Carbon steel knives in the 21st century?

I remember reading that Julia Child bonded with a fellow cook over their shared loved of carbon steel knives. I don't have any, and it always seemed like such a hassle having to remember to use a different knife for lemons or lettuce. But I do admit that my stainless are pretty hard to sharpen. Does anyone here use them? Would be curious to hear your experiences.

My three Chinese cleavers, which I use almost exclusively, are carbon steel. I'm not afraid to use them on acidic things such as citrus fruit. I always wipe down and thoroughly dry them after use. Yes, they do need periodic sharpening. I have a large sharpening stone for that purpose.

-Paul W.

There's nothing sharper. My Chinese #4 carbon-steel cleaver (which is used 95% of the time) with a right-hand bevel is razor sharp, and I don't care if it gets stained or not. I also have a Sabbatier CS paring knife--also like a razor..

Wish I had learned at some point to use a cleaver, they certainly seem to be more available in carbon steel, but I wouldn't know what to do with one, nor where to store it. I was looking to try a carbon steel chef's knife, but the ones that are available are either extremely expensive ($300 for a current Henckels) or "vintage" but pretty grim looking in terms of blade condition and handle design.

I started out cooking Chinese dishes and learned how to use a Chinese cleaver very early on. They look daunting at first but they are easy to use and are especially good at slicing things very thin. I use my cleaver for just about everything: slicing, shredding, mincing, skinning, and de-boning. There are two tricks to using a Chinese cleaver safely: [1] place the cleaver on top of whatever it is you're cutting--don't raise the cleaver in the air and swing it down, [2] Hold the cleaver in your dominant hand and hold the material being cut in your non-dominant hand, with the finger tips curled under so that there's no risk of accidentally cutting them.

A lot of Asian groceries sell cleavers for very reasonable prices. They come in two sizes. The smaller size is intended for most slicing and chopping. The larger, heaver cleaver is for chopping through bone.

As for storage, both sizes fit in a regular kitchen drawer, placed flat on one side. No special knife holder needed.

-Paul W.

I started out cooking Chinese dishes and learned how to use a Chinese cleaver very early on. They look daunting at first but they are easy to use and are especially good at slicing things very thin. I use my cleaver for just about everything: slicing, shredding, mincing, skinning, and de-boning. There are two tricks to using a Chinese cleaver safely: [1] place the cleaver on top of whatever it is you're cutting--don't raise the cleaver in the air and swing it down, [2] Hold the cleaver in your dominant hand and hold the material being cut in your non-dominant hand, with the finger tips curled under so that there's no risk of accidentally cutting them.

A lot of Asian groceries sell cleavers for very reasonable prices. They come in two sizes. The smaller size is intended for most slicing and chopping. The larger, heaver cleaver is for chopping through bone.

As for storage, both sizes fit in a regular kitchen drawer, placed flat on one side. No special knife holder needed. -Paul W.

I agree with everything Paul said. Cleavers are easy to use. They're handy for smashing garlic with the blade for mincing or using the end of the handle to smash garlic into a paste. They're wide enough to scoop up ingredients. I've even used mine as a spatula. For storage, my cleaver lies flat on the counter or slid under my toaster oven.

You need to try one. What you want is a #4 cleaver with a round, wooden handle (a good all purpose size). Go to wokshop.com and you can get a nice one in carbon steel for $20. You'll discover how versatile they are. There's a reason they're still around.

[Robin Garr]

My best knives, a random group (not a set) of Chicago Cutlery high-carbon steel knives from back in the days when Chicago Cutlery was a family owned firm with a good reputation, have been with me since the early 1970s, and I use the chef's knife just about every day. I never, ever heard of avoiding cutting anything with it, and the blade still looks good. I hone them with a steel regularly but only sharpen them on whetstones every couple of months, and the blade doesn't look any smaller than it ever did.

In other words, I don't understand the question.

Here's my baby ...

Chicago Cutlery chef knife.JPG