# Korean Kitchen Knives



## AGC8 (Feb 6, 2020)

It seems Korean knives are overlooked (e.g. on forums, YouTube). Overshadowed by JP knives and German knives, American Customs...

IIRC it was the Chinese/Koreans who taught the Japanese how to make swords in the beginning. Oddly it's the JP that stuck with it for over a century...producing swords pretty much as they did in the beginning...only difference is most no longer have two apprentices swinging hammers on the Tamahegane.

Any how...can some one recommend a few good kitchen knife shops selling Korean kitchen knives? Do any of you own a few? Do they use JP steel or are there Korean equivalents to AOGAMI/Shirogami...etc.? 

For those that own both Korean and JP...how would you compare them? Do you prefer one over the other? Why?


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## Noodle Soup (Feb 6, 2020)

You can find handforged types on the bay if you look hard. I have a few. All are pretty rustic and basic. They will work OK but they are nothing like the high end Japanese knives.


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## KenHash (Feb 6, 2020)

Iron and Steel making was carried from the Mideast into Northern Asia by the Scythians. From there into Central China and eastwards to the Korean peninsula then into Japan. Understand that at this time what we now call "China" was over 50 different states and the Korean Peninsula was also several independent states. Around 300-400BC the Korean kingdoms of Kaya (Mimana) and Paekche (Kudara)were allied with Japan against the Korean kingdoms of Gogureyo (Kouguri) and Silla (Shiragi). During this period metallurgy from Kaya, which had the closest relationship to Japan, is believed to have been brought to Japan in the Yaoi period. Earliest Japanese swords are called Tsurugi, and are straight blades as found on the Northeast Asian continent. I believe the well known curved Japanese form did not appear until about 800 AD.


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## NO ChoP! (Feb 6, 2020)

I wouldn't know a Korean knife if I saw one. I would assume there are a bunch of unused railways between the N. and S. and the steel is heavily used in blacksmithing there.


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## McMan (Feb 6, 2020)

NO ChoP! said:


> I wouldn't know a Korean knife if I saw one. I would assume there are a bunch of unused railways between the N. and S. and the steel is heavily used in blacksmithing there.


Good assumption. There used to be piles on ebay not long ago for ~$30--made from RR stock (or so they said).
They were cool looking (looked like those Serbian cleavers but with 1/2" thick spine). The one I had was the most warped knife I've ever seen.

https://www.japaneseknives.eu/a-443...-nam-09-gyuto-chefs-knife-220-mm/#description


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## KenHash (Feb 7, 2020)

Found some Korean kitchen knives. I personally know very little about them. Perhaps the OP could shed some light?


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## Michi (Feb 7, 2020)

McMan said:


> They were cool looking (looked like those Serbian cleavers but with 1/2" thick spine).


Very unusual knife! The ferrule looks like it was made from a garden hose fitting?


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## Noodle Soup (Feb 7, 2020)

KenHash said:


> Found some Korean kitchen knives. I personally know very little about them. Perhaps the OP could shed some light?


The knives in the top photo are pretty much the ones I found on the bay. I saw that knife on the far right in a Korean soap opera (I was in Viet Nam at the time) and had to have one. Good meat slicer.


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## McMan (Feb 7, 2020)

Michi said:


> Very unusual knife! The ferrule looks like it was made from a garden hose fitting?


Looks like it... This must be the deluxe version; the one I had had just a plain metal ferrule.


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## Nagakin (Feb 8, 2020)

When I lived there, at the nicer restaurants cooks were using Japanese steel and everywhere else they literally used anything that cut. It's not that I was touring kitchens, but it's a compact country and you can usually look at the back fairly easily. Open kitchen is a popular concept as well. Plenty of restaurants were even using cheapo ceramic knives. 

Japan is less than a $300 flight away and there's a lot of free shipping too because of proximity. Makes sense to just buy in most cases. Then you have the anti-Japanese Koreans into German cutlery, to match all the cars rolling around.

Korean restaurant culture is also wildly different. Speed is not a priority outside of the busiest parts of the city, so you sinply don't need the best tools. Just take the time making nice cuts with what you have. Hell, a lot of street vendors don't even have knives and straight up scissor everything. 

I'm sure there are great makers somewhere, but the only Korean knives I saw there were in more rural areas by older people and they were pretty crude compared to what we're used to, as mentioned above. 

I probably ate out 10x for every time I cooked or got cooked for during that period, because it was so cheap. Just what I observed. It was the only country no one would let me cook under the table in, so I ended up in demolition until I could pay my way out or I could tell you more.


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## Chuckles (Feb 8, 2020)

Great post.


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## Noodle Soup (Feb 8, 2020)

I checked. There are still plenty of "hand forged" Korean knives available on the bay. If you are looking for Japanese "samurai sword" quality you will be disappointed. On the other hand, I have been impressed with the cutting performance of the ones I've used. Really good real world cutting tools.


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## KenHash (Feb 8, 2020)

@Nagakin
Thank you for the very descriptive post.


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## pjotr (Feb 8, 2020)

I bought one as a project knife for like ten bucks of an auction site a few years ago. Very rustic as can be seen in these pictures. The height is 65mm and weight 250g. It has a interesting fold on the spine which may be by design but hard to tell given the rusticity of the knife on the whole lol.


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## lemeneid (Feb 8, 2020)

Yeah, chances of getting a good Korean kitchen knife is as high as having the best Chinese fried noodles cooked by an Italian. Simple as that.


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## xsmx13 (Jan 23, 2021)

I know this is an old thread, but I found a local market that has knives similar to those Namwon knives that were on ebay, but with much more consistent grinds. They have a nice tall blade height (I'd guess ~65mm), are much thinner and have a decent distal taper considering they cost about 10 bucks. I initially got one and used it as a beater knife in the kitchen when I moved to the area for work and still had most of my knives back in San Diego. I actually came to really enjoy the thing. Since then I snagged a bunch of walnut, bocote and kingwood to work with and started swapping the handles and cleaning up the spine/choil areas. If you're interested in checking one out I'd be happy to send one for the cost of shipping.


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## DitmasPork (Jan 24, 2021)

lemeneid said:


> Yeah, chances of getting a good Korean kitchen knife is as high as having the best Chinese fried noodles cooked by an Italian. Simple as that.



Sure about that? My China Story – Italian chef specializing in Chinese regional cuisines


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## DitmasPork (Jan 25, 2021)

AGC8 said:


> It seems Korean knives are overlooked (e.g. on forums, YouTube). Overshadowed by JP knives and German knives, American Customs...
> 
> IIRC it was the Chinese/Koreans who taught the Japanese how to make swords in the beginning. Oddly it's the JP that stuck with it for over a century...producing swords pretty much as they did in the beginning...only difference is most no longer have two apprentices swinging hammers on the Tamahegane.
> 
> ...



Recently I too was curious about traditional Korean kitchen knives. My google searches dug up very, crude, rustic knives like these. I considered buying one—not that I needed one on the kitchen, but because they're damn cool looking objects! Already got all I need for kitchen tasks, just dig the aesthetics of these super rustic tools.









Vegetable Knife 185mm | Eatingtools.com


Made with traditions of the region where its hand forged in South Korea, this rough, yet sharp vegetable knife will give a warm rustic touch to the cooking atmosphere.




www.eatingtools.com












Master Shin's Anvil #62 Kitchen Knife


Master Shin's Anvil #62 Kitchen Knife Anseong is a South Korean city known for its brass, stone and iron crafts and artisans. Daejanggan means blacksmith shop, which today is run by Master Shin In-young who learned his craft from his uncle in 1966. Named by the Gyeonggi Province Intangible...




www.houseandhold.com


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## lemeneid (Jan 25, 2021)

DitmasPork said:


> Recently I too was curious about traditional Korean kitchen knives. My google searches dug up very, crude, rustic knives like these. I considered buying one—not that I needed one on the kitchen, but because they're damn cool looking objects! Already got all I need for kitchen tasks, just dig the aesthetics of these super rustic tools.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Do it! You know it will make your bibimbap and budae jigae extra tasty


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## DitmasPork (Jan 26, 2021)

lemeneid said:


> Do it! You know it will make your bibimbap and budae jigae extra tasty


Hahahaha! I seriously think they look cool as heck, but would just keep it around for house guests to use, ...while I use the denka.


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