Kitchen knife purchase contemplation

[countessalmirena]

I want another Tojiro Flash knife for my collection.

In time, I want to replace all of my kitchen knives with Tojiro "Flash". At present, I have the ones which I use most frequently in the kitchen: santoku bōchō, boning knife, and bread knife. Caveat: I have a good paring knife which I use every day, although it's not Tojiro; I am perhaps using it with more gusto and frequency than strictly necessary, as I attempt to render it sufficiently outworn for me to be able to say to myself with convincing innocence: "Oh behold! My paring knife hath outworn its spirit. Get thee another, that it may be paring-valiant." (Or something along those casual lines... so that I will feel justified in getting a Tojiro Flash paring knife.)

But in the meantime, I am being siren-called by the sujiki bōchō (or, alternatively, the 21cm carving knife) and carving fork. Oh, there's some old carving fork in the knife drawer... but it's not one I remember buying. (I suspect it dates back to my pre-taking-cooking-seriously era.)Also, I feel the lack of a really good carving knife. Just two weeks ago, there was a lack of grace in slicing some roast chicken which I'd prepared in my gorgeous Emile Henry chicken roaster.

eBay isn't offering me much of a discount at the moment, not for kitchen items anyway...

[brerrabbit585]

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@padi*0409 wrote:

I have to say I'd never go back to "ordinary" knives again..............and I still have all my fingers intact !!!!!!

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I'd always heard that you were more likely to cut yourself from a blunt knife than a sharp one.  I assume this is because you have to exert more pressure so it's more likely to slip. 

We didn't do much of our own butchering when I was a kid but I always kept well away when my mother had a knife in her hand - blunt or sharp!

[padi*0409]

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@brerrabbit585 wrote:

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................but I always kept well away when my mother had a knife in her hand - blunt or sharp!

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Very smart move brer, also keep away from dad if he's wielding a large blunt or sharp object.................

[countessalmirena]

Yes, exactly, brerrabbit. Sharp knives go cleanly and easily through the surface of the food being cut... University of Rochester Medical Center discusses it.

[springyzone]

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@go-tazz wrote:

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@springyzone wrote:

I was expecting to receive a GST bill to pay on pick up at the PO, but the parcel was just delivered as normal. Not complaining, mind you, just not sure how this GST thing works as I thought it applied to overseas purchases now.

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The GST is added before you make your purchase eg: purchase amount of $2.38 it would then say on the

invoice that $0.24 in GST and then the order total.

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Yes, it gets added to any ebay purchase.

But it didn't get added to a baby shawl I bought online-not through ebay but direct from the company.

I'm not complaining, mind you. The prices were all there clearly on the postage label so customs had their chance, and the company clearly stated in the terms & conditions that it was not responsible for any GST or extra taxes imposed by different countries but mine seems to have come through without. And mine would not have been 24 cents either.

[lyndal1838]

That is where the system can work to your advantge.

If the company does not sell $75,000 worth of goods to Australia they are not allowed to collect GST.

If it had been through ebay then you would have been charged GST as ebay is deemed to be the seller.

[countessalmirena]

Exactly as lyndal has said...

If you're buying directly from an overseas seller / company / business, rather than through an EDP (Electronic Distribution Platform - such as eBay, Amazon, Etsy, etc.), and that seller / company / business sends directly to you, then whether or not you are required to pay GST on low-valued imported goods depends entirely on whether the seller is registered (strictly speaking, required to be registered) for GST. If the seller has an annual turnover to Australian buyers that is less than $750,000, no GST collection is required.

If you buy from that same seller, but through eBay, then you'll be paying GST. GST is payable because the EDP has an annual turnover to Australian buyers in excess of $750,000, even if the seller is a small seller and you're the first Australian buyer to whom they've ever sold.

If you buy from that same seller, but the item is posted to a forwarding company (e.g., if seller doesn't post to Australia; if you're consolidating a lot of items from the seller's country; if you think the forwarding company will get things faster to you than the seller would; if you're trying to avoid the GSP; any reason, really), then you'll be paying GST. The FORWARDING COMPANY is responsible for collecting the GST (on both the item itself, and any shipping/posting/etc., cost, including the domestic postage from the seller to the forwarding company in addition to the international courier cost from forwarder to you).

[davewil1964]

My main kitchen knife is pushing 40 years old. I think I bought it at Big W. The blade is about 6 inches, quite stiff, and the grip is very comfortable. I use it for vegies.

When I think of it, I run it through the Stay Sharp holster. The nick in the blade makes that a delicate task. The Stay Sharp (only about 30 years old) I use for meat. The blade is about 7 inches and the grip is not particularly comfortable.

I have another, but the blade is about 10 inches long and very flexible, so it is fairly useless afaik.

My 10 inch sheath knife has the best blade and the best grip, but I don't tend to use it for food. It is well balanced - I can generally land it point first from 10 metres.

But I have lost my whetstone over the years, so I would have to buy a new one to keep it sharp if I was to use it.

[springyzone]

Thanks for clearing that up. I was honestly expecting I would probably have to go into the PO and pay the GST before I could collect the parcel. I didn't realise some things got in for free.

Not that I buy things from overseas very often, this was a once off.

[*tippy*toes*]

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@davewil1964 wrote:

My main kitchen knife is pushing 40 years old. I think I bought it at Big W. The blade is about 6 inches, quite stiff, and the grip is very comfortable. I use it for vegies.

When I think of it, I run it through the Stay Sharp holster. The nick in the blade makes that a delicate task. The Stay Sharp (only about 30 years old) I use for meat. The blade is about 7 inches and the grip is not particularly comfortable.

I have another, but the blade is about 10 inches long and very flexible, so it is fairly useless afaik.

My 10 inch sheath knife has the best blade and the best grip, but I don't tend to use it for food. It is well balanced - I can generally land it point first from 10 metres.

But I have lost my whetstone over the years, so I would have to buy a new one to keep it sharp if I was to use it.

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We bought Baccarat knives last year, from the local House shop when they were having a closing for renovation sale. They are really good knives and nice to use. That said, I still have my 20+ year favourite that gets used way more than the others!

Re your very flexible knife, is it a filleting knife? My filleting knife is very flexible. It allows me to cut chicken fillets only a few mm thick. I couldn't do that with a regular knife.

Video of you throwing your sheath knife or it didn't happen!

[countessalmirena]

I'm updating this thread, not with a sheath knife video (which I would love to see!), but with somewhat belated delivery information about the Tojiro wooden knife block. I ended up having to order from Finland, because Tojiro don't sell all of their items in Australia.

According to Tojiro,

❝You can store your cooking knives in this compact and easy to handle knife block.
Capable for blade up to 240mm. 6 knives can be stored and 2 additional knives also held on magnet. One slot for kitchen shears in addition.
Made by natural wood which is friendly to knife blade.
Rubber feet on the bottom make it slip-free and very stable.❞

The delivery was supposed to be to my front door, but for the first time in quite a while, the AP contractor delivering this didn't do as he should have. I think I've mentioned how ill I've been lately, and it was a bit annoying to see a "missed you" delivery note pushed through the downstairs studio door rather than have the parcel brought to the front door (up some steps - delivery instructions very  clearly specified) where I was waiting, unable to go out... Oh well. It was a week before I even felt able to get to the PO to pick up the parcel.

But now I have my knife block, and it is beautifully elegant in a no-fuss way that seems to be the essence of Japanese excellence. Now for more knives!