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Ultrasonic Chef's Knife

seattleultrasonics.com

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Re: Ultrasonic Chef's Knife

#381

Post by john_minsk »

SilverElfin wrote: post #240
Mtinie wrote: post #219

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I shared this with my tech friends: “This has all the hallmarks of a product that’s going to be disappointing but I’m so optimistic it won’t be.” I’m seriously hopefuls it works because vibroblades (I mean, “progressive knives” and “high frequency blade”) are awesome and the timelines of Neon Genesis Evangelion and Metal Gear are getting closer. Which may, or may not be a good thing.

Well we know this tech works because there are already ultrasonic cutters in medical and industrial equipment. So it’s more about whether they implemented it well, rather than some new fundamental discovery.

Is it realistic to have enough power in such a small form factor for this effect?

Re: Ultrasonic Chef's Knife

#382

Post by bsder »

mckn1ght wrote: post #267
mattmaroon wrote: post #223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Damn, I was set to completely dismiss this as entirely useless overcomplication but making stuff not stick to the knife would be nice.

That’s where a lot of mess comes from, so I’m very interested in this tech. The worst are cucumbers, they stick to the blade and new slices pop them up and they roll everywhere. I get some better results by slightly angling the blade but it’s not perfect. The blade quality doesn’t look great but I think any decent cook that knows how to hone will do just fine with it. I’m not sure I’d spend the money and replace my e…

> The worst are cucumbers, they stick to the blade

Is this issue possibly that amateur knives are too "polished"?

This doesn't seem to be a "professional chef" problem yet seems to be a significant "amateur chef" problem.

Is this simply the case that a knife with professional use takes enough dings and scratches that foods won't vacuum seal to the face of the knife?

Re: Ultrasonic Chef's Knife

#383

Post by chneu »

john_minsk wrote: post #366
dlcarrier wrote: post #352

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>People spend hundreds of dollars and many hours sharpening kitchen knives... What amazes me is how many people spend absolutely zero time sharpening knives, using decades-old knives that have never been sharpened and can't even cut through cucumbers.

I don't use knives in my kitchen. My romantic partner does. Yesterday I decided to cut some tomatoes only to find out that all knives are dull. She never said anything, I didn't know it. Why? Because she is just "used" to it and to her these knives were just fine. So she never thought about sharpening knives in the first place. I will take those knives to a pro and he will sharpen them for me, as in a rental I stay i…

You don't really need "tools" to sharpen knives. You just need a harder surface and some experience. It's one of those things that once you learn you can accomplish with a variety of "tools" because you're just trying to achieve an end goal. There's zero reason you can't sharpen a knife in a rental, lol. You don't need a belt grinder or anything.

People get way too caught up in buying into systems and being told how to do things because it alleviates some anxiety of trying something new. Sharpening knives hasn't really changed much in the last few centuries. Watch a few guides and learn to do it. There's no substitute for experience here. It's also a very transferable skill so it's one that used to be taught in schools but no longer is.

Re: Ultrasonic Chef's Knife

#385

Post by chneu »

gommm wrote: post #364
DannyBee wrote: post #331

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Overall agree it seems cool, and maybe interesting. "People spend hundreds of dollars and many hours sharpening kitchen knives," The former, totally agree - i've seen people buy a tormek to do basic knife sharpening (not grinding), which is like swatting a fly with an $800 hammer. The latter, do you mean overall, or in a sitting or what? I've certainly seen people on various forums go nuts, and then you have hertzman…

Since you seem knowledgeable about knives, Do you know any great knives makers? And are those custom steels or carbide blades worth it? So far, I mostly sharpen my knives on the back of a plate. So definitely could be doing more :)

Knives get stupid beyond a certain price point.

I've been using the same thrift store knife I picked up 15 years ago. It gets sharpened maybe once a year, honed every so often. It was like $20 i think? Most chefs I know have a similar story with their knife/knives, something cheap that does the job.

Spending more on knives is just status symbol nonsense, which unfortunately has infected absolutely everything. It's like spending $300 on a spanner wrench. Who in the hell spends that much on a wrench? Why would you spend that much on a knife? lol. It's what you do with it that matters.

Re: Ultrasonic Chef's Knife

#386

Post by t-3 »

wisty wrote: post #246

Why is it people here seem so unusually sceptical? It's expensive (but not really, only compared to knives - a $500 GPU isn't expensive). It's probably mostly good in certain niches and using a $10 knife that's sharpened properly is probably 95% as good in almost every application, and using a $10 knife that is only reasonably well sharpened is probably 90% as good. Slicing stuff for hotpot or yakiniku or Korean BBQ…

> It's expensive (but not really, only compared to knives - a $500 GPU isn't expensive).

No, it's really expensive. $400 is nearly a week's pay for an hourly worker in much of the US. For many on this site it might be less than a day's labor but that's not the general case.

The lack of trust is probably because knives seem to be a favorite product of shysters. Selling expensive knives that promise the moon and wow the audience with cool knife tricks just reeks of fast talking late-night infomercial salesman trying to get over on grandma. The tech looks cool, but the presentation is off-putting.

Re: Ultrasonic Chef's Knife

#387

Post by chneu »

bsder wrote: post #376
john_minsk wrote: post #360

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I admire you. You are a minority, you know that, right? I don't have time in my schedule at the moment, which says "sharpen the knifes". So for me - it would be amazing if someone solved this problem in a radical way. Sporadically I would sharpen the knives and since I don't have it in my "skills" section of the brain, I always have to "figure out" sharpening process.

> I always have to "figure out" sharpening process. Get the Worksharp fixed angle sharpener for about $70 (about the price of 2 decent stones). If you're really interested, get the leather strop add on for about $10. Get on with sharpening your kitchen knives. Put it in your closet until next year. Is it "great"? No. If you want to be a knife nerd, it's not for you. If you have a couple of kitchen knives you need to…

Reiterating that any sharpener with the ability to set the angle is really all anyone needs if they don't want to invest in the time of learning how to sharpen.

I have the ruixin version and it works fine. I like that I can use the stones without the system.

Re: Ultrasonic Chef's Knife

#388

Post by victorhooi »

This looks really cool!

I was just curious about two things - seems there might be some knife aficionados or experts here!

1. Sharpening - As a home cook, who doesn't know a lot about knives/sharpening - how hard would this be to maintain? Would it be plausible to get some basic home sharpening gear, and maintain this myself? Or should I take it to a professional knife sharpener - and if so, how do I even know if they're a good one, and won't damage the blade, or perhaps are good, but somehow get the blade out of "tune" etc?

2. Safety wise - is there anything at all to be concerned about with ultrasonic 40Khz blades? Should I be wearing any hearing protection when using this? (Context - I have hearing loss in both ears, and wear hearing aids - keen to preserve my remaining hearing, and am understandably cautious about this kind of thing for my family and me).

Re: Ultrasonic Chef's Knife

#390

Post by CamperBob2 »

tptacek wrote: post #284
saxonww wrote: post #261

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The two things that stood out to me: "The best tools shouldn't only be accessible to the pros" but his knife costs more than every knife in that database. The weight is listed in their help articles as 330g. I also think that handle is chunkier than a typical high end chef's knife. It may be easier to cut things with it, but I think your hand and arm are going to get tired of using it more quickly than with a regular…

Yeah the handle was the first thing I saw here that gave me pause. The handle shape matters a lot ! Though: do. not. put. your. $300. knife. in. the. dishwasher.

For those of us who aren't knowledgeable in this field, what happens if you do?
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