Fred wrote:

>
> Here's a good place to help explain this. The purpose of the kullens (the
> little hollows) on the blade is to reduce the tendency of food to stick to
> the blade. This is a useful feature on knives that are used for slicing.
> But the Chef's knife is not intended to be a slicer (although it will slice)
> but rather a chopper, dicer and mincer. So the kullens don't really help
> much in this knife like they would with a slicer. So there is really
> nothing to gain with them in a wide bladed chef knife designed for chopping
> dicing and mincing.
>
> But there is something to lose. As you wear away steel sharpening the edge,
> you get to a point at some time in which the kullens are exposed and the
> blade takes on a wavy appearance when viewed edge on. At this point the
> blade will never cut like it did when it was new because a good portion of
> the blade can't be sharpened any longer. So the chef's knife will have a
> shorter life than a chef's knife without the kullens or, at some point,
> won't cut as well as one without them.
>
> The Santuko profile is fine and effective. It makes a perfectly good chef's
> knife. The kullens, on the other hand, actually represent a negative,
> unless you use the chef's knife as a slicer. Wusthof does make the same
> knife without kullens and I recommend you buy that instead. It will last
> longer and handle occasional slicing duties just about as well as the kullen
> equipped model. However, everybody wants the kullens because Rachel Ray
> uses such a knife on TV. Marketing trumps performance. Hope this helps
> you understand the knife a little better.
>
> Fred
> Knife Outlet
> http://www.knifeoutlet.com
>
>

I have sharpened a fair number of slicers with kullens that were worn
until the kullens were exposed at the edge, and I have not experienced
the problem that Fred describes. I use a wide (2") stone, so the edge
remains straight across the kullens. It is important to remove the
correct amount of metal from each side so the kullens do not make swales
in the edge. The steel in the kullens become sharp but thinner portions
of the edge, somewhat like serrations.

Remember that a santoku knife is not primarily a chefs knife, but a
three purpose knife (san = three, toku = uses) for meat, fish and
vegetables. It is a compromise and not the best for any one of the
uses. I prefer seperate chefs and slicing knives.

Steve
--
Sharpening Made Easy: A Primer on Sharpening Knives and Other Edged
Tools by Steve Bottorff Copyright January 2002 Knife World Publications
www.sharpeningmadeeasy.com
E-mail: steve AT sharpeningmadeeasy DOT com