
I tend to be the dishwasher, so my favorite tool is the humble kitchen sponge! 🙂 But when I’m cooking, my go to piece is my cast iron enamel pot. Diverse, trusty, consistent heating, and easy to clean! (Fantastic blog and contest!!)
My favorite kitchen tools is my Japanese vegetable knife from Sunrise Mart in Manhattan! Or maybe I just have knives on the brain.
I’ve become absolutely enamored with my Microplane grater/zester after having received it for Christmas this year. Needless to say, I’ve been adding a punch of citrus-y flavor and goodness to just about everything 🙂
By far, it would have to be a really good knife. I just recently received one and what a difference it makes. How lucky you were to get to visit the Korin company.
Ohhh favorite kitchen item is my Cuisinart food processor..cuts down prep time drastically 🙂
Rimmed baking sheet/silpat combo. Between granola, roasted veggies, and sweet potato fries, it’s rarely put away. Thanks honey!
Oh so many knives so little time…my favorite knife is and always will be the Chef’s knife, so versatile a must for any kitchen… Would love to get some knives from this shop..there are some real beauties there. Cheers and thanks for the opportunity and for showing us this great vendor 🙂
My Kitchen aid and my zester. Ready for new knives for sure.
It’s so difficult to choose! I love my garlic press, but my Wusthof (sp?) bread knife is darned awesome!
I think it’s a tie between my kitchenaid mixer and my giant le creuset jam pot – it heats so evenly even on my crappy apartment stove.
I think I’d have to say it’s a toss up between my santoku knife and my cast iron skillet. I use them at about every meal- and I even brought them on vacation!
Have to say its the first thing i reach for in the kitchen for most kitchen task, my Misono UX10 knife. My wife got if for me as a gift at Korin and it has been the single best knife I have ever used.
Gosh is it nerdy to say my cutting board? It’s a butcher-block style and it’s huge, I don’t think I could live without it.
Stick blender: oh, how I love thee.
What a great knife.
My 2 favorite kitchen tools are my collection of vintage white painted (on the outside in different colors) Pyrex bowls and my silicone scrapers. I use them all. the. time.
I know. It’s more than one item, and even more than two. But it’s the best I can do. 🙂
My favourite tool is my mandoline – love it but would love this knife!!
Hands down it would be my Anolon chef’s knife. I love a good knife and this one is even better than the other two very spendy ones I’ve had in the past!
My favorite kitchen tool is my Wusthof Santoku knife…I use it for every slicing, dicing, cutting, and chopping job that I do…I LOVE it and would be lost without it…!! Thank you for entering me in your fun contest!!
I think my newest favorite kitchen tool is my canning funnel. Handy for waaaay more than just canning…transfering beans from on jar to another, pouring juice into small containers, etc.
At present my favorite tool in the kitchen is my Zojirushi breadmaker, it’s wonderful to have when your disabilities prevent you from kneading dough and you want great smelling fresh bread or bread dough!
What a wonderful looking knife and it sounds like quality to me…I have horrible knives and could sure use a nice one like this, thanx for the giveaway opp.!
My favorite kitchen tools are my Microplane citrus zester (I don’t know how I lived without it) and my Global paring knife.
Great knife! My favorite tool is a thin bladed 6-inch knife that’s been in my family for about 50 years. Humble but lasting.
My favorite kitchen tools are my cast iron skillets and pots. They cook things amazingly well and they’re so easy to maintain!
I have to agree with other commenters that I can’t live without my knives. If I’m going over to a friend’s to help cook dinner, my knives come with me. I have one at work and sometimes I carry one in my purse (for all those times I need to peel some fruit on the go…)
I have 1 sharp knife that I use for almost everything. It was a gift several years ago, and it’s sooo much better than any of my other knives, that I don’t know what I did before it.
not necessarily my favorite, but the OXO cherry pitter is a work of genius – i never want to make sour cherry preserves without it ever again.
I couldn’t imagine being without my Kitchenaid stand mixer.
My favorite kitchen tool is my chefs knife…it’s the only tool (including a cutting board) that I use every day.
after reading all these comments………….me thinks a kitchen aid mixer is my next big purchase! in my kitchen i love both my silicone spatulas and my flat wide wooden paddle. 🙂
I love my vegetable peeler. It’s a lifelong affair – not the same peeler of course – just the marvel at it’s simple way of simplifying my life. 🙂
I love my Kitchenaid! I love to bake so it gets a lot of use. As far as manual tools, I do like my honing steel as it keeps me from getting frustrated with my knives.
Like so many of you I’d have to say my KitchenAid stand mixer, although the food processor runs a pretty close second.
My shun chef’s knife!
Although I can’t wait to check out Korin to get some others!
I find myself using my fine-mesh sifter at least 5 times a week.