Would never have thought to try a rubber chopping board but it makes complete sense, solves so many of the common issues - blunting, moving around, easily washable. Although they seem they would wear down quite fast, like plastics, and are a bit less repairable than wood
Also my concern. Sure, they won't damage the knives, but the knives will damage the cutting board. I'd rather have to re-sharpen my knives than buy replacement cutting boards.
I own one myself and it is way more susceptible to knife marks yes, but you can buff those out fairly easily with a block and some sanding paper. I wouldn't chop anything on them though.
@@frankyao5854 Well to be fair they aren't really made for chopping anyway, only slicing and general cutting. Rubber cutting boards like the Asahi from what I've heard at least were made primarily for the sushi restaurant industry when standards of hygiene made traditional wooden benchtops for storing and cutting fish no longer an option and sushi chefs didn't like the normal HDPE cutting boards because they dull knifes quickly, get gouged easily and are slippery, which the rubber ones all fix. They are also dishwasher and bleach safe, which is an advantage over wooden boards too I've seen a fair few videos here on youtube of japanese kitchens and when they need to do some heavy chopping they definitely use a proper chopping block of either wood or those massive HDPE circular blocks(common in places that specialize in chinese style cooking) I own one myself and they definitely are a joy to use for pretty much everything, I also got a massive 24"x16" HDPE board for 45$ when I'm breaking down chickens and sanitizing is a breeze and I don't have to worry about it at all if it gets a bit damanged, definitely easier and cleaner than putting together a bunch of cheap thin plastic boards and the chicken juices get everywhere on the counter let me tell you
@@TobiNightcore The cutting board is self healing. They are used in professional sushi kitchens in Japan. They cost a fortune if you get one of the original big brands. It looks like Alex bought a knock off.
I just use my cotton chef towel and lay it flat on the counter. Then I pick up all the ingredients in it at once with it and plop it in the pan. You never have to sharpen your knife that way either. I use a very fine knit towel and the knife never even remotely cuts into it. I bought a high grade Japanese nakiri 4 years ago and have been chopping everything with it and the knife has never lost any sharpness. And when your done you throw it in the laundry to be cleaned and disinfected.
8:09 VG-10 is a decent affordable alloy, but it is very very very far from being the hardest, or otherwise best stainless steel. We have zdp-189/Cowry-X/MC66 that all far superior in terms of edge retention and sharpness.
I’m a huge fan of pmv-11 steel. I only know of it from woodworking, but I believe it’s a type of stainless. It’s relatively easy to sharpen but retains an edge fantastically. I’m not sure if it’s proprietary to Veritas woodworking, but I’d love to see them branch out into blades and scissors. Disclaimer: typically to other tool steels we use are O1 and A2, so I’m not sure if pmv-11 is simply marketing for a different type of steel used in other applications, but personally I prefer it over those other two for woodworking.
Those steels are all martensitic stainless steels, a hybrid between carbon and stainless steels. They are better than VG-10, but also not directly comparable either. 440C would be a better comparison, which is also much better than VG-10 (and one of my personal favorites).
VG10 chips quite easily (I own a VG10 chef knife since years). But if you're interested by steel, you should look at high end pocket knife market. Magnacut, M390, s35vn and other powder metallurgy steels are pushing VG10 to the entry level category.
@@gregfd Yes, I've got kitchen knives in Magnacut and S35VN and can attest to their edge retention. The former is also highly corrosion resistant, probably the current champ as an all-arounder steel to boot. I used to turn my nose up at stainless steels for years, but after some amateur metallurgy info, learned that many of them outperform certain carbon steels in edge retention and even toughness.
I lived in Japan for many years and I brought all my culinary equipment back home! The only thing I never thought to bring back was a rubber cutting board. My home-stay family (yes, I went to school there) ran a restaurant so they were all over the kitchen. I got a Japanese culinary education unlike any other. I like using wood and I grate cheese on plastic (to contain the spread), but Japanese culinary gear is really incredible!
I've used tawashi brushes for over 50 years. It's remarkable how long they last. I still have one my parents used and it is still in good shape. I use them for pots and pans as well as cleaning sinks and countertops. Fortunately, I can buy them at a local Japanese food store. I understand they are made of palm fiber which is mold resistant so I have never noticed any odor from them.
Only ever saw an ad for this on the Snazzylabs YT channel where it made a lot of sense to me. I don't mind it here either, but it does not seem to make a whole lot of sense to me. I don't watch a cooking video to get advice on how to clean my Mac. That's what I watch videos about good Mac Apps for.
And you didn't 😉 CleanMyMac X is in no way related to the previously mentioned app. We are legit and available on the Mac App Store, with strict rules about the security of all software distributed on the platform.
I hope Alex goes down the rabbit hole of Japanese knives next! They're truly special kitchen tools with a ton of variety and character. Tojiro's VG10 is a good introductory steel, but there are more premium stainless options out there like ginsan (silver 3) and SG2/R2, as well as many different flavors of carbon steel.
@@roamingthereal4060exactly this - it just becomes ‘gadge’ or ‘tech’ to many people where numbers on charts are what matter. People get insane about knives and I don’t know why. I also buy nice Japanese knives when I need one, but I really think people who buy and use them as a ‘hobby’ have totally lost focus of the fact that they’re spending inordinate amounts of money on tools. To not use those tools is, in my opinion, disrespectful if you actually claim to care about the craftsmanship etc (as many do). The line between interest in knives that stems from a passion for cooking and unchecked consumerism is thin.
Didn't mean to imply VG10 was bad, or that more expensive knives/steels are necessarily better! Just wanted to highlight that there's a lot of variety in Japanese knives and it would be cool to see Alex explore them.
@@ajq0301 agree. end of the day heat treatment mean more than steel itself. jp knive rabbithole go wayyy too deep. im at point using mainly singlebevels (beside i have baba hamono sujihiki instead of yanagiba) ,and single bevel honesuki instead of deba since i cant eat fish :D
None of the provided links are for the same items that you unboxed. I know it helps you if we order from Amazon, but can you post the Japanese site where those items were purchased?
@@aidanaggarwal1271 Even going directly to that site I don't see those scissors. Maybe not available to US for some reason. Alex did such a great job presenting, and now I want them!
Stainless doesn't necessarily cut with less efficiency, people say there's less 'bite' on them, i.e. they slip when cutting things such as tomato skin, but that's not really an issue if it's sharpened properly. Also VG-10 is a great steel, great value for money, and probably the most beginner friendly, but bottom tier when we are talking about japanese knives. There are plenty of far better performing steel being used such as sg2, zdp189 and hap-40 just to name a few.
the scissors in the description are not the ones Alex has. I did however find those he shows in the video, they're called "Toribe Scissors Kitchen Shears KS-203"
as soon as you mentioned japanese kitchenware, i was immediately expecting the rubber cutting board, which i dont think that many people know about, with the quality, the superior characteristics, although i am more familiar with the brands that has layers ( i dont personally use one, but have done some research on them) and i was not disappointed! i hope you enjoy the cutting experience and i really hope to see those boards often
I recently viewed a UA-cam video about 2 elderly Japanese men who still make Tawashi brushes by hand in the traditional way. As usual, I was amazed at the skill learned over decades required to make them. I remember they spread the palm fibers between two wires and twist the wires by hand to form the brush. If not twisted tight enough the brush will not last and fall apart. If twisted too much the wire will be weakened and break and the work is ruined.
Love this! I have a bunch of rubber boards in different colours for safety. They are easier to sanitise because I can just put them in the sink with some bleach that I wouldn’t want to do with a wood board. I have a wooden board as well which I only use with vegetables. My advice for buying cutting boards. Get the largest board that fit in your sink.
This is exactly what I love. Great products. Japanese quality is always top notch. I have wanted a reliable review on Japanese rubber cutting boards for a long time. As I have looked at buying one for at least a year. I hope you give a solid review of the cutting board as the ones I look at are well over $200. Review Japanese rubber cutting boards and knifes. This is the stuff we nerd out on.
He doesn’t care. The videos aren’t even that good anymore either. Just random topics remotely related to cooking. It’s clear he’s just interested in milking whatever is left of that channel before moving onto something else.
Meanwhile I don't even know that there are sponsors in videos when my UA-cam Add-On skips the sponsored section automatically. Also my modified Revanced App is doing the same on my phone.
8 місяців тому+2
Just for some adjustments regarding the knife : 1) VG10 is very good but not necessarily "the best". For all those technical steels, like VG10, Magnacut, CPM390 etc, it's all a balance between different characteristics. 2) All stainless steels are alloys
A set of silicone spatulas of different shape and size are the best thing I've added to my kitchen tools in decades. The satisfaction of getting every little drop of a delicious but small leftover portion of i.e. pan sauce is second to none. Comes right after a knife and before the kitchen tweezers ;)
@@C.u.d.s oh no. Sorry. Not the same as Alex. Just the same as mine 😂 ridiculous explanation 😂 but no. Never sharpened. They were a give away from the metal working firm I used to work at. They also split in 2 to clean. Was quite a new idea back then.
5:16 Absolutely Alex! Huge fan from Colombia and here in my house we use them specially for cutting chorizo and other meats plus some vegetables 🇨🇴🇨🇴🇨🇴🇨🇴🇨🇴
Thumbs up, but, i WANT the exact knife, scissors, and spatula you showcased! Alex, you are IMO the best cooking channel by far. Please update us with those links. IDC if they are in a language I don't understand. Slicing that carrot looked effortless!
Hey man, the VG10 is not stainless. The tojiro DP ia a sandwich blade. It’s a vg10 in the core or the bevel and a stainless steel around. So you still need to keep it dry or the edge will rust and pretty quickly and give you a lot of headaches.
I like this idea. I would definitely watch a longer series of you challenging yourself to use lesser known kitchen tools. Longtime subscriber, love your stuff.
Very cool, thanks Alex. I don’t get the rubber chopping board though. I’m thinking it’s probably less hygienic, and you risk ending up with more microplastics in the food 🤔 I’d put rubber (or a wet towel) beneath my wooden chopping boards.
my favorite spatula of all time is a variation of the new white one you just got, the only difference is that its indented on one side so you can spoon/lift out things with it. I cried when the pointed side broke off because I have not been able to find a replacement for it in 10 years of searching
Tawashi brush with handle is what we used to use to clean our toilet bowl during my childhood. It has perfect shape and stiffness, we moved on to plastic (nylon) bristle and recently to silicone brush.
Anyone else waiting for a Ramen Recipe video. Was so hyped when he revisited Ramen as a Topic and everything build up to a recipe video and now nothinf for months. ALEX I NEED A RAMEN RECIPE xD
@@adrianstein1121 You're probably right, but i don't think you should give apps like that positive exposure like Alex did. Maybe there are people that just don't know any better and buy and install this program just because they saw the add and the good things Alex said about that app. But in the end everyone is responsable for what they buy and use, thats correct of course.
good tools are always worthwhile. the snap on this scissors is satisfying. The rubber cutting board is novel too. I would have never thought of that. I look forward to your impressions after it's been in use for a while. How it wears, cleans, etc. Also - your mac doesn't need cleaning software.
Don’t scrub that knife with a brillo pad😊 The outer layer of steel on that knife is very soft and scratches easily. Love my tojiro but I feel bad that I scrubbed it with the wrong (green) side of my sponge
What the infomercial is going on with Alex? I got it, a guy's gotta monetize, but jeeez! In the meantime, I think we're at two unfinished "series" in the past year, the Dried Pasta Series, and the latest Ramen series. Alex, it's your channel, do whatever you want, but... I'll leave the rest of sentence unfinished....
Nice video. I do like good kitchen equipment. Not one for cheap plastic tat, especially "uni-taskers". Give me good, well thought out & well made any day. You may have to equip your kitchen over time due to price, but they last longer, do the job better & save money/resources in the long run. Though last year I did buy some hand made knives from Germany that were imported from Vietnam. They were amazingly low priced but work as nicely as my more expensive ones. I also like good copper pans. Bar the copper & silver one I bought from you, most of mine as old tin lined copper ones that carefully bought online 2nd hand that didn't need re-tinning. So I've curated a full set of top notch pans at a fraction of the cost.
No, it is not. Hardness is one factor but edge retentions is the key to how long a knife stays sharp. And edge retention is not determined by hardness.
you should look into other Japanese stainless alloys, most of my knives are ginsan and sks93. They're mind blowingly light (240mm kiritsuke with cherry handle comes in well under 200g), scalpel sharp, and they retain it for so long..
You are 100% correct! Great tools do make the experience much more enjoyable. I love my Japanese knives and my shears. I'm highly interested in that scrubber and cutting board(even though I just purchased a massive bamboo board). Awesome video! Thanks for sharing. Update: I instantly ordered the Tawashi scrubbers after watching your video. I just recieved them and did my dishes. Holy shit Jesus! These are freaking amazing! The power of steel wool without the damage. I thought I would never be able to get the built up grease in my air fryer screen. It took minimal effort; aking to just wiping the counter with a sponge. I cannot thank you enough for showing me this tool. I will never go back!
I have that knife. It's not as fancy as carbon-steel blades, but it will probably last 200 years. It's very satisfying to use, but it's kind of stiff if you like slightly "bendy" knives. I love it. Great value.
@@JackHudler I was being silly, but it is for real and honest built like a tank, and the handle is not fancy but it's very solid. As I said, the blade is kind-of stiff, and that's due to the hardness (and thickness) of the steel. Still, a great all-around knife *especially* for the price.
Japanese kitchenware is amazing, and more importantly, with the benefit of yen being at record low in decades, they become very competitive at reasonable price.
Been using Tojiro DP knives for a long time. For the price, you can't beat them. The lack of bolster is nice for shrpening but if you are not careful that sharp point at the heel of the blade will get you. Ask me how I know 🤕
The difference in the cutting mats is one is made for something where you would do a lot of chopping and rhythmic just bashing down on something and the other ones made for more sell cutting where you’re not gonna you know make as much noise and moving around more like you’re filling something you’re doing something sensitive, but still want that feeling.
Kind of, but at the same time it's an official engineering term. Alloy steel means that it's a steel with addition of something else than iron and carbon.
"Alloy" is the correct term, and if he didn't use it he would still have to say "a kind of", "a type of", or something like that to indicate that he's comparing steel variants.
@@jnicholasp I did not say it was incorrect I said it was redundant - Steel is defined as being an alloy of iron and carbon. Just because there are different varying types of steel, comprised by different additional metals or alloying techniques, does not change the fact that steel is an alloy and referring to any of those variances of steel as an alloy (implying a difference from steel in some way) is a redundant use of that term, and better ways of expressing this would avoid such a redundancy.
@@HikingPhalkawn Steel is an alloy of carbon and iron, yes, but the various kinds of steel are also distinct alloys (of iron with varying percentages of carbon, chromium, molybdenum, nickel, etc), and they are properly, non-redundantly, referred to as steel alloys. They are alloys of steel (itself an alloy) with other elements, and it is useful to refer to them as alloys in order to indicate that you are speaking of different types of steel, especially to a general audience.
@@HikingPhalkawn It's not redundant. Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon. Alloy steel is an alloy of steel (iron and carbon) and something else. They are further separated into subcategories like low-alloy and high-alloy steels. These are industry terms that denote specific differences.
The more premium rubber cutting boards seem to have a wooden center completely sealed in, to prevent them from warping over time. That's probably also what makes them proper beefcakes 😜
I'm always impressed how a lot of Japanese products are just consistently better designed and more thoughtful on all levels than many western products. I own a couple things imported from, designed and made in Japan and they are all sublime.
I'm a dude from the top corner of America. I know what "choil" and "jimping" means, even "bolster", I don't even know if "eastern" knives have those. Sometimes I listen to "Sublime" while making my knives. Quality comes from the pride of the craftsman. My paying job is a "chef" for a high end resort, but I consider myself a blacksmith that specializes in "western" style knives.
Dear Alex, VG-10 is by no means the best stainless steel. Let alone the best stainless steel for cutlery. VG-10 is middle of the pack at best. I urge you to look into steels such as CPM S30V, CPM S60V, CPM S90V, Cru-Wear, CTS B52, CTS XHP, ZDP-189, Sandvik 12C27, Maxamet, among others.
Atomic Habits it's still a big influence for you since that onion-chopping video. "make it satisfying". I bet there's nothing more satisfying than a good sharp AF japanese hybrid knife. I'm jealous. The VG-10 seems like a great material. I always thought carbon was the way to go. I'll look into it.
8:57 this is exactly what I encounter and frankly gets me frustrated when sharpening my knives, it’s definitely doable but it’s very counterintuitive. One cannot really repeat enough times how Japanese people have understood the way sometimes simplicity or a simpler approach makes much superior end products/results.
Ohhhh Alex! I’ve been following you for quite a long time, and it's very special to me that you bought these items from my home country! I also use the tawashi brush every day! Ureshii desu!
VG-10 is the best stainless steel you can buy... Magnacut, ZDP, S90V: am I an ffing joke to you :/ The best steels are made by powder metallurgy which is not commonly used in Japan. VG-10 was the best stainless steel in 2005 now its like the 15th. To be fair a Magnacut knife costs 4x what a VG-10 costs especially if its had a proper 63-64 HRC heat treatment but it has much better toughness and edge retention. On tests it out performs VG-10 by 5x on things like ropecuts.
I’m not sure if it was the same type of rubber material as in these boards, but 20 or 25-ish years ago, when I was a young cook, we had a couple of rubber cutting boards at work. In my experience, those boards did catch. One of our sous chefs loved them. A bigger problem was that they got extremely soft when sent through the dishwasher. and hardtop be placed flat on a table to cool down before storing vertically in the cutting board rack. If not, they would dry all warped and wouldn’t lay flat. But this might not be the same material at all.
I must say Alex, I can't agree with the saying "It's not a knife for beginners", because every sharp stainless steel sharp knife will be great for beginners, as it's less danagerous than dull knife for sure!
As far as I know, the absence of a bolster allows for the knife to act like a paring knife. It also allows for a different style of grip. Personally, I feel a tomato cutting test, is a better test in terms of sharpness. A paper just tastes weird 🤣
I think most comments about rubber cutting boards are ignorant of how they are used. Japanese knife techniques are generally about cutting only what you wanna cut, with the minimum force required. So if you swing a knife enough to feel its weight, you're using way too much force. If a cut requires a powerful stroke, then grab a cleaver and chop wood. But when you wield a good knife as a cook with delicate ingredients like fish fillets, you see everything your hand does with that knife afterwards....
When Alex talked about his most neglected kitchen tool I 100% thought it was chopsticks, aka one of the most practical kitchen tools ever (from an asian perspective) 😂
That spatula is a Dutch invention. It's originally designed to get the last bits out of a pot and they found out it works well as a spatula. The more you know.
Yeah, Alex this video’s sponsor is probably not one you should work with again. These types of services are often sketchy, sell user data, and end up slowing down the computer. Your videos are high quality and is interesting content, but these types of sponsors don’t share the same quality of reputation that you’ve built and that I think you hold for yourself and your channel.
Désolé mais en tant que gros nerd de couteaux, non le VG-10 n'est pas ce qui se ferait de mieux en stainless, ca serait plutot le SG-2/R2. Quoi qu'il en soit, excelent choix le Tojiro DP :) Concernant la planche, elle est plus dure et lourde parce qu'elle a un core en bois. C'est le top, félicitation !
Another knife nerd here. I fully agree, SG-2 steels are great. Easy to sharpen & stay sharp very long. Also the western bevel is not really easier to sharpen, but easier to use. On a single bevel knife the knife will veer to one side when cutting, western beveled knifes don't.
Would never have thought to try a rubber chopping board but it makes complete sense, solves so many of the common issues - blunting, moving around, easily washable. Although they seem they would wear down quite fast, like plastics, and are a bit less repairable than wood
Also my concern. Sure, they won't damage the knives, but the knives will damage the cutting board. I'd rather have to re-sharpen my knives than buy replacement cutting boards.
I own one myself and it is way more susceptible to knife marks yes, but you can buff those out fairly easily with a block and some sanding paper. I wouldn't chop anything on them though.
@@frankyao5854 Well to be fair they aren't really made for chopping anyway, only slicing and general cutting. Rubber cutting boards like the Asahi from what I've heard at least were made primarily for the sushi restaurant industry when standards of hygiene made traditional wooden benchtops for storing and cutting fish no longer an option and sushi chefs didn't like the normal HDPE cutting boards because they dull knifes quickly, get gouged easily and are slippery, which the rubber ones all fix. They are also dishwasher and bleach safe, which is an advantage over wooden boards too
I've seen a fair few videos here on youtube of japanese kitchens and when they need to do some heavy chopping they definitely use a proper chopping block of either wood or those massive HDPE circular blocks(common in places that specialize in chinese style cooking)
I own one myself and they definitely are a joy to use for pretty much everything, I also got a massive 24"x16" HDPE board for 45$ when I'm breaking down chickens and sanitizing is a breeze and I don't have to worry about it at all if it gets a bit damanged, definitely easier and cleaner than putting together a bunch of cheap thin plastic boards and the chicken juices get everywhere on the counter let me tell you
@@TobiNightcore The cutting board is self healing. They are used in professional sushi kitchens in Japan. They cost a fortune if you get one of the original big brands. It looks like Alex bought a knock off.
I just use my cotton chef towel and lay it flat on the counter. Then I pick up all the ingredients in it at once with it and plop it in the pan. You never have to sharpen your knife that way either. I use a very fine knit towel and the knife never even remotely cuts into it. I bought a high grade Japanese nakiri 4 years ago and have been chopping everything with it and the knife has never lost any sharpness. And when your done you throw it in the laundry to be cleaned and disinfected.
8:09 VG-10 is a decent affordable alloy, but it is very very very far from being the hardest, or otherwise best stainless steel. We have zdp-189/Cowry-X/MC66 that all far superior in terms of edge retention and sharpness.
I’m a huge fan of pmv-11 steel.
I only know of it from woodworking, but I believe it’s a type of stainless. It’s relatively easy to sharpen but retains an edge fantastically.
I’m not sure if it’s proprietary to Veritas woodworking, but I’d love to see them branch out into blades and scissors.
Disclaimer: typically to other tool steels we use are O1 and A2, so I’m not sure if pmv-11 is simply marketing for a different type of steel used in other applications, but personally I prefer it over those other two for woodworking.
Those steels are all martensitic stainless steels, a hybrid between carbon and stainless steels. They are better than VG-10, but also not directly comparable either. 440C would be a better comparison, which is also much better than VG-10 (and one of my personal favorites).
VG-10 is also a nightmare to deburr, making it difficult to sharpen properly.
VG10 chips quite easily (I own a VG10 chef knife since years). But if you're interested by steel, you should look at high end pocket knife market. Magnacut, M390, s35vn and other powder metallurgy steels are pushing VG10 to the entry level category.
@@gregfd Yes, I've got kitchen knives in Magnacut and S35VN and can attest to their edge retention. The former is also highly corrosion resistant, probably the current champ as an all-arounder steel to boot. I used to turn my nose up at stainless steels for years, but after some amateur metallurgy info, learned that many of them outperform certain carbon steels in edge retention and even toughness.
I lived in Japan for many years and I brought all my culinary equipment back home! The only thing I never thought to bring back was a rubber cutting board. My home-stay family (yes, I went to school there) ran a restaurant so they were all over the kitchen. I got a Japanese culinary education unlike any other. I like using wood and I grate cheese on plastic (to contain the spread), but Japanese culinary gear is really incredible!
VG-10 is nice, but it’s not the best stainless steel. But it absolutely ok.
You lit un my curiosity ! What are good aloys for knives ?
You lit un my curiosity ! What are good aloys for knives ?
@@etiennelaval342 SG2 is great
@@etiennelaval342 Stainless steeltypes that has surpassed VG10 are SG2/R2, ZDP189, GinSan, Aus10 and HAP 40
@@etiennelaval342 CPM MagnaCut or r2/sg2
I've used tawashi brushes for over 50 years. It's remarkable how long they last. I still have one my parents used and it is still in good shape. I use them for pots and pans as well as cleaning sinks and countertops. Fortunately, I can buy them at a local Japanese food store. I understand they are made of palm fiber which is mold resistant so I have never noticed any odor from them.
Store them wrongly and they rot like straw in water, exposing the scratchy metal wire inside.
never thought id see ads for ccleaner on this channel 😂
sunk to a new low lol.
Only ever saw an ad for this on the Snazzylabs YT channel where it made a lot of sense to me. I don't mind it here either, but it does not seem to make a whole lot of sense to me. I don't watch a cooking video to get advice on how to clean my Mac. That's what I watch videos about good Mac Apps for.
next it'll probably be an offer for the fabled Nigerian Prince Lost Cookbook™ from Western Union... 😏👆
And you didn't 😉 CleanMyMac X is in no way related to the previously mentioned app. We are legit and available on the Mac App Store, with strict rules about the security of all software distributed on the platform.
@@donwald3436 just add SponsorBlock and it'll just automatically skip over, he gets a bag and can make cool videos, stop crying
I hope Alex goes down the rabbit hole of Japanese knives next! They're truly special kitchen tools with a ton of variety and character. Tojiro's VG10 is a good introductory steel, but there are more premium stainless options out there like ginsan (silver 3) and SG2/R2, as well as many different flavors of carbon steel.
@@roamingthereal4060exactly this - it just becomes ‘gadge’ or ‘tech’ to many people where numbers on charts are what matter. People get insane about knives and I don’t know why. I also buy nice Japanese knives when I need one, but I really think people who buy and use them as a ‘hobby’ have totally lost focus of the fact that they’re spending inordinate amounts of money on tools. To not use those tools is, in my opinion, disrespectful if you actually claim to care about the craftsmanship etc (as many do). The line between interest in knives that stems from a passion for cooking and unchecked consumerism is thin.
Didn't mean to imply VG10 was bad, or that more expensive knives/steels are necessarily better! Just wanted to highlight that there's a lot of variety in Japanese knives and it would be cool to see Alex explore them.
Yes. Yes. Yes.
@@ajq0301 agree. end of the day heat treatment mean more than steel itself. jp knive rabbithole go wayyy too deep.
im at point using mainly singlebevels (beside i have baba hamono sujihiki instead of yanagiba) ,and single bevel honesuki instead of deba since i cant eat fish :D
The Amazon link to the scissors isn't even the same design. Why not link to the original Japanese site?
This is sad. Alex, don't put a link if it isn't the actual product.
One of the sites is Jinen Store. I didn't see every product he mentioned there however.
Same with a knife.
Affiliate link
@@dru2506probably not available as an affiliate
None of the provided links are for the same items that you unboxed. I know it helps you if we order from Amazon, but can you post the Japanese site where those items were purchased?
The website that he used is Global Kitchen Japan!
@@aidanaggarwal1271 Even going directly to that site I don't see those scissors. Maybe not available to US for some reason. Alex did such a great job presenting, and now I want them!
@@angelataormina3052 The shears are Toribe Seisakusho. The cutting board he linked is the correct brand (asahi)
Stainless doesn't necessarily cut with less efficiency, people say there's less 'bite' on them, i.e. they slip when cutting things such as tomato skin, but that's not really an issue if it's sharpened properly. Also VG-10 is a great steel, great value for money, and probably the most beginner friendly, but bottom tier when we are talking about japanese knives. There are plenty of far better performing steel being used such as sg2, zdp189 and hap-40 just to name a few.
the scissors in the description are not the ones Alex has. I did however find those he shows in the video, they're called "Toribe Scissors Kitchen Shears KS-203"
as soon as you mentioned japanese kitchenware, i was immediately expecting the rubber cutting board, which i dont think that many people know about, with the quality, the superior characteristics, although i am more familiar with the brands that has layers ( i dont personally use one, but have done some research on them)
and i was not disappointed! i hope you enjoy the cutting experience and i really hope to see those boards often
I recently viewed a UA-cam video about 2 elderly Japanese men who still make Tawashi brushes by hand in the traditional way. As usual, I was amazed at the skill learned over decades required to make them. I remember they spread the palm fibers between two wires and twist the wires by hand to form the brush. If not twisted tight enough the brush will not last and fall apart. If twisted too much the wire will be weakened and break and the work is ruined.
Love this! I have a bunch of rubber boards in different colours for safety. They are easier to sanitise because I can just put them in the sink with some bleach that I wouldn’t want to do with a wood board. I have a wooden board as well which I only use with vegetables.
My advice for buying cutting boards. Get the largest board that fit in your sink.
Thanks Alex great selection - will try the scissors & board!
DI ORO® - Large Silicone Spatula - £9.97! Awesome tool!
Hi Alex! When are you going to give us a tour of MORTEL? You never did that episode! 🙂
This is exactly what I love. Great products. Japanese quality is always top notch. I have wanted a reliable review on Japanese rubber cutting boards for a long time. As I have looked at buying one for at least a year. I hope you give a solid review of the cutting board as the ones I look at are well over $200. Review Japanese rubber cutting boards and knifes. This is the stuff we nerd out on.
I have a tawashi brush, from where from I don't recall, but have always assumed it was for scrubbing potatoes. Works well.
bro is really taking the most controversial sponsors lol
Man's gotta get paid
Channel is going downhill fast. This is what happens when creators start to care more about more and more piles of money and not their viewers.
@@Ineluki_MyonrashiI don't see a drop in views or anything, you are very wrong.
He doesn’t care. The videos aren’t even that good anymore either. Just random topics remotely related to cooking. It’s clear he’s just interested in milking whatever is left of that channel before moving onto something else.
Meanwhile I don't even know that there are sponsors in videos when my UA-cam Add-On skips the sponsored section automatically. Also my modified Revanced App is doing the same on my phone.
Just for some adjustments regarding the knife : 1) VG10 is very good but not necessarily "the best". For all those technical steels, like VG10, Magnacut, CPM390 etc, it's all a balance between different characteristics. 2) All stainless steels are alloys
A set of silicone spatulas of different shape and size are the best thing I've added to my kitchen tools in decades. The satisfaction of getting every little drop of a delicious but small leftover portion of i.e. pan sauce is second to none. Comes right after a knife and before the kitchen tweezers ;)
There is no reason to ever install or run any 3rd party "cleaning", "optimizing", "speed-up" on MacOS as its build it so don't use CleanMyMac.
In some cases it‘s pretty nice to have a tool, Battery Monitor is useful when you have a macbook
First mistake is having a Mac lmao
If you’ve never used it, you don’t know! I do, it works very well.
@@claremaccarthy7308overpriced for its capabilities
This.
you are living the best of the life alex . keep it up @FrenchGuyCooking tnank you verry much.
I’ve been using the same pair of kitchen scissors for 40 years 😊 cut spring onions, bacon etc.
Cool! Out of curiosity do you have to sharpen them? They look so nice! (And expensive 😂)
@@C.u.d.s oh no. Sorry. Not the same as Alex. Just the same as mine 😂 ridiculous explanation 😂 but no. Never sharpened. They were a give away from the metal working firm I used to work at. They also split in 2 to clean. Was quite a new idea back then.
@@justjane2070 I thought you meant the same as Alex's pair of knives too, 40 years is impressive for any appliance, what a nice give away
Where is a link to the original store?
Pretty sure that's globalkitchenjapan. Be aware that you need to import the goods into your country and probably pay additional money to customs.
welp I guess that was it for buying Tojiro Fujitora there for the near future and the prices were already pretty high compared to 7 years ago...
@@TheManfetcheck Knifewear. I get mine from there and they are great
5:16 Absolutely Alex! Huge fan from Colombia and here in my house we use them specially for cutting chorizo and other meats plus some vegetables 🇨🇴🇨🇴🇨🇴🇨🇴🇨🇴
Thumbs up, but, i WANT the exact knife, scissors, and spatula you showcased! Alex, you are IMO the best cooking channel by far. Please update us with those links. IDC if they are in a language I don't understand. Slicing that carrot looked effortless!
Hey man, the VG10 is not stainless. The tojiro DP ia a sandwich blade. It’s a vg10 in the core or the bevel and a stainless steel around. So you still need to keep it dry or the edge will rust and pretty quickly and give you a lot of headaches.
I like this idea. I would definitely watch a longer series of you challenging yourself to use lesser known kitchen tools. Longtime subscriber, love your stuff.
Very cool, thanks Alex. I don’t get the rubber chopping board though. I’m thinking it’s probably less hygienic, and you risk ending up with more microplastics in the food 🤔 I’d put rubber (or a wet towel) beneath my wooden chopping boards.
I’ve had my Tojiro DP 240mm Guyto knife for 12 years. I use it every day. It is a _wonderful_ knife. Prepare to be spoiled.
I love my Tojiro Flash gyuto knife. Very sharp and very elegant too with a comfortable handle.
my favorite spatula of all time is a variation of the new white one you just got, the only difference is that its indented on one side so you can spoon/lift out things with it. I cried when the pointed side broke off because I have not been able to find a replacement for it in 10 years of searching
Tawashi brush with handle is what we used to use to clean our toilet bowl during my childhood. It has perfect shape and stiffness, we moved on to plastic (nylon) bristle and recently to silicone brush.
Anyone else waiting for a Ramen Recipe video. Was so hyped when he revisited Ramen as a Topic and everything build up to a recipe video and now nothinf for months. ALEX I NEED A RAMEN RECIPE xD
Completely off topic but...
What is the wristwatch Alex wearing?
Been wondering the same for ages XD
It looks similar to a Seiko "Alpinist", although I couldn't find one where the 12 numeral is replaced by a triangle. I believe it is a Seiko though.
Haha! saw you cutting carrot with this diamond knife. Japanese use "Nakiri" knife for cutting veggies! love their shape too
The use of a razer thin depth of field on the b roll of the gyoto was a lovely artistic choice.
That's the scissors asmr I came for!
Bro, please just dont take any scammy sponsor, at least do a bit of research before you take someting like that as your sponsor....
Are ppl really so gullible they see a ad and buy it without questions? I think that's on them xD
@@adrianstein1121 You're probably right, but i don't think you should give apps like that positive exposure like Alex did. Maybe there are people that just don't know any better and buy and install this program just because they saw the add and the good things Alex said about that app.
But in the end everyone is responsable for what they buy and use, thats correct of course.
@@adrianstein1121 If people weren't gullible, ads wouldn't exist. Everybody is influenced by ads, even you
5:05 When you're sponsered by CleanMyKitchen, I go all in
Now that's an idea!
@@CleanMyMac you are welcome^^
good tools are always worthwhile. the snap on this scissors is satisfying. The rubber cutting board is novel too. I would have never thought of that. I look forward to your impressions after it's been in use for a while. How it wears, cleans, etc. Also - your mac doesn't need cleaning software.
I love my Tojiro knives. I've got 4 of the DP series and love each. Nice choice.
I have been using tojiro knives for a while, they're great quality and awesome value.
Don’t scrub that knife with a brillo pad😊
The outer layer of steel on that knife is very soft and scratches easily.
Love my tojiro but I feel bad that I scrubbed it with the wrong (green) side of my sponge
What the infomercial is going on with Alex? I got it, a guy's gotta monetize, but jeeez! In the meantime, I think we're at two unfinished "series" in the past year, the Dried Pasta Series, and the latest Ramen series. Alex, it's your channel, do whatever you want, but... I'll leave the rest of sentence unfinished....
He doesn't care anymore
I think people really came for him on a video that seemed a little redundant and now he is taking a break. He hasn't uploaded in 5 months.
I came for the Squarespace commercial! Where is it? I am leaving!!!
Alex and japan? I see this as an Absolute win ! And love to see you getting more tools🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
We have those exact scissors! We loved them so much we got everyone in my family a pair for Christmas
Would you mind sharing where you bought them?
The scissors at the Amazon link are different than the ones you showed in the video.
i have a tradition to eat ramen every time i watch a new Alex video.
Nice video. I do like good kitchen equipment. Not one for cheap plastic tat, especially "uni-taskers". Give me good, well thought out & well made any day. You may have to equip your kitchen over time due to price, but they last longer, do the job better & save money/resources in the long run. Though last year I did buy some hand made knives from Germany that were imported from Vietnam. They were amazingly low priced but work as nicely as my more expensive ones. I also like good copper pans. Bar the copper & silver one I bought from you, most of mine as old tin lined copper ones that carefully bought online 2nd hand that didn't need re-tinning. So I've curated a full set of top notch pans at a fraction of the cost.
The alloy isn't what deciding how sharp the knife cuts, the hardness decides how long it will stay sharp.
Edit: Apperently I was wrong, read the reply
No, it is not. Hardness is one factor but edge retentions is the key to how long a knife stays sharp. And edge retention is not determined by hardness.
As a knife guy, it’s cool to see you know blade steel
you should look into other Japanese stainless alloys, most of my knives are ginsan and sks93. They're mind blowingly light (240mm kiritsuke with cherry handle comes in well under 200g), scalpel sharp, and they retain it for so long..
You are 100% correct! Great tools do make the experience much more enjoyable. I love my Japanese knives and my shears. I'm highly interested in that scrubber and cutting board(even though I just purchased a massive bamboo board). Awesome video! Thanks for sharing.
Update: I instantly ordered the Tawashi scrubbers after watching your video. I just recieved them and did my dishes. Holy shit Jesus! These are freaking amazing! The power of steel wool without the damage. I thought I would never be able to get the built up grease in my air fryer screen. It took minimal effort; aking to just wiping the counter with a sponge. I cannot thank you enough for showing me this tool. I will never go back!
Alex I like your watches but please produce a chef watch that has a built-in timer. That would be a lovely match to your apron!
I have that knife. It's not as fancy as carbon-steel blades, but it will probably last 200 years. It's very satisfying to use, but it's kind of stiff if you like slightly "bendy" knives. I love it. Great value.
Damn. 200 year? I better order 5
@@JackHudler I was being silly, but it is for real and honest built like a tank, and the handle is not fancy but it's very solid. As I said, the blade is kind-of stiff, and that's due to the hardness (and thickness) of the steel. Still, a great all-around knife *especially* for the price.
Japanese kitchenware is amazing, and more importantly, with the benefit of yen being at record low in decades, they become very competitive at reasonable price.
Been using Tojiro DP knives for a long time. For the price, you can't beat them. The lack of bolster is nice for shrpening but if you are not careful that sharp point at the heel of the blade will get you. Ask me how I know 🤕
Hmm the best stainless steel for japanese knife might be SG2 above VG10
Ça a l'air top, j'essaye ça prochainement !
Oh man, I was expecting the rectangular omelette making pan...
Thx for sharing
The difference in the cutting mats is one is made for something where you would do a lot of chopping and rhythmic just bashing down on something and the other ones made for more sell cutting where you’re not gonna you know make as much noise and moving around more like you’re filling something you’re doing something sensitive, but still want that feeling.
I feel like these types of videos would be great for a second channel. Love the content though!
It's funny how Japanese tools can go either way, from innovative new gadgets to timeless ancient craftsmanship.
8:09 saying VG10 is an alloy is a bit redundant, since ALL steel variation are alloys of iron
Kind of, but at the same time it's an official engineering term. Alloy steel means that it's a steel with addition of something else than iron and carbon.
"Alloy" is the correct term, and if he didn't use it he would still have to say "a kind of", "a type of", or something like that to indicate that he's comparing steel variants.
@@jnicholasp I did not say it was incorrect I said it was redundant - Steel is defined as being an alloy of iron and carbon. Just because there are different varying types of steel, comprised by different additional metals or alloying techniques, does not change the fact that steel is an alloy and referring to any of those variances of steel as an alloy (implying a difference from steel in some way) is a redundant use of that term, and better ways of expressing this would avoid such a redundancy.
@@HikingPhalkawn Steel is an alloy of carbon and iron, yes, but the various kinds of steel are also distinct alloys (of iron with varying percentages of carbon, chromium, molybdenum, nickel, etc), and they are properly, non-redundantly, referred to as steel alloys. They are alloys of steel (itself an alloy) with other elements, and it is useful to refer to them as alloys in order to indicate that you are speaking of different types of steel, especially to a general audience.
@@HikingPhalkawn It's not redundant. Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon. Alloy steel is an alloy of steel (iron and carbon) and something else. They are further separated into subcategories like low-alloy and high-alloy steels. These are industry terms that denote specific differences.
The more premium rubber cutting boards seem to have a wooden center completely sealed in, to prevent them from warping over time. That's probably also what makes them proper beefcakes 😜
beautiful craftsmanship
I like the cutting board(s). Was 'beefier' also rubber?
For anyone looking for the same scissors they are the Toribe KS203 or a similar model
I'm always impressed how a lot of Japanese products are just consistently better designed and more thoughtful on all levels than many western products. I own a couple things imported from, designed and made in Japan and they are all sublime.
Japanese people apeing their Western Betters.
I'm a dude from the top corner of America. I know what "choil" and "jimping" means, even "bolster", I don't even know if "eastern" knives have those. Sometimes I listen to "Sublime" while making my knives.
Quality comes from the pride of the craftsman.
My paying job is a "chef" for a high end resort, but I consider myself a blacksmith that specializes in "western" style knives.
You should go to Japan. The whole place is like this.
American design= Planned Obsolescence
Any examples in particular?
Dear Alex, VG-10 is by no means the best stainless steel. Let alone the best stainless steel for cutlery. VG-10 is middle of the pack at best. I urge you to look into steels such as CPM S30V, CPM S60V, CPM S90V, Cru-Wear, CTS B52, CTS XHP, ZDP-189, Sandvik 12C27, Maxamet, among others.
Atomic Habits it's still a big influence for you since that onion-chopping video. "make it satisfying".
I bet there's nothing more satisfying than a good sharp AF japanese hybrid knife. I'm jealous.
The VG-10 seems like a great material. I always thought carbon was the way to go. I'll look into it.
8:57 this is exactly what I encounter and frankly gets me frustrated when sharpening my knives, it’s definitely doable but it’s very counterintuitive. One cannot really repeat enough times how Japanese people have understood the way sometimes simplicity or a simpler approach makes much superior end products/results.
Ohhhh Alex! I’ve been following you for quite a long time, and it's very special to me that you bought these items from my home country! I also use the tawashi brush every day!
Ureshii desu!
VG-10 is the best stainless steel you can buy...
Magnacut, ZDP, S90V: am I an ffing joke to you :/
The best steels are made by powder metallurgy which is not commonly used in Japan. VG-10 was the best stainless steel in 2005 now its like the 15th. To be fair a Magnacut knife costs 4x what a VG-10 costs especially if its had a proper 63-64 HRC heat treatment but it has much better toughness and edge retention. On tests it out performs VG-10 by 5x on things like ropecuts.
I'd love to see Alex do a video tour of all the kitchen supply stores along Kappabashi Street in Tokyo.
Those are actually kitchen shears, since they are designed to be taken apart for cleaning, as opposed to scissors, which do not.
Another one where Alex is just being Alex! Very Alex to get these kind of tools.
I enjoyed this video a lot :D
Hi Alex, what kind of watch do you have? It looks great!
Sounds silly, but I’m most excited about the chopping board. Does the knife catch on the rubber at all?
I’m not sure if it was the same type of rubber material as in these boards, but 20 or 25-ish years ago, when I was a young cook, we had a couple of rubber cutting boards at work. In my experience, those boards did catch. One of our sous chefs loved them. A bigger problem was that they got extremely soft when sent through the dishwasher. and hardtop be placed flat on a table to cool down before storing vertically in the cutting board rack. If not, they would dry all warped and wouldn’t lay flat. But this might not be the same material at all.
I was looking at these chopping boards not that long ago, some REALLY expensive… I look forward to hearing your thoughts.
I must say Alex, I can't agree with the saying "It's not a knife for beginners", because every sharp stainless steel sharp knife will be great for beginners, as it's less danagerous than dull knife for sure!
More videos like this please
You should make a video reviewing the items after you use them for a while.
yeah, it's something that's sadly usually neglected on these kinds of videos...
As far as I know, the absence of a bolster allows for the knife to act like a paring knife. It also allows for a different style of grip. Personally, I feel a tomato cutting test, is a better test in terms of sharpness. A paper just tastes weird 🤣
Using scissors to cut meat was life changing
I would like to buy the scissors you show in the video.... The link you have in the description is not those scissors....
I think most comments about rubber cutting boards are ignorant of how they are used. Japanese knife techniques are generally about cutting only what you wanna cut, with the minimum force required. So if you swing a knife enough to feel its weight, you're using way too much force. If a cut requires a powerful stroke, then grab a cleaver and chop wood. But when you wield a good knife as a cook with delicate ingredients like fish fillets, you see everything your hand does with that knife afterwards....
When Alex talked about his most neglected kitchen tool I 100% thought it was chopsticks, aka one of the most practical kitchen tools ever (from an asian perspective) 😂
The brush is great but will loose its bristles too.
As for the spatula, look for the spoonula from Gir.
That spatula is a Dutch invention. It's originally designed to get the last bits out of a pot and they found out it works well as a spatula. The more you know.
You should have bought a Ernest Wright scissor. They are the best.
Yeah, Alex this video’s sponsor is probably not one you should work with again. These types of services are often sketchy, sell user data, and end up slowing down the computer. Your videos are high quality and is interesting content, but these types of sponsors don’t share the same quality of reputation that you’ve built and that I think you hold for yourself and your channel.
Désolé mais en tant que gros nerd de couteaux, non le VG-10 n'est pas ce qui se ferait de mieux en stainless, ca serait plutot le SG-2/R2.
Quoi qu'il en soit, excelent choix le Tojiro DP :)
Concernant la planche, elle est plus dure et lourde parce qu'elle a un core en bois. C'est le top, félicitation !
Another knife nerd here. I fully agree, SG-2 steels are great. Easy to sharpen & stay sharp very long.
Also the western bevel is not really easier to sharpen, but easier to use. On a single bevel knife the knife will veer to one side when cutting, western beveled knifes don't.
The Amazon links for the scissors and knife are wrong.
I have that exact chef's knife! Cool!
Ok, but is it your favorite
1:42 Sério!!! Uma bucha de cozinha feita de piaçava do tempo da minha vó???