Oops I bent my knife

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ChefKnivesToGo
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Oops I bent my knife

Post by ChefKnivesToGo »

I get these emails with customers from time to time. I thought I would post one of them and explain what is going on thoroughly so I can reference it in the future. Customers that are new to San Mai blades don't realize they can bend. Some knives are stiffer than others but almost all of them can bend if you push on them. As you guys know...

From Vincent:

Hello,

I bought this Yoshimitsu Blue #2 Petty 210mm...…….. Bent at the handled like it was made of tin foil....

Image



Hi Vincent,

I'm sorry for the problem.

The knife you bought, along with about 90% of the hand made knives we sell, is made with san mai construction. "San" means "three" and "Mai" means "layers". The blade consists of 3 layers where there is a thin piece of hard steel that runs down the middle and it's sandwiched between 2 layers of soft cladding material (usually iron or stainless). They do this for several reasons and one of them is to allow the blades to be straightened after heat treat which can often warp blades. Also, san mai blades are easier to grind really thin for better performance. As you've discovered, if you put lateral stress on the knife it will bend and the thin blades will bend easily. 

Please feel free to send me the knife and I'll fix it and resharpen it for you for free. Or if you want to do this yourself it's pretty easy. Here is a video that walks you through the process.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yv6zMGpMPg 

Also, if you want a knife where you can press on it from the side to say fillet fish or other tasks I suggest a mono steel knife. Mono steel knives will snap back to straight over and over again. We have a brand called Kanehide that specializes in mono steel blades that you can check out here: https://www.chefknivestogo.com/kabe.html

I'm also willing to take back the knife and give you store credit for something else like a Kanehide if you find you need your knife for pushing on the side. Let me know.

Kind Regards,
Mark RichmondChefknivestogo.com
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Mark Richmond
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Re: Oops I bent my knife

Post by Ut_ron »

In IT we call this user error 😂

But your offer to fix and resharpen or take back is an outstanding offer. Above normal outstanding customer service 👍👍👍
Home cook that enjoys sharp knives.
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Re: Oops I bent my knife

Post by jacko9 »

I agree with the user error comment and I totally agree that Mark and Company have outstanding customer service!
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Re: Oops I bent my knife

Post by Drewski »

What do pros do that puts this much side pressure on the knife?
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Re: Oops I bent my knife

Post by Organic »

That was a very generous offer you made to help resolve the issue for the customer considering they caused it and it was not your fault not a faulty product.
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Re: Oops I bent my knife

Post by ChefKnivesToGo »

They often fillet stuff or remove the silver skin off of tenderloins. Some smash garlic with them and bend them.
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Re: Oops I bent my knife

Post by jmcnelly85 »

The worst bend I’ve gotten was a brainless dish/prep deciding that the proper place to put a full, deep hotel pan of braised beef was on top of my Kurosaki instead of on a speed rack... I’m glad I don’t work with him anymore.

They bend back pretty easy.
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Re: Oops I bent my knife

Post by lsboogy »

ChefKnivesToGo wrote: Fri Nov 08, 2019 11:27 am They often fillet stuff or remove the silver skin off of tenderloins. Some smash garlic with them and bend them.
I've never bent a knife that bad, but filleting stuff with a thin blade you need to be careful. I smash garlic with most knives, just hit above the garlic and not use it as a lever - mom taught me that when I was young.

As for silver skin, that is one of the best excuses you can have for getting a garatsuke or honesuki blade - I rarely do silver skin with anything else any more. Used to use a boning knife to trim tenderloins, and then portion with a slicing knife - now i just use my Richmond Laser AS Honesuki (when are they ever going to make more?) most of the time - does everything well with tenderloin and is the best poultry cutter I've ever used.
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Re: Oops I bent my knife

Post by Byphy »

Good to know cktg has excellent customer service
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Re: Oops I bent my knife

Post by ken123 »

...but that would be perfect for flipping tortillas :)

Top notch customer support.

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Re: Oops I bent my knife

Post by Qapla' »

lsboogy wrote: Fri Nov 08, 2019 12:58 pm
ChefKnivesToGo wrote: Fri Nov 08, 2019 11:27 am They often fillet stuff or remove the silver skin off of tenderloins. Some smash garlic with them and bend them.
I've never bent a knife that bad, but filleting stuff with a thin blade you need to be careful. I smash garlic with most knives, just hit above the garlic and not use it as a lever - mom taught me that when I was young.

As for silver skin, that is one of the best excuses you can have for getting a garatsuke or honesuki blade - I rarely do silver skin with anything else any more. Used to use a boning knife to trim tenderloins, and then portion with a slicing knife - now i just use my Richmond Laser AS Honesuki (when are they ever going to make more?) most of the time - does everything well with tenderloin and is the best poultry cutter I've ever used.
Ignorant questions here:
- What makes a gyuto a poor choice for silverskin work? (So far I usually do this sort of thing with a sujihiki, or if there's silverskin on a smaller item, a paring knife. I don't think either were at risk of bending.).
- What do you see as major differences between honesuki's and garasuki's, assuming one is dealing with double-bevel versions of both? (Single-bevel versions, especially western-grip single-bevel ones, seem to be much more rare.)
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Re: Oops I bent my knife

Post by lsboogy »

Qapla' wrote: Mon Nov 11, 2019 2:46 am
lsboogy wrote: Fri Nov 08, 2019 12:58 pm
ChefKnivesToGo wrote: Fri Nov 08, 2019 11:27 am They often fillet stuff or remove the silver skin off of tenderloins. Some smash garlic with them and bend them.
I've never bent a knife that bad, but filleting stuff with a thin blade you need to be careful. I smash garlic with most knives, just hit above the garlic and not use it as a lever - mom taught me that when I was young.

As for silver skin, that is one of the best excuses you can have for getting a garatsuke or honesuki blade - I rarely do silver skin with anything else any more. Used to use a boning knife to trim tenderloins, and then portion with a slicing knife - now i just use my Richmond Laser AS Honesuki (when are they ever going to make more?) most of the time - does everything well with tenderloin and is the best poultry cutter I've ever used.
Ignorant questions here:
- What makes a gyuto a poor choice for silverskin work? (So far I usually do this sort of thing with a sujihiki, or if there's silverskin on a smaller item, a paring knife. I don't think either were at risk of bending.).
- What do you see as major differences between honesuki's and garasuki's, assuming one is dealing with double-bevel versions of both? (Single-bevel versions, especially western-grip single-bevel ones, seem to be much more rare.)
you are twisting the blade a bit doing silver skin - poke under the stuff, twist the blade just a bit (sharp end up) and then go - butchering blades are thicker in profile and less likely to bend.
A garatsuke is just more like a thick petty - not as pronounced a triangle shape, and usually not as tall.
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Re: Oops I bent my knife

Post by cliff »

I like my honesuki for silverskin. Have been too chicken to use a good wa-handled knife to smash garlic and turn it into paste.
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Re: Oops I bent my knife

Post by Chocu1a »

I use my gyutos for smashing garlic, skinning fish, trimming silverkin, etc, in a professional kitchen. Never have I bent a knife. I cannot for the life of me comprehend how that happened.
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Re: Oops I bent my knife

Post by STPepper9 »

jmcnelly85 wrote: Fri Nov 08, 2019 12:52 pm The worst bend I’ve gotten was a brainless dish/prep deciding that the proper place to put a full, deep hotel pan of braised beef was on top of my Kurosaki instead of on a speed rack...
That's what the pic in the original post looks like to me.
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Re: Oops I bent my knife

Post by Jeff B »

I just can't imagine needing to put enough force on the knife to bend it like that.
If God wanted me to be a vegetarian he wouldn't have made animals taste so good.
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Re: Oops I bent my knife

Post by gladius »

Jeff B wrote: Tue Nov 12, 2019 4:51 pm I just can't imagine needing to put enough force on the knife to bend it like that.
—-
Not much force was probably needed. I once bought and returned a Konosuke that bent with a light tap on the cutting board; bent easier than a paper clip.
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Re: Oops I bent my knife

Post by Carlo »

gladius wrote: Tue Nov 12, 2019 5:59 pm
Jeff B wrote: Tue Nov 12, 2019 4:51 pm I just can't imagine needing to put enough force on the knife to bend it like that.
—-
Not much force was probably needed. I once bought and returned a Konosuke that bent with a light tap on the cutting board; bent easier than a paper clip.
Maybe it had already been bent and repaired & had a memory.
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Re: Oops I bent my knife

Post by ChefKnivesToGo »

They use very soft stainless cladding that is thing so they’re more bendable than a lot of knives.
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