Knife of choice for root vegetables ?

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-toa-
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Knife of choice for root vegetables ?

Post by -toa- »

Hi, I´m looking for a Japanese knife to handle root vegetables (most often medium sized carrots), and would ask your advice on this. I´m interested to hear what style of knife works well, if there is a sweet spot in regards to weigh, knife style etc..

It´s very rarely an issue for me to just push cut though carrots, but ideally I would like to speed chop the normal sized ones (without feeling the knife struggle). I usually use shorter gyutos 180-210mm but would def. consider a longer & heavier knife with added power if it helps with the root veggies.

My initial thoughts would be a heavier nakiri or perhaps 240 gyuto (Kanehiro maybe).
(A cleaver would prob. be best, but i´m waiting with that one for a later time... )

What are your thoughts on this, and do you actually have a go-to knife just for this purpose ?

Thanks! :)
Cigarguy
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Re: Knife of choice for root vegetables ?

Post by Cigarguy »

A knife is a tool. Like most tools, some people are better with it than others. I'm one of those who is not very good with a knife. A tradesman by profession but far from being a chef. For root vegetables I enjoy using a VG10 knife or a German steel knife. Don't have to worry about chipping and they will take some abuse.
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lsboogy
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Re: Knife of choice for root vegetables ?

Post by lsboogy »

I'm settling into a nice relationship with a pretty light Cater Hopkins blade (52100 - 240mm) that seems to push cut carrots with the best of them. Laser gyutos seem to be my choice for hard root veg, I match sticked half a box of carrots yesterday, and made thin diagonals with the other half.

But I do boxes of product at work. If I wanted a knife to chop heavy root stuff at home, I would probably go for a usuba - heavy blades are pleasant at home, but I get worn out doing large amounts of stuff.
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Re: Knife of choice for root vegetables ?

Post by Nmiller21k »

Anryu Blue 2 hammered
210 or 240
Root veggie king.
Cutuu
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Re: Knife of choice for root vegetables ?

Post by Cutuu »

The new fujiyamas are really good on carrots, thats one option.
-toa-
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Re: Knife of choice for root vegetables ?

Post by -toa- »

Thanks for the suggestions everyone:

As many others I started with the german knives, and I still like the solid feel they bring (in many cases they are no-nonsense tools). Jap. blades just seems to fit my pref. better in most cases.

I also find the lasers to be excellent for the harder veggies (i use my shibata bunka), but mainly for push cutting. Its often used for larger root vegetables, cabbage etc. (but not for the really dense stuff like butternut).
There a many good choices for a laser style blade. I´ve not yet tried the CH blades, but read good things

Usuba is an interesting choice - I was under the impression that it´s not suited for chopping (due to fragile edge), but more for precision push cutting (and peeling). Still it´s something to look into at a later time (i´m a leftie so that affects availability-price quite a bit. i guess that´s why i´m exploring the "lower hanging fruit" options first).

The Anryu b2 hammered 210mm is actually already on the knife rack (it´s been recommended here many times for good reasons :). I´m sure the 240 is a step up in terms of chopping power.

The fujiyama fm´s looks like effective knives. I´ve not tried them but did try the fujiyama mm b2 (210) which was great for push-pull cutting, but lacked some power for chopping (I my mind the "thinner" blades like this often gravitates more towards being precision-speed cutters than pure choppers, at least in the 210 length)

Still, I imagine moving to a heavier blade (say from a 5oz 210 to a 240 6.5oz+) would change things a bit. It also seems that many here (see recent poll) uses the 240 gyuto´s so that might actually solve some of the "power" related issues (provided that the grind is effective).

For me I´m hoping to use the shorter blades for precision work, and switch to a heavy hitter for the harder vegetables.

I´m a bit surprised that nakiris havn´t been mentioned yet (matsubara, yuki or the high end ones. I´ve tried the yuki, kanehiro and shig 165 so far).

What about technique: do you chop using the tip or the heel ? For me it´s the tip/front of the blade as much as possible, and then moving to the heel when req. more power (for the harder/wider root veggies)..
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Re: Knife of choice for root vegetables ?

Post by Nmiller21k »

Weight doesn't affect really.
It's about wedging, grinds, convex etc...

Which is where the Anryu excels.
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Re: Knife of choice for root vegetables ?

Post by Cutuu »

If you want power and a grind thst excels at root veg, the 210 toyama nakiri fits the bill. Its phenemonal at root veg and has plenty of chopping power.
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Re: Knife of choice for root vegetables ?

Post by jmcnelly85 »

Where on the knife depends on the knife and the user. If i’m using a laser thin knife like a takamura R2 210 gyuto, I’ll typically work closer to the heel in the “sweet spot” before the profile bends below the tip because the thinner knife has the most muscle around and below my pinch grip. On a thicker, more substantial knife like a Gihei blue 2 240, I’ll work much closer to the tip where the distal taper makes things thinner on my initial cuts because the thicker heel may wedge or crack my batons; however, once things are broken down some that big flat eats everything no problem. Both work exceptionally well drastically differently. On a separate note, I think high refinement seems to help. A well executed 1 micron edge seems to glide more easily through carrots than a coarser edge, leading to quicker, cleaner cuts.
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Re: Knife of choice for root vegetables ?

Post by lsboogy »

One good tip is to pull cut soft veg, and push cut harder veg. It serves me well

A usuba is built to chop veg of all sorts, like a big heavy deba is good when going through big bones, a usuba is great on dense product. If you find a lefty, try it. If you don't like it, I'll buy it - my better half is lefty and she is starting to move into my knife collection. If they were light, I might use one at work, but my usubas are all in the 200+ gram range - a long prep session with a knife of that weight would leave my arm sore.

I would go for a laser, most of the members here use them and they are great all around knives. I cut a ton of carrots yesterday, and am glad I have super thin knives that go where they are pointed and just glide through stuff.
-toa-
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Re: Knife of choice for root vegetables ?

Post by -toa- »

Interesting points. Much appreciated.!

It´amazing how much the grind affects cutting ability.

Yeahr, the Anruy sure does have a lot going for it. First 210 gyuto that i bought actually. I find it excellent as a reference point to other knives, and it´s prob. my best (non-laser) for root vegetables.

I´ve seen pictures of the toyama 210 nakiri - it´s quite a beast (visually much more so than the 180mm version). It´in the heavy hitter category.

Thanks for the tips about cutting technique (and 1micron edge). It makes a lot of sense.

Isboogy: I´ve actually been curious about an usuba for a while (it would prob. be my first choice for a single bevel). I´m happy to hear that they are not just meant for silk-thin slices and peeling (at least that´s what i read into your sentence). I´ll prob. be a while until i find one, but I appreciate your offer. It´s cool that she can benefit from your collection and knowledge in the area.

Hard not to agree on the laser recommendation, i´ve tried a few different shibatas (bunka, as gyuto and r2 kiritsuke-gyuto) - all were great!
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Re: Knife of choice for root vegetables ?

Post by Robstreperous »

I hate cutting carrots. Let me repeat. I truly, truly hate dicing carrots, slicing carrots, chopping carrots or doing anything else that involves transforming a carrot from its natural shape into anything more aligned with cooking it or preparing it to be served.

With that said I really do love using my Shibata Kashima on carrots.

The Anryu isn't bad on carrots and the best thing I've found out there for any other root vegetable.

Man I hate cutting carrots.
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Re: Knife of choice for root vegetables ?

Post by JoeWheels »

Perhaps you'd enjoy juicing carrots?
We had a triturator/press that put out orange syrup and white pulp.
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Re: Knife of choice for root vegetables ?

Post by Cutuu »

Robstreperous wrote: Sun Jun 02, 2019 2:59 pm I hate cutting carrots. Let me repeat. I truly, truly hate dicing carrots, slicing carrots, chopping carrots or doing anything else that involves transforming a carrot from its natural shape into anything more aligned with cooking it or preparing it to be served.

With that said I really do love using my Shibata Kashima on carrots.

The Anryu isn't bad on carrots and the best thing I've found out there for any other root vegetable.

Man I hate cutting carrots.
I like cutting carrots, when its the right knife -0kashima is definetely good on carrots, celery too.
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Re: Knife of choice for root vegetables ?

Post by Robstreperous »

JoeWheels wrote: Sun Jun 02, 2019 4:40 pm Perhaps you'd enjoy juicing carrots?
We had a triturator/press that put out orange syrup and white pulp.
I stand corrected. I do enjoy feeding them into a juicer or food processor. Because as I'm doing it I repeat to myself ....

"Man I'm glad I don't have to cut these carrots."
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