I am ok with this. Some people cannot disclosure their current job. However, Chef Panko channel is not the most knowledge channel. Many things said are superficial. Others are simply wrong.
Too bad Salty no longer does any video, he is one of the few chefs who has great knife skill, great knife sharpening skill, and a wide range experience of various knives.
Other new posters like Burrfection are informative.
I understand that some people have reasons not to disclose, but if he was being qualified as an expert witness in a legal proceeding, for example, the particulars of his educational/training background and his professional experience would have to be disclosed. There are “experts” and there are experts.
Hi Meekah,
I have been in email contact with Chef Panko for about three years, on a regular basis, and he’s been a good source of information from a European perspective–with a professional background as a sushi chef.
He has shared a number of descriptions of the process he went through with his Japanese sushi chef training that has been interesting and helpful to me–and confirmed by Dr. H, my Japanese collaborator.
The best part of his videos are really the comments and responses to the videos–which contain more detailed information and links. Some of his detailed comments there are almost as long as some of his videos–and somewhat similar to the emails in our correspondence. I wish he’d find a better way to share this information.
I consider him to be a good friend.
Hi Chem,
“Burrfection” these days is selling Japanese high end enthusiast knives:
No longer a Cutlery and More lackey.
Ray, read my explanation in my reply to Chemicalkinetics.
I’m glad Chef Panko is your friend.
That’s right. There are other ways to judge the person based on their stastements too. If a person cannot find Italy on a map… I probably do not need to see his PhD dissertation on Ancient Roman Military Conquest. I have seen enough ChefPanko videos to have a good sense of his knowledge level of kitchen knives.
Their knives or clients’ knives!?
I remember my mom gave her Henckels to a pro sharpener in SoCal, and they came back horribly scratched along the middle and top of the blade. I couldn’t imagine how a pro sharpener could introduce these scratches during the process… so maybe he loaned them out to folks who introduced them.
Dunno, but a big memory and reason I don’t use sharpening services.
I bet it is the professional sharpener though. A normal home cook do not have the mean to horribly scratch the knife… unless they put the knives on a powered tool. I am sure you have used your knives for years. Are you able to scratch your knives during cooking?
Hi SP,
The shop was primarily for sharpening, but they also promoted some lesser known knives. Those are the ones they made available–nearly all of them probably ended up sales.
They were at least one step up from the free sharpening provided by nearby Williams Sonoma at the same mall.
Ray
So true you just never know.
I had to take my conical coffee grinder in for repair and the serviceman was surprised that all my numbers weren’t worn off.
When I picked up my machine, I got someone else’s with half the numbers worn off.
Not in the same condition and died shortly after.
So understand your reluctance in using a knife sharpening service.
Decades actually… but I don’t throw them in the dishwasher right next to a bunch of stainless steel.
I had a tenant/roommate last year, who I supplied with a full block of Zwilling Henckels. After he moved out I found many of them in the dishwasher like they were spoons and forks.
It may very well have been the sharpener who did this (and if so they suck), but am assuming there are many folks out there (like my tenant) that treat their knives like cr*p.
I guess it depends on how the scratch marks look like. If the knife was out for sharpening only 1-2 weeks, and come back with more than a line or two scratch marks, then I am surprise a home cook can do that.
There are professional knife sharpeners who are not that good.
Like the ones who did this:
Sent out though a kitchenwares store to be”professionally” sharpened. Many, many years ago. I stopped using the knife when I got it back. I keep it, in a knife safe in a drawer, for sentimental reasons
Was these heavy scratched marks introduced after you got the knife back from the knife sharpener or before?
I didn’t do them, so they were introduced at the sharpener’s.
I have no proof but that look too deep for typical household scratches. Also because the deep scratches are near the blade edge, the knife sharpener probably was careless and the beltsander hit the blade.
This is the exact reason why I started to sharpen my own knives using whetstones.
I sent two of my fathers knives to a pro sharpener with a good reputation in Copenhagen.
Both came back with scratches and not very clean smooth edges.
After that I started investigating what whetstones I should buy and how I should go about sharpening my own knives.
That’s cool if it helps. I’ve been sharpening knives since, I think, the first or second grade. So the issue for me now is not knowing precisely how, it is instead arthritis complicated by carpal tunnel compression. I’ve had the surgery on the right hand, but have been putting it off on the left. But still after about finishing 2-4 knives my right hand starts cramping up badly.
This is better than pre-surgery, though. But I’m starting to consider sending my scissors and knives out for service. My in-laws do that now and are pretty happy with what they get.
I was pretty ticked off when I saw what had happened. That was my first chef’s knife, purchased when I was still a teenager!
Bummer about your issues. I wish you a good outcome. The use of a jig is impressive. I just hold the blade my muscle memory likes, making it very repeatable within pretty fine tolerances. Over the years my blades have all taken on that angle, whatever it is, and they cut extremely well. I use the same technique I learned on my father’s oil stone in early elementary years, small ovals. It may not be correct, but all I am after is very sharp knives, not a trophy for knife polishing.
