Knife porn thread

Was gonna suggest a secondhand leatherman or gerber but ebay say no.

Yeah the 25yr warranty thing makes them hold their value.

Although 2nd hand is a good idea on the cheapo ones. I've found one for £5 P&P with no reserve and there are a few German ones.

I guess I was wondering if there was a pompino equivalent m

A recent butchery course has made me want to indulge in a 12" Victorinox knife and steel purchase. What's the difference between round and oval steels?

More contact patch with oval so less pressure. Given the same stroke and steel pattern an oval will remove less metal and be slightly more forgiving of technique. In practice no difference at all.

Planning this years holiday, and don't want to get caught out by blunt knives, in whichever villa, apartment we're renting.
So was thinking of taking my own knives, which means obviously buying a new one for travel purposes, or taking a whetstone to sharpen what's already there. Anyone seen/used a decent travel whetstone? Does such a thing exist?

The Lansky kit is pretty compact http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lansky-Sharpeners-Standard-Sharpening-System/dp/B000B8L6LI

Another option.
http://www.axminster.co.uk/dmt-diafold-diamond-whetstones-ax910487

Thanks, I'm rubbish with a steel so oval it is.

Take your knives with you. I always do.

As long as they are in the hold luggage it's fine.

Make sure if you have a maid in your villa they know not to put them in the dishwasher.

Yes @hugo7
http://www.heinnie.com/hanwei-paul-chen-multi-tasker
Check the reviews, can't go wrong for under ten quid!

Ah missed the pliers bit. It has them but they aren't a main feature. I have a shit Stanley one you can have for postage cost if you pm me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_2NIhXrjIQ

An addition to this thread. Purchased in Japan:

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Do tell us moar, what steel, who made it...? looks to have a curiously large handle...

unless it's a small paring knife

To be wholly honest, I couldn't give further info on maker/type of steel. I bought it from a little shop in Asakusabashi is what I can tell you. I was wowed by the wood grain-like pattern on the blade. And yes, it is a smaller paring knife. I feel the photo may have aided the impression of a curiously large handle. The handle is a proportionate size.

Is there a particular artisanal manufacturer of kitchen scissors I should seek out?
I'm looking for steel tempered in unicorn tears, organic brass ferrules, ideally based on a pattern from the 1840s or early 1850s.
You know, the usual.

^Wardour Street. Half way down, green door, no letter box.
Knock 3 times, ask for Elharon and then cough twice. Don't make eye contact what ever you do...

^^ Alternatively these from Niwaki have always looked good to me.

wanted a good kitchen knife for a while so I could progress from the rolling chop, went for an enzo 185 chef blade in 12c27 £30 and put a spalted lime handle on it. Feels really nice.

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I did look at them actually, but in the end I ordered these.

http://www.ernestwright.co.uk/catalogue/browse.aspx?productId=218&breadcrumb=13_52

Couldn't get much more hipster than a vimeo clip, and I want to know my scissors have been tapped many times with a hammer by a bloke in overalls.
https://vimeo.com/98953952

Enzo blades are ace.
Got one of their Camper (or Trapper, or whatever, the fixed blade outdoors knife) in D2, put on some green micarta handles with orange G10 liners.
Looks nice, works well, has not let me down.

I agree with @aggi, the Lansky system is pretty good. It's still possible to bugger a knife up, especially with the coarse stones (which you tend to have to use more if you have a seriously ruined edge) but once you get used to it you can quickly get a good edge and maintain it.

I put an unncessary secondary bevel on a bushcraft knife the first time I used it, but since then I've been slowly bringing it back to a Scandinavian grind.

The limitation of the system is that you have a specific range of angles you can use, and obviously your knife might currently be ground somewhere in between the available options. You do have a bit of adjustment as you can choose to press the guide rod against the top or the bottom of the chosen angle slot. A version with an infinitely adjustable slot and ruled guide would be amazing (runs to patent office).

thinking I might just take over my whetstone and try and put an edge on the knives there...

Need to do a bit more practice sharpening knives anyway..

Went I went travelling I sawed the end off a regular whetstone, maybe 1" or 1 ½" wrapped in a bit of old cloth - which I then used to stop it slipping.

Hostel knives always suck balls so if we stayed somewhere a while I'd sharpen them up a bit. A perfect edge is great, but really you just need something that can cut easily. A few strokes on a stone before you use a knife usually is enough.

I think you need a bit of perspective as well. Taking a sharpening system and / or half your kitchen draw for a holiday sounds a bit much.

That butterfly sharpener looks amazing, but £30?

Where are you going? If it's France then every supermarket has cheap knives.