From top to bottom :
From top to bottom :
This review consists of :
The Farberware Chef's knife is a very inexpensive and basic offering. A few specifications :
The initial sharpness was decent, it could slice newsprint well but had no
ability to push cut the newsprint and scrape shave a little. Measuring
the sharpness on
Esprit baisting thread it scored 300 (20) grams, on very light
cord under 40 grams of tension it took a full 10 cm to make a cut.
It thus had low sharpness,
about 20% of optimal in regards to push cutting and less than 5% in regards
to slicing aggression.
Checking the edge under 50X magnification the edge is clearly unfinished
as there is a large and promient burr in several sections and the other
sections are rough. The edge was shaped on a rough belt but never actually
sharpened.
With the initial sharpness the Faberware did have the ability to cut any food in the kitchen including ones which were very demanding to cut in regards to sharpness such as :
Cutting ability : The Farberware Chef's knife has thin and acute edge with a full flat grind on thin stock. It also has a nice sweeping edge with a smooth curvature so there are no hangups on draw cuts and it also rocks nicely on a cutting board. In general the forces used to make the cuts is extremely minimal. Some actual forces used in the cut can be seen in the review of the Everyday Essentials Chef's knife.
Wedging : This blade does have the complex geometries found on some knives which act to prevent wedging. It doesn't have the granton cut outs or the multi-faceted grinds commonly found on Japanese knives or even a slightly thicker blade stock with a distal and full blade taper. As a result some wedging can be seen on very large potatoes, turnips and of course especially any of the sticky cheeses.
Point : The point is dropped which increases the width significantly which reduces ease of penetration significantly compared to a point which is in line with the spine. In fact the point is so dropped that it compared well to a Santoku. The main benefit of this is that it it gives the tip more of an upswept arc and it also makes it more controlable for cutting or scoring cuts directly on the cutting board.
Utility : This knife has a very thin blade and point and is not suitable for much in the way of utility work such as prying apart frozen foods. In fact the blade is so thin that it can even be flexed readily in hand and be given a permanent set. However for any cutting, even very thick foods, this lack of strength is not a problem.
Some utility cutting, from top to bottom :
Of course in general it is rarely required to cut up cardboard into strips
such as noted in the right which is fifty cuts of a foot long. That is
likely more than a normal kitchen knife does in months however it
can easily do it with very little dulling as again kitchen knives
use modern materials which are very abrasion resistant. Interesting enough
knives like the Farberware Chef's knife actually work quite well for
such work as they cut exceptionally well :
One of the main reasons that such cardboard is cut up is to make simple
fire starters which work well for a wood stove, they are extremely simple :
Kitchen : the knife was put into action in the kitchen on December 19,2010 and the following observations were made on the weeks of continuous use where it was the only knife used for personal food preperation unless it was completely not suitable for the work at hand and another knife had to be used. The following describes the results :
| Week | Comments |
|---|---|
| #1 | Still slices paper, significant loss of sharpness1 |
| #2 | Barely slices paper, heavy loss of sharpness2 |
| #3 | Little to no ability to slice paper, very heavy loss of sharpness3 |
1 - After the very first use the edge was rolled in several sections due to the burr collapsing and the sharpness went from the initial sharpness of taking 0.5 cm to slice some thin jute with 500 g of tension to requiring 2-4 cm depending on what section of blade was used.
2 - After the second week the Farberware Chef's knife would struggle to slice through the skin of a tomato, complete cuts on green onions, and open food packages. It could barely slice a piece of paper and in order to do so required :
3 - After the third week the Farberware Chef's knife was showing light reflecting off of its edge for the entire length. It also required many dead draws to slice difficult to cut foods :
Cardboard : the Farberware was also compared to the Spyderco Forester and a cKc Prototype cutting cardboard :
The results are noted in the right, in a short summary :
Comfort : The handle is nicely rounded and well swelled to provide a very comfortable hold when used in a hammer or thumb forward grip. However there are a number of issues with other grips. In a forward grip the Chef's knife is uncomfortable as there is no bolster and the index finger rests against the very thin and squarish heel of the blade. The thumb also rests against the very thin spine. The spine is however edge broken (not fully rounded but not left square like the heel) so it is workable in palm on spine cuts for difficult to cut foods. The Farberware Chef's knife actually has a thumbramp which serves as a small guard which is a rare feature for a kitchen knife. Most are just going to regard this as an annoyance because it interfers with pinch grips. Similar the end of the handle does not flow well into the heel which creates the same problem.
Security : The grip material does have a bit of traction even when wet, in fact it has that much traction that some might even find it sticky. Of course in general the very low dropped blade of a Chef's knife prevents any real security issues in regards to the hand sliding forward onto the blade. The only thing it really lacks is the large and prominent end hook that many chef's knives will have which can be a point to press against with the pinky on very difficult cuts. However as noted in the video on the right when the handle is greasy it has very little to no security in hand.
Durability : The handle durability is obviously the lowest aspect of the knife. The grip is made of either a rubber or rubber like material it is very soft and easily cut or abraded. If it is used roughly, thrown in a sink on in a drawer with other knives then the grip will get cut/torn very quickly. It also has very little resistance to extreme heat. In immediate exposure to open flame (lighter) it will start to melt immediately and then ignite. Similar if misplaced close to an open burned the same will happen.
Cleanup : Surprisingly, as note in the video above the handle cleans up very well even after being exposed to fish oils and does not tend to absorb such and is very easy to wash and then rinse.
After the initial edge dulled to the point it required sharpening then the Farberware Chef's knife was sharpened on a regular inexpensive hardware store stone. It took approximately four minutes on the coarse side to remove all wear and damage and produce an edge which no longer reflected light and would cut cleanly and not snag on paper. The edge was then refined on the fine side of the stone. It was then cleaned on plain leather. It easily took a fine edge off of that stone easily able to slice newspring, do curved cuts and of course shave.
The only concern regarding sharpening was that the edge is very asymettric. One side of the edge is sharpened at about 10 degrees and the other at about 20. This means that without care a strong burr will form immediately. The simplest way is to regrind the edge to an even bevel. But this odd bevel can also be maintained by simply changing the edge angle during sharpening, which is of course a little annoying. There is of course no real reason to keep this uneven bevel aside from comparative work.
To the right are
some shots of the edge under 50X magnification with the edge as sharpened
on fine side of a cheap hardware store hone with
an included angle of under 25 degrees. With this edge finish
it will :
It is impossible to know which one without an etched micrograph.
The Farberware Chefs knife resists corrosion enough to not require constant cleaning and drying during use and can even stay covered in fruit juices during the preperation of a meal. However an over night soak in paper towel dampered with two table spoons of lemon juice produced significant rust all over contact areas of the blade. Steel wool was not enough to remove the light rust, though reduced it to about 25%. A chemical cleaner or an actual abrasive polish would be required to fully remove all rust.
Comments can be emailed to YT Playlist.
Most of the pictures in the above are in the Farberware
album at PhotoBucket.
| Last updated : | Sun, 25 Mar 2012 22:55:28 Newfoundland Daylight Time |
| Originally written: | 11:29:2011 |