# Anyone have a puerh knife?



## Marshmallo (Jan 26, 2022)

I drink a lot of puerh and am curious if any members have recommendations for knives to break up the cakes. I've thought about making my own out of d2 or repurposing an oyster knife. New handle and a tip or something. I haven't come across any for sale that peaked my interest yet.


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## KenHash (Jan 31, 2022)

Marshmallo said:


> I drink a lot of puerh and am curious if any members have recommendations for knives to break up the cakes. I've thought about making my own out of d2 or repurposing an oyster knife. New handle and a tip or something. I haven't come across any for sale that peaked my interest yet.



I am no expert in this subject, but my limited knowledge of pu-ar tea is that the cake is broken up. Not cut. That the leaves are left as they are. If this is correct, I do not really see the purpose of a "knife" in this case.
Since you would have to penetrate the cake then break it up I can envision something like a screwdriver with a sharpened point only with the small flattened head assisting in gthe break up.
Please feel free to educate me on this subject. Are there knives made for this purpose historically?


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## Marshmallo (Jan 31, 2022)

You're correct, you don't cut it up you basically pry it apart. The "knives" are more akin to oyster shuckers or tiny letter openers. And there are puerh pics and knives specifically for breaking the cake apart. Needs to be strong flat and pointed. Some of the cakes break apart easily and some are like concrete!


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## Rangen (Jan 31, 2022)

This is mine.






I don't use it much, though, except on the centers of dense cakes. Mostly what I do is go around the edge of the cake, bending at each point, around and around, until something gives. Then I break that off and repeat. When I get to the hard core, if there is one, then, yes, I break out the pu erh knife.


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## Rangen (Jan 31, 2022)

It's much much duller than either a letter opener or even an oyster knife.


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## ethompson (Jan 31, 2022)

I’m a novice on the tea front, but I looked these up and it appears to resemble an oyster knife more so than a kitchen knife. So you’re not far off the mark in terms of breaking rather than cutting.


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## M1k3 (Jan 31, 2022)

Ice pick?


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## Rangen (Jan 31, 2022)

Sharpness is not indicated. The ideal pu-erh knife would separate the dried leaves without cutting or breaking them. An impossible ideal, but sharpness would make that harder.


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## M1k3 (Jan 31, 2022)

Dull oyster knife sounds like an easy to get, cheap "knife" for the job.


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## Justinv (Jan 31, 2022)

Oyster knives are too thick. I’ve tried a handful and ended up using this:


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## stringer (Feb 1, 2022)

Justinv said:


> Oyster knives are too thick. I’ve tried a handful and ended up using this:
> View attachment 163568



There is a tremendous variety of oyster knife shapes. You might be able to find a long skinny one. Dexter calls it the Boston pattern.


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## Marshmallo (Feb 1, 2022)

An ice pick may work quite well. With an oyster knife I was planning on reprofiling it to work a little better. And of course jazzing either of them up with some fancy wood. I wonder if there are options in China that just aren't found outside the country.


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## dgman (Feb 1, 2022)

This one is pretty interesting....


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## sansho (Feb 1, 2022)

it's good to have a variety of puerh picks. what to use depends on the compression of the cake and what you're trying to do.
i personally use two: a letter opener style and a pointy awl (ice pick) style.

if you're trying to split a cake in half to share with someone, check this out:









Best Way to Split a Cake? Try a Dozuki Saw.


For some time, I've been pondering the best way to split bingcha, bricks, and other compressed tea (puerh or otherwise) for sharing with friends. Some people work it apart using an awl, like this




www.teaforum.org


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## tchan001 (Feb 1, 2022)

I just broke a cake of puer for my wife tonight. I used the heel of my stainless steel CCK bone cleaver to do the job.


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## Marshmallo (Feb 1, 2022)

dgman said:


> This one is pretty interesting....View attachment 163608


That is fancy, i dont know how comfortable that handle would be. But thats def one of the fancier ones ive seen.


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## Marshmallo (Feb 1, 2022)

Yea I'm leaning toward revamping an oyster shucker, I have some left over from school years ago that would make good test subjects. I hadn't thought about an ice pick until this thread, seems like a great idea and not much modification needed, basically get good steel and put a fancy piece of wood on the end. I have thought about reaching out to some blacksmiths and acquiring some damascus that they are gonna throw away to play with.


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## sansho (Feb 1, 2022)

Marshmallo said:


> Yea I'm leaning toward revamping an oyster shucker, I have some left over from school years ago that would make good test subjects. I hadn't thought about an ice pick until this thread, seems like a great idea and not much modification needed, basically get good steel and put a fancy piece of wood on the end. I have thought about reaching out to some blacksmiths and acquiring some damascus that they are gonna throw away to play with.



good idea. just fyi try not to have sharp blade edges if you're making a letter opener style one. it seems unnecessary and messes up the leaf more.

also maybe grab an osborne 478 scratch awl from amazon if you don't have something similar.

just use random stuff from around your house and see what you like. i'd do that before considering getting something custom made.


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## Luftmensch (Feb 3, 2022)

Thanks KKF... I didnt know what this stuff was. Interesting seeing it made:



Yeah... leather making awl comes to mind?? Wouldnt work on the rock hard cakes though... A rock pick or a geologist hammer would probably work for them!


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## tchan001 (Feb 3, 2022)

Found this video


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## NotAddictedYet (Feb 3, 2022)

I've used the "tea needle" in Justinv's post. It does the job but for some reason it kept breaking the leaves when i try to pry a smaller piece off for brewing. I don't like using my hand to break the tea cake, just too many broken leaves.

Picked up this kozuka from Ebay. It's just pointy enough to insert into the cake easily, but still have enough width to pry the leaves apart almost perfectly.


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## Marshmallo (Feb 4, 2022)

NotAddictedYet said:


> I've used the "tea needle" in Justinv's post. It does the job but for some reason it kept breaking the leaves when i try to pry a smaller piece off for brewing. I don't like using my hand to break the tea cake, just too many broken leaves.
> 
> Picked up this kozuka from Ebay. It's just pointy enough to insert into the cake easily, but still have enough width to pry the leaves apart almost perfectly.
> 
> ...


I really like that, looks perfect for the job.


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