I'm not sure if it was this thread:
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4401&p=36116&hilit=iron+chef#p36116
or another one, but I've been binge-watching a lot of the very old (Japanese) Iron Chefs lately, mostly from the early- to mid-nineties.
I've been enjoying it quite a bit. The knife aspect is especially fun (and funny). It feels very conformational: there is a distinct lack of fancy knives, and especially of knives with Japanese handles. In fact, one guest (actually a French-born Japanese chef known for his knife skills, I think) actually brought a "roll" (a case), and everyone went crazy talking about his collection. I think there were maybe a dozen at the very most, and half of them were Globals. Several other were Western Japanese knives, and maybe three had Japanese handles.
This show is NOT the place to judge knives: it comes out every now and then that things are way too fast and that a lot of chefs (including the Iron Chefs) just use one knife for everything because there is no time or space to really vary things up. One also assumes everyone knows it is a dangerous atmosphere, especially since several chefs seem to cut themselves (even ones with excellent knife skills), so most probably don't bring anything resembling their "best." But you do see the occasional chef using 4-5 knives, and usually these are also the chefs who are using knives with nicer Japanese handles. Oddly, the absolute most rare combination, in my viewing so far, is to see a Japanese knife with a Ho or Magnolia wood handle—the vast majority of Japanese knives that I've noticed have had a nicer, more custom looking handles on them, but things move so fast that it isn't always easy to spot. The same cannot be said for cleavers, however—even though a number of them are almost certainly "Japanese," I'm not really counting them because most of them have Sugimoto- or CCK-style handles.
I think another really enjoyable part is watching them use Japanese Western knives to cut the shit out of things like lobster and chicken. Even chefs with cleavers often just use a gyuto to hack through chicken or shell fish (or regular fish) like it is nothing, even when debas are often all over the place, too. It is a good reminder that many of the gyutos they are using must more more Western in design not only in profile and handle, but probably also in grind and edge thickness.
1990s Knives
Re: 1990s Knives
I'll have to do some research but chef Sakai did a battle with an old foe or friend (can't remember) and this guy had a custom knife made and it was insane. Huge way bigger than 300mm. Maybe someone knows what I'm talking about. But the battle was crazy.
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Re: 1990s Knives
That's cool. I've definitely seen some unusual knives. One guy had a gyuto that was big enough to slice an actual side of bacon with excess on each side...I'd guess 300mm at least. And another guy had a noodle cutter (menkiri) that was just massive, and I've also seen at least one very, very large Usuba. The latter two were by far bigger than any normal size I've ever seen. The noodle knife received specific commentary, but the other was just used instead of a gyuto (I think that guy essentially only used single-bevels on camera).
~J
Comments: I'm short, a home cook, prefer lighter, thinner blades, and have tried dozens of brands over the years.
Comments: I'm short, a home cook, prefer lighter, thinner blades, and have tried dozens of brands over the years.
- lsboogy
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Re: 1990s Knives
Is would guess many of them were using nenohi knives back then, and I remember seeing a wa handled one in a market many years ago with some sort of ad for iron chef masakito.
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Re: 1990s Knives
Could be. I don't notice any real standardization, though, except the cleavers...those seem to all look quite similar (which makes sense: the cleaver market is much more monopolized among professionals, from what I understand). It seems like there is a huge mix of brands and types of gyutps. Most of them look way more generic, like the Masamoto VG or Fujiwara FKM (e.g. no distinctive handle, bolster, or markings, just plain).
One thing that is NOT confirmational for me is the use of the gyuto. There are more of them than I would have guessed previously. I know they've been around for a while in Japan and get plenty of use, but I didn't expect so many chefs to essentially use a gyuto for 80% of their work. Again, there is still a lot of variety. But it is still noticeable, and it does revise my impressions of the role Western style gyutos (complete with Western handles) have played in Japanese restaurants by Japanese chefs in Japan for at least the last 20 years. Granted, a lot of the chefs that come onto the show in these years are either French, Italian, Chinese or Japanese cuisine specialists, and the first two would most certainly use Western style knives given that they ALL seem to train in Italy or France...but it is still interesting to ponder. Obviously, the "Japanese" chefs do use more traditional blades. There just aren't as many of them on the show.
~J
Comments: I'm short, a home cook, prefer lighter, thinner blades, and have tried dozens of brands over the years.
Comments: I'm short, a home cook, prefer lighter, thinner blades, and have tried dozens of brands over the years.